OK, time for a contrarian view. If you are a Buffy fanatic (you know who you are), better skip this one.
Buffy was inventive the first couple of seasons. It had some great minor characters, from Armin Shimerman as the Principal from Hell to Robia La Morte as a sexy and mysterious teacher (cool death scene) to James Marsters as a New Wave vampire. Among the regulars, Nicholas Brendon was agreeably knowing and Alyson Hannigan cute (if a bit over-the-top at times). Quirky plots and some terrific guest star turns (such as John Ritter as a robot gone berserk) kept the show lively.
Anthony Stewart Head always overplayed the "stodgy librarian" bit, though, and Sarah Michelle Gellar is simply not that likable or believable in the lead - she can't act, and her moping around sucks up the show's energy like a black hole. Some other characters, like Seth Green's Oz, fizzled (having him actually take a bullet for Willow was an astonishing act of sheer desperation by the writers to make his character matter). The "oh so with it" dialog does not really make up for unstable characterizations and "fast food" acting (blindingly cute models striking the poses of the moment).
For non-believers, any show that relies on always trying to do the "unexpected" gets tiresome, especially when the end result always is the same - Buffy rather perfunctorily kills the vampire. Ms. Gellar can only give her standard "Oh gee whiz, so here's yet another vampire to kill, you think you're so tough, don't ya?" so many times before you start rooting for the vampire, and the gimmicks like making Willow into a lesbian get old. Perhaps next they'll, oh, maybe make Xander an alien from the planet Xandar or something? Or Giles will turn out to be Merlin or the Blue Jin reincarnate? Bah. The two most attractive and interesting characters left after a couple of years (Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz), and after that the show became a succession of "how long will the stand-ins last" plot arcs and increasingly ineffective attempts to make the remaining tired faces act against type. Anybody else having flashbacks to the last dreary years of 90210 and Baywatch?
Incidentally, I think that Michelle Trachtenberg and Emma Caulfield are wonderful actresses, and I am a fan of both of them. But delightful as they are, they never recaptured the magic for the series. The Buffy character herself, with her growing arrogance and weird choices, was the true drag on the series in its death throes.
In essence, the show plays like a high school writing contest entry where the writer, rather than crafting a coherent tale, substitutes a succession of endless gimmicks and plot twists simply for the purpose of having something different to show the judges on every page. "Look, I came up with 20 different kinds of villains, and the other writer came up with only 18, I win!" There is no real resolution, no rhyme, no reason, just endless villains-of-the-moment and sarcastic in-jokes for the teen set. The "Perils of Pauline" of its time. So the heroine and/or her friends are in danger yet again. Yawn. Will she/they get out of it and show how invincible they all are? Maybe now, maybe three episodes from now, maybe next season if this is a season-ending cliffhanger. But, ultimately, some other "hip" villain or problem that ultimately turns out not to be so scary after all - in fact, rather pathetic - will pop up. Problem solved, well, thanks for watching and tune in next week!
Creatively, the show would have been better off following the example of the old "Batman" series and ending after the first couple of seasons, before Josh Whedon's attention wandered. Then it might have become a classic and left behind a worthy spin-off in "Angel." As it is, "Buffy" overplayed its hand and wound up running on fumes. After its passing, it will probably be about as mourned as "Xena" is now. Which is, not much. But, that's life on the minor networks.
Shame. It could have been a contender.
Buffy was inventive the first couple of seasons. It had some great minor characters, from Armin Shimerman as the Principal from Hell to Robia La Morte as a sexy and mysterious teacher (cool death scene) to James Marsters as a New Wave vampire. Among the regulars, Nicholas Brendon was agreeably knowing and Alyson Hannigan cute (if a bit over-the-top at times). Quirky plots and some terrific guest star turns (such as John Ritter as a robot gone berserk) kept the show lively.
Anthony Stewart Head always overplayed the "stodgy librarian" bit, though, and Sarah Michelle Gellar is simply not that likable or believable in the lead - she can't act, and her moping around sucks up the show's energy like a black hole. Some other characters, like Seth Green's Oz, fizzled (having him actually take a bullet for Willow was an astonishing act of sheer desperation by the writers to make his character matter). The "oh so with it" dialog does not really make up for unstable characterizations and "fast food" acting (blindingly cute models striking the poses of the moment).
For non-believers, any show that relies on always trying to do the "unexpected" gets tiresome, especially when the end result always is the same - Buffy rather perfunctorily kills the vampire. Ms. Gellar can only give her standard "Oh gee whiz, so here's yet another vampire to kill, you think you're so tough, don't ya?" so many times before you start rooting for the vampire, and the gimmicks like making Willow into a lesbian get old. Perhaps next they'll, oh, maybe make Xander an alien from the planet Xandar or something? Or Giles will turn out to be Merlin or the Blue Jin reincarnate? Bah. The two most attractive and interesting characters left after a couple of years (Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz), and after that the show became a succession of "how long will the stand-ins last" plot arcs and increasingly ineffective attempts to make the remaining tired faces act against type. Anybody else having flashbacks to the last dreary years of 90210 and Baywatch?
Incidentally, I think that Michelle Trachtenberg and Emma Caulfield are wonderful actresses, and I am a fan of both of them. But delightful as they are, they never recaptured the magic for the series. The Buffy character herself, with her growing arrogance and weird choices, was the true drag on the series in its death throes.
In essence, the show plays like a high school writing contest entry where the writer, rather than crafting a coherent tale, substitutes a succession of endless gimmicks and plot twists simply for the purpose of having something different to show the judges on every page. "Look, I came up with 20 different kinds of villains, and the other writer came up with only 18, I win!" There is no real resolution, no rhyme, no reason, just endless villains-of-the-moment and sarcastic in-jokes for the teen set. The "Perils of Pauline" of its time. So the heroine and/or her friends are in danger yet again. Yawn. Will she/they get out of it and show how invincible they all are? Maybe now, maybe three episodes from now, maybe next season if this is a season-ending cliffhanger. But, ultimately, some other "hip" villain or problem that ultimately turns out not to be so scary after all - in fact, rather pathetic - will pop up. Problem solved, well, thanks for watching and tune in next week!
Creatively, the show would have been better off following the example of the old "Batman" series and ending after the first couple of seasons, before Josh Whedon's attention wandered. Then it might have become a classic and left behind a worthy spin-off in "Angel." As it is, "Buffy" overplayed its hand and wound up running on fumes. After its passing, it will probably be about as mourned as "Xena" is now. Which is, not much. But, that's life on the minor networks.
Shame. It could have been a contender.