Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show created by Joss Whedon and stars Sarah Michelle Geller in the title role. It ran from 1997 to 2003, and has developed a sizeable fan base. Going into this I will just state outright that I never understood this shows appeal. However because said friends cannot stop raving about it I have decided to give it a shot. This is what I like and don't like about the first three episodes of the series.
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Pros.
- I think what has grabbed me the most this time around, is the lore. In a time period where classic monsters have been given the twilight treatment, it is refreshing to see that someone recognizes that monsters should be scary. Vampires that feel threatening, is a real treat and in the first two episodes I really liked the idea of this town being a gateway to hell can lead to some really interesting ideas, that is what I am looking most forward to seeing.
- Xander Harris is for me at this moment the best character in the show. Where characters like Buffy and Giles already occupy this strange world, Xander stands out as the only character where it feels like he grasp the situation. Of all the characters that I have been introduced to so far he is the one that most feels like a normal character. Whether it be because he is trying to appeal to a girl, or because he doesn't play off issues like it is just a fly that is bugging you, he is the character for now that is gonna make me come back.
- There is some solid action in the first few episodes, albeit in really dark shots. People may complain about the darkness of the DCEU, but at least I can see what is going on. That doesn't mean the action is bad, far from it.
- The characters for the most part are weak to start this series. Buffy is a one note character and while I am sure she will grow as the series progresses it is hard not to notice that she is not super compelling outside of one concept but we will get to that in a second. Willow would feel more useless if they had not given her the super power of hacking, for the record I hate hacking characters, they feel more like plot convinces then anything. Giles might become more interesting to me as we go on, but it was just off putting how whenever the plot got going there was no emotion from him until the third episode when he was arguing with the "monster of the day."
- Cordelia, yeah I know mentioned characters but honestly she is so bad she gets her own post. She is the Rachel McAdams from Mean Girls with none of the charm or likability. I hope she dies at some point so I can move on.
- Honestly the dialogue is pretty weak up to this point. I am most ashamed because I know Joss is a better writer then this. I found myself laughing at three jokes in the first three episodes, and yes there were more then three. The fact that it relies on High School humor is lost on me, that may still appeal to some people, and yes you can make high school media that appeals to adults (Edge of Seventeen) but for me its not working.
- A little too much 90s for my taste
- I want to mention what I think is really holding this show back, and that is the technical's. Bad camera movement, really poor lighting choices, choppy editing, have pulled me out of the story, in the two part pilot I could hardly see anything that was relying on tension for me to be invested in. Lucky that was changed in the third episode but for now, this show feels less like a network or cable show, and more like the stuff I am doing as a film student. While this isn't a story problem, this does suck the enjoyment out when I am too busy critiquing the film stuff.
- Finally I want to mention that the acting has been sub par. Their is no emotion when things happen except with Xander. Alyson Hannigan delivers each line like she is not sure of what she is saying. Giles feels like he is bored by what he is given, and Sarah Michelle Geller as of this moment is not a bad ass Slayer, she is trying to play both the bad ass and the high school student, but cannot play either of them with any conviction.
Score: 5/10
