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611 reviews in total

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597 out of 1031 people found the following review useful:
Brilliance of Buffy, 13 March 2005
Author: monsterboi from United States

Buffy The Vampire Slayer, its misguided title put aside, is what I consider, and millions of other devoted fans believe to be a genuine and purely astonishing work of achievement in television history. With creative and daring story lines and terrific character development, the show that began its run on the WB as a mid-season replacement, became a dazzling cult hit resulting in a secure fan base and merchandising for as far as the eye can see.

The show follows a young girl endowed with the ancient powers of the slayer, one girl who fights the forces of darkness, battling alone, relieving the world of vampires and demons. In Buffy Summers' case, after moving to Sunnydale with her single mother, she befriends two loving, but out of place peers, Willow and Xander, who bravely march along side of her. Together, along with her watcher, Giles, they encounter creatures of darkness and strange mystical occurrences, which as a result, draw them closer together and occasionally, set them apart.

On occasion, Buffy is mistaken as a foolish, sci-fi television show which should probably be aired during the depressing Saturday afternoon time slot. But actually, nothing could be farther from the truth. A surprising element to Buffy is that the monsters and demons are a relatively small part of what the show actually stands for. From first love, life, death, sexual experimentation, and self identity crises – Buffy chronicles what it is like to be young person growing up in an overly mature world – with monsters! Between a slayer, a lesbian witch, a carpenter, and a werewolf – anything is possible and welcomed in the Buffy world. With the imaginative and extremely innovative writing of the show's creator Joss Whedon, along with the most intelligent and skillful writing staff that the biz has ever encountered, they were able to produce many groundbreaking episodes including "Hush", "The Body", "The Gift", "Becoming part 2", "Seeing Red", "Conversations with Dead People", "Grave", and "Chosen" – sadly I cannot continue this list for there is not enough space.

Without further ado, Buffy The Vampire Slayer is and will always be an incredible show. If you haven't had the privilege of watching this show, check your local listings for reruns or rent or even buy the entire series on DVD. Without a doubt, you will fall in love with the characters and stories, and by the time you finish the first season you will have welcomed a new family into your lives – sweet and sometimes muddled Buffy, clever and endearing Willow, faithful Xander, perceptive and paternal Giles. This show will linger in our hearts for eternity, and will go on to influence generations of intellectual and audacious writing in television.

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610 out of 1069 people found the following review useful:
I don't understand why shows like this get no respect., 16 November 2004

Author: BennyTheGreat from Des Moines, Iowa

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Anyone who will honestly sit down and watch a couple seasons of this show will find it incredibly hard to not like it. A lot of people here the name of the show and automatically dismiss it as cult fan garbage. That is simply not the case. This show is as well written, directed and acted as any show on TV. I think it's better it most respects. One of the things it does well is character development. There are a lot of changes even from season to season. It refreshing to see that, you care about them more because they go through things that you went through. A show like CSI you'll have virtually no character evolution. Grissom is basically the same guy he was in the first season. Oh no, wait, I guess he's got a beard now. Yeah, that's completely different. In Buffy you get to see her go from high school student to college student to burger flipper to mom all while saving the world. That's what I'm talking about. Give this show a chance. The first season maybe a little rocky because their establishing a lot of things but the second season onward really rocks.

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164 out of 234 people found the following review useful:
Absolutely Brilliant, 2 April 2008

Author: Liana from Canada

I have no idea why people are hating on this brilliant TV show. I watched the entire series on DVD and was completely caught up in it my the end of season one. This show stands up over time and does not become outdated. I watched this show thinking it would be an entertaining hour and was shocked to find the show compelling, hilarious, and full of real emotion. The writers and especially Joss Whedon have come up with some of the funniest TV out there, and easily keep your attention for the entire seven seasons. Each season seems to get funnier, and all the characters continue to develop. Anyone who gives this show a real chance will be captured by the Buffy Universe. If you can ignore some of the more low budget demons and instead focus on the characters and emotion of the story you will not be disappointed. BTVH will make you laugh, cry, and fall in love with the characters. 10/10.

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97 out of 107 people found the following review useful:
Don't judge a book by it's cover., 20 November 2009

Author: zephyr-123 from United States

Very often, when you find a particularly negative review of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you find someone whose glancing opinion bounces off the surface "appearance" of the show and does not delve into the actual substance therein. Frequently, they are people who haven't really seen enough episodes to form a well thought-out opinion on the series, the content, and the characters as a whole--especially, people who have only seen a few eps from season one. Season one is the most shallow end of the series. It really gives you no clue as to what the series ends up being. Believe me, it gets more intense and complicated and dark as it goes on. If you decide to give it a try, I suggest checking out a handful of episodes from season three on before passing judgment. Some good examples are S3--The Wish, Helpless, Doppelgangland, S4--Something Blue, Hush and Restless, S5--Fool for Love, Triangle, Weight of the World, The Gift (I'd also say The Body but that one gives too much away) S6--Bargaining, Tabula Rasa, Older and Far Away, S7--Beneath You, Selfless, Conversations With Dead People, The Killer In Me, Get It Done (I'd say Chosen but it's the series finale which also would give too much away).

About the show itself--Buffy is the antithesis of the "pretty-blond-victim" who runs from the "psycho ax-murderer" in horror films past--the girl who always twisted her ankle and fell in her attempt to get away. How many times did we see that scene and feel just a little bit disgusted with the victim for not even trying to fight back? How many times did we see that scene and feel disgusted with the directors for typing female victims in this way over and over again? Buffy, herself, isn't the "traditional" feminist TV icon. Many of those are women who have forfeited the ultra-feminine symbols of their gender--love, compassion and vulnerability in order to maintain equal footing with men. Buffy doesn't do this. Buffy embraces those symbols in one hand and hones and wields them to fight evil in the other.

The show appears as a bubble-gum program, aimed at teens and while it's fan-base is largely younger viewers (teens-twenties), it's major themes profoundly confront the more mature ideas of good vs. evil, life and death, friendship, religion, the soul and the true meanings of power and love in such a way that is rarely addressed in current entertainment. It challenges the traditional ideas of religion as being an "institution" and asserts that it is something to be lived, that real love requires self-sacrifice, that true friendship requires far-reaching forgiveness, that true power is rooted in love and compassion and that good and evil, while in shades of gray can still be defined.

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433 out of 802 people found the following review useful:
One of the best TV shows of all time. Period., 8 November 2004
Author: somethinginteresting from United States

Buffy is series that was not only consistently good, but a series that grew better over time. The first season is good, but not fantastic. It was shorter because the WB was not sure if they would have a viewing base and only had 12 episodes. The second season developed the characters and you began to see the magic of the show. As the series progresses, I am astounded by the writing, directing, and acting. Joss Whedon is a genius of the camera and master of the pen, and anyone who argues with me is fooling themselves. The cast, as well as the characters, matures over time and become living, breathing people that you believe.

In short, if you are considering watching this show, I highly recommend you watch all of the first and second season before making any judgements. Frankly, this is my favorite story of all time. It transcends the TV, and beats out most books, movies, and other TV shows. This show is beautiful.

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419 out of 797 people found the following review useful:
So annoying, 2 May 2006
Author: lisi_lou_92 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Is it just me or does Buffy bug anyone else? I find her SO irritating. That whiny voice.. she seems to show off. I don't like the way she treats spike either. Using him. She was especially annoying in the series when Riley Finn had his appearances. Everything about her.. the way she acts, the way she talks.. just so annoying. And some things she said just seemed to sent an embarrassed chill up my spine arrgg like in one episode they were having a barbecue on the beach and she went running over to xander saying "where's my burger!" in such an annoying childish voice. Does anyone else agree? Also the way she seems to not need anyone else around her. She doesn't seem to show any gratitude. Like when her friends bring her back from the dead she complains.

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409 out of 786 people found the following review useful:
A waste of potential (Possible spoilers), 26 March 2005
Author: charleswright805 from United Kingdom

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I do not understand why so many people talk about this show as if it's the greatest of all time. It has some good points, but overall, it's a disappointment.

Firstly, Buffy herself is one of the most annoying, unlikeable characters I've ever seen. They tried to show her as 'isolated' because of being the Slayer, but she instead comes across as self-centred and aloof. In the Finale of Season 5, she is perfectly willing to sacrifice all reality, rather than allow her sister to die. That is not love, that is selfishness. It is not helped by the fact that Sarah Michelle Geller is ridiculously skinny. Someone who fights vampires regularly and practises martial arts should be muscular; look at Jessica Biel in Blade:Trinity. That's how a vampire slayer should look!

Both the show and the character suffer from a lack of compassion. We occasionally see Buffy save people, but we never get to know anyone outside of Buffy's inner circle. In this show 'good' is defined not in how many people you've helped, but in how many monsters you've killed. In several episodes, there are tormented spirits of people who are 'killed' by show's end rather than saved.

Plus, why is it that they talk about 'demons' and 'Hell Gods', but never about angels or Heaven Gods. Why should all supernatural beings be evil? We're supposed to believe that the entire battle of Good and Evil starts and ends with Buffy? What a conceited idea.

Every season has basically the same formula. 'Big Bad' emerges, Buffy fights them, BB tries to destroy the Earth, Buffy stops them. Why does every season have to be "the end of the world"? Is that the only way they can think of to generate drama? It seems that the show can tell only one story.

The only good thing about it was the relationship between Willow and Tara (magnificantly played by Alyson Hannigan and Amber Benson). To be fair, it did do well here and it was very good to see a show with lesbian main characters. That alone could have saved the show, but it was thrown away when the series reverted to another 'dead/evil lesbian' cliché (after the writers promised repeatedly that they would not) for a story which could have easily been achieved without it in a hundred better ways.

This show could have been great. Instead it wastes everything.

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86 out of 143 people found the following review useful:
One of the greatest shows of all time, 20 August 2002

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I don't even know where to start on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, this is one of my favorite shows of all time. It was the first show where I had watched it every week, never fell back on an episode and was obsessed with it. I was 12 when it first started, never had I ever been so captivated by a show in my life. This show broke boundaries and had some of the best writers working on it. This was also Joss Whedon's baby, he took a film that was pretty funny but tanked at the box office and turned it into a fantastic show that held a very strong fan base that continues to grow today.

Buffy is a 16 year old girl who is the chosen one to defeat all the vampires, demons and the evil of the world. She's beautiful, smart, strong and has a heart of gold. Her watcher Giles, the school's British librarian, trains her well, but her stubbornness to accept her "gift" frustrates him but it actually helps her along the way. He develops a sincere love for her as a father. Willow is her best friend, a nerd at first but later on becomes a powerful witch. She is one of the most helpful of the group and uses her powers to defend Buffy from the stronger demons. Xander, who has a huge crush on Buffy, but is turned down when her eyes stray to another man. He still helps out and stays strong for Buffy, Giles and Willow. Angel, the 200 year old vampire with a soul who Buffy falls in love with. He and Buffy have sex which gives him a moment of true happiness, he turns evil, she has to kill him, but he comes back and they discover they can never have the love they deserve so he leaves. Cordelia, the popular mean girl cheerleader who the gang helps out several times as she does back when she realizes how good they are.

The villains, The Master, the first vampire. He wishes to raise the hellmouth from under the school, he bites Buffy, she faints as he pushes her into a puddle, killing her. Xander brings her back and she kills The Master. Second season: Spike and Drusilla. Drusilla is an insane vampire. Spike is a bad boy vampire who stirs things up big time, he will do anything to destroy Buffy but always fails. However, he comes to her side and eventually falls in love with her because of the good he sees in her. Third season, The Mayor who is over 100 years old and wishes to destroy Sunnydale. He and rival slayer, Faith, try to destroy Buffy, but she puts Faith in a coma after stabbing her and destroys The Mayor. Fourth season, a government experiment gone wrong with the perfect demon Adam who is like Frankenstein and wishes to create chaos by unleashing all demons into the world. Willow conjures a spirit to help Buffy destroy him. Fifth season, Glory, a God, who is after a key who is sent in the form of Buffy's younger sister named Dawn. Dawn doesn't know till later and they found out all the memories were built by the monks who wanted Buffy to protect her. For once though, Buffy may have met her match, when Dawn's blood is spilled and the evil dimension opens up Buffy sacrifices herself to save the world. What was meant as the original end of the series was only the beginning.

Sixth season, Buffy is brought back by Willow, Xander, and their girlfriends Tara and Anya. However, life is not so easy when 3 nerds gang up to take over Sunnydale. You would never think that they could be threatening since they act like total nerds at first, but then one of them takes a turn for the worst when he's pushed too far, he shoots Buffy but when he shoots the gun again he accidentally hits Tara, killing her almost instantly. Willow looses control of the magic and becomes an evil witch who destroys the killer and tries to destroy the world but Xander comes through telling her that he loves her. Seventh season, the first, the big bad, the evil that can take any form and devour you. Killing off any potential future slayers, Buffy is in for one hell of a ride.

Some stand out episodes include Passion with evil Angel. Third season Helpless where Buffy finds out what it might be like not to be the slayer. The Wish, where we find out what would've happened if Buffy never came to Sunnydale. Bad Girls, where we find out how far you could go as a slayer. Fourth Season This Year's Girl where Faith comes back for revenge and she finds out that she does need love in her life. Fifth season: The Body, very possibly the hardest episode to watch but the best written in the series and if you seriously don't cry during this episode there is something physically wrong with you. The Gift, still the strongest season finally and a powerful ending that will make you cry. Sixth season, Once More With Feeling, the first musical TV episode that spawned a bunch of wanna-be's, but what a great episode. Villains/Two to Go/Grave, a great combination of evil Willow and the fight for her life. Seventh season: Lies my Parents Told me where we discover Spike's past. Conversations with Dead People where Buffy confesses she thinks she's better than her friends.

What a great show to sum it up. The first season was a little Power Rangers with the one liners, second season got more serious, third season was about finding yourself, fourth was about separation and coming back. Fifth was about staying strong and fighting. Sixth was about being done, now what? Seventh was the final chapter to this wonderful series. I miss it so much.

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380 out of 731 people found the following review useful:
Not so great..., 20 March 2006
Author: dave d

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

After hearing loads and heaps of praise about this series, I decided to get it on DVD and found it to be less than worthy of the praise it was given. It has a total of 144 episodes, but only three of them get any notice by fans: "The Body", "Hush", and "Once more with feeling". In my estimation, none of those episodes are that great! This series does have some good episodes and many memorable scenes, but not enough of either to carry it to TV legendary status. I can only assume that the folks that praise this show watched it from the start because it certainly was original for its time. However, if you want a truly good supernatural series, you must watch Charmed (seasons 1-5). If given a choice between Charmed and Buffy, I would pick Charmed 9 out of 10 times. Yeah, Buffy does have its highlights, but don't try to pick them out because you'll be there forever trying to find them!

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31 out of 38 people found the following review useful:
One of the Finest Shows I've ever watched, 7 December 2009

Author: YoSafBridge from United States

If I'm having a bad day I can always count on Buffy to cheer me up (or, even if it's one of those cases were I just need a good cry I can always count on Buffy for that as well). It's the perfect blend of so many different qualities...it's humour, action, romance and just incredibly well written, believably flawed characters. I'm not exactly sure where all the haters came from, it's honestly seems to me that this is a case of judging a show by it's title.

There's little I can say about Buffy that won't become redundant, there is not much to find fault with. Sure it's got it's bad episodes, bad story arcs just like any show. But what kept me coming back with the razor sharp wit and characters that became like a family to me.

This is a beautifully written show and if you can make it past the goofy title, fantastic premise and (for many people) the campy first season (You'll grow to love the camp upon re-visiting it) you'll discover one of the best show's in recent memory.

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