Hey, guys. Miss me?
I have missed blogging and you all something fierce, but sometimes real life can get in the way of fangirling.
While I’ve been gone, I’ve been on a nostalgia kick revisiting fanfom favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Joss Whedon once said that it is important to give audiences what they need, not what they want, and when he was on a roll, boy did he ever.
Buffy resonates with me with an intensity that is yet to be matched by any other show, even Vampire Diaries or Veronica Mars.
Maybe it was because I watched season two in real time at age 13, when everything is epic and emotional and mercurial, so it transports me back to a that age.
Maybe it is because of its eminently quotable dialogue.
I have been known to work Buffyisms into everyday conversation in the vain hope someone, anyone in my real life will recognise what in the world I am going on about.
“This could be mathier”. LOL, I hated maths by the way, but doing algebra was worth invoking Giles.
“I have an elsewhere to be.” I mean, really, is there a cooler way to announce that you have to head off?
“Your logic doesn’t even begin to resemble our Earth logic.”
Buffy has the dramatic stakes of epic horror and sci fi honed down to an intensely personal level. The power of the Big Bags came from how relatable they were, how they struck a chord with our deepest rooted normal fears. The vampire who loses his soul after experiencing a moment of true happiness when having sex with Buffy is a heart wrenching metaphor for one of our worst fears, being rejected after making ourselves so vulnerable. The source of all evil is the ghost of all the people you have lost. The Master of all vampires is the monster from your worst nightmares, the thing that goes bump in the night and hides in your closet or under your bed.
So, while our main shows are on hiatus, I have decided it is time for a Buffy re-watch. (Just so y’all know, I consider s1 -3 and select episodes thereafter to be canon. I refuse to acknowledge the hot mess this show became for much of the latter seasons, because I am irrational like that.)
What is your favourite Buffyverse moment?
My favourite moment can be summed up in one word:
“Me.”
This is the mission statement of the show, really. I love that Buffy has had everything taken away from her in this moment, yet is able to find it within herself to marshal her slayer strength and save the world.
Other iconic moments that still give me chills, even after all these years.
So, watch this space for salty goodness, Mr Pointy and quality time with Mr Gordo.
I have six episode recaps to release in the next week, and hope you’ll go on a nostalgia kick with me.
myspideysenseistingling 
September 5th, 2014 at 3:17 pm
My first fandom love is coming back to me and girl I cannot wait to see what you have in store for us over the next week 😀
I started watching Buffy when I was about 12 or 13 and stepped in to season 6 (which was then airing on german tv) so I initially missed a lot of the good stuff from earlier seasons. It still made me fall deeply in love with the show and has continued to be part of my life till even now. I doubt one could ever lose that feeling your first fandom love gives you.
wow hat got rambly… sorry (not sorry).
till next week!
September 5th, 2014 at 5:16 pm
Yessss! I love myself some Buffy.
I myself was twelve when I started watching the show. What a youngin’! And it stayed with me all throughout the rest of junior high and then high school. It was like my security blanket. It gave me assurance to know that I wasn’t the only one who felt alone in school or the odd girl out.
I really have so much to say about this show, but I’ll wait until you post your reviews!
Glad to have you back girl!
September 7th, 2014 at 8:26 am
I haven’t seen Buffy in ages, so I have no idea how it would hold up now, since I am no longer as easy to please or fool and even back then I noticed the giant plothole that was Dawn Summers – Drusilla.
Also I never gave the monsters that much thought, especially not the master. He was never some boogeman or so for me, I think they had another demon do that, the one in the hospital.
And for all its good points regarding feminism, the show was far from perfect regarding representations and had a few screw-ups and goofiness, e.g. sure the people playing Oz’s werewolf form made it look acceptable when they run on all fours, but with some later hellhounds it looked downright goofy.
However I think alot of people later on tried to copy Buffy, the last two examples would be TVD and Teen Wolf, with both of them failing miserably if you ask me. Especially Teen Wolf with their “the nemeton draws them there” (and later on most of them apparently have been in the area the whole tim) and Scott being a “True Alpha because he earned it”. Which is a big difference. Buffy can claim to be a special slayer since she actually worked for it with the choices she made and her actions. However Scott McCall did not, he is the epitome of what Anya pointed out to Buffy in the last season: Buffy was born with her powers (or better with the potential to be a slayer [TVD had the same]), no one came along and said she earned it. However, like I said, she was able to rise above that status of a typical slayer, although Faith did too to some degree, through her own deeds. Scott McCall is claimed to have earned his special status but in fact he did nothing in my eyes to prove it. He is the Alpha because the plot says so, there is nothing special about him, he is neither exceptionally virtuous, nor smart and shows barely any logic and no leadership skills. Again unlike Buffy. Buffy has a special place in pop-culture for a good reason, but so many other overhyped shows do not. Buffy would have been able to kick the asses of all of Teen Wolf’s villains combined due to her strength and intelligence. The reason in Teen Wolf among the main cast only Allison died is because Teen Wolf’s antagonists are even dumber than the heroes are. Buffy would role her eyes at all of them.
PS. I think you got something mixed up. Buffy was a mix of horror and fantasy, unless you count Warren’s androids and that one lover of Buffy’s mother as sci-fi.
PSS. It is a mystery how someone can like a feminist show like Buffy and at the same time a show as sexist as TVD.