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"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) More at IMDbPro »

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580 comments in total

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602 out of 1056 people found the following comment useful :-
I don't understand why shows like this get no respect., 16 November 2004

Author: BennyTheGreat from Des Moines, Iowa

*** This comment 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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552 out of 976 people found the following comment 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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401 out of 747 people found the following comment useful :-
A waste of potential (Possible spoilers), 26 March 2005
Author: charleswright805 from United Kingdom

*** This comment 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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410 out of 765 people found the following comment useful :-
So annoying, 2 May 2006
Author: lisi_lou_92 from United Kingdom

*** This comment 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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376 out of 698 people found the following comment useful :-
Not so great..., 20 March 2006
Author: dave d

*** This comment 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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94 out of 153 people found the following comment 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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385 out of 743 people found the following comment 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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78 out of 144 people found the following comment useful :-
I don't understand why people hate it, 8 March 2003
Author: Perry

I will admit, before even watching the show, I followed the majority of people, in saying that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was just a stupid teen tv show. BUT THEN I ACTUALLY STARTED WATCHING IT! And, I realized that all of the people who say that Buffy is stupid, and such just don't understand it. Sure, it is based around 'kids' making it seem a little teen-ish if you know what I mean, but that is stupid, because this is not simply a teen show. This television show has spunk, itellegence, humor (loads and loads of humor) and all sorts of other elements that make it great. One thing; the actors. Not to mock Chandler Bing or anything, but could they BE any better at their parts? They are all perfect at what they do. They are believable, funny, scary, sometimes you trust them, other times you don't, they just keep the show good. Also, the show is filled with humor, and memorable quotes that will stay with fan forever. Such as Xanders, "I laugh in the face of danger. The I hide until it goes away." Also, in the midst of any serious scene, they always undercut it with a joke. Some may say they are ruining the moment, but I say it's comic genious. And, the show always keeps the surprises coming. Buffy killing Angel, or, the one that comfused me the most; At the end of Buffy Vs. Dracula, when all of a sudden there's a sister. Who wasn't screaming "WHAT THE HELL??!!" after that episode? Anyway, I need to get off now, my rice-a-roni's done, so all I have left to say is that Buffy isn't over rated at all, if anything, it's under-rated.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the best programs on television.

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32 out of 54 people found the following comment useful :-
A decade later, Buffy still rocks, 20 July 2009

Author: gizmomogwai from Canada

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Buffy the Vampire Slayer! One of the most influential shows I ever saw growing up; it had a cult following and got some favourable reviews, including being named by James Poniewozik of Time magazine as one of the 100 greatest TV shows of all time. Recently I bought the first two seasons on DVD on-line, but it was only after they were delivered that I realized I wasn't a teenager anymore and might not get as big of a kick out of it as I used to. What would I think of Buffy a decade after it debuted?

It's obvious why a teenager would love this, it is about teenagers and it empowers them- they save the world, with plenty of action and humour. It also empowered women (though I am male and so was its creator)- a blonde, pretty 16-year-old, formerly something of a valley girl, saves the day. But Buffy towards the second half of its second season evolves into something a little deeper, and provides for some of the best moments in television. Set in California, Buffy is a high school student leading a secret double life, by night battling and killing vampires and other demons, who just happen to live in Buffy's town in large numbers because it's located at the mouth of hell. She has a few friends who know she's a slayer, a "Watcher," a man who guides her, posing as the school librarian, and divorced parents who don't know her secrets. She also meets a mysterious young (-looking) man named Angel who appears to fight vampires, and is then revealed to be a vampire himself... sort of. Vampires are demons possessing human corpses, but due to a Gypsy curse intended to make Angel suffer, his human soul was returned to his body, giving him a conscience. Together, they face the Master, the incredibly old ruler of the vampires who is trapped in an invisible prison, foretold to kill Buffy. Which he does, by drowning her. But in a clever twist, she's revived by CPR and in a second round she slays him at the end of season 1. So how do you top killing the ruler of the vampires who had killed Buffy herself? Season 2 finds a way by making Buffy's struggle infinitely more personal. There, Buffy and Angel, slayer and vampire, develop a paradoxical romance while Buffy battles a hip British vampire called Spike. But when the Gypsy curse is lifted and Angel loses his soul, the demon is in charge again. He becomes a monstrous villain and Buffy will have to fight the man she once loved.

Generally I liked season 1, although some fans think of the beginning as weak. Some of the episodes indeed were, when they dealt with ridiculous monsters irrelevant to the show's larger plot. Season 2 had some of the same problems. These included a giant praying mantis disguised as a high school teacher (yes, really), a group of students possessed by hyenas at a zoo, a demon-slaying living dummy, killer eggs, and a school swim team turned into giant fish monsters. Then there were killer robots disguised as people, in the episode Ted which had been far more interesting when its villain was thought to be human (Buffy had psychological issues with him dating her mother and then had to feel the guilt of having unintentionally killed him). Poniewozik defended the monsters by saying they were allegories of real teen struggles, but really, how many times do we need to hear that (insert a given evil here) turns people into (insert monster of the week here)? Monster of the week episodes were not only silly, the quality was often lower; in Some Assembly Required, the teens who raise the dead aren't convincing actors. Compare to the vampire episode Lie to Me- both Buffy and her human opponent, in discussing why he wants to become a vampire, deliver believable performances with a more smoothly-written script. There are a few other flaws (these kids live in the library where they talk about their monster-fighting; why are there never any other students in there?) But when the show was building its storyline (with episodes like Never Kill a Boy on the First Date and Angel), it was interesting. Part of that was because Buffy, from the start, understood that horror and comedy go together like chocolate and peanut butter. The vampires in the first two episodes could be freaky, but the show always had an adequate sense of humour.

It was season 2 that delivered the first knockout episodes- starting with When She Was Bad which developed Buffy as a character while providing some memorable laughs. It was written by creator Joss Whedon, who proves to be a standout writer again in Lie to Me where he plays with a tragic human villain who wants to become a vampire. Tragic villains, reflecting how the real world isn't really black and white, show up again in episodes like Inca Mummy Girl with a mummy in love, I Only Have Eyes For You with a ghost of a teenage killer, and in all of the episodes dealing with a fallen Angel. In When She Was Bad, Halloween and The Dark Age, it's shown that the good guys Buffy and Giles aren't black and white either.

Episodes like Innocence, Passion and I Only Have Eyes For You mess with the heads of our heroes as Angel torments them. By the two-part season finale, it turns nasty as the group argues amongst itself; in the later half of the second season, Buffy even has to slap Giles. I don't know what the later seasons or the spin-off Angel series were like, but the show Buffy started out as was effective drama.

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386 out of 765 people found the following comment useful :-
Diabolic Crap, 18 February 1999
Author: Poser from Bergen, Norway

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

How can they do this to us? If you want to see the worst TV-series that I have perhaps seen this decade, feel free to watch it, but it ruins all general ideas of Vampires. How can anybody kill hundred-year old vampires with such ease? If you have previous knowledge of vampires, you would know that it wouldn't be that easy as potrayed.

God have mercy on us all.

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