vesy90
Originally published as a review for Angel, but since it's about both shows, I am positing it here too.I saw both "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" in my teen years. One would think that now, at 27, I will have outgrown them or, at the very least, that they wouldn't have the same appeal to me. But not only that both shows passed the test of time, but they actually grew on me. I have heard people calling them teenage shows, but the truth is that when I was a teenager I couldn't appreciate them to the level I appreciate them today. Since I have a hard time separating them, despite this being an Angel thread, I will write about both. Though what can I really say aside from: bloody awesome! Not that they are perfect. Like all shows, they do have their issues. But the positives far outweigh them. One of the things that I love about them is the humour. The kind of humour I don't see on other shows. It's not just magic, fights and romance. Which I love, all three. But the funny parts made it all even better. Buffy, Cordy, Anya and Xander are absolutely hilarious. And later Angel, which was the biggest surprise. After leaving Buffy, he turns into a completely different man. Actually, it was the same with Cordy. I liked her in Buffy, but it is in her post Buffy phase that she really starts to shine. All you Cordy haters can bite me. Actually, she's a perfect example of another thing that I love so much in both shows. Despite them being about the epic fight between good and evil, there are also shades of grey. I admit that I am always more impressed with characters seeking redemption, ones who achieve spiritual growth and find their strength and maturity with time than with those who are role models from beginning to end. This is one of the reasons why maybe I feel a bit more strongly about Cordy than about Buffy. But if there is a difference, it's not so big. Buffy too is fantastic. Despite being the hero, who is always on the right track, she is far from being too perfect and artificial. Somehow the writers manage to give us a wonderful, inspiring, full-blooded young woman we can all look up to. And, just like Angel, she actually becomes more interesting after their separation. I love them together and their relationship will always have a special place in my heart, but I have to admit that there is something missing in it. It comes off as a bit too romantic and fairy-tale like. Cordy and Spike bring that extra something, the edge I wanted. This is why I like them better with them than with each other. But that's just my opinion. I don't mind others disagreeing. Which leads me to my other point. The eternal argument about who loves whom more and who should be with whom. I am really displeased with the pettiness it entails. More specifically, mean comments of the likes of "He/she is disgusting. How dares he/she be with him/her? He/she could never love him/her" and even go as far as verbally attacking those who think differently and the writers too. The most of this kind I have seen are regarding Angel and Cordy's relationship, which was why I said that they could bite me. If you are happy with your own view/version, then why trying to ruin it for the rest? Why not leave them have their own? This is the good thing about fiction. You don't have to be "objective" and "stick to the facts" You can stretch your imagination and let it be whatever you want it to be. It's all a matter of interpretation and personal preferences. When it comes to me, I'm not interested in deciding which couple's love is the greatest. I'm just happy that they happened. I love Angel & Buffy, I love Spike & Buffy and I love Angel & Cordy. Some people don't believe it, but it IS possible to be in love with two people at the same time. I don't think that the fact that Buffy and Angel move on negates their story and means that they love each other any less. If anything, I think it shows the opposite. When Angel thinks she is dead and tells Cordy that he feels guilty for being able to live with it, she tells him that this is a way to honour her. And I think she's right. If they had spent the rest of their lives moping and crying for each other, they would have been different people from those they saw in each other and which makes them fall in love with each other in the first place. And I think that if all those who so vehemently declare over and over again how disgusting a certain character is and how impossible it is for the other of the pair to love them and use even silly sarcasm and forced laughter do it only out of spite, because they themselves feel that they're not right, therefore they do their best to undermine the couple in a desperate attempt to fight off the obvious. If they were truly so sure, they wouldn't have been bothered. Talking of lack of maturity, I think that the characters that show the more growth are Cordy, Angel, Spike, Willow and Wesley. And of the non-permanent characters, Darla and Faith. I wonder what Dru would have amounted to, had she regained her soul too. I have always liked her a lot. She is maybe my favourite villain. So this is it. This is the best way I can describe my experience with the all those incredible characters and their stories. I want to see the shows again. Many times. Thank you so much, Joss Whedon and team. You are great!
Gig1957
Two vampires that go back and forth between being good and evil. Throw in a "good" witch, werewolves, ghosts, and other demons. Then add a main female lead that takes turns loving and hating the two vampires, and what do you have? Buffy, Angel, Spike, & Willow or Elena, Stefan, Damon & Bonnie. Add some additional "supporting roles" in the guise of friends, and what do you get? "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer", "The Vampire Diaries" and other wannabees, such as "Twilight", "Being Human", "Underworld", and more. Then throw in some odds & ends (more similarities) with "Eureka!", a bit of "The Grunge" and "The Ring" and you basically end up with one show with different titles. "Buffy" was okay, "Twilight", and especially "The Vampire Diaries" were a little better. And it all culminated with a big let-down in "The Gates". Don't waste your time with the last one. "The Gates" only lasted one season, and tried to encompass the main plot points of all the others in that short time span.
TownRootGuy
Oh how I hated this show even though I hadn't seen a second of it, it was about kids and starred that slasher-flick nitwit. And it was based on a movie that wasn't all that good. I literally did a Bruce Willis style jig when I heard this was ending. Then, in early '07, I gave in and watched Firefly, which I had never heard of even though I saw and liked Serenity. That broke down my resistance enough to grudgingly agree to watching the first episode of Buffy. I don't know exactly when it happened, no later than the end of S6E7, but at some point this stupid, stupid show had ended a 30 year run by M*A*S*H as my favorite TV show. It has fantastic eye candy, good FX, decent action, great bad guys, an excellent story, amazing tunes, a superb cast AND the funny still slays me even after 6 full viewings. I love Firefly but you can't be the best show ever with only half a season, that's just not enough time to build the story. With 7 seasons, Buffy had the time to build a very rich story. I love this show and I can watch it every 2 - 3 years. As a bonus, S6E7 also left me able to finally say, after almost 40 years, that I have a favorite album. Joss Whedon is a genius.
