Shpadoinkle With A Full On Excorcist Twist
I’ve known lots of people who were madly in love with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They recorded every episode, which they then watched, re-watched, and passionately discussed with friends. When people hear that I love vampires, feminism, and comic books, they assume that I’m totally into Buffy. This leads to the uncomfortable discussion about how I’ve never watched an episode.
“But it’s so good!”
“The movie was so cheesy and campy though.”
“The TV show is completely different. Hollywood screwed up Joss Whedon’s idea.”
I never got around to watching it though. I’m like that. Watching popular TV shows really messes up your punk rock street cred. I saw clips of it as I scanned through channels, and I wasn’t impressed enough to stop. Buffy was not part of my world. When I thought of vampires, I though of Anne Rice.
I became aware of Joss Whedon as a writer for two reasons. First, after years of ignoring adoring praise for Firefly from the Slashdot and Fark crowd, I went and saw Serenity. And I subsequently went and watched it again the very next weekend. I loved the movie so much that I started recording Firefly on the DVR. Then, when I got back into comics last year, I really dug Whedon’s work on Astonishing X-Men. Whedon’s dialogue was like a character unto itself, providing even the darkest of plots with a lightness that made turning the page enjoyable.
Once I become aware of a writer, I tend to systematically devour all of their work and dote on them with a fanboy-like devotion. As such, it’s somewhat inevitable that I would eventually make my way into the Buffyverse. In fact, it’s only my hetero man-crushes on Brian Michael Bendis and Ed Brubaker that have delayed it for this long. Last week, prompted further by a recent Buffy episode of Comic Geek Speak, I got impatient with my Smallville DVD from Netflix and downloaded the first episode of Buffy from iTunes. I watched it during my lunch break and then, due to the cliffhanger, subsequently found and watched an illicit copy of the next episode on the Internet. I was immediately and irrevocably hooked.
Over the weekend, I discovered that Best Buy’s online store had all the seasons of Buffy on sale for sixteen dollars a piece. After determining that they didn’t have the same price going in the store, I ordered the first two seasons for in-store pick-up down in Fort Myers (since we were visiting Jason). I’ve watched the first three episodes at this point, and I love this show nearly as much as grande soy lattes from Starbucks. I love the message of female empowerment and feminism, and I’m a sucker for superheroes of nearly any type. Furthermore, Whedon’s dialogue makes me swoon. I’m trying to hold out to watch the episodes together with Allyson, but my resolve is weakening to the point where I might need to rip some episodes to my iPod so that I can watch them during my lunch break.
The truly interesting part about my sudden love for Buffy the Vampire Slayer is that it isn’t really a unique situation. Nearly everyone I’ve met who has a fanatical interest in the show started out hating the idea of the show, only to be won over in a Damascus Road experience after watching one episode. The writing is absolutely top notch. The characters are dynamic, witty, and interesting. The portrayals of women and other social minorities are refreshingly positive. The show is damned good. I publicly admit that I was wrong about this show.
Technorati Tags: Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Vampires, Television, Joss Whedon
September 6th, 2007 at 10:42:23
I’m another who was won over despite myself! I don’t even have a TV (on purpose) and I was still won over. It started as a way to show solidarity with a friend who was desperate to have someone to discuss it with, and then it took on a life of its own. I admit to being glad the series is over though. It was exhausting to be waiting for episodes to come out. Being tv-less, I’m not in shape for that!