I have been very poorly this week. Stuck indoors in the grip of a hideous virus, unable to swallow without pain, or eat, drink, read, talk. My husband has a similar virus that has taken hold of him in a different, yet utterly gross, way. We had so many plans for this week and next, and have had to cancel everything and settle to a routine dictated by needing to take penicillin at strict 6 hourly intervals. We have long been planning to watch Buffy season 1 to 7, it’s a marathon that will probably take us a decade or so! We first saw Buffy many years ago, and began with Season 3, watched until 7, then caught up with 1 and 2. My brother has bought me Buffy dvd’s for birthday and Christmas for ages, the complete set is ours now but we are usually way too busy, and it seems too huge to start over. However, our unexpected and coinciding illness has meant that dahdah, in just 1 week we have ‘done’ Season One. For the delight of nobody at all, but for the benefit of future me who will find it has all turned into a blur, here are my random thoughts which I will not even bother to put into a coherent essay style format:
Buffy Season One.
Her clothes! My god, this is Buffy the whore, the Lolita, the paedophile’s fantasy. I am amazed that I didn’t see her knickers at all. Surely filming was regularly held up in order to make sure nothing showed, such teeny, tiny dresses and skirts! Funny nose too.
Nicholas Brendan (Xander) seems the most comfortable actor in the first ep’s. He displays good timing and quippy goodness from the get go, so I was astonished to read on good ol’ wiki that he was the person with the least experience.
Giles takes only a couple of episodes to settle into his role. Why do they always call him Giles and not Rupert?
Cordelia is very amusing, and convincing, in her head bitch role. It’s cool watching her way back then, knowing the arc her character takes all the way through to the end in Angel.
Willow seems very small and thin and childlike.
Angel – oh such a pretty vampire, no idea how he gets away with allegedly never aging when we contrast him here in the early days with the man who gets his own spin off! Such a classic white tee and black leather jacket combo. Sigh.
It’s a fairly straight set up of what is to come, but it lacks the emotional depth and layers that work so well in later seasons. Traces are there though, Buffy and Angel the love that can not be, Willow yearning for an oblivious Xander who is busy crushing on Buffy.
Still one of my favourite scenes is the initial one where the bad boy leads the nervous blonde girl into school and we are there as we have been before in so many horror films, when the tables turn, and the genre is neatly and immediately subverted.
Watching so many together makes one tire a little of the sarky chat/visit to the Bronze/graveyard scene/big fight with ultimate vamp dusting. But it still is compulsive viewing.
The Master is a good scary character. His face is the stuff that nightmares are made of, and his nails are grotesque, the way he twists necks is creepy and efficient.
I always have hated the Teacher’s Pet episode. I thought I disliked The Pack too, but this time round I thought it was really well observed. Out of sight, Out of mind is a fantastic idea. Fave tho’ is Nightmares as it ranges from the lols of Cordy’s hair to the heartbreak of Buffy’s dad dream superbly. Yayness.
Right, sorry about that. Normal service will hopefully resume shortly.
Sara Crowley 