Buffy

I used to be a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan-atic. Well, I kinda still am. I became a fan the first season, and I have one season on DVD here at home. I know there are a lot of fans like me out there, and the show wasn't a critics' darling for nothing! The writing was brilliant - there's just no better word to describe it. The characters were multi-dimensional and you really became attached to them (much the same way I became emotionally invested in another brilliant series, Northern Exposure). In the first few seasons, it blended the horror of supernatural evil with the horror of every day high school so well that you could see the supernatural battles were metaphors for high school, and later, when the Scooby gang (that's what Buffy and her sidekicks called themselves) graduated, it became a metaphor for the big bad grownup "real world." One of the highlights of the series was during the 6th season, with an episode that was produced as a big budget 40s style musical. Joss Whedon, creator and writer of Buffy, not only wrote the episode, but the music and lyrics as well. With tongue never leaving cheek, the plot followed our friends as a demon comes to town and causes people to burst spontaneously into song and dance, spilling the beans about their most secret truths. It stood apart, yet worked perfectly to move the season's main plot along to the next level.

For those of you who only saw the movie, which was fun in its own way, the series was far more intelligent and witty. I know that sounds ridiculous given the context, but it covered subject matter not usually brought to television at the time. One of the main female characters (Willow, played by the immensely likable Allyson Hannigan of 'this one time, at band camp'), fell in love with a female fellow witch. The storyline of two lesbian lovers was handled in almost a matter of fact way, and was one of the most moving star-crossed lovers story I've ever seen. The ravages of addiction was also addressed, although it was Willow and her magicks instead of drugs. Magic and power became to her just as intoxicating and addicting as any drug.

Anyone watching this realizes, of course, that this is all pure fantasy, but I've seen very few television series that has succeeded in not only stretching a viewer's imagination and challenging one's intelligence, but also created a reality that, while utterly impossible, seems totally plausible.

As a side note, the spinoff series, Angel, had all of the wit and twists and humor of it's parent show. A vampire with a soul (ie conscience)...what can be more torturous!

I'd love to hear from anyone else who enjoyed the series as much as I did. And if you have any television shows about which you feel the same way.