10. The spin-off Angel … especially the last season. NO one can top any character like the empathic, precognitive Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, aka Lorne, born in the demonic dimension Pylea, or the Doom and Gloom of Illyria, one of the legendary Old Ones, an original pure demon
who was the most feared of all the Old Ones and ruled from her citadel (Vahla ha’nesh) in modern day Los Angeles.
9. Not everything that happens in Sunnydale is because of the presence of the Hellmouth … It seems like everything in Smallville happens because of kryptonite, which got old quick, but is something the writers never seem to outgrow. While some explanations are attributed to the Hellmouth, there are simply mystical forces, good and evil, that dwell in the world.
8. The stories get more adult as Buffy and the Scooby Gang gets older, in effect you are growing up with her and her friends … The series deals with very real issues that teenagers and young adults go through, but put into a supernatural context, and is a metaphor for real life that nearly anyone can relate to.
7. No character is safe from the cold embrace of death, which could strike at any time … Buffy creator Joss Whedon has killed off many major characters including Buffy herself. One episode in particular “The Body” completely affected me and everyone I know that was a fan of the show. It was about dealing with a parent’s death and was handled very realistically.
6. Once More with Feeling! … What other show can do a musical episode with silly songs and dancing and still be one of the turning points for that season, where plotlines all come together and leads the rest of that season on a very dark path.
5. Hush … At least half of the episode was without dialogue and relied on the background music and the acting. The Gentlemen, the villains in the episode, are the closest Buffy has ever gotten to capturing the feel of a classic horror villain. Also, Hush is the only episode to be nominated for Best Writing in a Drama Series for the 2000 Emmy Awards.
4. Great Villains
Season 1 … The Master, ancient vampire trapped inside the Hellmouth (actually he is pretty lame but it did get better from there).
Season 2 … Lovesick Spike, Insane seer Drusilla, and eventually Angel, Buffy’s first love and vampire with a soul who falls from grace and reverts back to his evil incarnation, Angelus.
Season 3 … Faith the renegade Slayer and the Mayor Richard Wilkins III, a family man with an aversion to swearing, he nearly always wore a smile on his face yet on a path to true evil and power.
Season 4 … Adam, a government-created bio-mechanical demonoid with messianic delusions.
Season 5 … Glory, a goddess banished from a hell dimension searching for the means to return to her reality.
Season 6 … the Trio, a group of nerds and outcasts with aspirations of villainy, as well as Willow herself, who became grief stricken and insane with enough power to bring about the end of the world.
Season 7 … The First Evil, a non-corporeal entity with hordes of creatures at its command with the intention of ending the entire line of potential Slayers. The mythos behind the creatures that Buffy battles is quite entertaining and well thought out.
3. Anya … The Vengeance Demon turned human, turned demonic then back to human. The tendency to speak whatever was on her mind, her obsession with sex, and her greed was brilliant, but especially check out her reaction to death in the episode, the Body. It explains a lot about her demeanor.
2. Willow … Her transformation throughout the series is amazing: her breakup with Oz the werewolf, which leads to the discovery of her homosexuality to her evolution as a powerful witch. Watch the end of Season 6 and tell me Willow couldn’t take on the Charmed Ones.
1. Spike … First I must say that even as a vampire he was pretty unique. Despite his lack of a soul, he was able to feel emotions very deeply, like love (though twisted of course). Now his evolution from bad guy to de-fanged vampire (the government put a chip in his brain that prevented him from attacking humans) to traitor to his own kind (he discovered that while he couldn’t attack humans, other vampires and demons were able to feel his wrath) to lunatic vampire with a soul (watching him act as crazy as Drusilla was awesome) to hero makes him one of the most interesting characters in the entire Buffyverse.
Note … In both Buffy and Angel series, the main characters of the show were not the primary focus of character development and it is the supporting characters that go from one dimensional archetypes to actual people that you begin to feel for and actually care about.
As a longtime Buffyhead, I have to agree with almost all of your list. In particular, “Once More with Feeling” and “The Body” are my two favorite episodes, and Willow and Spike are hands-down the best characters.
I have to disagree somewhat with your note at the end, though. It is true that the supporting characters in Buffy were more interesting and multidimensional than Buffy herself, but I would argue that that was at least partly because some of the other actors were simply better than Gellar, who has never really gotten past her roots as a soap opera actress. Angel, however, was very much about Angel’s character, and he goes through quite a lot and, I would argue, changes because of it. The return of Darla and the subsequent birth of Angel’s son had a significant impact on him, as did his son’s return as a teenager. So, too, did Angel’s time in a box at the bottom of the ocean, his time in Pylea, the death of his friend Doyle, and his complicated feelings toward Cordelia. You could argue that he didn’t go through a dramatic transformation like Willow becoming gay, Wesley becoming hard-boiled and bitter, Cordelia becoming less of a snob, etc.; but he went through a lot, and it always seemed to me that the show Angel was centered more on the character Angel than Buffy was on the character Buffy.
Finally, I have to point out your one glaring omission: Giles. Buffy could have come off as a bit too silly, especially in the first couple of seasons, if it weren’t for Giles. He gave the show its footing, he grounded it–and the other characters–when all around him was chaos. In the last couple of seasons, his relationship with Buffy was very touching as he essentially filled-in for her absent father. He was there for all of her rights of passage, from first love (and killing said love) to prom to graduation to losing her mother. Giles was the bedrock upon which Joss built this wonderful show, and you should be ashamed of yourself for not giving him a prominent place on your list. For shame!
Comment by Slayve — April 17, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
Wow, Slayve, that was one helluva comment! Very informative and insightful. But know, our own Kevin of Nine would never seek to shame the Buffyverse.
It’s all Buffy love!
Comment by Evie Nine DeNine — April 17, 2006 @ 3:23 pm
Actually you’re right I should be ashamed of myself for not mentioning Giles, but as far as Angel goes, the characters around Angel were far more interesting than Angel himself. He always begins to grow with some event that happens to him, which almost always ends badly, which always causes him to revert to the moody, silent brooding character that he was even on Buffy.
Comment by Kevin of Nine — April 17, 2006 @ 5:59 pm
for some reasons the gods of the universe dont want me to write I heart Spike, but thats ok, it was a secret anyways :)~
Comment by Sugar Tank — April 18, 2006 @ 1:31 pm
Well, the main reason that Buffy Slays is Joss of course, it’s all Joss. He’s forever my pet genuis writer.
Comment by lap — April 20, 2006 @ 8:58 am
Let’s not forget the incredible Amy Acker. Fred was adorable but you never thought of Amy as a good actress until Ilyria took over Fred’s body. Fred’s death and Ilyria’s subsequent inclusion to the group was one of the highlights in the history of both shows.
Comment by ZombieGirl — April 20, 2006 @ 4:09 pm
That is totally true, she came off as if she was playing her self when she was Fred, but as soon as she became Illyria, she had awesome cosmic lines like “I lived seven lives at once I was God to the gods, God-king of the Primordium”. The most intense was when Illyria assumed Fred’s mannerisms, and was going back and forth between personalities, that was a true testament to Amy Acker’s acting ability.
Comment by Kevin of Nine — April 21, 2006 @ 5:29 am
I was thinking about it and I have to say, Angel did actually grow during the show. He gained like a few pounds an episode every season starting the third season. Notice by season 5 they wouldn’t even show him without a shirt. How can they explain that, too much pig’s blood?
Comment by Kevin of Nine — April 21, 2006 @ 5:38 am
Nice, too much pig’s blood. I noticed his thickening, as well. It seems that he did, too, because he seems slimmer on his new show, Bones. And I have to totally agree about Fred/Illyria; but then, I’m rather biased because I always fall for the cute geek girl. Willow! Btw, did anyone notice Amy Acker is on Alias now? And Charisma Carpenter is on Veronica Mars. In fact, Joss himself had a funny cameo on Mars as a weird car rental guy. It’s always nice to see Joss’s actors get work after his shows are cancelled.
Comment by Slayve — April 21, 2006 @ 12:15 pm
kevin u spoken like a true hippie
Comment by theseus — April 22, 2006 @ 4:30 am
Angel was my fav between the 2 shows and Illyria was by far my most favorite character! 2 b honest, i never really liked fred- till she became the powerful “blue thunder” she was intrigueing, hell hath no fury like a powerful old one. it was nice 2 see someone more powerful and more interesting then the main character, and especialy someone who used to be a nervous, skinny little bookworm. Amy Acker really showed she can act, there isn’t 2 much of that in TV shows.
Comment by whitley — June 3, 2006 @ 11:42 pm
Id say buffy is one of the great top 10 shows to exist id go for a long explanation but im going to my girlfriends
Comment by Bat Geek — July 22, 2006 @ 4:45 pm