During quarantine, some started baking, others started knitting and I started binge-watching. One of the first shows I started was the hit 90s series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Affectionately called BTVS by fans, the show first aired in 1997. BTVS, a series spin-off of a movie by the same name, chronicles the adventures of 15-year-old Buffy Summers along with her closest friends Xander and Willow. She’s your regular California valley girl, except instead of after-school hijinks she slays demons in her spare time.
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and created by Marvel’s Avengers director Joss Whedon, the show quickly gained a massive following, garnering a staggering six million views during its peak. The show even spawned spin-offs of its own like the hit show Angel and even an unaired animated version. Paving the way for other female-centered teen scream genre stories like Jennifer’s Body, The Vampire Diaries and even adult shows like True Blood this series’ impact can’t be stated enough.
Here are 10 thoughts I had while bingeing the first four seasons of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
- The fashion is amazing. Also, did kids in the 90s really get dressed up to go to school every day? Probably not.
- I know I’m not supposed to like the mean girl, but the way she *gathers* everyone, even the faculty, is truly awe-inspiring.
- I thought the Librarian was going to be creepy… He’s wholesome!
- Xander is the most 90s name imaginable.
- The humor is a little dated. From Xander making sexist jokes to Buffy rolling her eyes at a Lesbian Alliance banner, at times the series, shows its age. But if anything it serves as a reminder of how far primetime television and pop culture has come.
- How old is Buffy?
- Oh, 15.
- How old is Angel???
- Buffy is a little boy obsessed, very few conversations, if they’re not about the ~mystic arts~, pass the Bechdel Test. Even so, the show has a whole host of female characters who are strong in their own way. From shy but super smart Willow, to even Buffy’s mom each character is their own person.
- Buffy is no MarySue. She’s super strong but isn’t afraid to ask for help when she needs it. She captures the spirit of normal teenagers by being obsessed with frivolous things like popularity, pimples and clothes, but balances those aspects with her supernatural knack for crime-fighting.
I would definitely recommend this show to anyone willing to watch. If you can get past the corny 90s CGI and some of the less tactful jokes, the show truly is a gem. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of the first representations of women leading supernatural shows. BTVS is truly a cultural touchstone and is even inspiring costumes almost 23 years later.