fajrdrako | Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Welcome to the Hellmouth (1x01)

Friends have been urging me to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer for years. None of them could believe I didn't watch it and didn't love it - especially since I am a big fan of Joss Whedon's writing from Firefly and The Astonishing X-Men.

So why did I not watch Buffy? All sorts of reasons, the primary one being an aversion to David Boreanaz, the secondary one being that the show was full of anorexic young girls weeping - or at least, that was the impression left on me after seeing dozens of Buffy music vids at various conventions over the years. I'd been told about the stories and characters, and I knew some plot points and developments, some of which made sense and most of which didn't. I already knew I was crazy over Spike and I really like Giles.

Finally a wonderful American friend sent me the DVDs of first season to watch, taking away my last excuse not to watch them ("I don't have any episodes") - and I settled down to see 1x01, "Welcome to the Hellmouth".

So. My thoughts:

The biggest surprise: I liked Buffy herself. I've never found Sarah Michelle Geller particularly attractive, but as Buffy, she has personality and charm. She has some of the traits of Veronica Mars, despite reminding me of Olivia Newton-John. This was important, since I feared I would have the same kind of problem with her as with David Boreanaz, just less acutely. Not so. I would venture to say that Buffy, as seen so far, is terrific. You can't imagine what a relief that is.

The DVD starts with "Seize the moment", and the phrase comes into the first episode. I love the line - it heads my New Year's resolutions. Yes! And I liked the way it was used in the story - Buffy's words of wisdom which lure Willow to her (near-) doom.

I liked the opening scenes with Darla and her victim-friend. I liked the way we were set up to think Darla was the victim, while it was the boy who ended up as prey. I didn't expect that. My hopes rose for the general quality of the show. Clever, smart, and with a certain self-referential humour that still took itself seriously.

Was that a glimpse of G'Kar among the opening credits?

The introduction of Cordelia. More of a cliché - do such girls really exist? Oddly, I didn't recognize Charisma Carpenter, whom I know well from Veronica Mars. She was so young.

Despite giving the impression of being petite, Sarah Michelle Geller has really huge breasts.

I don't like Buffy's mother. At all.

I fell in love with Willow pretty much on her first line.

Xander: too geeky to enjoy so far, too much a caricature, but he may grow on me. He reminds me of Logan Echolls on Veronica Mars - not that he's anything like the "obligatory psychotic moron" Logan started out as, but that he's an initially unprepossessing character whom (I suspect) will grow in stature. Or significance. Or something.

The Principal gave me the creeps. He was like a salesman. I hope he is a vampire and will be staked. Soon. I loved Buffy's stunned expression as he talks to her.

But this marks the point at which I pretty much fell in love with the whole show: when the principal points out that Buffy burned down the gym.

Okay, I'm easy, but how could I not adore that?

In the classroom scene, the teacher is talking, the bell rings, and everyone leaps up and runs out. Isn't that awfully rude? Was it badly cut? Do high school students in the States really act like that?

James Spader: spot on. But who is John Tesh?

Ah - Giles. Yes, of course I love him. What a lovely voice. What a cute smile. Is that a cage in his library? Of course, the whole Watcher thing reminds me of Highlander and of the Telamasca, which is not a bad thing in either case. Clearly Joss Whedon is another writer who steals from all sorts of sources, right, left, and centre, but he knows good material and takes what's good from it.

Is the girl's name really Aphrodisia? (Note to self: Steal that for my next pseudonym.)

Willow has a cute smile, too. I am smitten. "He was the curator at some British Museum, or the British Museum, I'm not sure." Awwww.

"I gotta book," said Buffy. What does that mean? And then, "What's the sitch?" which I would guess means, "What's the situation?" These people talk funny.

Good Cordelia line: "I don't want to interrupt your downward mobility...."

Good Buffy line: "I was afraid that I would have last month's hair."

Neiman Marcus: a department store, right? (I thought it was in New York, but that's probably because I think all good department stores are in New York.)

Buffy asks, "How bad an evil can there be here?" Why didn't Giles answer her? Isn't he her mentor? Maybe he figured he had already told her (he tried) and she hadn't listened, and wouldn't listen again. It does sound like famous last words in any case; Buffy shouldn't be so stupid.

"The Sleeper will wake." It's kind of fun, having a Sleeper awakening, in the same week in which I saw an episode of Torchwood called "Sleeper" and the Sleeper, of course, awoke. Since all my favourite TV shows are borrowing from each other and inspired by each other and playing mix and match with good words and phases, sometimes it seems as if everything is one huge beautiful crossover.

A brilliant line: "Slut. Watchtower." Hee! I like the sartorial choice that Buffy actually makes. Good dress sense, that girl, and she looks good in blue.

Angel. Huh. No, I don't like him at all, but he isn't quite as awful as I feared or remembered. I think I can bear to watch him. Maybe, like Owen Harper, he will grow on me.

And Angels says: "You gotta be ready." I laugh aloud.

And just as I was thinking uncharitable thoughts about how Angel isn't exactly in Captain Jack Harkness's league, he comes out with a great line:
Buffy: Who are you?
Angel: Let's just say... I'm a friend.
Buffy: Yeah, well, maybe I don't want a friend.
Angel: I didn't say I was yours.
Have I mentioned yet that I've fallen in love with this show?

I also love it when Angel tells her, "You are standing at the mouth of Hell." It should be so dorky, but it gave me a bit of a pleasurable chill. Was it his delivery? Or the ambience?

When Buffy climbs the pole to jump down on Angel, she reminded me of River Tam. This is good. I wouldn't want a wimpy Slayer.

In general, the exposition is rather deftly done. Never too much at once, and we're fairly quickly given the terminology and the set-up of Buffy's world. Without confusion.

Good Buffy line to Giles: "You're a textbook with arms. I get this." Yeah, I love Giles. I like the whole conversation about whether Buffy can or can't see and identify the vampire in the building.

Compared to the stuff I've been talking about, the vampires themselves really do seem hokey. Too bad. Though I like Darla's line, "I got hungry on the way." Seems odd that she, of all people, should be the one to remind me of Jayne Cobb.