Five Reasons to Love Buffy tVS

It has been decided that Thursdays will be set aside to impart thoughts related to the incredible universe of work that has been created by Joss Whedon.  I plan to go into a lot of detail about what makes the Whedonverse amazing, but most of it will begin and end with Buffy, with a smattering of other amazing things mixed in.   For a start, here are five main reasons why I, a "grown-up" can adore the same show now that I lived for in the 7th grade.  (All of which will be revisited someday soon for futher analysis.)

Reasons I Love Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I laugh in the face of danger,
then I hide until it goes away.

Xander- Xander has no special powers.  He isn’t going to take down powerful demons or cast spells.  The thing of it all, is that Xander is at the heart of the BTVS family.  You can’t overcome the bad without something to smile about. Xander is the everyman on the show, and he shows us that what we do matters.  We may be surrounded by cannibalistic hyenas, possessed mummies, or praying mantis ladies, but we can survive.  We might even be able to be hilarious while doing it. 

The Body- This is an episode where reality happens.  It's not really this particular episode that makes the top five, it's that this episode embodies what makes Buffy amazing- how Buffy is the most real television show.  In a world filled with death and apocalypse, it doesn’t count until it happens in front of you.  Then what?  Whedon, in his miraculous way, asks us to confront the reality of the deaths we watch on the screen each week.  Death, unlike the vampires and demons, is a monster in our world, and we can’t stake it.  We have to deal with it. And it sucks. 

Anya: Joyce will never have any more fruit punch, ever, and she'll never have eggs, or yawn or brush her hair, not ever, and no one will explain to me why.

Angel: You still my girl?
Buffy: Always.

Buffy & Angel- She’s cookie dough and she’s not done yet, but if she ever is, Angel’s her guy.  That’s how it works.  That doesn’t mean he’s the best guy, or the perfect guy, just that he’s hers.  They love each other. That doesn’t make everything okay.  That doesn’t mean they’ll live happily ever after.  Just that they love each other.   I was watching their relationship when I was thirteen, and I learned from them that it’s not always going to work out, but that's life, and it doesn’t make the love less real. 

 I don't want to be this good-looking and athletic.
We all have crosses to bear.

Spike- Who doesn't love Spike? He’s amazing from start to finish.  I just heard James Marsters speak at Dragon Con, and I believe his awesomeness trickled into Spike.  He makes a wonderful, unique baddie, and his character is always that of a lover.  Each step in his life is about who or what he loves, even as a monster.  That makes it so easy to love him.  It’s the heart on the sleeve effect, and it’s universal.  It helps that he is quippy, sexy, and intense.  Again, who doesn’t love Spike?

Buffy-  Buffy is so complicated.  She was just a cheerleader, then she became the savior of the world.  She wants to do the right thing, but sometimes the cost is so very high, and people come to expect so much from her.  You may not love her the most, or think she’s the funniest, and I believe few people choose her as their favorite character.  The thing is, she’s the most real and the most inspiring of them all.  Life sucks, but you have to deal with it.  Buffy models how and shows us by example how to fight back and how to deal.

Angelus: No weapons... no friends... no hope.
Take that all away and what's left?

Buffy: Me.

That's what dragged me into the world of Joss Whedon, and I've never really left. 

Stay Shiny!

Kristin