The Growing Pains of Buffy the Vampire Slayer | BtVS Season 1 Review

UPDATE: The season 2 review is out! Go check it out. Link in the description! Hey! So this video blew up in a way I didn't expect (by the standards of my channel, anyway!). Thank you all for watching, it's really appreciated. It's an honor to have someone take time out of their day to listen to me ramble on. I've been trying to respond to everyone who comments, but it's getting to a point where it's not really feasible anymore, so I'm sorry if you don't get an answer - I AM doing my best to read everything, though. Since I'm writing and pinning this comment anyway, I figured I'd address a few points that have come up a lot -I say that Angel has killed Slayers before. This is just a mistake. I figured since Spike had done it and Angelus was portrayed as bigger and badder he must've had at least a few kills to his name, but he doesn't as far as we know. He HAS fought Slayers before, though, so my point about knowing Buffy would look like a normal teenager stands. -I AM planning to review every season of Buffy eventually. That said, this channel is always going to be about whatever catches my fancy, I'm not planning on going all-in on Buffy. -The Joss Whedon allegations are not just Whedon vs Charisma Carpenter. A variety of actors and behind-the-scenes people have come out against him, telling remarkably similar stories of a man who bullied, threatened and was generally awful to the people around him. You don't get this many people accusing you of misbehaving this badly without doing something very very wrong. Joss Whedon used to be a hero and inspiration of mine. I'm not lightly throwing him under the bus because of a he said-she said rumor, I was about as predisposed to give him the benefit of the doubt as you can be. There's simply no room for doubt. If you're scrolling down to post "but it's just all a rumor!" you can save us both time. You're wrong, full stop. -This one hasn't come up in comments, but I caught it while researching for the next video: I refer to the Kuzuis as "the Kuzui siblings". This is wrong - they're husband and wife, not siblings. -This also hasn't come up in comments, caught it while writing the second video: I mention David Greenwalt "Penned bangers like Homecoming and The Wish, and stinkers like Reptile Boy and Bad Eggs". This is wrong. He did write Homecoming and Reptile Boy, but The Wish and Bad Eggs were both written by Marti Noxon. I likely got this wrong because Greenwalt directed both of those episodes. Frankly pretty surprised no one (including me) caught this one until now, especially considering I put a list of Greenwalt's writing credits on screen right before I say this.

It's criminal SMG was never even nominated for an Emmy for her work on Buffy

Part of the beauty of the show is watching it grow cinematically and in storytelling.

The library scene is so powerful. The moment it gets to me is when Buffy asks "think it'll hurt?" It made the fantasy world all of a sudden feel very very real.

I'm sorry, but "...the largely unknown sitcom of The Nanny..." Bite your tongue, the Nanny is iconic.

I feel like a teenage boy having a crush on a girl because she's there and hot and then handling it poorly when she doesn't reciprocate is about as realistic and believable as it gets.

I would say the real closure on the crush theme is the touching scene before Xander and Anya's wedding where Buffy helps Xander with his bow-tie, the two of them solid, platonic friends who have literally been through Hell together by that point, able to laugh about how silly they both were in high school.

Anthony Stewart Head was quite frankly my favourite actor in the show, he played so many great parts and his performance in band candy had me creasing up so much I can still remember it to this day.

Personally I love the lower budget of season 1. Yes there are moments where its a big lackluster compared to later seasons, but their is a rawness that feels more real in many cases.

Season 6 was incredibly ahead of its time, that's why it is my favourite. It helped me a lot throughout high school. Top of the list in my opinion.

One of my favorite is The Pack. The reason is because some kids who suddenly end up in new friend groups learn bad behavior in those new packs. They torment other kids due to encouragement from the new friend circle. It’s mob mentality at its finest. Depending on the group of friends it will change the person from leaning towards something to embracing a behavior without care and worry of consequences.

Willow wasn't the only role that was recast after the Unaired Pilot. Principal Flutie was first played by character actor Stephen Tobolowsky.

Angel had also seen Buffy before the show started when she was first called as shown in Angel. And I don't recall Angel being known for killing Slayers, or were you confusing him with Spike who was definitely a known Slayer killer?

I may be wrong, but I don't recall any episode that talks about Angel having killed Slayers: Spike has killed two, and some narrative capital is made out of that. I can't help but feel that if Angel had done any Slayer slaying, we would have had some complication in his relationship with Buffy. By the same token, he definitely has been aware of Slayers and what they are, so you are correct: he would know they generally look like what they are: teenage girls.

Season 1 is my second favorite season, I love how it feels like a low budget horror from like Full Moon or something, and Buffy trying to balance a normal life and fighting supernatural stuff reminds me a lot of Spider-Man, more than the other seasons, and that’s really fun

PLEASE say you’ll be doing analyses like these for all the seasons I constantly crave buffy content and I can’t wait to hear more of your thoughts

My experience with Buffy was somewhat different than most people. I heard of the show and though the concept was rediculous. I was channel surfing and cam across The Witch right at the start of the show. I did not change the channel. I then missed all episodes until I Robot & The Puppet Show. From that point on it was appointment TV for me. This always creates some cognitive dissidence for me because of how disliked these episodes are. By Prohicy Girl it was my favorite show. From Reptile Boy I began recording and immediately rewatchiing each episode sa it aired, something I have never done for any other show.

The ending of season 1 is one of my favorites of the whole show, but I know so many people who didn't like it one bit! I'm so glad you agree! It's such a heart wrenching ending!

Please make more of these I need every season analyzed.

Personally 'The puppet show' is one of my favorites in S1 and maybe in the entire series among the 'monster of the week' ones