12 out of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Buffy: S1
SAI81 from from Tonbridge,
29th June, 2006
Buffy the Vampire Slayer began life as a not very good film starring never was Kristy Swanson as the cheerleader turned evil fighter. The idea was strong but the execution poor. Five years on came this TV series created by the film's writer Joss Whedon and it was on the small screen that Buffy found its feet. The first season is comprised of just twelve episodes as the series replaced another that was cancelled mid run (a fate that would later befall Whedon's wonderful show Firefly) and while many of the elements that eventualy made Buffy perhaps the finest TV show of the last decade are in place but of course there is much struggling to get things right. Whedon's script for the two hour pilot 'Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest' gets things off to a fine start setting the tone well and striking the balance between getting out the exposition, an event packed narrative and setting out the black comic tone of the show beautifully. Even this early the characters are well drawn though obviously they're broader than they would become with evolution over the show's run. The season one episodes are a mixed bag. Stand outs include Never Kill a Boy on the First Date which sees Buffy attempt to mix slaying and dating, I, Robot... You, Jane which gives centre stage to the wonderful Alyson Hannigan for the first time. The Puppet Show has some wonderful writing, never quite going where you think it will and is also among the funniest episodes. Nightmares is similarly inventive, showing a willingness to play with the form of the show which would go much further in subsequent years. It is, however, the season closer Prophecy Girl, the directorial debut of creator Joss Whedon which is the real stand out episode. The writing in this episode is truly spectacular, you'll get choked up by Sarah Michelle Gellar's pivotal speech 'I'm 16 years old, I don't want to die' and plot development will put your heart in your mouth as, whatever its strengths and weaknesses, this season does allow you to develop strong feelings for the characters. That, of course, is not entirely about the writing, much credit is due a fine cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar was perfectly cast as Buffy and right from the off she's tremendous in the role showcasing a dramatic ability that she's not seemed able to transfer to other characters which comes to fruition in Prophecy Girl. Nicholas Brendon and Alyson Hannigan are mostly library bound for this series but both exhibit fine comic timing and a way with the dialogue (Xander's reaction to being turned down by Buffy 'I'm going to go home and listen to country music... the music of pain') and both get episodes in which they take centre stage and though both are great in those episodes it is Hannigan's turn in I, Robot... You, Jane which sticks in the mind because the episode is better than the Xander-centric The Pack. Last of the key quartet is Anthony Stewart Head as Giles. He's more overtly British in this season and less help in a fight than he'd grow to be but Head manages to get the expository dialogue which usualy falls to him out and he too has a nice line in comic timing. Not all the episodes are up to scratch. The Pack, Teachers Pet and Out of Mind Out of Sight all feel like they need a rewrite and it's this patchiness as well as the one note character and performance of Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia and the woodenness of David Boreanaz' Angel that mean this first installment of Buffy doesn't get a higher grade but it is still very much the recommended starting point for anyone new to this excellent show
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