REVIEW: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season One (Joss Whedon, 1997-8)

 Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), looking smug.

Formula defines the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a rigid formula that keeps the stories both reliable and occasionally stifled.  Fans of horror television probably know this formula well, since so many genre shows follow the rubric.  Kolchak, The X-Files, Millennium, Fringe.  Detectives chase monsters (figurative or otherwise), following breadcrumbs that inevitably make the conflict more personal (the monster attacks one of the heroes), forcing an action conclusion that ends with a tease of future threats.

On the one hand, it’s the nature of the beast.  Buffy is classic mystery narrative adapted to a medium in which “acts” must be quick and punctuated with twists.  On the other hand, this formula has become so pervasive in network television that it’s impossible to watch Buffy without feeling the weight of tradition.  For all the texture employed by Joss Whedon and his writers (the irreverent teen banter, the high school setting), Season One of Buffy the Vampire Slayer often feels restricted.

Eldritch abominations are always welcome. 

That’s not to say the show isn’t entertaining.  In point of fact, Whedon’s comedy deflates the lurking pomposity of recurring villains and keeps the high schoolers on the right side of angsty melodrama.  In “I Robot, You Jane,” Xander warns Buffy about how Willow’s falling for an anonymous stranger online, and they whip themselves into a frenzied paranoia, just before Buffy realizes:

Buffy: “Xander…we are totally overreacting.”
Xander: “But it’s fun, isn’t it?”

In addition to the welcome humor, the monsters cleverly reflect the anxieties of their heroes.  While a show like The X-Files offered compelling heroes, Mulder and Scully mostly came to blows for ideological reasons instead of personal ones.  Mulder ran in pursuit of the unknown, while Scully chastised him for ignoring the scientific process.  The beasts rarely affected Mulder and Scully past the threat of physical violence.

Willow (Alyson Hannigan) is my favorite.

Compare that to an episode from Buffy, “The Pack.”  While the episode is unusually cruel (hyena-possessed teens devour the school principal), the idea of outcast Xander joining a new clique, and alienating his friends, plays into not just general teenage anxieties, but Xander as a character.  Xander experiences popularity outside his group of misfits, with the caveat that he has to betray his compassion.  The “monster” becomes a way to study the protagonists.

Buffy’s first season improves as it goes, not just because of the humor, but because of how the creators refine their main characters and further shade side players like Cordelia and Angel.  Additionally, the stakes grow more potent with season finale (and standout) “Prophecy Girl,” which bravely closes the first run of episodes with optimism instead of a frustrating cliffhanger, leaving us with the image of likeable heroes earning a chance to rest.  Despite the growing pains, Whedon understands that the monsters draw us in, but the detectives keep us watching.

RATING: B