Buffy The Vampire Slayer

This is my first time rewatching the first season of Buffy since 2002, when I was working on the second edition of my Bite Me book. That was a LONG time ago. I didn’t have kids back then, and I was still in my 20s. Ah... Those were the days. Bite Me was first released in 1998 with just the first two seasons in it, and then again in 2002 with the first six (and finally the complete “Chosen” edition came out in 2007 with all of the seasons). The books were all well reviewed, but I received one criticism over and over again: I was too harsh on Joyce, Buffy’s mother. I remember watching the show and finding her very ineffectual. She was too caught up in her own life and not noticing the immense trials and pain her daughter was going through. It’s not like she had three children, she just had one. She wasn’t taking into consideration that her daughter was dealing with losing her father after he’d run off and left them (more on that in future episodes, for those watching for the first time), and there are many scenes where she simply refuses to listen to Buffy. Now, I’m going to stand behind some of my thoughts in those upcoming scenes, but I have to admit, I watched these first few episodes very differently this time. Now I watch her as a calm, collected mother, who’s dealing with a daughter who, for all she knows, is a troublemaker who burned down her school’s gym. Her husband has just left her for someone else, and she’s alone and trying to make a go of it in a new town, with a new job, and desperately holding on to the hope that her daughter won’t eff this one up. She tries to stay calm with Buffy, but it usually backfires.

In “The Witch,” there’s a scene where Buffy trounces into the kitchen and talks about her tryouts, while her mom is too busy trying to open some crates to even pay attention to her. When Buffy asks her, “Mom, what am I trying out for?” Joyce pauses, closes her eyes, and admits she has no idea. I remember watching that and, while not condemning Joyce, thinking it was too bad that she couldn’t pay more attention to her daughter. But now I find I do the same things, that I’m busily working overtime every evening while my six-year-old is trying to talk to me, saying things like, “That’s great, honey, but Mommy REALLY needs to get this thing done quickly and then I’ll have LOTS of time to talk to you tomorrow!” and tomorrow never seems to come. Parents beat themselves up and are filled with guilt, and Joyce does that, too. In the scene at the end of The Witch, when Joyce comes into Buffy’s room and says she’s decided she simply doesn’t understand Buffy and isn’t meant to, I used to think that was a cop-out... it’s clear what’s wrong with Buffy, why can’t she see it? I thought. But now I can see why Joyce thinks that.

Maybe Buffy is a great parenting tool – by watching the show from Buffy’s perspective, you understand why she’s frustrated with Joyce all the time, and you can see what Joyce SHOULD have done in the scene. At the same time, watch it from Joyce’s perspective and you’ll see how confusing Buffy can be to her. Perhaps parents and children should all be watching this show together! But in any case, I’ve wronged you, Joyce. And for that, I’m truly sorry.

Watching these first episodes again, I’m immediately in love with the show all over again. I’ve created an army of Buffy converts over the years — my DVDs (and before that, VHS tapes) are well worn and well loved — but with each one I usually hand out the same caveat, and I’ll say it to the new viewers here now: get through season 1. At times it’ll seem a little monster-of-the-week, but the seeds of the series are there, and once you get into the gorgeous storyline of season 2 you’ll be swept away. I defy anyone to get to the Surprise/Innocence combo and stop watching.

That said, if you’re REwatching it, as I am, watching season 1 is an absolute joy. The dialogue is still crisp and sharp, the ensemble cast is wonderful (there are a few hiccups in the beginning but they get past them quickly), the relationships between characters are evident from the beginning.

I started this blog in 2006, when Buffy had been off the air for three years and Lost was heading into its third season. Which means... I’ve never gotten to blog on a Buffy episode! So this rewatch is as exciting for me as anyone else who will be guest commentating over the next year. I’ve decided I’m going to format my commentary the same way I did my weekly Lost observations, but on the weeks where I’m not the primary commentator (which will be only six weeks over the year!) I’ll offer a quick take and let the guest commentator take over. You’ll see below that I’ll put the spoilery bits after each episode (and render them invisible to anyone who doesn’t want to look at them). So if this is your first time watching the show, don’t highlight those sections and you’ll remain spoiler-free.

So, onto my observations for the first three episodes! Some of this might double what I said in my book, but since I haven’t reread my book, I can’t remember what I wrote there.

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