Buffy The Vampire Slayer

While a lot of people are giving thanks for their cornucopia of food and their loved ones this Thanksgiving holiday, I’ve decided to give thanks to those staples as well as something that has helped define me in more ways than I can muster. A show which drilled into my head that it was okay to be me and that the "hardest thing in this world is to live in it," a sentiment I carry with me to this day.

I’m talking about none other than Buffy the Vampire Slayer, folks.

The concept of a girl chosen from each generation to slay vampires and other forces of evil grabbed my attention at the age of 9. I had seen the trailer for the movie version starring Kristy Swanson and was immediately sold, but didn’t get a chance to see it in theaters. However, when the movie made its way to the video store, I became a regular customer to the point the employees at the place knew me by first name and was able to tell me if the video was in or not.

So my love for Buffy was set in stone before the television series was a reality or Joss Whedon was a household name. As a matter of fact, I remember seeing the first Buffy promos for The WB, which didn’t give the name of the show, only flashes of some crazy evil going down and closing with the warning "Get home before dark" at the end of each segment. It didn’t take much to deduct that Buffy was coming to TV and life was about to get better. Although, I had no clue on how much my life was about to change on March 10th, 1997.

Buffy dominated my teen years (I was 13 when it started) and careened over into the first semester of my college experience, indulging me the entire time on how to handle this crazy world we live in. Basically having a hand in "raising" me, BtVS, to some extent, helped expand my mind culturally, socially and philosophically in an environment where issues were seen in only black and white, with no room for any sort of probability in sight to offset the balance. In other words, I became aware that the world isn’t as simple as a lot of my peers, elders, and surroundings wanted me to believe. There’s a lot or ’gray’ in a world where there is no clear cut place to label everything and BtVS asked us to just deal with it and move on. I found myself to agree whole-heartedly on this concept as I learned to grasp it.

Growing up as a black male in a small, southern town, BtVS tended to serve as my window to the ’outer world,’ clearing the metaphorically murky path I was traveling on in my journey of growing up, trying to find my place in the world. The lessons the Scoobies learned, I applied to my own growing pains at the time, finding a sense of glee as the grotesquely masked themes clicked in my head where they remain to this day as I type this commentary. I still can’t believe how much this show has played a part in my life since it premiered over ten years ago in March 1997, which I will forever be thankful for. And it only gets better with time... So, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I am thankful of your existence and timeless contributions to your legion of fans across the world. Again, thank you for everything.

I could go into more detail on how Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Giles, Angel, Faith, and others changed my life, but you guys have plenty of food, family, friends, and games to enjoy today, so I won’t bother. However, I am curious to know what TV show are you thankful for and why? I’m eager to hear your selections.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving From Everyone Here At TVOvermind!!!