Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1: Episode 1: Welcome to Hellmouth Review

So I'm watching the Buffy and Angel series on Netflix, and figured I'd review each episode as well. I'm not a die-hard fanfic writing Buffynatic, but I did grow up watching it, and it influnced my thinking some. And I am a die-hard fan of Joss Whedon. And I like vampires and demons and such in general. SO here we go.......

The opening is a nice bit of a twist. You're expecting the couple to be attacked by someone else, but oh wait, one of them is a vampire and munches the other. The theme song still gets me pumped up and ready to vicariously kick some ass. I remember seeing this show for the first time when I was like 13 or so. Had a crush on Willow. This was also the first show I watched every day that wasn't a cartoon. So first time seeing a bit more sex and violence on TV. Not that I hadn't already seen plenty of it in movies at that point. Another influence on my life was the occult element. I had had a big interest in mythology, and video game level magic; but this show opened my eyes to the fact that there might actually be historical and modern magical happenings in the real world. Or at least people who thought so.

Completely forgot about the first principle. He doesn't last very long. Yay awkward teens. It's different being older than the characters, instead of the other way around. I see the dialog differently. It's still very witty. The mix of comedy, horror, drama, and great dialog is still refreshing. It seems that thousands of shows after Buffy tried to emulate it. I'm wondering if there were any shows before Buffy that maybe Whedon drew from? I wasn't really watching TV before this, besides cartoons.

Ah, Giles. The first time we see him is the first time we really stop ignoring librarians and history teachers. And the accent is oddly comforting, like we've known him forever when we just met. Buffy's first meeting with Williow, Xander, and Cordelia....memories. Buffy choosing Willow over Cordelia made me instantly like her. I liked Willow and Xander automatically. I was basically Xander as a teen, just you know...fatter, and more awkward. The first Sunny Dale high dead body. The first of thousands. How the hell did no officials ever wonder why all those people died there?

The first explanation of the Hellmouth. Aw, memories. All the major characters for the season are introduced in Episode 1. And most of them for the whole series, actually. The acting is good. No moving performances as of yet, but you actually believe these actors are their characters. And cue Angel. I like Angel's character, but I'm not in love with him like every girl and some guys I've talked to who like the show are. He's my third favorite character, after Spike and Willow. He's clearly influenced by Wolverine. And maybe Highlander. The guy who's lived hundreds of years and every girl is mesmerized by there charm and intelligence and/or their hint of danger and animilism.

Buffy's first staking and bad-assery. The first place anywhere I'd seen where a girl was the most bad-ass person there. She remains so up until Angel's first dark side moment. And then Spike shows up and everyone else pales in comparison.

Aw, the first time Xander and Willow learn there is more out there. And Darla...she's a bit annoying here, but I still enjoy her. And I love her character later in the Angel series. I think I knew as a kid that Jessie wasn't going to make it. Probably because he wasn't in the title sequence. Didn't really feel bad about him getting vamped. He was pretty one dimensional before that. Well, there's my review. A good show, but nothing to hint at the depth and character amazingness that come later.

Comedy: 08 Drama: 06 Suspense: 07 Story: 08 Dialog: 09 Uplifting: 01 Acting: 07 Special Effects: 06 Romance: 02 Horror: 05 Character: 08 Overall: 07

Director: Charles Martin Smith

Writers: Joss Whedon