September 2005

Warning: before the review for season five begins, I’m feeling the need to tell you a little story on how my summer fling with Buffy came about. If you think such personal touches are bullshit, then feel free to skip ahead a few paragraphs. But know that by doing so you’re a bunch of heartless bitches!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 5
Custom Rating

So I got into Buffy almost by accident. A friend of mine was having a “Buffy Party” and I went mainly for the people, the booze, and the food (not necessarily in that order). I figured if I had to see some of that dumb show that I had purposely avoided all these years, the beer could always numb the pain. Well, we started off by playing the Buffy board game (which I kinda thought was lame) and as I am no stranger to geeky obsessions and even geekier people, I went along with it even though I had no idea who in the hell Xander was or what on earth a Hellmouth could be.

After a few adult beverages and the two-part series opener flashing before my eyes, I began to see that there was perhaps something to this little teenage comedy/drama with demons and vampires and things. I borrowed the first season DVD set from the host and started watching. After three episodes I was hooked. Soon after this I could be found sheepishly admitting to my friends that the reason they hadn’t seen me a week was because I’d been holed up in my room watching Buffy and the gang dust vamps and go through many apocalypses together (what exactly is the plural of “apocalypse” anyway?). Not too long after that I could be found proclaiming to anyone who would listen that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best goddamn show that had ever been on TV. Period.

My friends still think I’m nuts.

Anyway, after watching the first season I devoured the next five in a matter of about a month, mainly borrowing the DVDs from obsessed friends and even actually purchasing the fifth season when no copy was available to borrow. So here I stand, a Buffy convert, nearly a year after the fact. I still haven’t seen the seventh season and the only one I own is still that fifth. Too bad it’s a fairly week season, even though it contains a few outstanding episodes and some events that are very important in leading up to what I believe is the best (season six).

And that’s what brings me to this review. I was chosen for season five because that’s the only one I have easy access to. Well, it’s time to dust it off (literally) and give my interpretation of what happened in the weird and wacky world of Buffy during that time:

HEARTLESS BITCHES START READING HERE!

Season Five continues in the transitional vein of the fourth, with a growing sense of doom and morbidity that leads up to the extremely gut-wrenching sixth season. As we watch the relationships of Willow & Tara and Xander & Anya grow, Buffy and Riley’s relationship begins to unravel (which is fine by me because I think that Riley really sucks). The still-chipped Spike goes from trying to kill Buffy to falling in love with her. Giles and the gang take over the magic shop and Willow becomes more skilled at being a witch. Warren makes his first appearance in a rather bad episode about a robot girl who has travelled a long distance to find him. Joyce dies and leaves Buffy shattered. All of these things are the beginnings of important plot points that rear their ugly heads in season six.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind about season five is the arrival of Dawn. I don’t think I’ve experienced a more “What the fuck?” moment on TV than when Buffy suddenly has a little sister at the end of the rather dumb “Buffy Vs. Dracula” episode that opened up the season. What actually pissed me off a bit was how during the next few episodes the characters acted like Dawn had always been around but we just somehow didn’t know she was around. My intelligence felt truly insulted as I watched these episodes in disbelief, thinking that they had actually committed one of the dumbest crimes in television history. Well, when it was finally revealed that everyone’s memories of Dawn were planted by those wacky monks from centuries before and that Dawn had only existed from the moment that us viewers met her, I realized that Joss and company had pulled off one of the more clever events in TV history.

The main story arc of season five concerns Dawn being the “key” and Glory trying to use her to bring about the end of the world. So the character of Dawn actually ends up serving a purpose rather than just being a young cute face to keep the kiddies watching the show. After finding out the Dawn was “planted” to bring about the apocalypse, Buffy’s love for her actually grows to the point where she is even willing to give up her own life in order to save Dawn’s. Buffy won’t accept the idea that Dawn must die in order to stave off the end of the world and turns inward for an answer. Buffy has spent the entire season seeking the true meaning of being a slayer and finds it by dying in order to save the world from destruction.

Buffy’s death is undoubtedly a big moment in the series. Not only does it bring forth the most noble and important qualities of the slayer, it paves the way for the complete horror and emptiness that Buffy feels when she is ripped from heaven and forced to live again in misery on Earth in season six. Also, Buffy’s death has a rather large impact on Angel in the first few episodes of that show’s third season. It’s a rather neat world that Whedon has created and the interplay of characters and shows is sometimes staggering.

Even though there are rather stupid episodes like the Dracula one and the episode with the Buffybot, every episode has at least one important event in it that warrants a viewing. The weaknesses are more than made up for in the episode “The Body” (a rather horrifying and beautiful episode in which Buffy finds her mom dead in their living room and struggles to cope with the situation), one of the best episodes of the season and of the entire series. While it is not the best year of the show by any stretch of the imagination, season five is still an important part of the Buffy story and is essential viewing for any fan.

More transitional Buffy that leads up to the almighty and powerful Season Six!!!

Warning: before the review for season five begins, I’m feeling the need to tell you a little story on how my summer fling with Buffy came about. If you think such personal touches are bullshit, then feel free to skip ahead a few paragraphs. But know that by doing so you’re a bunch of heartless bitches!
So I got into Buffy almost by accident. A friend of mine was having a “Buffy Party” and I went mainly for the people, the booze, and the food (not necessarily in that order). I figured if I had to see some of that dumb show that I had purposely avoided all these years, the beer could always numb the pain. Well, we started off by playing the Buffy board game (which I kinda thought was lame) and as I am no stranger to geeky obsessions and even geekier people, I went along with it even though I had no idea who in the hell Xander was or what on earth a Hellmouth could be.
After a few adult beverages and the two-part series opener flashing before my eyes, I began to see that there was perhaps something to this little teenage comedy/drama with demons and vampires and things. I borrowed the first season DVD set from the host and started watching. After three episodes I was hooked. Soon after this I could be found sheepishly admitting to my friends that the reason they hadn’t seen me a week was because I’d been holed up in my room watching Buffy and the gang dust vamps and go through many apocalypses together (what exactly is the plural of “apocalypse” anyway?). Not too long after that I could be found proclaiming to anyone who would listen that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the best goddamn show that had ever been on TV. Period.
My friends still think I’m nuts.
Anyway, after watching the first season I devoured the next five in a matter of about a month, mainly borrowing the DVDs from obsessed friends and even actually purchasing the fifth season when no copy was available to borrow. So here I stand, a Buffy convert, nearly a year after the fact. I still haven’t seen the seventh season and the only one I own is still that fifth. Too bad it’s a fairly week season, even though it contains a few outstanding episodes and some events that are very important in leading up to what I believe is the best (season six).
And that’s what brings me to this review. I was chosen for season five because that’s the only one I have easy access to. Well, it’s time to dust it off (literally) and give my interpretation of what happened in the weird and wacky world of Buffy during that time:
HEARTLESS BITCHES START READING HERE!

Season Five continues in the transitional vein of the fourth, with a growing sense of doom and morbidity that leads up to the extremely gut-wrenching sixth season. As we watch the relationships of Willow & Tara and Xander & Anya grow, Buffy and Riley’s relationship begins to unravel (which is fine by me because I think that Riley really sucks). The still-chipped Spike goes from trying to kill Buffy to falling in love with her. Giles and the gang take over the magic shop and Willow becomes more skilled at being a witch. Warren makes his first appearance in a rather bad episode about a robot girl who has travelled a long distance to find him. Joyce dies and leaves Buffy shattered. All of these things are the beginnings of important plot points that rear their ugly heads in season six.

Of course the first thing that comes to mind about season five is the arrival of Dawn. I don’t think I’ve experienced a more “What the fuck?” moment on TV than when Buffy suddenly has a little sister at the end of the rather dumb “Buffy Vs. Dracula” episode that opened up the season. What actually pissed me off a bit was how during the next few episodes the characters acted like Dawn had always been around but we just somehow didn’t know she was around. My intelligence felt truly insulted as I watched these episodes in disbelief, thinking that they had actually committed one of the dumbest crimes in television history. Well, when it was finally revealed that everyone’s memories of Dawn were planted by those wacky monks from centuries before and that Dawn had only existed from the moment that us viewers met her, I realized that Joss and company had pulled off one of the more clever events in TV history.

The main story arc of season five concerns Dawn being the “key” and Glory trying to use her to bring about the end of the world. So the character of Dawn actually ends up serving a purpose rather than just being a young cute face to keep the kiddies watching the show. After finding out the Dawn was “planted” to bring about the apocalypse, Buffy’s love for her actually grows to the point where she is even willing to give up her own life in order to save Dawn’s. Buffy won’t accept the idea that Dawn must die in order to stave off the end of the world and turns inward for an answer. Buffy has spent the entire season seeking the true meaning of being a slayer and finds it by dying in order to save the world from destruction.

Buffy’s death is undoubtedly a big moment in the series. Not only does it bring forth the most noble and important qualities of the slayer, it paves the way for the complete horror and emptiness that Buffy feels when she is ripped from heaven and forced to live again in misery on Earth in season six. Also, Buffy’s death has a rather large impact on Angel in the first few episodes of that show’s third season. It’s a rather neat world that Whedon has created and the interplay of characters and shows is sometimes staggering.

…

Buffy Season Five (Complete with wacky rememberances!)Read More »

Great individual episodes stand out in Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Themes of disconnection, life’s changes, and evolving relationships occur throughout the season and the main story arc examines the idea of science versus magic in the Buffy universe.  New characters as well as the return of old friends set up a season that although is one of the weakest, provides some individual great moments and lays the groundwork for themes and stories that will be explored through the end of Season Seven.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 4
Custom Rating

Great individual episodes stand out in Season Four of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Themes of disconnection, life’s changes, and evolving relationships occur throughout the season and the main story arc examines the idea of science versus magic in the Buffy universe.  New characters as well as the return of old friends set up a season that although is one of the weakest, provides some individual great moments and lays the groundwork for themes and stories that will be explored through the end of Season Seven.

The Slayer does not walk in this world

Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and Oz (Seth Green) have graduated high school and moved onto college at UC Sunnydale.  Xander (Nicholas Brendon) returns home after a summer of misadventure to live in his parents basement and try and understand his relationship with Anya (Emma Caulfield ).  New faces abound as Buffy gets a new beau in undercover soldier Riley Finn (Marc Blucas ), Willow begins a new stage in her life with Tara (Amber Benson), and an entire army appears underneath the campus known simply as the Initiative. The theme of science versus magic will be explored throughout the season as the government run Initiative delves into the world of the supernatural and tries to harness the power for new weapons, the last of which, a human/demon/cyborg called Adam (George Hertzberg), will bring down the fall of the Initiative and threaten the safety of Sunnydale.  Buffy will need to reunite the Scoobies, who have moved further and further apart during the year, to stop Adam and once again save the day.

Adam

Where Season Three played on graduation and completion of a stage of life, this season focuses mostly about being in a new world and trying to find your place in it. Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and Xander both begin to feel useless to the group, Buffy struggles with fitting in at college and trying to live in Riley’s world, Willow deals with the heartbreaking betrayal and abandonment of Oz and goes through an emotional upheaval and onto a new relationship with Tara, and Spike (James Marsters) is neutered to the point that he can no longer hurt humans and is forced to ask the Scoobies for help.

The season is something of a mixed bag. The Initiative storyline never really reaches the level of other Buffy season arcs.  If you like the final battle sequence between Buffy and Adam in Primeval you might want to rummage through your local comic shop as it’s stolen from an Alan Moore book called Promethea.  Aside from the main arc we do get some very good stand alone episodes.

Hush

Language can often get in the way of communicating, trying to say what you actually want to express.  For twenty-five minutes no one speaks in this episode as the entire population of Sunnydale is rendered without speech by the Gentlemen.  It’s a great stand alone episode, but at the same time the style is used to push plot and story.  Xander is finally able to express how he feels about Anya, and Riley and Buffy finally stop dancing around the issue and kiss.  The Gentlemen and their straightjacket wearing servants are creepy villains and the score greatly adds to the feel.  Also worth noting is this episode introduces the character of Tara.

Superstar

Jonathan Superstar

A creature is terrorizing Sunnydale and Buffy and the Scoobies call on Jonathan (Danny Strong) to help.  Jonathan?  A very nice stand alone episode where Jonathan has altered reality to his will making himself a paragon, the best of all things.  The episode also is important because it is Jonathan who heals the wounds Faith caused in the Buffy / Riley relationship and Jonathan who comes up with the source of Adam’s power.  Cool moments abound here, I especially like Jonathan’s performance at the Bronze and all the specially created product placements and advertisements for our new hero.

This Year’s Girl / Who Are You?

Faith (Eliza Dushku) awakes from her coma and seeks revenge against Buffy for taking everything away from her.  It’s great to see Dushku return to reprise her role in this two-parter where Faith switches bodies with Buffy and takes over Buffy’s life.  Suberb acting by both actresses.  The conclusion of the story takes place in Season One of Angel.

Restless Slayer

Restless

Whedon’s finale is an out of body dream sequence that explores the different characters subconscious as they are hunted by the force of thePrimitive (Sharon Ferguson), the first Vampire Slayer, they called on to help them defeat Adam.  Some really cool stream of consciousness stuff here.  The episode also sets up Season Five, Buffy’s need to come to an understanding what being a Slayer means, and the coming of Dawn.

Season Four gives us some nice extra features.  We get featurettes about Spike and Oz, an interview with set designer Carey Meyer and a look at the sets of Sunnydale, original scripts, and commentary for an amazing seven episodes.  There is a short documentary about the making of Hush as well.  My favorite extra is the featurette which examines the use of music in Buffy.  We are given a look and listen to the theme song and the use of score throughout the season and discussing Anthony Stewart Head’s performances of Freebird and Behind Blue Eyes as well as his singing an exposition song written by Whedon in another episode.  Some really good extras that help round out this set.

Season Four is my least favorite of all seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  The problem arises in the main story arc – Science vs Magic.  It’s an interesting idea that could have been explored in one or two episodes, but the theme is drawn out over the season as the government starts to interfere in Buffy’s world.  The villain of Adam is one of the least interesting of the series and I give the season bad marks for introducing the much hated character of Riley Finn to the Whedonverse.  Also we get some of the worst written shows of the series such as Beer Bad, The Freshman, and Where the Wild Things Are.

That having been said, a less than brilliant season of Buffy is like coming in fourth at the Olympics – still pretty damn good.  There are still numerous reasons to check out these episodes as they lay the foundation for all the seasons to follow.  There are some great individual episodes, some great building blocks and development of these beloved characters, and some pretty cool extras including the commentary and the featurettes.

The series breaks down into two blocks: the high school years (Seasons 1 – 3) and the adult years (Seasons 5 – 7).  This season is all about not belonging to either world and rediscovering your place, making new realtionships, struggling to keep old relationships, and moving onto a new world.

Buffy’s final year in high school ends with a bang (in more ways then one).  We get a new slayer, a new watcher, and a politician that’s even more evil than you would expect.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Season 3
Custom Rating

After a summer in Los Angeles, and a brief trip to a hell dimension, Buffy returns to Sunnydale to once again take up her destiny as “she who hangs out in cemeteries”, reconnects with her friends, and kick some serious ass.  There are a few stumbling blocks in the way.  The first is the arrival of a new Slayer who’s carefree attitude and enjoyment of the kill will cause problems.  The second is the unexplained and unexpected return of Angel, Buffy’s one true love who was last seen as Buffy plunged a sword deep into his chest sending him to hell in order to save the world.

I’m Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.  And you are?

After the fallout from Season Two, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Geller) is hiding in Los Angeles and waiting tables.  Finally she is forced to confront her destiny and return to Sunnydale and try and put her life back together. Just as she has reclaimed her life Faith (Eliza Dushku), the new Vampire Slayer, arrives and creates all kinds of new havoc for our heroine.  Faith is a wild card ; she relishes in the power, the chase, and the kill. Faith’s style clashes with Buffy’s need to analyze the situation. The friendship is further strained when it is discovered that Angel (David Boreanaz) is alive and Buffy has been hiding him.  Faith’s actions get more and more erratic to the point where she accidentally kills a human being. Unable to deal with the situation, Faith moves further down her dark path as she decides to throw her fate in with the Mayor ofSunnydale.  Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener) created the town over a hundred years ago as part of his plan to ascend and become a full demon.  Buffy and the Scooby gang must now try to stop the Mayor’s ascension, and Buffy must face Faith as well.

Ask most Buffy fans which is their favorite season and many will put this one high on the list. It is one of the tightest and best written seasons that explores the dynamic of Buffy and of Faith and what it means to be a Slayer. Thedichotomy is well played out and the pay off is huge as Slayer is pitted against Slayer. The writers are also clever in exploring the paternal relationship that forms between Faith and the Mayor. BothDuskhu and Groener are excellent in their roles and play off each other so well.

The Chosen Two

Relationships play a big factor in Season Three.  Romance for ill-matched Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and the sweet coupling of Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Oz (Seth Green).  Buffy’s relationship with her mother (Kristine Sutherland) is changed now that Joyce knows about Buffy’s late night activities. Buffy and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) relationship will be strained after the events of Helpless where Giles betrays Buffy to follow the orders of the Watchers Council only to turn back at the last instant. Giles leaving the council provides some interesting reworking of the series formula and also brings us the wonderful character ofWesly Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof).  And finally Buffy and Angel are forced to confront some unpleasant truths about the nature of their relationship.

The entire Buffy / Faith arc is incredibly well played out and culminates on one hell of a huge fight sequence in Graduation Day Part 1. Aside from the main arc there are some terrific stand alone episodes aredefiantly worth checking out.

Lover’s Walk

Spike (James Marsters) returns in a drunken melancholy over his breakup with Drusilla (Juliet Landau). Spike actions throughout his one night stay lead to the breakup ofXander and Cordelia, forces Oz to reevaluate his feelings for Willow, and his comments to Buffy and Angel prophetically start the demise of their relationship as well.

The Zeppo

Technically I think that’s a sword

Some of my favorite episodes of the series are Xander episodes.  The entire episode is structured with the other Scoobies working on saving the world as Xander gets into his own trouble involving a classic automobile, the raising of an undead gang, some one-on-one with Faith, and a very explosive cake. The name of the episode comes from Cordelia’s line about howXander is the useless part of the group, the Jimmy Olsen or the Zeppo Marx.  What makes the episode work so well is Xander is actually given the opportunity to save the day in his own small way; even if no one else ever knows he is changed by the experience.

Amends

Angel is haunted by visions of his past deeds as Angelus, and his dreams spill into Buffy’s nightmares. It turns out Angel is being systematically driven insane by a force called only The First, an incorporeal evil that wants Angel to lose his soul in Buffy and become Angelus once again.  This is one of the best villains of the series, here used for only one episode and forgotten until…well we’ll get to that in Season Seven. It is also one of the few episodes of Buffy that shows Angel’s actions before he was cursed with a soul, something the spin-off would explore in more detail.

Careful what you wish for

The Wish

What if Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale? Cordelia is granted her wish and reality is changed as history is rewritten. The Master (Mark Metcalf) rises and takes over Sunnydale turning Xander and Willow two of his most deadly vampires. A great what if… episode that lets the actors each play the same characters but in quite different circumstances. The episode also introduces us to the character ofAnyanka (Emma Caulfield) a vengeance demon who grants Cordelia’s wish and then loses her powers as reality is put back to normal. Anya becomes quite a funny character as Xander’s girlfriend for years to come.

A nice collection of extras includes commentary on four episodes from writers and directors but no commentary from Joss Whedon in this collection.  We do get two short interviews with Whedon about four episodes including one on Bad Girls and Consequences.  We get a season overview which looks back over the season’s run.  One of the most interesting extras is a short feature on the language used on Buffy, where it comes from, and how popular it has become.  Also included are original scripts for four episodes, an art gallery collection of photos, and short featurettes on special effects, wardrobe, and weapons.

This is one of the best seasons of Buffy.  The main story arc of Faith and Buffy is one of the best crafted of the series, and the fight scenes between the two kick some serious ass.  We also get some wonderful stand alone episodes and are introduced to new characters who will continue to populate the Buffy / Angel universe until the end.  The set is a nice collection with commentary, a season overview, and some nice short interviews with Whedon.  A great bookend for the first three seasons that completes the high school years of the Scooby gang.