Buffy the Vampire Slayer :: Television TV Show Essays

Buffy the Vampire Slayer In the fickle world of TV the complexity and richness of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (US, UPN) the mysterious fable turns on fantastic depiction of the supernatural. Vampire extermination and demon pursuit by teenagers has kept it alive for six seasons. Our allegiance to BUFFY depends on a remarkable emotional involvement with very young but very strong characters. So its meaning, the rhythm of the BUFFYmyth, the speed with which its world turns are a product of our involvement in its characters, people presumably like us. The ground rules of this continuing fable are variations on those of movies, especially of the Horror Picture. But BUFFY finds ways to change or make exception to the rules. There is something else new: the variation of length of story elements in narrative design: the flexibility of story rhythm. BUFFY is firmly based in time determined installments (as is all TV narrative. But characters change, develop, are dynamic. And this is a complicated narrative: the central line of vampire destruction depends on metaphors that hang together to make up an allegory. BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER first showed up as a little noticed B film (1991) written by Joss Whedon. He is a third generation comedy writer who had written for ROSEANNE and the movies. Whedon sold the WB network the idea of BUFFY as a TV series and he became executive producer (he was frequently the writer and director as well). He put together the team of writers, producers, and directors, and a solid cast to do BUFFY. The auteur of the series is surely Whedon. It is now in its seventh season on TV (I 1997, II 1998~, III l999~ IV 2000, V 2001, VI 2002, VII 2003), a cult classic. Buffy is a beautiful high school student (in the movie a cheerleader but by the opening of the TV series, an ex-cheerleader who tries out for the Sunnydale High School squad but gets too busy and leaves it behind). What distracts her from high school is the need to insure the well being of Sunnydale, California, a community confused by undead neighbors who come up through an untended Hellmouth. For many BUFFY is more of an addiction than a series, but an addiction unlike Beverly Hills 90210 in its early years (which it resembles only the way it straddles high school and college years). Yes, as in 90210, groups of viewers may gather to watch BUFFY together this is a similar continuing enthusiasm.