January 27 12

Fine. You win. All of you. YOU. And you too. And you over there.

All of you die-hard culty fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

(The show, of course. Not the Luke Perry movie.)

I don’t know what it is about that show.

You people are putting it as being BETTER than both Mad Men and The Wire.

How is this even possible?

HOW?

I mean…Mad Men?

You know, that show with Don Draper. The show with the most beautiful costume design and the most clever dialogue ever written on every show ever. A show that takes us back to a time in history where a mother yells at her daughter for playing in the dry-cleaning plastic and it’s not because she might suffocate. No. It’s because she may wrinkle her mother’s clothing. The turmoil of the era, the subtle little lessons in every single episode, the complexity of every single character on that show…Joan, Don, Betty, Peggy, Roger, Sal, SALLY DRAPER. It’s, well, there’s nothing like that show.

And don’t even get me started on The Suitcase episode.

(Sheer brilliance)

It’s so smart. It’s too smart.

I mean…The Wire?

You know, that show that takes you into the deep inner-workings of the Baltimore street corners, the police department, the tortured school system. It’s brutal, it’s fascinating, it’s beautiful, it’s horrifying, it’s real, it’s riveting. It is not what it looks like from the outside—another police drama. No, the main character of this show is the city itself. The broken, broken city of Baltimore.

Also. Stringer Bell. Omar. Avon Barksdale. Jimmy McNulty. D’Angelo Barksdale. Bubbles. Bodie. WeeBay and Namond. Marlo Stanfield.

I have strong desires to watch each show twice and then race to my computer to read Alan Sepinwall’s recaps and message Kristin because I NEED to talk about every single episode and every single moment and every single little thing that ever happens on the show means something and is tied to something else and OMG season 2 finally makes sense.

Also, WHERE’S WALLACE?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is that show about a vampire slayer.

A vampire slayer.

Played by Sarah Michelle Gellar.

A vampire slayer.

Best show ever?

I mean, I’ll be honest and say that after only watching one episode of Buffy ever—the first episode—it’s clear that I’m obviously missing something. The first episode was, well, it just was. Personally, I prefer my vampires a little more sparkly and pretty, and not a young Rita from Dexter because she will always be Rita from Dexter.

But okay. You are telling me to stick with it.

And so I’m prepared to be blown away.

So bring it on, Buffy.

Prove me wrong.

I will eat my words if you do. I promise.

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  1. Oh man, just thinking about Wallace still makes me want to cry. “Where the fuck is Wallace, String?”

    I’m interested to hear your take since we have the same taste in television. I added Buffy to my Netflix queue, so maybe I’ll watch while I’m at the gym.

    Comment by Kristabella on January 27, 2012
  2. Yeah. I’m watching it while I work out. The first two episodes were…okay? I mean, if the internet wasn’t telling me how amazing it was, I’d probably give up on it. I mean, I watch The Vampire Diaries…and it’s much, much better looking. hahah.

    Comment by alimartell on January 27, 2012
  3. If Mad Men is about the soul, and The Wire is about the human spirit, Buffy is about the heart.

    It starts off slow but before you know it, you will be identifying with the characters more than you can identify with characters in the other shows. Joss Whedon tells stories that appear superficially to be about a teenage girl fighting ugly vampires but is all about love and loss and growing up.

    I’ll give you some things that you’ll remember as you stick through this series. Ripper, Kendra, Tara, TARA, Anya, Jonathan, Spike, the Mayor, crayon-breaky Willow, Ben and Glory, Once More With Feeling, The Body, Hush.

    The Wire gripped me and made me root for good to win over evil. I am glued to Mad Men to see what comes next. Buffy made me cry.

    I wish I could be there and rewatch it while you watch it!

    Comment by Avitable on January 27, 2012
  4. I will stick with it…because I trust you.

    But you can understand why, after watching the first two episodes, I may have some doubts, right?

    Comment by ali on January 27, 2012
  5. Absolutely. It started off on the WB with no budget and no support from the network, so he had to make it very monster-of-the-week until it started to get a following. That’s another thing that makes it so different from The Wire and Mad Men – they are both on networks that support show creators.

    Season one has some good moments, and those moments just build throughout the series to the amazing finale.

    Comment by Avitable on January 27, 2012
  6. I agree. It’s very cheesy at times, almost laughable. But, in the end it’s about love and loss and growing up and feeling alone in the world you live in. That and Nathan Fillion as the Preacher. OMG. He’s AWESOME! Glory is pretty awesome too. And I can’t see James Marsters (Spike) in anything else and not refer to him as Spike.

    Also, I wasn’t a teenager when I started watching this show. I was in college. Give it a shot.

    Comment by Jenny on January 27, 2012
  7. I could not put it better than Avitable. It will break your heart and then make you cheer.

    Comment by Jennifer on January 27, 2012
  8. The Body. Best/Worst hour of TV EVER.

    Comment by heather... on January 29, 2012
  9. As a late in life Buffy fan, I have to tell you it’s amazing!
    I started watching it last year and OMG! It’s fantastic. Truthfully, though, I didn’t love season 1. Season 2 gets really good and season 3 is amazing!!!!
    Just wait till you get to Spike. I love him.
    Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

    PS I haven’t watched Mad Men or The Wire – so you know, not basing my opinion on that.

    Comment by Laural on January 27, 2012
  10. Ha! No dog in this fight then, eh?

    I’m just messing with you. But seriously, not watching either of those shows is an absolute TRAVESTY. They will change your life. I’m not even kidding.

    Comment by ali on January 27, 2012
  11. I know!
    At least I’d heard of Mad Men before reading your blog.
    The Wire? All new to me.
    I just got Mad Men. I’m starting it this weekend.

    Comment by Laural on January 27, 2012
  12. OH THE WIRE IS AMAZING.
    For real. It’s unbelievable. Stick to your bones kind of show.

    Comment by ali on January 27, 2012
  13. I nearly gave up on Buffy after sitting through the first season episode where they’re at the zoo and, well, good god, that was a stupid episode, but I stuck with it. Took me awhile, but I watched them all. Then did ‘Angel,’ too. I loved the shows, but not the way I love me some ‘Mad Men,’ to which I’m going to build a construction paper chain soon to countdown the days until it’s return to my TV screen.

    Comment by foradifferentkindofgirl (fadkog) on January 27, 2012
  14. I hesitate to even write this because I will surely be stepping on the things you hold so dear. I just cannot commit to TV shows. My husband was obsessed, OBSESSED, with The Wire. I watched one episode and gave up. It was like math to me. Then again the only TV shows I watch with any regularity are Real Housewives (Beverly Hills and New Jersey), so, it’s lowbrow TV all the way chez moi.

    Comment by Jen on January 27, 2012
  15. Math? I think you’re doing it wrong. hahah.
    I don’t think watching one episode of anything is enough. But if it’s notfor you, it’s not for you. I’m surprised, actually. I rarely hear anyone who doesn’t say that The Wire was one the best shows (if not THE best) ever.

    Maybe you should try again?

    Comment by ali on January 27, 2012
  16. Funny, I watched some Buffy yesterday, too. I can’t compare it to The Wire or Mad Men and I’ve never seen Dexter, but I thought it was alright. I’m not in a hurry to watch more yet, but I probably will eventually. 🙂

    Comment by Mrs. Wilson on January 27, 2012
  17. Please watch The Wire. And Mad Men.
    PLEASE 🙂

    Dexter is GREAt too!

    Comment by ali on January 27, 2012
  18. Meh. I never got it either. I did adore the Luke Perry movie though.

    Comment by Issa on January 27, 2012
  19. I absolutely LOVED the movie with Luke Perry.

    Comment by mommabird2345 on January 27, 2012
  20. Keep watching, it gets so good. Hearing certain songs that they played in the series, still make me tear up. LOVE.

    Comment by mommabird2345 on January 27, 2012
  21. Buffy fan here, I thought season one was the worst. It’s an amazing show, don’t worry.

    Comment by Tammi Marie on January 28, 2012
  22. Aw, I’m so jealous that you are going to experience Buffy brand new! I loved Season 3 – it was AWESOME. Season 6 was fun, too. Season 4’s big bad wasn’t that good, but there were many individual episodes that were just plain amazing. I may have to watch them with you – I am a HUGE Buffy fan (I even have a Top 10 list of “must see” Buffy episodes).

    Comment by Jaynee on January 28, 2012
  23. Stick with Buffy. I promise. Adam summed it up so well. You know I’ve never steered you wrong with TV!

    I once wrote a post about an episode of Buffy. It still haunts me. I miss the show, Joss Whedon created magic.

    Comment by heather... on January 29, 2012
  24. Oh The Suitcase – simply breathtaking. And so is Don Draper for that matter (insert dreamy sigh). I also love Sally Draper’s character – I think in Season 4 she was started to take on a lot of her mother’s mannerisms while simultaneously rejecting her. BRILLIANT!!!

    Watched half of Season 1 of Buffy (all of our siblings are OBSESSED with it) and nah…just couldn’t commit to Season 2 when there was Dexter and United States of Tara and Nurse Jackie to be consumed.

    Comment by Louise on January 29, 2012
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