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BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
© 2002 Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

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BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON

The chief reason why Buffy was greeted with some skepticism in 1997 came mainly from the fact that an earlier, quite awful, version of the character had previously been brought to the big screen in 1992. Why that film was a failure is a separate matter altogether, but it is understandable if a few eyebrows were raised when five years later Whedon decided to revise his character in TV form. After all, how many shows based on failed movies can you name that have worked?

But the show flourished, thanks to the creative control Whedon was granted by the WB, not to mention the strong scripts from the creator and his writing staff. Buffy plays on existing horror and sci-fi conventions with a smart wink of the eye, while also providing an ever-evolving roster of characters that actually change and grow. Teenager Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), destined to slay vampires and demons, would rather be dating and attending cheerleader practice. Her "Watcher" Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) must train the Slayer in her dangerous work, even while he grows to see her as a surrogate daughter of sorts. Willow and Xander (Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon) are Buffy's high school pals who get drawn into the dark world of slaying, not to mention a teenage love triangle. And of course, there's also Angel (David Boreanaz), the vampire with a soul who Buffy loves.

The monsters on the show are usually metaphors for the rigors of growing up, the dialogue is witty and fun, the action top-notch, the cast charming, and the plot twists gripping. All of these qualities shine through in the two-part pilot episode which kicks off disc one of this collection, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest," wherein Ms. Summers first arrives in the town of Sunnydale and meets her new friendsand enemies, including the ancient vampire known as The Master who has some dark plans for the human race. In "Witch" Buffy decides to try out for cheerleading, but the competition is fierce and one of the girls has turned to witchcraft to make it to the team. Meanwhile, Xander gets some time in the spotlight in the last episode on disc one, "Teacher's Pet," when he falls into lust with a substitute teacher who's not what she appears to be.

The second and third discs also feature four episodes apiece. "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" offers the first in a long line of boyfriends for Buffy, as we see the teenage girl once again trying to live a normal life amidst staking vamps. Xander figures prominently again in the episode "The Pack," as he and a group of school bullies begin to take on animal-like characteristics (i.e., they eat the school principal). The revelation that Angelheretofore seen as simply a mysterious hunkis actually a good vampire is revealed in "Angel," setting up the back story for the character that continues to be expanded upon to this day on the character's spin-off show. And finally Willowone of the most beloved of Buffy charactersgets a chance to shine in "I, Robot... You, Jane." A demon enters the Internet and takes a liking to Willow in one of the weaker episodes of this otherwise strong first season.

The final disc kicks things off with "The Puppet Show," which throws expected genre conventions for a loop when a living ventriloquist dummy turns out to be a good guy for a changeunlike in all those old Twilight Zone episodes! "Nightmares" sees the dreams of Sunnydale's residents coming truewell, the bad ones anyway. The old Invisible Man genre is turned on its ear in "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" when an unpopular high school girl disappearsand decides to take revenge on the "cool" kids. The season finale closes out the package on a high note with "Prophecy Girl." Buffy must face The Master for one final confrontation, but the ancient texts predict that she will be killed in the battle. Don't worry though: it's not the last time Buffy will die.

While it's great to have all the first season episodes in one nice, streamlined package, the visual quality of these discs isn't as good as one might hope for. There is quite a bit of grain here and a lack of detail, though this is apparently a result of the first season having been shot in the cheaper 16mm film format. Still, one can't help but wonder if Fox could have somehow enhanced the image before putting the episodes on disc for posterity. On the other hand, the Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround audio is a step up from the mediocre picture quality.

As for extra features, here again the result is a slight disappointment. The standout feature is clearly Whedon's audio commentary for the first two episodes which comprise the Buffy pilot. His talk is quite good, with a lot of solid info, and it's a shame that he couldn't be convinced to contribute tracks for the other episodes here (rumor has it that he didn't particularly enjoy recording those tracks, so don't hold your breath for any more).

The other extras are much more pedestrian. As a matter of fact, they would appear to be mostly recycled elements from the VHS box sets of the series. Scattered across the three discs are a short interview with Whedon and Boreanaz, clips of Whedon discussing the pilot and four other episodes, the pilot script, a trailer, a brief photo gallery, bios, and DVD-ROM website access and a screensaver. These extras are less than thrilling; one wonders why Fox, who went to the trouble of recording audio commentaries for every first season Simpsons episode, couldn't have put a bit more effort into this set.

Regardless, the episodes presented here stand for themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer may be one of the strongest programs to be found on TV today, but this DVD collection reminds us that it started out that way as well. You might say it's the "Chosen One" of modern genre television.