# Buffy newbie--assistance please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2003, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273 "2003-01-02T21:19:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/21 "2003-01-03T17:51:32Z")
Now is a good time if you get FX, beacuse as mentioned upthread, their reruns are currently early in Season 2. (They rerun 2 eps. a day, and then usually repeat those same eps. the next morning.) While the first season is good, there’s very little in it that you need to know to appreciate later episodes. Also, the DVD’s of the first season can be purchased for around $30, so if you find you like the show they’re easy to get your hands on. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/22 "2003-01-03T17:58:07Z")
Awww man, you missed an FX marathon of the entire first season on New Years Day, what are the odds? Check your local listings, our local FOX network is airing the pilot (welcome to the hellmouth) on the 6th at 12am, and showing the second episode a week later (ABC shows weekend eps too). Unfortunately FX is only on season two this time around, so it’ll be a few months before they’re back to the first season again. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/23 "2003-01-03T18:17:27Z")
Dammit, I did miss it, didn’t I? Oh, well. I’ll be sure to find reruns whenever. Thanks a bunch! ~Ferry ---
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/24 "2003-01-03T18:20:40Z")
Urk. Buffy. Off to Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/25 "2003-01-03T18:23:00Z")
Thank you kindly, **UncleBeer**! ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/26 "2003-01-03T20:57:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BuckleberryFerry \* > \*\*Dammit, I did miss it, didn’t I? Oh, well. I’ll be sure to find reruns whenever. Thanks a bunch! > > ~Ferry \*\* FYI (if you don’t already know) you can do two-week searches at [www.tvguide.com](http://www.tvguide.com) use keywords “buffy vampire” and you’ll probably get a couple pages worth of channels, dates, and times for your local stations. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/27 "2003-01-03T22:18:58Z")
I did not know. Thank you so much, **elfkin477**! ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/28 "2003-01-03T23:02:42Z")
First impressions–awesome opening credits. Alyson Hanigan (sp?) (Willow?) is really gorgeous! It’s only the first commerial break, but…I think I’m hooked! ~Ferry ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/29 "2003-01-04T00:50:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Why would Joss decided after six years to send a message that “No female can really be a superhero. You’d have to be insane to believe that a woman could save the Earth from certain destructionand the tortures of hell.” Well, because it’s a fact. No male can be a superhero, either. Superheroes don’t exist. Nor do vampires, demons, or vampire-slayers. Almost nobody agrees with me that I know ( lament: _nobody_ ever agrees with me 😃 ), but if that had been the very last episode and they had made in unequivocal that it was all just a psychotic delusion, I would have been overjoyed. Just the sort of downbeat, but bold ( in this case, because many fans would howl in righteous indignation )“sting-in-the-tail” ending that made the original Twilight Zone my all-time favorite TV show. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/30 "2003-01-04T01:32:32Z")
Uh…Tamerlane, BtVS isn’t just about a “superhero” it’s giant metaphor for female empowerment. The point of the whole series is to turn the tired cliche of the “helpless female” on its ear. JW is not going to end the series by simultaneously making his female lead insane and helpless. JW is a sick, cruel, sadistic man, but he’s not going to undermine his whole series–also, this would jeopardize the other show in the Whedonverse–Angel. Buffy’s so insane that she not only created her whole world but also continued to imagine the adventures of her First Love? ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/31 "2003-01-04T17:27:01Z")
It’s official, I’m hooked. It was absolutely incredible. I’ve got two questions, however. 1) Who is this Giles fellow, and 2) I thought Willow was gay? Anyway, I was very surprised! I thought for sure that Sarah Michelle Gellar was going to bother me, but she didn’t! (I’m not quite sure why she would’ve.) I was also pleasantly surprised to see Seth Green in this show (I like him a lot ^^). I hope to see more of him, though I was slightly confused by his interest in Willow…surely nothing comes of it; she’s gay, right? I was only slightly disappointed that this episode did not include vampires, though I’m sure they’ll come along soon. On a scale of one to ten, I’d give this a 9! ~Ferry ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/32 "2003-01-04T17:29:21Z")
The character of Willow really evolves over time, from nebbishy, book-girl dweeb with a crush on Zander to powerful Wicca in love with Tara. Don’t rush it, just go with it. If you’re watching a show with Oz, you aren’t starting at the beginning, you should really start at the beginning. See if you can rent the first season DVD or something. ---
**Author:** ![BuckleberryFerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5f9b8f/32.png) [@BuckleberryFerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BuckleberryFerry)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/33 "2003-01-04T17:34:10Z")
I was thinking next vacation I get I would rent season one, but I was told now was good to just jump in. So in I jumped. I’ll backtrack later, I guess. ~Ferry ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/34 "2003-01-04T18:53:01Z")
Giles is the drool worthy bookish Watcher of Buffy whom I lust after… ahem Every Slayer has a Watcher, who trains her in fighting, strategy, etc, and helps her be the best Slayer she can be. Giles is Buffy’s Watcher. He has an enormous library of which he makes frequent use when monsters and demons roll into town (for identification, weaknesses, etc). He evolves into more than just a Watcher and takes on an almost father-figure role as well. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm… Giles… [sub]sorry[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/35 "2003-01-04T19:06:07Z")
> [@](#): > > Uh…Tamerlane, BtVS isn’t just about a “superhero” it’s giant metaphor for female empowerment. The point of the whole series is to turn the tired cliche of the “helpless female” on its ear. Sure and masterfully done, too. > [@](#): > > JW is not going to end the series by simultaneously making his female lead insane and helpless. I’m sure he won’t. But he should of. Or to amend that slightly if you are concerned about Buffy’s theme of empowerment being undermined ( which personally I don’t see as an issue - her heroism, delusional or not, were real to her and thus just as exemplary - the actual results are immaterial ), have her make a full recovery into a healthy, happy, “normal” person. Add a scene showing how her experience has strengthened her if you must ( we do gain strength in adversity ), however much it also arrested her life in other ways. The fact is it would be a wonderful thing to end the show by saying - “No, this has never been a fantasy show, because fantasy isn’t real.” Art, I’m telling ya - art. Hell they didn’t even have to go that far - Don’t change the episode at all, just make it the terminal episode and let everybody decide all in an uproar themselves, with no commentary. But naturally all of this is long past moot. I just like the idea of it. Echos a book I never like to mention the title of, because it ruins the ending. Spoiler: The Iron Dragon’s Daughter by Michael Swanwick > [@](#): > > JW is a sick, cruel, sadistic man, but he’s not going to undermine his whole series–also, this would jeopardize the other show in the Whedonverse–Angel. Buffy’s so insane that she not only created her whole world but also continued to imagine the adventures of her First Love? Well, Angel has descended into the monumentally craptacular IMHO, so I have a hard time caring ;). But jeez, they’re just TV shows - Who cares if they contradict each other? You can just choose to believe whichever one you prefer :). - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2003, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273/36 "2003-01-04T20:12:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by IAM \* > \*\*ok…Bufy is the Vampire Slayer. One girl is picked every generation to fight vampires and all sorts of other evil. She has some super powers. She is super strong, super fast, and she heals faster than normal people. She lives in Sunnydale which is on a Hellmouth which, basically means everything evil chills here. Her friends are her sidekicks. Willow is her gay bestfriend who is a super strong witch, Xander is just a normal guy and helps however he can but he is mostly there for comedic relief, she also has a little sister named Dawn (who is also the key to the door that opens the gates of hell) but she has no powers and is mostly annoying. Dawn was not always her sister but some ancient Monks made the key into a human to hide it and keep it safe from a crazy Hell God named Glory who wanted to open the gates of hell so she could go back and be in charge and pretty much cause chaos and end the world. Glory did manage to kidnap Dawn and open the gates but Buffy sacrificed herself in order to close the gate and save the world. The next season Buffy was brought back from the dead by Willow who thought Buffy was stuck in Hell. But in reality Buffy was in Heaven. There is also Spike a vampire that is in love with Buffy who stopped being evil and helps her fight and stuff. Vampires are really strong. Because Spike is in love with Buffy he went and got a soul so he now has that tortured soul thing going. > The more a slayer trains the stronger she becomes. Buffy is pretty strong now though. Oh, yeah and when a slayer dies a new one immediately is called. There is A LOT more history to it than that. But that is a quick summary to give you an idea of what is going on. > > \*\* FX shows Buffy reruns evernight at 6 and 7\*\* > > I hope that helps!!! \*\* I’m trying to imagine walking into a production office and pitching that. :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buffy-newbie-assistance-please/146273.md?page=1)