The Kitten, the Witches, and the Bad Wardrobe:
Don’t tell them that I sent you unless you promise to behave. 
Well, well, it is Noxon.
MPSIMS (I know it’s the Pit, hush): Marti Noxon went to my alma mater, UC Santa Cruz, and all the dorms at UC Sunnydale are named after the colleges at UCSC. Too bad the show is no longer school-focused, so we’ll probably never see an Oakes Dorm (my college, and Marti’s too, I think).
I liked the premiere. SF Chronicle TV guy Tim Goodman, who is a huge Buffy fan, wrote a pretty negative review, so I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. But his main point was that it would be hard for new viewers to really understand it, which is true. But still, a fine two hours of TV, am looking forward to next Tuesday.
As for the critics in the OP, they need to get a life. It’s TV. I honestly don’t understand the need to post to a message board solely devoted to Buffy. (Although I do like the Sunnydale Slayers site, good synopses and quote collections.)