That’s true, but it doesn’t mean he won’t enjoy it. I started watching Buffy at the beginning of the fourth season, and despite the occasional references to previous events, I liked it a lot. If I really really didn’t get something, I would refer to my handy dandy internet - for instance, when Faith showed up, I had absolutely no idea who she was and didn’t understand how there could be two Slayers. (SMG does a great job in those episode…“Because it’s wrong.”) That being said, now that I’ve seen the earlier seasons (I watched 'em in rerun, now I have the first four seasons on DVD), I would recommend watching them in order if possible.
As does Dushku: “What’s a steveodore?”
–Cliffy
I never thought much of SMG as an actress until I watched her play Eliza Dushku playing Buffy.
I agree completely. Like Cliffy mentioned, ED does a great job of playing Sarah Michelle Gellar playing Buffy, but I think SMG does an even better job. I almost want to throttle the Scoobies for not getting that it’s Faith. “You guys are so dumb! Is it not completely obvious that that is Faith?” She even mimics Eliza Dushku’s accent perfectly.
The Philosophy of Buffy book has an essay that points out something I’d never noticed really, that few shows call for such complex reasoning - there are a number of episodes that have actors playing other characters or evil twins to their usual characters. In Season Three, David Boreanaz does a surprisingly subtle job of playing “Angel pretending to be Angelus pretending to be Angel.”
As for how a few mortal teens can handle vampires, keep in mind that Buffy herself is mortal, yes, but is also essentially a Superhero. Due to being the Slayer she’s got mystical superhuman strength, agility, and whatnot…
Uh, guys, how about a little spoiler consideration for the newbies? Personally I’ve never cared and granted this is an old show. But since this thread is specifically about people new to BtVS, unless they say otherwise I think by default some spoiler protocol about plot points would be polite.
- Tamerlane
Yeah, but Buffy isn’t present in the scene in Anne that Sam is referring to.
Vampire strength/effectiveness tends to vary a lot due to plot necessity. At times Buffy will dispatch a lone vampire very easily, or win versus four (or more) at once, and at other times she’ll be in what looks like a fight for her life versus one. To some extent this can be seen as realistic; even though Buffy is stronger than a normal vampire, it doesn’t mean she’s always be able to “bring her A game”, just like even the best sports teams sometimes struggle against lesser opponents. And, of course, some vampires are just better fighters than others, just like with humans.
Ah, yes, that’s true. I didn’t catch which episode he was talking about. Well, they have wtched Buffy in action for 2 years at that point. They certainly wouldn’t have been able to do that in season 1.
Plus there’s the possibility of latent werewolf strength, even in human form, for Oz. I dunno, I’m stretching. I don’t even remember how involved he was in the fight. I’m gonna go with training.
Of course, (spoilers for that fight in Anne)
they fuck it up. And that bit where Oz (?) throws the stake and it bungs off the rock makes me laugh every time.
–Cliffy