Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Season 1 on DVD (1997)

williamsgwynfa [Highly rated reviewer] , 21/02/2007

This dvd has the entire first season of 13 episodes of the television series BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER on it.

Buffy is an ordinary 16-year-old girl who learns she's not so ordinary after all; she is the Slayer, a single exceptional girl who must do battle with vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings whilst struggling with school and dating at the same time.

this was one of the 1990s' most popular and highly acclaimed television series, and this dvd also features audio commentary by creator Joss Whedon, on the two-part pilot episode. there are also interviews with Joss Whedon and star David Boreanaz (ANGEL)

well worth renting out.

  77 out of 79 people found this review helpful

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stephen decantelupe from Boston , 13/12/2003

When this series first began it looked like it was going to be yet another also ran in the teenage entertainment chandre.Its not until you actually watch more than one episode that you start to get hooked and want to see more.

the writing throughout the season just keeps getting better and better and the characters start to click very early on.

this was the beginning of a pop culture legend.its dark,dreary,funny,horrific,sad,t hought provoking,action loaded and never has a T.V show kept me so engrossed and pining for next weeks episode.

The only sad thing is that there will be no more after series 7.

  11 out of 13 people found this review helpful

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SAI81 from Tonbridge [Highly rated reviewer] , 29/06/2006

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began life as a not very good film starring never was Kristy Swanson as the cheerleader turned evil fighter. The idea was strong but the execution poor. Five years on came this TV series created by the film's writer Joss Whedon and it was on the small screen that Buffy found its feet.

The first season is comprised of just twelve episodes as the series replaced another that was cancelled mid run (a fate that would later befall Whedon's wonderful show Firefly) and while many of the elements that eventualy made Buffy perhaps the finest TV show of the last decade are in place but of course there is much struggling to get things right.

Whedon's script for the two hour pilot 'Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest' gets things off to a fine start setting the tone well and striking the balance between getting out the exposition, an event packed narrative and setting out the black comic tone of the show beautifully. Even this early the characters are well drawn though obviously they're broader than they would become with evolution over the show's run.

The season one episodes are a mixed bag. Stand outs include Never Kill a Boy on the First Date which sees Buffy attempt to mix slaying and dating, I, Robot... You, Jane which gives centre stage to the wonderful Alyson Hannigan for the first time. The Puppet Show has some wonderful writing, never quite going where you think it will and is also among the funniest episodes. Nightmares is similarly inventive, showing a willingness to play with the form of the show which would go much further in subsequent years. It is, however, the season closer Prophecy Girl, the directorial debut of creator Joss Whedon which is the real stand out episode. The writing in this episode is truly spectacular, you'll get choked up by Sarah Michelle Gellar's pivotal speech 'I'm 16 years old, I don't want to die' and plot development will put your heart in your mouth as, whatever its strengths and weaknesses, this season does allow you to develop strong feelings for the characters.

That, of course, is not entirely about the writing, much credit is due a fine cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar was perfectly cast as Buffy and right from the off she's tremendous in the role showcasing a dramatic ability that she's not seemed able to transfer to other characters which comes to fruition in Prophecy Girl. Nicholas Brendon and Alyson Hannigan are mostly library bound for this series but both exhibit fine comic timing and a way with the dialogue (Xander's reaction to being turned down by Buffy 'I'm going to go home and listen to country music... the music of pain') and both get episodes in which they take centre stage and though both are great in those episodes it is Hannigan's turn in I, Robot... You, Jane which sticks in the mind because the episode is better than the Xander-centric The Pack. Last of the key quartet is Anthony Stewart Head as Giles. He's more overtly British in this season and less help in a fight than he'd grow to be but Head manages to get the expository dialogue which usualy falls to him out and he too has a nice line in comic timing.

Not all the episodes are up to scratch. The Pack, Teachers Pet and Out of Mind Out of Sight all feel like they need a rewrite and it's this patchiness as well as the one note character and performance of Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia and the woodenness of David Boreanaz' Angel that mean this first installment of Buffy doesn't get a higher grade but it is still very much the recommended starting point for anyone new to this excellent show

  10 out of 10 people found this review helpful

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Graham Inglis from UK , 18/12/2004

Watching the first 4 episodes again, it's fascinating to see just how fully formed and confident the series was upon it's arrival. The writing is so obviously in a class above the usual, and the cast seem to have been living their roles for years. Yes, there would be better episodes (and quite a few worse) but this marks the birth of something which clearly always knew exactly what it was and where it was going...truly startling!

  9 out of 9 people found this review helpful

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A customer from LONDON INNIT , 02/06/2007

VERY VERY VERY GOOD! A SEASON TO ENJOY THAT LASTS UP UNTIL ABOUT SEASON 6! SEASON 7 WAS A BIT DODGY BUT OH WELL! ENJOY OH AND CHECK OUT ANGEL, SEASON 1 IS CRAP BUT CHECK OUT SEASON 3/4 EXCELLENTA

  2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

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williamsgwynfa [Highly rated reviewer] , 21/02/2007

This dvd has the entire first season of 13 episodes of the television series BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER on it.

Buffy is an ordinary 16-year-old girl who learns she's not so ordinary after all; she is the Slayer, a single exceptional girl who must do battle with vampires, demons, and other supernatural beings whilst struggling with school and dating at the same time.

this was one of the 1990s' most popular and highly acclaimed television series, and this dvd also features audio commentary by creator Joss Whedon, on the two-part pilot episode. there are also interviews with Joss Whedon and star David Boreanaz (ANGEL)

well worth renting out.

  77 out of 79 people found this review helpful

Read all highest rated reviews