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Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season

List Price: $39.98
Your Price: $27.99
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The music of pain." (or at least adolescence)
Review: For a first time screenwriter, Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a good effort for a feature film. I thought for sure the series was going to tank. When I started watching halfway through the first season, I quickly found that I was wrong. "Buffy" simply blossoms on television. I've been hooked ever since.

For the first time, Whedon has provided us with all the terrors of high school (remember those?) in a horror genre setting. Not only that, but he provides a confident, cool FEMALE character to trounce the bad guys. Whether you're a fan of the genre or a teenage feminist, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) provides a niche for the unpopular misfits in high school, but looks upon them as heroes. Were you as uncomfortable as Xander (Nicholas Brendon)? As geeky as Willow (Alyson Hannigan)? As quick with an aphorism as Oz (Seth Green)? The series proves that high school is indeed survivable no matter who you are, even if you're cliquish Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). And in the end, the more unpopular you were - possibly the more important you were to your teenage community.

Mix in your favorite teacher (or librarian) played by Anthony Stewart Head (who should play "Doctor Who" after he's done with "Buffy") to be the requisite horror genre British pseudo-scientist, and Buffy's single mom (Kristine Sutherland) and you're all set to go with the most intelligent sci-fi TV series possibly written for this age group. (The next closest thing being the intelligent, yet non-sf "Freaks & Geeks".)

I'm not kidding. It's amazing how quickly these characters grow in the first season and their responses remain true to life despite the extraordinary situations they're thrown into. Creator Joss Whedon has become one of the most talented writer/directors working in the industry today, despite the fact that "Buffy" is most of what he's been doing for the last five years.

As far as what you get in this box set, you're in for a treat. This is the full first season, not just the half previously released on VHS; including the season finale "Prophecy Girl" - where we see just how heroic Buffy really is, despite her adolescence and fear of death. Also present throughout the series are teenage issues of emotional/sexual conflict ("Teacher's Pet") and problems with acceptance ("The Pack"). Specific highlights also include Whedon's commentary for the two part premiere as well as the first appearances of Angel (David Boreanaz) and Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte).

Remember, Buffy's not JUST about vampires. In fact I think it's safe to say that vampires are secondary to the emotional undercurrent of the show, if not a particular episode's plot. Forget "Felicity" and shove off of "Dawson's Creek", this is the one for the adults.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best Show On TV
Review: I'm a new Buffy fan. One Saturday, with nothing to do, I FINALLY watched an episode of Buffy. It was the Season Two ep where Cordelia breaks up with Xander. I was hooked from then on. What a blessing then, that this boxed set was released. What you have here is the First Season of the best show on TV. How the gang first met, Angel, The Master, it's all here. It's an extrordinary thing that a little mid-season replacement show based on a corny movie could survive it's first season, but the quality of these 12 episodes shows you why. My personal favorite episodes are "The Pack" and "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date," but they're all very good. The biggest reason why Buffy is so good is because of this remarkable cast. Sarah Michelle Gellar is a true star, and plays Buffy with a sort of flawed strength that not many actors could pull off. She makes you cry, then she kills a couple of suckheads. Nicholas Brendan is also great, bringing truth to Xander, who is the most realistic character (I think) in the history of TV. And, let's not forget the exquisite Alyson Hannigan as Willow. Alyson plays Will with this quiet power, a girl who comes into her own. Anthony Stewart Head is also great as Giles. Giles is older, yes, but is also cool in his own way. Charisma Carpenter is great as Cordelia. I know this because I hate Cordelia:) There are others, such as David Boreanaz and Kristine Sutherland, who bring much to the show, but it's the chemistry between the opening credit actors (especially Gellar, Brendan and Hannigan) that make it so good. These people are real. By the way, the season finale, Prophecy Girl, is worth the price by itself. The only trouble I had was the extras. Good, yes, but not enough to satisfy me. You get Joss Whedon talking his mouth off (no offense, but his input doesnt add much to the overall experience), and some other standard fare (photo gallery, bios etc). I would have liked to see more commentaries, more interviews, and maybe something like a piece on how Buffy turned into a pop culture phenomenon (y'know, magazine covers, talk show interviews etc). Still, this Box Set is a must-have if you're a new fanghead or an old stand-by. Long live the Slayer!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I watched it in 2 days
Review: and I loved it! I was debating on 4 or 5 stars, because it isn't the best Buffy season, but it's really good! 4.5 stars I would give it, but that's not an option! So, I'll just give it as much help as it needs! Here's what I think of each episode:

Welcome To Hellmouth: 9.5/10 One of the best episodes in the season, really well acted, and done nearly perfect!

The Harvest: 10/10 The sequel to the first two episodes ever made, and it's made slightly better then the 1st. I loved it!! Really done well by Sarah!

Witch: 8.5/10 Amy comes into this one, I don't like her much, just to say and I'm glad she didn't turn into a regular! Really interesting one though, and also very funny because Buffy joins the cheerleading squad!

Teacher's Pet: 9/10 There's a hot substitute that Xander and the rest of the guys fall in love with. the actual science teacher was killed, but by what?

Never Kill A Boy On The First Date: 8.5/10 Not bad, brings in a new guy who dances with Buffy, makes Cordelia jealous and then finds out what Buffy's life is really like, and goodbye!

The Pack: 9/10 Xander turns into a Hyena as well as a group of kids that he hates. Pretty cool episode!

Angel: 8/10 I'm one of those who doesn't care too much about Angel, he's too moody most of time and doesn't bring too much delight, unlike Buffy! But he's supposed to be that way, so I except him! And despite Angel being the centre of attention, this episode turned out pretty good!

I Robot... You Jane: 9.5/10 Scary, a demon named Moloch gets trapped into a computer! He makes everyone love him, especially Willow because she brought him back to life, from a book!!

The Puppet Show: 9.5/10 I really enjoyed this one, and the end is so funny when the put on the show! Buffy, Xander and Willow doing a talent show, funny!! Where as the puppet, what's with it? is it a killer or not, you'll be surprised when you find out what he really is!!

Nightmares: 10/10 A kid named Billy gets nightmares become real! Very scary and Buffy even dies and shows her vampire face in this one, only, it's not reality so it doesn't count!

Out Of Mind, Out of Sight: 9.5/10 A girl is invisible to everyone, so she becomes invisible and starts attacking everyone close to Cordelia! Then her! Really cool episode where you finally see Buffy on Cordelia's side, for the 1st time!

Prophecy Girl: 9.5/10 Not as good as the other season finally's, only finally done worse was the 4th season's, that would still get about 8.5 or 9 out of 10. Buffy goes out to defeat the Master from opening the Hell mouth. Will she fail or succeed, well, either way, you don't give up!

The bonus features: 8/10 All you get is Joss Whedon explaining half of the episodes, not really good, but it's good enough as it has a photo section, of about 10 to 15 pictures.

This season wasn't the best, but wasn't the worst. None of the episodes really stood out, like other seasons, but it was acted very well, and some were really funny! Really hand it to Buffy for this season! Willow, Xander, Cordelia and Giles also delivered fairly good humour and you get introduced to the new principle, who gets swallowed by the mayor at the end of season 3, thankfully!! Great season, buy it and it's not too dark like other reviews say! At least not on my tv!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Definitely not the best season
Review: I didn't get into Buffy the Vampire Slayer until it's last few seasons. Since the time the show first primiered, I dismissed it as another WB teeniebopper mellow drama with vampires thrown into the mix. Season one is pretty much that in a nut shell, but despite the fact that the first season relies on way too much teen mellowdrama and some sloppy storytelling, the show has a strangely addicting quality to it thanks to the fine cast and quirky humor. Sarah Michelle Gellar is Buffy Summers, a vampire slayer who moves from L.A. to Sunnydale, California (the show basically picks up from where the film, which starred Kirsty Swanson as Buffy, left off), a town full of vampires, demons, and all kinds of other nasties. She soon meets her would be mentor Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), popular airhead Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), and finds friends in the dorky Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and computer whiz Willow (Alyson Hannigan); both of whom would be the only cast members, along with Gellar, that would remain as full time cast members until the end of the series. Buffy also encounters the mysterious Angel (David Boreanaz) who plays quite a pivotal role in episodes to come. There is plenty to admire about the series, but some of the episodes, particularly the season finale, come off as pretty weak. All that aside though, this first season of Buffy is better than what I thought it would be, but the best of Buffy would not be seen until later on in the series' life.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy's Beginnings!!
Review: It's been a long time coming, but Buffy if finally hitting DVD here in America. I'm glad we get the quality of this brilliant show on DVD, but am highly disappointed with the extra features on the DVD. First off, there are all 12 episodes of the show's first season on 3 discs. Since it was a mid season replacement, it only had 12 episodes instead of the regular 22. The first season had a few monumental episodes like the two part opener "Welcome To The Hellmouth" and "The Harvest". Those two were put together as a premiere episode movie. "Angel" is an important and pivotal episode. It's where we first learn of who and what Angel really is. Alarming and fantastic. Then there's the season ender, "Prophecy Girl", which deals with Buffy defeating this season's main villain, The Master. The other 8 episodes run the gamut from good to mediocre. The weak ones are "Teacher's Pet", "I Robot - You Jane", and "The Pack". That last one does have some chilling and memorable moments tho. The better ones are "Witch", with Buffy dealing with a cheerleading witch who is getting the competition out of the way. "Nightmares" has our beloved scooby gang being confronted with their worst nightmares when they seem to be coming to life. It turns out that a comatose boy is projecting nightmares to come true after suffering a shocking abuse that I won't reveal here. "Invisible Girl" is a situation based in all too true reality. A plain jane girl literally becomes invisible because everyone at school, students and teachers, barely register that she's there. She's so invisible to them that she literally turns that way. "The Puppet Show" is a light, but fun, episode with the gang having to participate in the school play. There's a demon running aorund needing brains as well. I don't want to give anything else away. The reason this show is so loved and acclaimed is that this is just good, intelligent writing. The characters are strong and real. The actors had instant chemistry in the first episode and are all supreme actors. The history and mythology of the show are as rich and deep as you can get. This first season, however, didn't necessarily explore it as much as it did in the seasons to follow. The DVD extras however, lead much to be desired. You get commentary from creator Joss Whedon on episodes 1 and 2. You also get the original pilot script for the first episode. There's a photo gallery, and interviews with Joss and David Boreanaz. While the features here are nice, it just isn't enough. You'd think there would be more behind the scenes stuff and interviews. ... I hope [they] give us more goodies on future DVD releases. But, this still gets the full 5 stars. More Buffy DVD please!!!!. ...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Loyal Fan Am I to This Great Series
Review: Could anyone have mastered a tv series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer besides Joss Whedon? Absolutely not. Joss has created a show that is called by critics "Hip" and "Imaginative" and ". . . with a sense of style." The show is all of that, but much much more to its brigade of fans around the world. Including me. I've been a fan ever since the first season, which is now presented in this crazy thing we call DVD.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's premise is familiar to almost everyone. It's about Buffy Summers, a girl who was born with the birth right of being the Slayer. One girl in all the world who must destroy the forces of darkness until her death. After burning down her high school gym in LA which was infested with vampires, she and her mother move to Sunnydale, CA where life is supposed be a fresh start. But nothing's that fresh in a Slayer's life. Buffy soon meets up with Xander, Willow, and Giles who become her Slayerettes and aid her in her battles. Along the way we are also introduced to Cordelia and Jenny Calendar, who even in small ways, help Buffy along the way.

Joss and co. set a mighty firm foundation for the show with its first season. The mood is right, the soundtrack is awesome, and his cast of mostly unknown talent is freshly recieved. Sarah Michelle Gellar, as the lead role, perfected the character of Buffy from the first scene. Her acting is superb. Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon are her companions Willow and Xander. Each gave depth to their character in only the first episode. Anthony Stewart Head and Kristine Sutherland balance the show with being the grown ups, and not being over grown uppish. Tony Head is excellent as Buffy's Watcher, Giles. Rounding out the first season's main cast is Charisma Carpenter and Robia La Morte. Charisma perfected her role as the snobby Cordelia, and you couldn't help but fall in love with Robia as Jenny Calendar.

The DVD's picture and sound is the best it can be since Buffy was originally shot on 16mm. The commentaries are very interesting to those who are fans of the show. Joss gives little snippets on ideas that were thrown away and other interesting facts about behind-the-scenes stuff. There are also interviews with Joss and David Boreanaz. A Buffy trailer, picture gallery, and the script for the Pilot are also available.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, now in its 6th season, is still going strong. There have been many new faces to come and go, and many new intelligent storylines. I'm sure there are many still to come.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Buffy season 1
Review: After the movie tanked in the theaters, Joss Whedon got a second chance with the TV show. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" picks up a year after the movie. Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Geller is cute and tough convincingly) arrives in Sunndale to find that her destiny has followed her from Los Angeles. The Master(Mark Metcalf), one of the oldest and most powerful vampires in the world, is trying to get out of his prison underneath the earth, specificly underneath the school library. That is his goal for the season. But Buffy isn't alone. She has a new Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) who is invaluable sorse of knowledge and training. Buffy also finds some friends her own age; Willow (cuttie Alyson Hannigan, nice pony tails), a high school computer nerd; Xander (Nicholas Brendon starts out cold, but gets better along the way,), just a high school dork with a big heart; and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter plays vain well), a rich cheerleader snob who is Buffy's social rival. Also there is the mysterious Angel (David Boreanaz is the James Dean of vampires, even this early in the character) who comes and goes with crypric warnings of danger. All the actors do well this season, but they seem a little uneasy, but that is just growing pains, and it's easily over looked. The season is a little shorter because it was a mid season replacement. I loved the 16mm look, it was grainy and looked haunted in all the right places (in the sewers, caves, and abandoned werehouses), which smartly contrasted the sunny Southern California location. It's like a Hammer movie meets the Vally Girls.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: "The music of pain." (or at least adolescence)
Review: For a first time screenwriter, Joss Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was a good effort for a feature film. I thought for sure the series was going to tank. When I started watching halfway through the first season, I quickly found that I was wrong. "Buffy" simply blossoms on television. I've been hooked ever since.

For the first time, Whedon has provided us with all the terrors of high school (remember those?) in a horror genre setting. Not only that, but he provides a confident, cool FEMALE character to trounce the bad guys. Whether you're a fan of the genre or a teenage feminist, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) provides a niche for the unpopular misfits in high school, but looks upon them as heroes. Were you as uncomfortable as Xander (Nicholas Brendon)? As geeky as Willow (Alyson Hannigan)? As quick with an aphorism as Oz (Seth Green)? The series proves that high school is indeed survivable no matter who you are, even if you're cliquish Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). And in the end, the more unpopular you were - possibly the more important you were to your teenage community.

Mix in your favorite teacher (or librarian) played by Anthony Stewart Head (who should play "Doctor Who" after he's done with "Buffy") to be the requisite horror genre British pseudo-scientist, and Buffy's single mom (Kristine Sutherland) and you're all set to go with the most intelligent sci-fi TV series possibly written for this age group. (The next closest thing being the intelligent, yet non-sf "Freaks & Geeks".)

I'm not kidding. It's amazing how quickly these characters grow in the first season and their responses remain true to life despite the extraordinary situations they're thrown into. Creator Joss Whedon has become one of the most talented writer/directors working in the industry today, despite the fact that "Buffy" is most of what he's been doing for the last five years.

As far as what you get in this box set, you're in for a treat. This is the full first season, not just the half previously released on VHS; including the season finale "Prophecy Girl" - where we see just how heroic Buffy really is, despite her adolescence and fear of death. Also present throughout the series are teenage issues of emotional/sexual conflict ("Teacher's Pet") and problems with acceptance ("The Pack"). Specific highlights also include Whedon's commentary for the two part premiere as well as the first appearances of Angel (David Boreanaz) and Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte).

Remember, Buffy's not JUST about vampires. In fact I think it's safe to say that vampires are secondary to the emotional undercurrent of the show, if not a particular episode's plot. Forget "Felicity" and shove off of "Dawson's Creek", this is the one for the adults.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: In to every generation, a bl@*dy gud show is born!
Review: Hey was up,

Buffy Summers played by award winning actress Sarah Michelle Gellar (cruel intentions, simply irresistable) is a normal teenage girl by day with normal teenage problems but at night shes a a** kicking vampire slayer. The legend goes;

"in to every generation a slayer is born, one girl in all the word with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires and stop the spread of there evil and the swell of there numbers, she is the slayer."

Along side her new found friends Willow Rosenburg played by Alyson Hannigan star of the American Pie series, Xander Harris played by upcoming star Nick Brendon, Rupert Giles played by British acter Anthony Head, Cordelia Chase played by gorgeous actress and former cheerleader Charisma Carpenter and Angel played by the hunky David Boreanaux, Buffy will continue to fight the forces of evil and stop the appocalyps. Vanquishing varies demons including and ancient vampire, hienas, an inernet bound demon and many more.

This season is probelly my fave season of all "Welcome to the hellmouth" is a gr8 episode and a perfect way of introducing each character.

Long live buffy and the slayer-ettes. Go scoobies! :-)

Peace xXx

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: A Slayer is Born
Review: When Buffy Anne Summers first moves to Sunnydale, California, she expects to be out of the big city and also away from the forces of darkness- but she was wrong. Soon enough, even as she attends her new High School, Buffy learns that there is no escaping her destiny, to slay the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. With the help of her new Watcher, Rupert Giles, and the help of her two best friends Willow and Xander, Buffy must not only survive the dangers of demons, but also the perrils of High School. But her true test comes when she must face the Master, an ancient vampire that plans on opening the gates to hell, which are right under her own feet in the town of Sunnydale.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer's first season is in my opinion one of the best. It is funny, scary, romantic, dramatic, and action packed, plus tons of fun to watch. The mythology and world that is created by the writers is just beyond amazing, and that world gets even more mezmorizing in Buffy's second season. Sarah Michelle Gellar leads the show as a perfectly cast Buffy, the girl who can't seem to find where she fits in. Anthony Stewart Head plays the stiff, grown up Giles who also is the school librarian, and does a very convincing and classic job as Buffy's father figure. Alyson Hannigan plays the nerdy Willow, while Nicholas Brendan plays the geeky Xander. Charisma Carpenter plays the self centered popular nemesis to Buffy, Cordelia Chase, and Christine Sutherland plays Buffy's single mom Joyce. David Boreanaz adds love to the story as the vampire with a soul named Angel. Overall, Buffy is a delight and perfect show for people of all ages and is guarenteed to get you hooked.


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