Discovering Buffy
First-person Accounts of How Buffy Followers Came to Watch the Show
Note to scholars: anyone wishing to use the responses gathered here (after the airing of the final episode in the US in May and June of 2003) in order to investigate BtVS fandom has the permission of the editors of Slayage to do so. Please be sure to credit Slayage as your source (the URL should be cited as http://www.slayage.tv/discoveringbuffy/discoveringbuffy.htm).
| 1 |
Here is how I came to be a Buffy fan: I entered the PhD philosophy program at Marquette University, with a MA, in 2000. When I got there I was assigned a mentor to help me get prepared for my teaching duties. My mentor was Dr. James South. We became friends and one day he asked me if I watched Buffy. I laughed. He asked me to give it a try and lent me some episodes on tape. I started watching from the first episode onward, and I was hooked. This was about the same time FX started to replay Buffy episodes, two a night. So I was watching close to four hours of Buffy a night. (shame on me) But I never got sick of Buffy. Then James and myself began to discuss Buffy, the philosophical issues therein and so on. What gripped me was the fact that Buffy had more to say than most other shows, it investigated and raised complex issues in ways that made them clear or at least more accessible. James began working on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy book and he asked if I would like to help out. I jumped at the chance. Then he asked if I wanted to submit something for consideration. I did, and it made the final cut. Hence my essay in the book "Justifying the Means: Punishment in the Buffyverse." So here I am a budding Buffy scholar who will be looking for a job as a philosophy professor in a year or so. Is UC-Sunnydale hiring? Wait, I guess it was obliterated, wasn't it? Jacob Held |
| 2 |
I recently received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History with a specialization in Classical Studies from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. A few years ago I watched very little television. I considered most shows to be brainless, the humor was unappealing and the relationships unrealistic. Then one day I dozed off and awoke to an episode of Buffy. I was stunned, I had enjoyed the movie when I was younger, but had no interest in the TV show. I expected ineffectual teen melodrama; what I watched was creative, smart, both incredibly well acted and written, with a subtle intellectual humor. I began watching the show sporadically because I didn't want my friends and family to know. I was a closet Buffy fanatic. Then one day I got caught by my fiancé and our best friend. I was stunned when my friend sat down and started talking about the show. Apparently, he had been watching it for years! The rest of my friends and family were soon hooked as well. I was delighted to discover Slayage and the intellectual community that BtVS has inspired and brought together; of course, this merely increased my enthusiasm (obsession) with the show. Kylie |
| 3 |
I’m Jo Goile, a twin and from New Zealand. I am currently completing my masters degree in art and design at Auckland University of Technology, working at TV3 (the network that airs Buffy in NZ) and am a music teacher to a few kids on Tuesday evenings. I had watched Buffy the movie and was aware of the series but never really watched or got hooked until 2001. I was in the last year of my undergraduate degree and started watching mid way through season 5, by the end of the season I was fully hooked and wanted to know why it was such a bad thing that Spike loved Buffy. I then hired out Season 1 – 4 from my local video store and caught up on the Buffyverse, in the process becoming a loyal and respectful fan. My Masters degree is centred around television with Buffy as the primary text of investigation, until recently I was looked upon warily by my tutors with only 1 or 2 accepting my area of examination. Then I got accepted to speak at an international academic Buffy symposium and all of a sudden I am the pride of the university. Its amazing the places Buffy can take you. Jo Goile |
| 4 |
Fall 1997. My wife, Regina, and I had just moved to Lawrence, KS so that I might begin work on my Ph.D. in film studies. One warm evening as we sat in our stuffy, married-student apartment I was flipping through the channels when I stumbled across two teenagers walking through a cemetery, late at night playing the "movie quote" game. I surmised that the show was this one I'd heard about, based on a movie I'd loathed, called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Knowing of my wife's love for cheesy horror flicks I said something like "Oh, you might like this." So we gave it a try-out. The episode was, of course, the second season premiere of BtVS... Cut to six years later, and I'm hard at work on my Dissertation: "Long Stories: Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Classical Hollywood Narrative" Fred A. Holliday II |
| 5 |
I'm a senior lecturer in music at Birmingham Conservatoire in the UK, teaching courses on 20th century music and also film music. The movie that first got me interested in film music was Interview with the Vampire (1994) and so I developed an interest in all kinds of musical representations of vampires in film. I honestly can't remember if I had this in mind when I started watching BtVS, from the first episode onwards when it started airing on BBC2, but I do know that I loved it from the start and actually suffered terrible academic angst about my guilty secret. It made me laugh, and it moved me, fascinated me and made me think. I kept watching it for about four years before I found out that I could hold my head up in polite academic society and not get laughed at. Well, not too much...I teach a lecture on TV theme music with Buffy and Angel as the main examples in my film music course now. Janet K. Halfyard |
| 6 |
I am 22 years old and studying Media at De Montfort University, Leicester, England. I used to work in a bar on Thursday and Fridays. In England, Buffy is screened at 6:45pm on Thursdays and repeated at 11:35pm on Fridays. Looking for something to watch before work one Thursday I casually switched to BBC2 and began watching Buffy, the episode was Consequences and to my surprise I actually enjoyed it for more than just Sarah Michelle Gellar and Eliza Dushku! I missed the end of the episode due to work so watched the repeat after work on Friday. I did this for the rest of Season 3 but had many unanswered questions as I knew no back-story, so I bought season one on VHS. Seasons 2 & 3 quickly followed and I became hooked, so much that I am doing my dissertation on Buffy next year. Standout episodes - 'Surprise', 'Innocence', 'Passion', 'Becoming', 'Amends', 'Choices', 'The Prom', 'Graduation Day', 'Hush', 'Restless' and 'Once More With Feeling'. ~ Paul Keld |
| 7 |
The first time I saw Buffy The Vampire Television show was on the WB network, while I was at my mother’s house. Her friend, Shane was there, and after dinner, she insisted we watch this show. I thought, how odd that a 50 year old woman wants to watch some childish stupid WB show. But after the first few snappy lines of dialogue were delivered and I realized the subject matter was vampires and the undead, I was instantly riveted. The episode was the one where Spike comes into town. We got to meet Drusilla and Angel and the Scooby gang. After that hour of amazing writing and acting, set production, music, direction, and editing, I was hooked, and watched the show every Tuesday night for years, up to the present. I have collected Buffy memorabilia and DVDs, and turned most of my friends and family onto that amazing show. Leila Kincaid |
| 8 |
My name is Madeline Grzanich, and I am a senior at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and an English major. I was twelve when the movie came out and I thought it was funny, in a childish sort of way. I can still enjoy it now, as sort of a campy cult classic, and I think it is amusing that I saw it as childish when I was but a child myself. I was in High School when BtVS's first season aired, and being a book geek in a somewhat dangerous high school, I could relate to the over all theme that 'high school is hell." While we didn't have vampires, we did have a gang problem and teachers who turned a blind eye to the obvious members of the gang. I was excited to see that there was finally a role model for young women who was strong, yet she also struggled with the same problems teenagers face in real life. After the first episode, I was hooked. In the years that followed, the WB tried to create new shows that had the same dynamic cast, with Dawson's Creek and Roswell, but neither did what Buffy did. Buffy managed to strike a chord with me because it had very realistic relationships between friends, the characters conversations seemed real - using slang that has since become part of the vernacular, and they dealt with problems that people like me actually faced - such as whether or not I will pass my English final. In other shows, such as Dawson's Creek, nobody that I know was involved in a torrid affair with a teacher, nor did anyone I know use language that sounded like they had memorized the OED when talking to their friends. After seven years with Buffy, it will definitely be missed by my friends, family, and definitely me. Maddie Grzanich |
| 9 |
My name is Lisa Hendricks. I am a registered nurse, working full time in a psychiatric unit of a local hospital. I owe my discovery of Buffy to my acupuncturist. One day, as I lay on the table having needles inserted into my body, my acupuncturist starts talking about a TV show he's getting hooked on. "Buffy?" I snickered. I didn't think anything with the word Buffy in it could be of value. However, since I trust my acupuncturist's judgement, I decided to give it a try. Two months later, when I saw my acupuncturist again, I told him I was hooked. I've watched it since the beginning with my daughter, who is now 13. In an age of exploitation and diminishing the value of women, Buffy has been a breath of fresh air. It is empowering to watch this young woman take on the world. As a nurse, I've used Buffy to break the ice with some patients. I work with ages 12 and up. Unfortunately, I don't find a lot of adults that watch the show, but almost every adolescent has heard of it or watched it. I've had teens who have not wanted to talk at all, hold lengthy conversations with me when I ask if they watch Buffy. We talk about the show, the characters, and the meaning behind the stories. It provides an opening for communication and a less-threatening approach to discussing the patient's own issues. Buffy has impacted my life in only positive ways. As a psychiatric nurse, I find the psychological aspects of the show fascinating. I am currently reading Fighting the Forces and will follow this book with Philosophy of Buffy. Lisa Hendricks, RN |
| 10 |
I am a 23 year old PhD student in English at Dundee University, Scotland: my thesis is "The Postmodern Vampire: Vampire Culture 1975 to the Present". I hadn't heard of the original Buffy film when the BBC began broadcasting Season One back in 1997, so I didn't have that to compare it to. I remember the title put me off as it sounded very silly and from that alone I assumed it'd be some meagre American teen fare on par with Sabrina the Teenage Witch or something of that calibre, so I initially avoided it. The 6pm-ish slot on BBC 2 definitely made me warm to the potential acceptability of the program though, as this is "cult tv" time with such high class programs as The Simpsons. If it had been shown in a different slot or a different channel, I doubt I'd have watched it. The first episode I eventually saw was "Teacher's Pet", and I thought it was good enough to warrant viewing next week's Buffy...Very soon, I was hooked and it became one of those compulsive viewing programs that I'd record if I wouldn't be in to see it. I haven't missed an episode since. Steve Kydd |
| 11 |
I am the editor of a floor covering trade magazine by day, obsessed and devoted Buffy fan by night. FYI -- I am now 43 years old. I started watching in season 2. My husband was out of town one night and I was flipping channels. A scene in a graveyard stopped me short: Buffy and Angel having their cemetary talk in "Reptile Boy." The vampire thing got me -- I was a huge Dark Shadows fan as a child. Also, the chemistry between Gellar and Boreanaz sucked me right into the story. I guess I started watching for the B/A shipness, but the writing, plotting and acting kept me around for the duration. I had to find out what happened to these people. Tonight is the end of Buffy. What a great ride it has been. I can honestly say there will never be another television show like it, nor will there be one that will ever mean as much as Buffy has to me. Kim Gavin |
| 12 |
I'm a Ph.D. candidate in Women's Studies at York University (Toronto). It was a Saturday afternoon. The WB re-aired the Buffy pilot after its premiere earlier in the week. I kept waiting for Dylan from Beverly Hills 90210 to show up. It was only after that I realized I hadn't watched the movie but a new series. I was 21 years old and mildly enthusiastic-feeling far beyond the petty dramatics of high school. Still I watched it faithfully (and even bought The Sundays Blind because I heard their cover of "Wild Horses" at Sunnydale's 1999 prom). By the time I moved to Toronto in September 2000 I was writing "Buffy season premiere" and the like in my planner. A stint on the anti-depressant Paxil with the side-effect of heightened dreaming had me interacting with the Scooby Gang on a nightly basis. I'm being humorous, but the truth is that as the show evolved, I found myself connecting on an intimate level with these characters. And that should not be surprising. Look at our world and the importance of TV. Buffy is the book you just couldn't put down and one you know you'll turn to again and again. --Nancy Gobatto |
| 13 |
I had been hearing about BtVS, but there was no WB where I live in southern Maine. Then I went on a business trip to Chicago in what turned out to have been October of the 4th season. Flipping through the channels on the tv in my hotel room, I landed on Buffy and was transfixed. I came home deeply disappointed that I wouldn't be able to catch Buffy at home. A couple of weeks later, I was again flipping through channels. Completely unexpectedly, there was Buffy on UPN on a Saturday night. Evidently (unknown to me before this), the local UPN station was doing double duty -- UPN during regular broadcast times, WB late nights and weekends. Buffy -- and Angel -- welcome to the Jossaverse! I'm now completely caught up (several times over) thanks to FX. BTW -- we finally got a WB just as BtVS was officially moving to UPN. Jennie |
| 14 |
I am a senior at Middle Tennessee State University studying public relations and marketing. I currently work as an intern in the public affairs/marketing office of a Nasvhille-based healthcare company. I first discovered Buffy in January 1998 while serving on active duty in the United States Coast Guard. At the time, the ship I was stationed on was being repaired in dry-dock in Miami, Florida, and my shipmates and I had to spend six weeks in a hotel in downtown Miami (Sailors + free hotel + per diem + Miami = mayhem). Sidelined by oral surgery, I ended up in bed one evening instead of out on the town and came across Buffy. The episode was Surprise (not a bad episode to begin with) and I was instantly hooked. Much to my dismay, the ship was repaired and we had to return to our homeport of Savannah, Georgia, which at the time had no WB affiliate. My mother, who happened to be a huge Buffy fan, agreed to record Buffy and send the tapes to me. I will never forget the shear joy of being deployed, pulling into port at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and having a box full of Buffy tapes awaiting me. I ended up leaving the service to attend college--and because the military interfered with my TV viewing. Since first discovering Buffy, I have married (had Buffy quoted in my wedding), almost completed school, and last year found out that I am not the only Buffy fan at MTSU (thank you, Dr. Lavery). Matthew Guy |
| 15 |
I am a graduate student in music at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. I first became aware of Buffy the show in season six, when I was employed as a junior high/high school band and choir director in Indiana. While channel surfing, I happened upon Sarah Michelle Gellar walking down the street to the first tune in the debut showing of "Once More with Feeling." Amazed that any TV show would attempt to write a musical, a truly risky endeavor, I watched the episode in amazement. I was hooked by the cleverness of the show's writing and mythology and quickly caught up on the episodes. While teaching in the public schools, I often used Buffy references to introduce serious discussions with my students (homosexuality, rape), and used "Once More with Feeling" as a teaching tool with my choirs. -J.B. |
| 16 |
I am an editor and writer with a doctorate in Folklore and Mythology Studies from UCLA. Part of my interest as a mythologist is the ways in which mythological narratives and mythic structures manifest in contemporary film and television--how does popular culture propagate both old and new mythologies that address contemporary concerns? I also have a great fondness for goofy movies, so when a film titled "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" came out, I couldn't resist. I enjoyed it, but nothing earth-shattering. Nonetheless, when I saw that a television series was being made, I took a look. I watched the first season and maybe half of the second, and then drifted away; I felt it was getting a little too high-school romancey with Angel (obviously, I had drifted before he went evil!). Toward the beginning of the fourth season, I happened to be flipping channels when I fell over the scene in which Spike tries to bite Willow and realizes he has the chip. I was laughing so hard I alarmed the cats, and I was hooked for good. I am definitely one of those evil beings who thinks that Spike makes the show. Buffy alone is empowering; Buffy in any kind of relationship to Spike is the human (and inhuman) condition in a nutshell. Leslie Ellen Jones Jack of All Trades and Doctor of Folklore |
| 17 |
I was a freshman in High School. I was flipping through the magazines a typical 14 year old girl looks at- Teen, YM, Seventeen, and they all had advertisements for this new show, Buffy. Well I had seen the movie and thought it was entertaining and campy but completely unadaptable to the small screen. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer? That might be the worst name for a one hour drama in television history. Well I turned on the first night and was hooked. They were young people, with real problems and yeah demons, vampires and the hellmouth was thrown into the mix, but who can't relate to those elements symbolically? I found out my uncle had watched the first show too and was also, hooked. NOw I'm a junior in college and Buffy was a huge part of my relationship with my uncle. After shows we'd call each other, talk about the show's highs and lows, make predictions and chat about life. I'll miss Buffy, it was the only show on television that I ever became so emotionally involved in, and cared so much if I missed it. My friends and family all knew that on Tuesdays at 8 I was not to be disturbed. Thanks for a great seven years. Stepanie Grow |
| 18 |
I'm a SAHM in my mid-thirties. I discovered BtVS thanks to my father-in-law, who is in his sixties and who has watched the show from its inception. When I was on bed rest during my pregnancy (just after the 4th season of Buffy had ended) my FIL loaned me the tapes of the episodes that he had made, and I watched them all. Then I made my husband watch them. We started watching the show officially at the start of S5 and haven't missed an episode since. I own many of the Buffy books, and all of the DVDs that have been released so far. We love the show because it is clever, fast-paced, emotional, and because the dialogue is of such high caliber. Amy Johnson |
| 19 |
I am a professor of international relations and political economy at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Among other things, I teach and write about tourism cultures in the United States and the Middle East, including topics such as the impact on the local Tunisian economy of the Star Wars film shoots and the fan tourism the movies have generated. During the first few seasons I was living in the Middle East, but I had heard about the show in 1997 from an American high school teacher in Tunis. Upon my return to the United States in Fall 1998 I began watching the show and I was able to (re)live much of the high school years on a few consecutive evenings in January 1999 when students at MIT, where I was a graduate student, sponsored marathon showings of the first three seasons. My appreciation of the show was particularly enhance after I attended a mind-opening panel discussion at MIT entitled "Voices from the Hellmouth" by Jon Katz and Henry Jenkins about youth culture in post-Columbine America. -Waleed Hazbun |
| 20 |
I am the Acquisitions Coordinator/Webmaster for the Mercer University Atlanta library. I began watching Buffy halfway through the second season during a time when the new episodes were shown on Tuesday and reruns from the first season on Monday. I loved the cleverness of the scripts as well as the humor and depth of the characters and their relationships to each other. The action and monsters were cool too. During the third season I began to notice other layers to the show; metaphorical statements showing that the writers were even smarter that I thought they were to begin with. An interview I read with Joss Whedon during that time let me realize the exact statement that I was enjoying so much - Buffy was a feminist icon. A strong woman with leadership skills that went unquestioned by the men around her. I collected as much material on the subject as I could find and made a Web site devoted to it called Buffy the Patriarchy Slayer. Most importantly, though, I became a feminist. - Darin Givens |
| 21 |
I'm Jennifer, a 28 year old female writing from Austin, Texas. I am currently an inside sales rep for a high-tech distributor, and enrolled for the upcoming fall at the University of Texas Law School. I have an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Iowa, where I enthusiastically pursued critical analysis of literary and filmic texts with an emphasis on cultural studies, especially minory and women's literatures. As an undergraduate, I became good friends with an instructor of mine who shared my enthusiasms for television in general and serial dramas in particular. In the fall of 1998, she advised me that she had become emotionally consumed by Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but did not feel she could urge me to watch as she felt it was speaking to a particular emotional state of hers at the time. I thought little more about it, even when I caught glimpses of episodes myself - most memorably "Hush," which I watched a good portion of as it originally aired. In the summer of 2000, my significant other and I pulled up roots after finishing school and moved to Austin, Texas, where we knew no one but each other. The TV became our main social activity, sad as that might be, and one night we happened to catch the season finale, "Restless." I thought that was one of the smartest and most compelling character-driven hours of television I had seen in ages, and after watching the tape we made of it 3 or 4 times, we committed to watching the summer reruns of Buffy's fourth season. Just a few weeks later, we decided to rent the videotapes that were available at the time, the Season 1 box set, and were both instantly hooked. I called my instructor to chastise her for not demanding that I begin watching when she did, and she offered an apology in the form of the first four seasons on videotape, which she doled out to us in packages of six or seven episodes at a time -- a rate I remember finding excruciatingly slow. We began watching Buffy "live" at Season Five, and even though we have made good friends in the three years since (literally all of whom we met because of a mutual interest in Buffy), I still think of the Scoobies as the first close friends I made in my new hometown. Jennifer Gordon Austin, Texas |
| 22 |
I had always had a fascination with the supernatural, particularly vampires, so when Buffy first came to my attention, I decided to watch. I found the movie to be funny, but not particularly riveting, but I knew Sarah Michelle Gellar from the show Swan's Crossing and had my aforementioned fascination, so the show was a great alternative to the nothing that was on Tuesdays. I watched the series premiere and discovered that the show was different--it was current and funny and intelligent, with a strong plot and great characters. My best friend watched the show as well, and we have since shared our love of Buffy with many people. I have been an avid viewer of Buffy ever since that first Tuesday night. ~Shanna Johnting Lynn, IN |
| 23 |
I am currently a graduate student at the College of Notre Dame of Maryland in their Communicating in the Contemporary Culture program. I graduate with my Master of Arts degree in December 2003, due in large part to my obsession with BtVS. Many a faculty member has been lucky enough to read my various interpretations of this amazing show. I remember as though it were yesterday, stumbling upon my first episode purely by luck. Baltimore, Maryland did not offer the fledgling WB Network when BtVS started, so I didn¹t even know the show existed at first. Imagine that a world without Buffy! Anyway, I rushed home from work one night in January 1997 and frantically ran around trying to get ready for dinner with friends. I turned the TV on for white noise and flipped to whatever channel looked interesting and there it was a double play of ³Surprise² and ³Innocence.² Needless to say I didn¹t make dinner. I¹ve been hooked ever since and I¹ve successfully converted almost everyone I know, and they love the show now too! Alicia Karoll |
| 24 |
My name is Aimee T. H. Kessler and I'm an attorney in Arlington, VA. I was in my first year of law school when Buffy started. Having really enjoyed the movie's campy style, I initially refused to watch the show, figuring it would fail at any attempts to capture that campy-ness. However, I started watching upon flipping channels one night. The strong female heroine/superhero captured my interest (I am a HUGE Wonder Woman fan, down to the tattoo on my right ankle) as there are so few. I haven't missed an episode since that spring day, through another year of singlehood, five years of dating my now-husband (who I also hooked on Buffy), planning our wedding and the honeymoon. Aimee T. H. Kessler |
| 25 |
I am a professor of philosophy at California State University, Bakersfield. I teach courses in Feminist Philosophy, Political Philosophy, Existentialism, Legal Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, and Critical Thinking. I was completely turned off by the title, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and assumed that the show was ridiculous and misogynist. In 1999, while a graduate student, I often teased a close friend of mine (Verenice Heredia) who refused to hang-out on Tuesday nights because of Buffy. On one occasion, she agreed to come over to my apartment only if I would agree to watch Buffy. The episode was "Hush." Although I was still skeptical, my attitude toward the show began to shift dramatically. I started to watch the show regularly, and by Season 5 I was hooked. I became the person who refuses to go out or answer the phone on Tuesday nights. For a while, I watched about 4 hours of Buffy a day to get caught up on previous episodes, thanks to FX. I now read BtVS comics and novels and I love the video game (although I wish it would come out on PS2 so that I don't have to buy an X-Box). I have yet to write an essay about the show although I refer to the metaphysics of the Buffyverse often in my philosophy courses. And, I am still waiting for someone to explain to me how Cecily became Halfrek. (There must be a great story there!!) Debra Jackson |
| 26 |
Hi! Our names are Christina Jeurling, 30, and Tomas Seo, 29, two good
friends from Stockholm, Sweden! I am a television journalist and Tomas is the CEO of a design studio, we met through our film studies at the
University. We were pop-culture junkies long before we discovered Buffy and
have through the years found ingenious ways of getting a hold of new American TV series, books and magazines even though we are "across the
pond". Tomas was recommended Buffy by another friend and by the second season we were completely hooked. We were especially fascinated by
Buffyspeak and how the writers had a strong voice for each character. The show hasn't been given a fair shot on Swedish TV so we imported British DVDs
until we were up to speed. Buffy marathons - One full season in one week-end! So whether you are 15 years old in Great Britain, 25 in the US or
30 in Sweden Buffy is universal and the themes apply to us all at some point
in our lives! Thank you Joss Whedon for that! And thank you Slayage for giving Buffy the respect it deserves and digging just a little bit deeper.
Christina Jeurling and Tomas Seo, Stockholm Sweden |
| 27 |
I'm a lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
(UK) where I teach courses on Hispanic culture, Spanish language, gender and
culture, race and postcolonial studies. I've written widely on gender and popular culture (particularly romantic music) in a Hispanic context.
I had watched the Buffy movie on one of my Friday night videofests as an undergraduate with fellow Anne Rice/vampire movie fan Joady Haley and enjoyed
it as campy fun. I switched on to Buffy the TV show when it premiered on the
BBC and then found myself playing catch up when I finally succumbed to the
lure of cable and Sky One back to back Angel and Buffy, as opposed to the frequent frustrating cancellations for sport on BBC2 and butchered editing of
Channel 4. The video sets completed my viewing, although I now find myself
debating the switch to a DVD collection! With a research interest in popular music and film the seeds were sown for the
edited volume I'm currently preparing with Paul Attinello on the Sounds of the
Slayer (function of music, sound and silence in BtVS).
(Dr) Vanessa Knights |
| 28 |
I am an over-50 agronomist (soil and plant care expert). I have had an
interest in vampires from the time I was a youngster. I "kept track" of the
lore, though continued to be too frightened to watch the actual movies or read the books. When Angel (a "good" vampire) spun off, I watched it, but
didn't get many of the references. I started to watch Buffy occasionally to
help me understand the Angel back story. It was Season 5 and I was beginning
to be more captured by the characters and story of the Buffyverse than the
Angel series. The struggle of epic proportions against an overwhelming enemy
- drama, romance, suspense - who could ask for anything more? After Once More, With Feeling, I was completely a devotee. It was the language, the
humor, and the connection with the real-life feelings we all have, just dressed up as demon-fighting. I soon found a community that discussed the
ways in which Buffy et al illuminated many broad and important human themes.
This is the part that has drawn me the strongest.
Claudia Groth |
| 29 |
My name is Kasey, im a 22 year old student from Melbourne, Australia.
I'm in
my final undergraduate year of a degree in Media and Communications.
I started watching Buffy 2 and a half seasons ago. My brother, who would have been in his early teens, watched it every week. I kept saying, its such a dumb show why bother? I'd leave the room every time it was on. I'm not into sci-fi, not into horror, I didn't think fighting monsters and demons would be appealing at all. And then, one day, a cable channel was having an 8 hour buffy marathon. I was home sick and tuned in. And have never tuned out! I loved it, i was instantly drawn to the characters, to their wit, their energy, their strong friendships. I was fascinated by the information Giles knew, by the struggle of Angel and Buffy, which tore at my own heart. I loved the teen drama of ordinary American High School, such as proms, Cordelia etc. I loved Buffy's strength. Ironically, my brother no longer watches the show and i cannot get enough of it. I have brought all the accompanying books such as your own, the Monster Book, The Watchers Guide, just trying to absorb the cultural information surrounding the show. I can't explain my attraction to it in any other way, it just draws you in! Cheers, Kasey |
| 30 |
I am a 39 year-old Senior Financial Analyst for a small manufacturing
company near Boston, Massachusetts. I first watched "Buffy" on March 10, 1997 - the date it was originally aired. I don't remember why I watched it.
The first scene, with Darla and the high school kid going up to the roof, grabbed me, but the moment that hooked me for good was the final battle on
the stage at the Bronze at the end of "Harvest". When Buffy tricked the vessel ("it comes in nine hours, you moron"), I laughed so hard I knew that
I never wanted to miss an episode.
Over the years, I took a lot of flak from people who thought I only watched for prurient reasons, not believing me when I praised the storytelling. Once, on vacation, I drove from Los Angeles to San Francisco to watch "Buffy" with a friend. I got married and convinced my wife to watch it and she became a fan, too. My three year-old daughter even told me recently she can't wait to grow up so she can watch "Buffy". And, no, I never did miss an episode. Andy Gatchell |
| 31 |
I am an 18 year old second year film and television/psychology student at
the University of Queensland in Australia. I first saw Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television program) when the first season aired here at which
time I was approximately 12 years old and not yet in high school. I watched it occasionally in that year but was not terribly involved or
thrilled by it. When the second season began I became completely hooked. I was impressed by the writing, especially the fact that the
characters were so believable in the context of the Buffy world and I found
myself really caring what happened to them. This involvement with the show
has both continued and grown in the following years, leading to me studying
Buffy in an academic context at university and finding that other people shared my view that there was more to be taken from this program than just
an hour's escape from real life. In a great part I feel that Buffy was responsible for me looking at television as an important force in the world
and lead to my choice of film and television as a major. Buffy the Vampire
Slayer has had a large impact on my life as well as that of many around me
and I believe there is much cultural study still to be conducted on it.
Karen Kerr |
| 32 |
My first taste of "Buffy" the series came in a hotel room in the spring
of 1997. I happened upon a rerun of "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and was surprised
to see that such a shabby movie had spawned a series. I was amused that the little actress from "All My Children" was running around in kitschy
modern bell-bottoms doing handstands on high bars and beating up grown men.
I've always been a fan of female action heroes. Sadly, an ad at the end of the hour
indicated that the following week would air the shows season finale. If I'd
missed a whole season, why bother to watch?
A few months later I moved to New York City and stayed away from television for months. I found "Buffy" again in the winter, watching half an episode after "Cybill" on Mondays. By the time "Cybill" was cancelled mid-season, I'd fallen in love with a Billy Idol-esque vampire named Spike and found a "Buffy" buddy at work. When Angel referred to his first time with Buffy as terrible, I stopped puttering and gave the show my full attention. So compelling was this turn of events that when "Buffy" moved to Tuesday nights, I gave up the very enjoyable "Moesha" permanently. Since then, Tuesday nights have found me at home tuning in to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." -- Sofrina Hinton |
| 33 |
I am Head of English at a secondary comprehensive school (11-18 year-old
students) in Oxfordshire, England. Having watched the rather turgid 1992 film of BtVS, I really wasn't interested when a TV spin-off (which, by the
law of such things, had to be even worse than the original) of the same name
started on British TV in 1998, so, although I watched a few episodes, I did
so without enthusiasm, and quickly gave up. Besides, at that time I was engrossed in the epic story-arcs of Babylon 5. Then, as chance would have
it, I was having dinner with a learned PhD former Head of Faculty. He and his wife raved about BtVS, saying it was so much better than the derided
film. I reciprocated, recommending B5 to them.
Both they and I duly gave each other's shows another go, the consequence of which has been a six-year history of obsession and avid fandom, most recently expressed in my downloading Season 7 from the 'net before episodes aired here on digital TV. Chris Knight |
| 34 |
At work during lunch we all discussed the latest episode of VR5, a sci-fi program which
required intense watching to determine what was going on. We (ladies) really liked the actor
Anthony Stewart Head who was in the show. Then without warning this thoroughly interesting
show was cancelled. We moaned and groaned and for a while had no show to discuss during lunch
(we worked in an industrial area so it did not allow for shopping). Someone mentioned that
Head was now in another show called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" - we thought, not the type of
show for us, but we did watch to see him and
were hooked. The title of the show did not lend itself to something we thought we would
like, but once we watched the drama, comedy, etc we were hooked.
Linda G. |
| 35 |
I am a PhD student in the Department of Film, Theatre and Television at
Reading University, England. My thesis addresses the relationship between postmodernism and contemporary popular media culture.
Last summer, I mentioned to one of my husband’s colleagues (Suzanne Green)
that I was planning to spend one chapter of my thesis analysing representations of gender. She immediately suggested I consider Buffy the
Vampire Slayer, but I told her I didn’t know much about it – I had tried
watching a couple of episodes on the BBC, but by then the series was well into Season 5, and I had no idea what was going on.
However, she was adamant and turned up on my doorstep the next day with the
complete BtVS (and Angel) on tape. A year on, Suzanne’s tapes are still with me. I’m writing the chapter,
trying to formulate how the series invites a postmodern-feminist reading, and have used BtVS extensively in my teaching on postmodern television,
where it has become a frequent point of reference for me and my students.
Through BtVS, I have gained both a programme to enjoy and analyse, and a very generous and patient friend - not bad! Simone Knox |
| 36 |
I am a 21 year old university student studying Commerce/Law in Sydney, Australia.
I first saw BtVS from the season 1 episode “Angel”. Although I didn’t know much about previous stories, I was moved by the story and especially Darla’s sad expression when she was killed by Angel. I remembered the show, but did not get to watch it regularly because of time constraints at the time. The next time I watched BtVS would be the Season 2 finale. Again, I didn’t know what was going on but I was again moved. I then made an effort to watch BtVS from Season 3 onwards, but I again ended up missing it from time to time and by Season 4 I managed to only watch about one third of the episodes. Season 5 was when I became a loyal viewer. I watched every episode of Season 5, and by “Intervention”, I was hooked, particularly by the character Spike and his love for Buffy. But it was not until the powerful “Beneath You” in Season 7 that got me, uh, intensely interested (read: obsessed), and it was then that I fully dived into internet fandom and the habit of reading & entering into discussion and writing analysis & review. A bit late in the long journey that is Buffy, I guess. But I am grateful that I found it. Anka Ho |
| 37 |
I'm an unemployed 50-something IT professional in England. The first
time I watched Buffy, after the original movie put me off years ago, was
the musical episode in Season 6, "Once More with Feeling". BBC2
screened it early in 2003 and I happened to notice it in the schedules and was curious. On first viewing it did little for me - but the second time, I latched on to all the angst and longing and found myself responding emotionally. On repeated viewing, a love of musicals from my teenage years was reawakened and I became impressed by the elegance of the music and narrative. Subsequently, Tabula Rasa made little impression, but I persisted and soon found myself obsessed with everything Buffy. I now can't go one day without watching all or part of at least one Buffy episode. I've listened to the OMWF soundtrack innumerable times. I bought seasons 5 and 6 on DVD, and I'm catching up with seasons 1-4 on rental. I was hungry for back-story and trawled the Internet for fan sites, as well as buying books and magazines on the subject. It's been a very expensive obsession so far.
Dave Kirk |
| 38 |
I am a 47 year old health care professional, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Critical Care Nursing, a Master's Degree in Public Administration (specializing in Health Services) from the University of Southern
California, and 25 years' experience in the field.
As a rule, I am relatively immune to media hype - in truth, the louder the "buzz" about a show, the more I avoid it. Much to the surprise of my co-workers, I have never seen an episode of Friends, Cheers, Twin Peaks, Bay Watch or Beverly Hills 90120, and had never seen the X-Files until - after several seasons - the episodes were re-run on one of the local cable stations. Couple with this the fact that I have never been a fan of wise-cracking aliens, or tongue-in-cheek treatments of the science fiction and/or horror genre's, and it should be evident that as the "buzz" about Buffy grew, it strengthened, rather than weakened my resolve to avoid watching the show. Then sometime during season 2 or 3, Buffy happened to be on while I was involved in something else. I think my initial reaction was, "This isn't so bad... not bad at all." Over the next few months I chanced upon the show a few more times, watching now by choice, rather than default. Before long, I found myself looking for the show... rescheduling my errands to be home when it was on. Having seen only random episodes taken from seasons 2-4, I didn't have necessary background to appreciate the depth and scope of the Buffy saga; I just knew it was clever, and funny, and serious, and tragic - and that I felt... grounded(?) and among friends when I was watching. Buffy didn't make me feel I had to park my brain and/or self respect at the door while I watched. When a local cable station announced it would be showing all the episodes to date, starting with episode one, I made sure to watch them all, and never missed an episode, then watched every new episode through and including the finale. Two words can be used to describe BTVS that are seldom used in the same breath with the word television - art and literature. What a masterpiece. Joss Whedon has won my undying respect (no pun intended). But I'll never be able to forgive him for killing Tara. -Richard Kamins |
| 39 |
I am a 46 year old conference organiser. In January 2000 I was ill in bed
with pleurisy and unable to do much due to the pain. I had Channel 4 on and
a late night showing of Angel (Series 1) began. As I couldn't be bothered to
move to change channel, and David Boreanaz was not unpleasant to the eye I
began to watch and soon became totally hooked. After a couple of episodes I
realised that this was somehow connected to Buffy, which I had never seen,
but luckily, not longer after BBC2 started showing again the first series of
Buffy and a true obsession was born. I now own everything on Buffy and Angel
on DVD so far released and spend rather a lot of time following the myriad
of websites.Several of my friends have also been hooked. I consider Buffy to
be the most intelligent, moving and wittily written show I've ever seen on
TV, with Angel a close second. I only wish Buffy had been around when I was
growing up - although I did have Emma Peel! Thank you, Joss Whedon.
Pauline Isherwood |
| 40 |
Demographically, I am a 32 yr old male, an organic
chemist at a major pharma company (PhD, MA, and BA from Harvard).
The first episode of BtVS I ever watched was Ep 1 of Season 6; at the end of the summer 2001, I remember seeing at a local mall, a poster teaser for the upcoming start of BtVS season 6, with the simple "Buffy lives" statement superimposed over a drawing of SMG's eyes. Although I knew the show had some cult status [though I did not personally know any (admitted) viewers], I had dismissed the show for the same reasons as every other later-converted fan; however, I was extremely intrigued by the idea of a show that had killed off the lead hero character (I like dark motifs, and that is a novel and dark idea!), and so I decided to check the show out when the new season began I was very quickly hooked. Although I was jumping in with NO knowledge of the mythic background story (I had no friends who watched, to explain anything to me), I was immediately grabbed by the characters, acting and writing; I thought the concept of Buffy being pulled from 'heaven' by her friends was extremely poignant. Fortunately, at that same time FX was showing Seasons 1-5, in order, twice daily, and I was able to catch up very very quickly (reading the other letters submitted here, it seems a LOT of us late fans owe thanks to FX for doing that!! On the other hand, frustrating that we are only up to S4 on DVD here in the US, while the rest of the world awaits S7...). Next thing you know, I've watched every single episode a good 7-10 times, and never grow tired of re-watching them; and having taped all the seasons on VHS, I have also made Buffy addicts of every friend and relative willing to give the show a try (all very highly educated folks as well). Although it's good the show went out before becoming another X-files disaster, and while I think S7 was far weaker than any other season (and yes, I think S4 and S6 were both excellent), I echo the thoughts of many who feel saddened by the loss of this creative and wonderfully entertaining part of our lives! --Rick Goodman |
| 41 |
I'm Joy Ho, 19 years of age and am a Psychology major at college. I'm from Malaysia and satellite tv syndicates Buffy, so we are usually 1 and a half seasons behind but I was there from the "start" so to speak. I watched every episode until Season 4, when I got really hooked and got on the net for more information. Since then, I caught up with "real time" and found 'ways' to get all the current episodes. It's a huge part of my life and has changed the way I look at things. I relate so much to the show that it's more than a show to me. It's needless to say that Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, a show scoffed by so many, will go down in history as one of the most legendary cult hits. Joy Ho |
| 42 |
I am a proofreader at a newspaper, a wife and mother of two teenage boys. From the age of 4 I was fascinated with horror, particularly vampires. I found them both frightening and awesome. As a child I secretly believed that they existed, although I never told anyone because they would have kept me from watching the movies. I planned for the day a vampire would appear at my window and I would save my family because only I would know how to kill one. I would be a hero. As I grew older, my fascination never abated and when the Buffy movie came out, I was entraced. Here was a girl that did exactly what I planned to do in childhood - fight vampires and win. Although the movie had some disappointments, I loved it. I eagerly anticipated the TV show, although I was only vaguely familiar with SMG and ASH. I was hooked from the first scene, the first bar of music and the first time I saw Buffy. I considered the show and its mythology an important part of my life for seven years. Buffy and her world will always be my hobby, my passion and the way I escape from the stress of everyday life. I owe her for giving me glimpses into a world I dreamed of in childhood and for allowing me to see what I could have been - if only vampires were real and I had superpowers. I truly enjoyed sharing her world. Devin Govaere |
| 43 |
My name is Jessica, I'm a 21 year-old college student. Back in 1992, when I first heard the title of the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, it was already on my list of favorite movies. The idea of a popular, ditzy, modern blond chic being forced to slay vampires because it was her calling somehow appealed to me a great deal. When I actually saw the movie, I wasn't completely satisfied, but I wasn't completely dissapointed either. It was funny, and had a somewhat intriguing if not fully-developled mythology that I enjoyed.
When I first saw the promos for the new show, I was both curious and disgusted. That they would dare exploit the concept I so dearly loved for the sake of some dumb teen soap opera...I boycotted the show at first. Of course I heard accounts from critics, friends, and relatives that the show was actually pretty good. My initial disgust and condescension did soften a bit over time. I went from loathing the whole thing to not minding it but shrugging it off as still just another dumb teen melodrama ala 90210 or Dawson's Creek, and then actually being convinced by the ever-enthusiastic praise that maybe, just maybe it really was a pretty good show after all. But by that time, I wasn't terribly interested in watching TV. This is a person who believed it when everyone told her The Matrix was a good movie, but still couldn't care less. Like I needed to see every great movie/TV show out there? That was my attitude. (I actually didn't see that movie for a few years after it was first released). My not-watching of Buffy was prolonged past snobbery into simple indifference.
So when I did finally get around to seeing a few episodes it wasn't a revelation. I wasn't surprised by the greatness of it, because by that time I didn't doubt all the praise. But coming to love this show more than any other TV show I've ever seen, and in fact loving it as more than just a TV show- well that was a very gradual experience.
I started watching the reruns on FX because it aired next to my favorite show at the time- Ally McBeal. I saw some of the then-new eps (from Season 6) because my sister wanted me to tape them for her (she didn't get UPN). At some point while watching 'Wrecked,' for reasons I'm not entirely sure of, I decided to start watching the show with more regularity. I thought 'Sure, I could get invested in this.' I caught up to the current season through a combination of FX and the Internet. After watching every episode from the beginning up to Season 5 I had my first inkling that I really loved this show (yes, only after nearly 100 episodes!).
I really shouldn't try to go into much more detail about how I did finally get to where I am now in my Buffy passion. As I've said, it was a long and gradual process, and it would be too long and boring to try and fish through the moments that pulled me further and further in. Suffice it to say that the more and more fully I understood what kind of intellingence, depth, and integrity were a part of this show, and the more I understood the passion that went into its creation, the more I fell in love with it. Buffy is a show that can entertain, can provide you with endless hours of thought: philosophical, analytical, and parlor-game style, and can become a part of your heart the way any true work of art can. Jessica |
| 44 |
I am a 36 year old writer, designer, producer of film & TV living in Sydney Australia. I first discovered Buffy through the movie. Even though I knew it wasn't the greatest movie ever made it struck a chord (to the point that I even bought it on DVD). I was not obsessive about Buffy when it first came onto Australian TV. I remember hearing that they'd made a series out of the film but was skeptical about it's quality. I dipped in and out of the first series but something took hold... When series two premiered I had made an 'appointment to view'... Since then I have become very obsessive, collecting all 6 (available) series on DVD and doing everything in my power never to miss an episode.
As a writer I am grateful for the opportunities to listen to the commentaries on the DVD's that give a further insight into the thought processes behind character and plot development. I have also become addicted to Angel and look forward to the next community of characters Joss and his team give us to wrap our imaginations around! Dani Haski |
| 45 |
I am an undergraduate University student. I remember the original movie as pure camp, yet strangely engaging. I would watch it whenever it came on television, reciting the words along with the actors while simultaneously dismissing it as mindless teen drivel (as a twelve-year-old, I was remarkably precocious. Hubris, as Joss would say, is so cute). Eighth grade came along and I was vaguely aware that a little-known network had picked up a television show based on a little-known movie that happened to be one of my guilty pleasures. I decided I was above this, and would not scratch that itch.
My junior high school was a wasteland; nobody watched what I watched or read what I read. I would try to talk to my classmates about Northern Exposure or My So-called Life, and I received lectures on the brilliance of the WWF; the really sophisticated kids would mention Friends. Needless to say, this feeling of isolation I felt at public school would fuel my Buffy obsession for years to come.
I was flipping through the channels one evening and I came to a cute little redheaded girl and a beautiful blonde discussing their love lives, ok, specifically discussing their sex lives; I make no apologies for being fourteen. It was Surprise, in the second season, and I was in love. The next night Innocence came on and I tuned in, enamored with characters with whom I was already beginning to form a connection, enthralled by the abrupt change of Angel to Angelus and Jenny Calendar's backstory. By the end of that night, my life would never be the same. The next five years brought laughter, tears, and comfort the likes of which I never considered a television show could offer. The end of the series has been tinged with a certain sadness, but at the same time, I feel as though I'm now free to explore and stumble across another show that will change my life. The last line of Buffy was "What are we gonna do now?" I suppose that's the question. Kenny |