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Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season 1
Region 1 Season 1 DVD cover
Starring
No. of episodes12
Release
Original networkThe WB
Original releaseMarch 10 (1997-03-10) –
June 2, 1997 (1997-06-02)
Season chronology
Next →
Season 2
List of episodes

The first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on March 10, 1997 as a mid-season replacement on The WB and concluded its 12-episode season on June 2, 1997. The first season aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET.

Plot

The first season exemplifies the "high school is hell" concept. Buffy Summers has just moved to Sunnydale after burning down her old school's gym and hopes to escape her Slayer duties. Her plans are complicated by Rupert Giles, her new Watcher, who reminds her of the inescapable presence of evil. Sunnydale High is built atop a Hellmouth, a portal to demon dimensions that attracts supernatural phenomena to the area. Buffy meets two schoolmates, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, who help her fight evil through the series. She also gets a love interest in the form of Angel, a vampire who has a soul. They soon become known as the "Scoobies". Together they must prevent The Master, an ancient and especially threatening vampire, from opening the Hellmouth and taking over Sunnydale.

While befriending Buffy on her first day, both Willow and Xander have motives to fight. Xander's motive to fight alongside Buffy was the loss of his friend Jesse, who was turned into a vampire by The Master's minions. Xander soon kills Jesse. Willow however was more timid and fiercely scared of monsters. They both soon become Buffy's most loyal sidekicks. There is some romantic tension between them as Xander has a crush on Buffy and is oblivious of Willow's affections for him. The Scoobies distrust Angel but warm up to him as the season progresses.

Buffy and her friends often clash with Cordelia Chase, who attempted to befriend Buffy on her first day, but Buffy didn't like the way she treated Willow. Throughout the season, Cordelia is often at odds with Buffy and her friends but near the end of the season, she becomes aware of the supernatural world around her and helps Buffy.

In the earlier episodes, Buffy and Angel encounter The Master's minor minion Darla, who was the vampire who sired Angel. Darla is soon seemingly killed much to The Master's anger, but The Master gains a new protégé in the form of the Anointed One, a child like minion who has a major role in opening the Hellmouth.

In the season finale, Buffy learns of a prophecy involving her death at the hands of The Master. Just as The Master begins his plot, Buffy finally confronts him. The Master bites Buffy and leaves her to drown in a shallow pool. Buffy recovers via CPR by Xander and confronts The Master again on the school roof. After a final stand off, The Master is impaled and killed on a piece of wood after falling through the Sunnydale High skylight. After saving the world, Buffy and her new friends go to a party.

Origins

Writer Joss Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress was really the first incarnation of the Buffy concept, just the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary."[1] This early, unproduced idea evolved into Buffy, which Whedon developed to invert the Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie."[2] Whedon wanted "to subvert that idea and create someone who was a hero."[2] He explained, "The very first mission statement of the show was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it."[3]

The season was shot throughout 1996, with the idea first visiting through Whedon's script for the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which featured Kristy Swanson in the title role. The director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, saw it as a "pop culture comedy about what people think about vampires."[4] Whedon disagreed: "I had written this scary film about an empowered woman, and they turned it into a broad comedy. It was crushing."[5] The script was praised within the industry,[6] but the movie was not.[7]

Several years later, Gail Berman, a Fox executive, approached Whedon to develop his Buffy concept into a television series.[8] Whedon explained that "They said, 'Do you want to do a show?' And I thought, 'High school as a horror movie.' And so the metaphor became the central concept behind Buffy, and that's how I sold it."[9] The supernatural elements in the series stood as metaphors for personal anxieties associated with adolescence and young adulthood.[10] Whedon went on to write and partly fund a 25-minute non-broadcast pilot[11] that was shown to networks and eventually sold to The WB Television Network. The latter promoted the premiere with a series of History of the Slayer clips,[12] and the first episode aired on March 10, 1997. Whedon declared in June 2003 that the non-broadcast pilot would not be included with DVDs of the series, stating that it "sucks on ass."[13]

Cast and characters

Main cast

Recurring cast

Guest cast

Crew

Series creator Joss Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner. David Greenwalt joined the series as co-executive producer as 20th Century Fox wanted an experienced television producer as Whedon had never run a television series before. Whedon wrote the most episodes, writing three and the original pilot, as well as writing the story for a further two. Greenwalt wrote three episodes, devising two of the stories himself and working his third script for the season from a story by Whedon. Story editors Rob Des Hotel and Dean Batali wrote two episodes and the other pair of story editors, Matt Kiene and Joe Reinkemeyer wrote one episode. Staff writers Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden wrote one episode and wrote the teleplay for another from a story by Whedon. Dana Reston also wrote a freelance script.[14]

Bruce Seth Green directed the largest number of episodes in the first season, directing three episodes, followed by Whedon, who directed two, the original unaired pilot and his broadcast directional debut with the season finale "Prophecy Girl".

Episodes

See also: List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		U.S. viewers
(millions)
11"Welcome to the Hellmouth"Charles Martin SmithJoss WhedonMarch 10, 1997 (1997-03-10)4V014.8[15]
22"The Harvest"John T. KretchmerJoss WhedonMarch 10, 1997 (1997-03-10)4V024.8[15]
33"Witch"Stephen CraggDana RestonMarch 17, 1997 (1997-03-17)4V034.6[16]
44"Teacher's Pet"Bruce Seth GreenDavid GreenwaltMarch 24, 1997 (1997-03-24)4V043.0[17]
55"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date"David SemelRob Des Hotel & Dean BataliMarch 31, 1997 (1997-03-31)4V054.0[18]
66"The Pack"Bruce Seth GreenMatt Kiene & Joe ReinkemeyerApril 7, 1997 (1997-04-07)4V063.6[19]
77"Angel"Scott BrazilDavid GreenwaltApril 14, 1997 (1997-04-14)4V073.4[20]
88"I, Robot... You, Jane"Stephen PoseyAshley Gable & Thomas A. SwydenApril 28, 1997 (1997-04-28)4V082.5[21]
99"The Puppet Show"Ellen S. PressmanRob Des Hotel & Dean BataliMay 5, 1997 (1997-05-05)4V092.6[22]
1010"Nightmares"Bruce Seth GreenStory by : Joss Whedon
Teleplay by : David Greenwalt		May 12, 1997 (1997-05-12)4V103.5[23]
1111"Out of Mind, Out of Sight"Reza BadiyiStory by : Joss Whedon
Teleplay by : Ashley Gable & Thomas A. Swyden		May 19, 1997 (1997-05-19)4V113.4[24]
1212"Prophecy Girl"Joss WhedonJoss WhedonJune 2, 1997 (1997-06-02)4V124.0[25]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the first season scored 80 out of 100, based on 15 reviews, indicating "Generally favorable reviews".[26] Rotten Tomatoes gave season one a score of 92% with an average rating of 8 out of 10 based on 26 reviews with a critics' consensus stating, "Buffy slays her way into the pop-culture lexicon in a debut season that lays the groundwork for one of TV's greatest supernatural teen dramas."[27]

The pilot episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Makeup for a Series.[28]

DVD release

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete First Season was released on DVD in region 1 on January 15, 2002[29] and in region 2 on November 27, 2000.[30] The DVD includes all 12 episodes on three discs presented in full frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio. Special features on the DVD include a commentary track by creator Joss Whedon on "Welcome to Hellmouth" and "The Harvest", along with the original script for the episode. Other features include interviews with Joss Whedon and cast member David Boreanaz, with Whedon discussing the episodes "Witch", "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date", "Angel" and "The Puppet Show". Also included are cast/crew biographies, DVD-ROM content, photo galleries, and series trailers.[31]

References

  1. ^ Jack Walworth (Director), Bill Mumy (Narrator) (May 14, 2003). Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Television with a Bite. Biography. A&E Network. 2:15 minutes in – via Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 6) DVD set, disc 6 (region 1 release: May 25, 2004).
  2. ^ a b Billson, Anne, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BFI TV Classics). British Film Institute (December 5, 2005), pp. 24–25.
  3. ^ Gottlieb, Allie, "Buffy's Angels", Metroactive.com (September 26, 2002).
  4. ^ Havens, Candace, Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy Benbella Books (May 1, 2003), p. 51. Fran Kuzui also discussed Buffy in Golden, Christopher, & Holder, Nancy, Watcher's Guide Vol. 1. Simon & Schuster (October 1, 1998), pp. 247–248.
  5. ^ Havens, Candace, Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy Benbella Books (May 1, 2003), p. 23.
  6. ^ Brundage, James, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film review Archived June 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Filmcritic.com (1999). An example of the praise given to the script and dialogue behind the Buffy movie.
  7. ^ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer at Rottentomatoes.com".
  8. ^ Golden, Christopher, and Holder, Nancy, Watcher's Guide Vol. 1. Simon & Schuster (October 1, 1998), pp. 249–250
  9. ^ 'Said, SF', "Interview with Joss Whedon by SF Said Archived May 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine", Shebytches.com (2005).
  10. ^ Wilcox, Rhonda V.; David Lavery (April 2002). "Introduction". Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Rowman & Littlefield. xix. ISBN 978-0-7425-1681-6.
  11. ^ Topping, Keith "Slayer". Virgin Publishing, (December 1, 2004), p. 7
  12. ^ "Television Obscurities - Buffy, The Vampire Slayer: Forgotten Premiere Trailer" Tvobscurities.com (July 16, 2003).
  13. ^ IGN FilmForce (Ken P.) (June 23, 2003). "An Interview with Joss Whedon". filmforce.ign.com. IGN. p. 10. Archived from the original on July 27, 2006. Retrieved March 6, 2006.
    IGNFF: Is the presentation ever going to make it to DVD?
    WHEDON: Not while there is strength in these bones.
    IGNFF: Well, I mean, it's one of the most heavily bootlegged things on the Internet.
    WHEDON: Yeah. It sucks on ass.
    IGNFF: Yeah, it does, but it's sort of that archival, historical perspective...
    WHEDON: Yeah, I've got your historical perspective.
    IGNFF: It would take it off the bootleg market...
    WHEDON: Ah, I don't – what are you going to do?
    IGNFF: Put it on the DVD.
    WHEDON: Not me.
  14. ^ "A Brief History of Mutant Enemy". Whedon.info. May 24, 2004. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  15. ^ a b "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. March 10, 1997. p. D3.
  16. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. March 17, 1997. p. D3.
  17. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. March 24, 1997. p. D3.
  18. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. March 31, 1997. p. D3.
  19. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. April 7, 1997. p. D3.
  20. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. April 14, 1997. p. D3.
  21. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. April 28, 1997. p. D3.
  22. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. May 5, 1997. p. D3.
  23. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. May 12, 1997. p. D3.
  24. ^ "Episode List: Buffy the Vampire Slayer". TV Tango. Retrieved May 17, 2015.
  25. ^ "Nielsen ratings". USA Today. Gannett Company. June 6, 1997. p. D3.
  26. ^ "Critic Reviews for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
  27. ^ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1 (1997)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  28. ^ ""Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997) - Awards". IMDb. Retrieved August 1, 2010.
  29. ^ "Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season (1997)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
  30. ^ "Buffy DVD and VHS". BBC. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  31. ^ "Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Season 1". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 19, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2010.

External links

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