Buffy the Slayer of Vampires

We all have our guilty pleasures, and Buffy is one of mine. I saw my first episode in high school and I've been hooked ever since. Not only is the show full of drama, action, & suspense; it's also surprisingly hilarious.

Buffy Summers is The Vampire Slayer
"Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. She is the Slayer."

When Buffy Summers is expelled from her high school for burning down the gym (it was full of vampires, although no one else knew that), she and her mom moved to Sunnydale, CA. As fate would have it, Sunnydale happens to be on top of a 'hellmouth'. As in, literally, the mouth of hell, a place where demons and evil are constantly drawn. She constantly has her hands busy with killing bad guys, but she does manage to make some friends along the way.

Willow
Willow is Buffy's first friend in the 'Scooby Gang', as they like to call themselves on the show. She is smarter than most super computers, and that's before she graduates high school. She easily hacks into secure government websites & translates ancient gypsy magic into computer codes. She also tries her hand at magic, and becomes pretty darn good at it. She grows into a very powerful witch, although that does present a problem when she turns to the dark side for revenge when her lover is murdered. Which brings me to my last tidbit about Willow, she becomes a lesbian after her long time boyfriend (and werewolf) Oz leaves her.

Xander (aka Alexander)
Xander is the goofy, loyal friend who has no special power or abilities, but who goes out and fights vampires and demons anyways. He's also fairly unlucky in love. Unfortunately he's constantly getting dates with women who try to kill him before the evening is over. He finally finds love with a 1000 year old ex-demon, but that turns out to have a bitter-sweet ending when he leaves her at the alter. But to the end of series, and quite often the world, he's a man you can count on.

Giles
Giles is Buffy's Watcher, which means he perfects her fighting skills, teachers her demon lore, and supervises her missions. For the old man of the group, he sees quite a bit of fighting action. In his youth Giles was a bit of a hell-raiser, but he grew up he decided to tone down his magical mischief and become a watcher. His past does come back to bite him in the 'arse' a few times, but he pulls through with some help from Buffy & the gang. While he could be seen as Buffy's boss, they have a more father/daughter relationship. We find out a few seasons in that he's got a really great voice, which is reinforced in the musical episode (which is AWESOME)!

Angel
While most vampires are considered evil and soulless, Angel is in a different category. At least NOW he is. In the beginning he made a name for himself (he was called Angelus then) by being one of the most vindictive and sadistic vampires of his day. When he destroyed a gypsy woman with his special skills her people decided to fight back. They cursed Angel with the thing they decided would give cause him the most pain, his soul. This turned his carefree torturous killing spree in a river of regret, remorse, and painful memories that threaten to turn him insane with guilt. Until, one day, he finds a reason to go on...

Buffy. They quickly become inseparable, and write a tragic love story. Tragic because of the other half of the gypsy curse. It reveals that Angel's price for gaining one moment of 'true happiness' is losing his soul. Again. Bad luck for Buffy that she happens to make Angel very, very happy. So Buffy & Angel ride the roller coaster ride that is their relationship until they finally yank off the band-aide and Angel moves to LA (which is the start of his spinoff show, 'Angel'). He reappears whenever Buffy needs him, but sadly the star crossed lovers never manage to find a way to be together.

Faith
The only way to have a new slayer called is to have the current slayer die. And well, Buffy has a bad habit of dieing. The first time she dies, even though it was just for a minute, a new slayer was called. While that slayer was Kendra, she didn't last very long and along came Faith. The big draw back to Faith is that she's a little criminally insane. She throws her cards in with the Mayor (who's trying to end the world) and ends up in a coma courtesy of Buffy. Eventually she comes out of it, and after causing some trouble she runs away to LA. Which, if you'll remember, puts her in Angel's territory, and of course, the spin off, 'Angel'.

Anya
Anya looks amazing for her age, she's 1000. She became a vengeance demon after a bad break up, and tortures men for centuries until she meets her match in Buffy's Scooby Gang. When she tried to grant a double edged wish for the school's backstabbing head cheerleader she ends up trapped in the body of a 17 year old girl in Sunnydale. She lacks basic human manners like tact & a good sense of humor, but that doesn't stop her from finding a relationship with Xander. While she can be selfish and a touch annoying, I can't help but laughing at her awkward ways.

Spike
Spike or William the Bloody is an old friend of Angelus's (the scary, evil version of Angel). He's already met and killed 2 previous Slayers and he's set his sites on a third when he meets Buffy. He goes in and out of the series giving Buffy headaches until he becomes a permanent cast member after a group of government demon hunters put a microchip in his brain to stop him from harming humans. His new handicap causes him to work with Buffy instead of against her.

Dawn
Dawn is somewhat confusing. Let me start from the beginning. Buffy is an only child. However, one day a group of monks have a desperate need to give 'the key' (aka an ancient powerful ball of energy) to Buffy to protect from the evil god Glory. To ensure that she will protect it at all costs they re-write history and turn 'the key' into Dawn, Buffy's bratty little sister. Confusing, I know.

I wanted to share some scenes from my favorite musical episode, Once More With Feeling. Xander accidentally evokes the talisman of a musical demon and turns the entire town into a Broadway musical.

Buffy singing 'Going Through The Motions'
Scooby Gang singing 'I've Got A Theory'
Spike singing 'Let Me Rest In Peace'
Giles singing 'Wish I Could Stay'
Anya & Xander singing 'I'll Never Tell'
Entire Cast 'Walk Through The Fire'

Ok, that seems like a lot, if you're only going to watch a few I recommend I'll Never Tell, Going Through the Motions and Walk Through the Fire. :) Either way, I'm a sucker for musicals and I love this one! If you're intrigued by Buffy you can watch the entire series on Netflix instantly right now!

Look at me, I'm dancing crazy!!!!
(......that'll make more since if you watch the I'll Never Tell song)