It’s tricky recommending Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but that’s a shame, because it’s a great TV show.
A guy is going to sound like a perv. “Oh, you just want to see a bunch of good-looking high school girls.” On the CW, there are dozens of shows with attractive women, but they are high school drama soap operas with vacuous dialogue. Just too stupid to watch.
Sarah Michelle Geller’s character is a cute, blonde, ditzy cheerleader. Prior to Buffy, a character like that would be the person being pursued or needing protection. When she is walking alone at night, she is the hunter, not the prey. Buffy doesn’t need a hero, she is the hero.
In 1997, that was innovative. In 2024, plenty of shows have a girl-boss. A strong and confident woman who always knows what to do, and how to do it. That isn’t Buffy. She is a high school girl thrust into a role that she doesn’t want or know how to do. Buffy is much more like a real person who does the best she can dealing with threats she didn’t know existed.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer seems like a frivolous, light-weight show like Smallville or Once Upon a Time. It is in the sense that it doesn’t address deep themes or cultural commentary. What makes it different is that it can actually be funny and most of the characters are likeable. When I think of the current trash TV that people watch, instead of older shows like Buffy, I wonder why.
The first season of Buffy isn’t the best, but the entire series is worth watching on Disney+ or Hulu. I’d give it a 9/10.
This Youtube TV critic goes in depth explaining the one character who is a complete downer.