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watcherscouncil2024-01-22 04:43 pm
wearing_tearing) wrote in watcherscouncil2024-01-22 04:43 pm
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BtVS - 1.01: Welcome to the Hellmouth
Original Air Date: March 10, 1997
Writer: Joss Whedon
Director: Charles Martin Smith
A lot has been said about how the opening scene of this pilot episode flips things around on its head. I know I never expected the cute blonde girl--Darla!--to turn around and bite the guy she was with! It did a great job of setting the tone and showing us that vampires in this universe weren't the vampires we were used to.
I also feel like I should start a tally about how many nightmares Buddy has during the show run. And do we ever see Xander skateboarding again?
The show is pretty quick to introduce to the Scoobies and to establish Buffy's accidental arsonist past. Xander is a disaster and Willow is the sweetest, and I always forget Jesse exists. Cordelia being so nice at first and then so mean a couple of minutes later always gave me whiplash. And we get our first The Bronze mention! Kind of weird to think teenagers had access to a club back then, but I guess that was one of the Musts in shows from the late 90s.
Giles stands so close to Buffy when they first meet! I remember reading it somewhere that Anthony Head got told politely not to stand so close to SMG because it was creating some sort of... vibe that wasn't supposed to be there between their characters. So odd to think about that.
We see Buffy use her super strength for the first time so she can open the door to the locker room and check out a dead dude was actually killed by a vampire. And we have the "In every generation..." speech! Very exciting. The reluctance that Buffy shows right away when it comes to being the Slayer and how that affects her life is a great stepping stone to many of the conflicts and questions that come later, too.
Angel's first appearance! He's so bad at following people. No wonder Buffy got the drop on him. I remember being so suspicious of him when watching this episode for the first time and asking myself: what does he want? Why is he so cryptic? Why is his shirt unbuttoned? I do like that he quickly becomes a source of information about what's happening in Sunnydale ("You're standing in the mouth of hell.") and how that moves the plot along, though. He's not only a cute face! And he gives Buffy a gift :D
Shoutout to Sprung Monkey for being the first band we see live! at the Bronze.
Giles at The Bronze is just so... weird. Him and Buffy having entire conversations about vampires in a crowded place like that even! Considering all the conversations they have in the library later, it begs to question how no one else found out about vampires from listening to them.
The Master coming out of his little blood bathtub sure is something. I do enjoy how everyone keeps mentioning "The Harvest" and how that connects to what's to come; it adds a lot of tension to the plot and it's a nice hook for the following episode, even more so considering this was a two-hour special event.
Willow and Jesse in danger! As sad as I am for Jesse, I do appreciate Willow not being the one to die here. It is a good change of pace to have female characters survive--and something we know BtVS kept doing as the seasons went by. A vampire turning into dust is another new thing that took a while to get used to, but it adds to the lore in a good way.
This entire scene also makes me wonder about a few what ifs: what if Buffy had staked Darla? How would things have changed for the Scoobies (and Angel) without Darla around? What if Luke had succeeded in killing Buffy? Would the Master be successful in the Harvest and how would that have affected Sunnydale? So many questions!
Considering this is a two-hour special, this episode does end in a pretty big cliffhanger! Luke the vampore is about to bite Buffy. Oh no! What will she do?
Vampires Slayed: 1.
Series Total: 1.
Episode Quote:
Xander: Not much goes on in a town like Sunnydale.
Writer: Joss Whedon
Director: Charles Martin Smith
Buffy Summers and her mom move to Sunnydale, California, for a fresh start, unaware of the evil lurking in this quiet suburb. Somewhat reluctant in her role as the slayer, Buffy quickly makes friends and enemies at her new school. While also meeting her new "Watcher," Giles, the staid school librarian, her newly assembled team encounters the ever-abundant unearthly creatures in Sunnydale.First part of the series premiere!
A lot has been said about how the opening scene of this pilot episode flips things around on its head. I know I never expected the cute blonde girl--Darla!--to turn around and bite the guy she was with! It did a great job of setting the tone and showing us that vampires in this universe weren't the vampires we were used to.
I also feel like I should start a tally about how many nightmares Buddy has during the show run. And do we ever see Xander skateboarding again?
The show is pretty quick to introduce to the Scoobies and to establish Buffy's accidental arsonist past. Xander is a disaster and Willow is the sweetest, and I always forget Jesse exists. Cordelia being so nice at first and then so mean a couple of minutes later always gave me whiplash. And we get our first The Bronze mention! Kind of weird to think teenagers had access to a club back then, but I guess that was one of the Musts in shows from the late 90s.
Giles stands so close to Buffy when they first meet! I remember reading it somewhere that Anthony Head got told politely not to stand so close to SMG because it was creating some sort of... vibe that wasn't supposed to be there between their characters. So odd to think about that.
We see Buffy use her super strength for the first time so she can open the door to the locker room and check out a dead dude was actually killed by a vampire. And we have the "In every generation..." speech! Very exciting. The reluctance that Buffy shows right away when it comes to being the Slayer and how that affects her life is a great stepping stone to many of the conflicts and questions that come later, too.
Angel's first appearance! He's so bad at following people. No wonder Buffy got the drop on him. I remember being so suspicious of him when watching this episode for the first time and asking myself: what does he want? Why is he so cryptic? Why is his shirt unbuttoned? I do like that he quickly becomes a source of information about what's happening in Sunnydale ("You're standing in the mouth of hell.") and how that moves the plot along, though. He's not only a cute face! And he gives Buffy a gift :D
Shoutout to Sprung Monkey for being the first band we see live! at the Bronze.
Giles at The Bronze is just so... weird. Him and Buffy having entire conversations about vampires in a crowded place like that even! Considering all the conversations they have in the library later, it begs to question how no one else found out about vampires from listening to them.
The Master coming out of his little blood bathtub sure is something. I do enjoy how everyone keeps mentioning "The Harvest" and how that connects to what's to come; it adds a lot of tension to the plot and it's a nice hook for the following episode, even more so considering this was a two-hour special event.
Willow and Jesse in danger! As sad as I am for Jesse, I do appreciate Willow not being the one to die here. It is a good change of pace to have female characters survive--and something we know BtVS kept doing as the seasons went by. A vampire turning into dust is another new thing that took a while to get used to, but it adds to the lore in a good way.
This entire scene also makes me wonder about a few what ifs: what if Buffy had staked Darla? How would things have changed for the Scoobies (and Angel) without Darla around? What if Luke had succeeded in killing Buffy? Would the Master be successful in the Harvest and how would that have affected Sunnydale? So many questions!
Considering this is a two-hour special, this episode does end in a pretty big cliffhanger! Luke the vampore is about to bite Buffy. Oh no! What will she do?
Vampires Slayed: 1.
Series Total: 1.
Episode Quote:
Xander: Not much goes on in a town like Sunnydale.