Buffy Speak

You know you're starved for interaction when a small conversation with a stranger brings a sense of relief. Today I was sitting in a coffee shop being a dork and reading my very first Buffy the Vampire Slayer novel, when a woman my mother's age leaned over and apologized for interrupting.

Her: "Is that a Buffy novel."

Me: "Ah yeah, it was $3 at chapters so I thought I'd give it a try" (As if to justify my dorkness)

Her: "I just love the show, I didn't know they had books out. I was so sad to see it go."

From there I showed her the list of novels at the front of the book and told her about the comics. It was a short conversation but I felt an odd sense of relief. I guess it was that someone actually talked to me and about a subject I enjoyed. Most people just stare at me and make me uncomfortable. Maybe it's my black and blue hair or my faerie with butterfly wings necklace (cause it's awesome).

But back to Buffy. Although it's my first Buffy novel (The Book of Fours) it's not my first Buffy related read. I've read The Philosophy of Buffy, a collection of essays. It's a good read although there were three or four essays that I would argue or shorten to a paragraph. I've also checked out a couple of comics; an Oz side story (just OK), Tales of the Slayers (good), and Fray (entirely excellent as it was written by Joss Whedon). I'm such a dork that I have the same haircut as Fray except for the colour (hers is blue with red).

Joss Whedon is one of my heroes. The man is a storytelling genius. He created an entire universe with storylines that could tear your heart up or make you bust a gut. His characters are so enthralling they move his stories to places mere plot points could never take you. His character archs are so amazing that you sometimes find yourself stunned when comparing a character's first appearance to their last. Look at Wesley in season 3 of Buffy as a frilly women's blouse and then again in Season 5 of Angel as a hardened warrior and spell-caster. Everything that happened to that character affected him and created a new man. Look at Cordelia in Season 1 of Buffy as snobby shallow bitch then in Season 3 of Angel (specifically in "Birthday") and you realize what a hero she's become. This is the level of awesomeness I would like to achieve in my writing.

I also love that these shows (Buffy, Angel, and Firefly) are like watching live action comics. I sometimes like to envision each frame as a comic panel. And who can complain when Buffy started using the scorpion kick in season 6 (Trinity's signature move in The Matrix). Joss Whedon's shows are like my security blanket. I can watch them to keep me company or to take my mind off the bullshit. I've converted so many people who thought Buffy was stupid because they saw the movie or thought the title was stupid. My boyfriend's a bigger addict than me. I once lent Firefly to a friend who put off watching the last episode for weeks because if he watched it then there would be no more Firefly. Another friend bought me the soundtrack to the musical episode for lending her my entire Joss collection. I'm leaving a wake of fanatics wherever I go.

Note for skeptics: If you decide to give Buffy a try make sure to watch the first two seasons before deciding if you like it or not. Just watching one episode won't cut it for a skeptic. Build your character knowledge first. Season 1 is a bit fluffy but is much stronger when you watch it again after seeing a few more seasons. My boyfriend was convinced it was going to suck so he didn't like the show until halfway through Season 2. But he kept watching because he figured there must be a reason for my liking it so much. Now he loves it and enjoyed the early years on second viewing when he was more open to it.

My one compliant: (possible spoiler alert for people with deductive reasoning skills who haven't watched Season 6/7 yet) Who the fuck is Kennedy? As if Willow would date her. She's annoying and rude and in no way seductive. Willow is a witch and Kennedy has no charm. You can't attract a witch without any charm. Now Tara, she had charm. I don't care for the Kennedy character but I think casting had a huge part in the character suckage. Is the actress some producer's daughter or something? Join the We Hate Kennedy Club. Blech.