Thank you, Buffy (The TV Show)
Where would I be, who would I be, if “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” had never been? The show about a blonde, teenager chosen to save the world from vampires and demons came at a perfect time in my life. I am just a year younger than Buffy Summers. I was always the new kid at school and my parents, like hers, were separated. It also helped that I was a big fan of the original film.
When “Buffy” premiered, I was living in Mexico almost a high school dropout. When the show ended seven seasons later, I was a Junior in college in North Carolina. I followed Buffy through her high school battles with demons, first love heartache, and school administration. She came with me to college—far from home—and helped me make new friends. Many road trips were made with the soundtrack to “Once More With Feeling” playing. I found people online who were just as into the show as I was. I’d spend hours on message boards talking to others about the show. I’d go from website to website to see people’s art and banners. I had found my first fandom. But the bigger effect that the show had on me came from its writers. The first time I was ever genuinely surprised by a story twist was during the “Surprise/Innocence” episodes.
“Did Angel really just turn back into a vampire?!?!?!?!?!”
It was the moment I discovered that stories can pull you in and make you care about their characters…and then turn their world upside down. I wanted to write like this. I wanted to create stories that people would read or watch. I started to write. Perhaps not the great American novel or the next Academy Award winning screenplay, but I was writing. That’s what a show like “Buffy” can do for a teenager with no direction. So, thank you, “Buffy.”
Favorite Episodes:
- The Body
- Once More With Feeling
- Surprise
- Innocence
- Hush
- Becoming – Part 2
- Angel
- Welcome to the Hellmouth
- Prophecy Girl
- Lovers Walk
