Electric Shadows 电影

Buffy S1 “Welcome to the Hellmouth”

03 Jul 2010 4 Comments

by Jonathan Thompson in Project Buffy Tags: Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Stewart Head, Brian Thompson, Buffy, Charisma Carpenter, Cordelia, Darla, Giles, Hellmouth, Joss Whedon, Joyce, Julie Benz, Kristine Sutherland, Luke, Nicholas Brendon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Slayer, Vampire, Willow, Xander

Quote of the Episode:
Buffy: “So, you like to party with the students. Isn’t that kinda skanky?” 

I’m very excited to begin Project Buffy! I finished S5 of Angel last night (but I’ll get to that way later), and now I can start an episode by episode commentary through the entire series. I’m hoping that Buffy fans and passersby both can stop by and let me know what you all like about the episode, the characters, the writing, what you all don’t like, anything! I want you all to start discussions, disagree with me, agree with me, let me know who your favorite character is, anything and everything. I want to create a space for readers to congregate and talk about movies and TV! And if you’re a newbie to the Buffy world, please feel free to comment as you journey through the series episode by episode!!

So let’s begin.
I’ve seen the pilot episode of Buffy four times now. I must admit that the first time I saw it, I was somehow unimpressed and I didn’t continue watching past it. I think about a year later, I watched it again, and I thought it was brilliant, and I ended up continuing and watching the entire series. I then watched it again to celebrate Joss Whedon’s birthday, and I watched it again today.

I love that the entire series starts off with Darla (Julie Benz) on the hunt. From the way it’s shot and from the way Darla acts at the beginning, we think that the guy is the dangerous one, but boy are we wrong!

The first half of the episode or so is pretty much just an introduction to this world and to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar). It’s all pretty much fun and games, as we meet the nerdy Willow (Alyson Hannigan), the funny and popular Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter), the girl-crazy Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and the, at first, creepy librarian Mr. Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). There’s even a hint of levity as Buffy’s mom, Joyce (Kristine Sutherland), tells her “not to get kicked out” of school on her first day. Though, there is a point where it’s made clear that, while there will be plenty of witty banter and funny situations, there will definitely be some deeper threads running underneath. As Buffy and Mr. Giles talk in the library about his being a Watcher who’s supposed to train her, she retorts back asking if he’s supposed to prepare her “for getting kicked out of school, for losing all of her friends, for having to spend all of [her] time fighting for [her] life and never getting to tell anybody because [she] might endanger them.” There’s definitely more to slaying vampires than meets the eye!

Though, it looks like Buffy’s wish for friends to know about her vampire slaying comes true when Xander, who was probably in the library (“where the books live!”) for the second time in his high school career, overheard the mystical conversation between Buffy and Giles. And then Willow gets kidnapped by a vampire. So that kind of worked out for Buffy, sort of.

But before the climax of the episode, some brooding and handsome stranger follows Buffy. We don’t get a name yet, but he introduces the evil plan of the season: The Harvest. Buffy *really* doesn’t like him, which is hysterically ironic in hindsight.

Once Willow’s taken away from the Bronze, we see Buffy in action for the first time. She’s cool and collected — and she’s super strong. She’s so strong that it makes Darla, who’s been pretty much in control of her surroundings the entire episode (and probably for decades now), incredibly scared. Buffy’s got game. She already dusts one vampire, but Joss ends this first episode on a cliffhanger as Luke (Brian Thompson) tries to take Buffy out.

This first episode does a good job introducing this world of vampires. It shows us how vampires look exactly like humans until they transform into their vampire forms. It’s even interesting that it’s set in Sunnydale outside of Los Angeles, out in the suburbs — where Giles hints at the idea that it has a mystical magnetism for the fantastical. Buffy’s clever, strong, and kind — to hang out with the “lowly” Willow and Xander over the popular Cordelia. And with the climactic “To be Continued” at the end, we’re definitely wanting to see more.