Buffy 1x06 - "The Pack"

"The Pack" continues the trend of the previous episode, digging into the characters and using their personalities as an engine for drama as well as comedy. But unlike that episode, the main plot here suffers from some really lackluster performances. Even so, it has enough good moments to make it seem pretty entertaining, if inconsequential.

Buffy 1x05 - "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date"

As I’ve been writing these reviews, I’ve been doing only a very small amount of “research”, looking up a little bit about what people have said previously about these episodes. It seems to me that "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" hasn’t exactly been celebrated, and that's not really fair to it. It won't be making any top ten lists, but it’s a very good episode that’s significantly different from what’s come before and does a good job of showing the versatility of the show—even if the main antagonist is another vampire. More after the jump.

Buffy 1x04 - "Teacher's Pet"

Frankly, "Teacher's Pet" is a pretty uninteresting episode of Buffy, which is a bit of a surprise because it comes from David Greenwalt (who was a frequent contributor to Buffy and also a co-creator of Angel). But this is his first episode, so I'll give him a pass. Besides, we don't really know how much the writing credit means. In the Buffy writer's room, as in most shows, the script is a collaborative effort. So let's not go passing out blame on this one. Check out my thoughts after the jump.

Buffy 1x03 - "Witch"

This week it's "business as usual" for Buffy and friends. But don't for a second think that means I won't write extensively on it. Perhaps someday I'll settle into the paragraph-length reviews I originally intended, but today is not that day. More after the jump.

Buffy 1x02 - "The Harvest"

"Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" were originally aired on the same night (under the former title), but the DVD and other official episode lists list them separately so I decided to treat them as such. And a good thing too, because after the long review I wrote for the previous episode, breaking them up seems like the only sane thing to do. Another longish review after the jump.

Buffy 1x01 - "Welcome to the Hellmouth"

If you've watched the earliest episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer just to see what all the fuss is about and you're unimpressed, then I urge you to keep with it because, in the opinion of a lot of people I know, the first season is not very good. So, stick with it. It gets good later.

That's their take on the first season of Buffy, and I encourage you to follow their guidance, because it may well by your take on it as well. But it's not mine. While the first season of Buffy is hardly the show at its best (see the latter half of season two for when that starts to kick in), I really do like the first season, and I think the premiere is a particularly strong moment for the show."Welcome to the Hellmouth" provides a great introduction to these characters and this world. More after the jump.

Buffy Unaired Pilot

You can't watch the unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot legally. There are bootlegs, which I won't link to. It's not very difficult to find if you want to (I found it fairly easily). In 2003, IGN Movies (or, as it was drolly called back then, IGN FilmForce) did an interview with Joss in which they discussed the possibility of it ever being released:

IGNFF: Is the [pilot] presentation ever going to make it to DVD?
WHEDON: Not while there is strength in these bones.
Well, I mean, it's one of the most heavily bootlegged things on the Internet...
Yeah. It sucks on ass.
Yeah, it does, but it's sort of that archival, historical perspective...
Yeah, I've got your historical perspective ...
It would take it off the bootleg market...
Ah, I don't – what are you going to do?
Put it on the DVD.
Not me.

But does the pilot really deserve this reputation? I'll weigh in after the jump.