OK, I admit it: I was a Twihard. But, let’s rewind 15 years, way before K-Stew and R-Patz captivated the world with their inter-species romance, and you’ll find Buffy and Angel – but I’ll get to them later.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer used to air on BBC2 back in the day and chances are you caught the odd episode after-school, but srsly, you must commit to watching the whole thing, not only for a nostalgia fashion-fest (think alicebands, scrunchies and crop tops) but because it is simply one of the best series that’s ever existed. Oh, and it’s all on Netflix and Amazon Prime, BTWs.
The title of the show may seem fairly self-explanatory, but slaying totally came after the teenage life dramz and on reflection, many of the monsters were metaphors for issues like insecurity and loneliness. Deep, I know. I, for one, learnt valuable life lessons from it about the importance of friendship and about how to deal with boys. Buffy delivers this little nugget of gold in the first episode: ‘Life is short. Why waste time being all shy and worrying about some guy and if he’s gonna laugh at you. Seize the moment because tomorrow you might be dead.’ Uh-huh, no wonder Dolly Parton invested in producing the show. Cheers, Dolly.
And I’ve not even started on its lead star, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who was hands-down every boy’s pin-up and every girl’s girlcrush in the 90s/early 00s. Imagine Sweet Valley High (another retro classic) mixed in with The X Files and you’ve got this.
Now, here’s three reasons you should binge-watch Buffy.
It would totally pass the Bechdel Test
You know, the gender bias test that asks if something is feminist? The premise is that every piece of work needs to have at least two lead female characters who interact with each other and talk about more than just men. Buffy is all over it.
Not only is there SMG, but there’s also her clever BFF, Willow (played by HIMYM’s Alyson Hannigan); the high school ‘Mean Girl’ with a heart, Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter); the former demon-turned-goodie Anya (Emma Caulfield) and a helluva lot more. Plus, the whole show is about the girls chosen to be ass-kicking vampire slayers, so it’s all about the girl power.
The script is the sh*t
Like actual genius. It’s not technically meant to be a sitcom but there are some corkers in there. SMG is perfection as Buffy and has some of the best lines. It’s all stuff like this: ‘It’s my first day. I was afraid that I would be behind on all my classes, that I wouldn’t make any friends, that I would have last month’s hair. I didn’t think there would be vampires on campus! I’ve both been there and done that.’
And from Anya: ‘Martha Stewart isn’t a demon. She’s a witch. Nobody could do that much decoupage without calling on the powers of darkness.’ Topical and funny.
There will never be a greater love story than Buffy and Angel
It’s intense, trust. He’s an immortal vampire with a soul, doomed to be punished if he ever experiences true happiness, and she’s a slayer of all things vampire. It’s the Romeo & Juliet of vampire love stories (sorry, Bella and Edward) and will have you on the edge of your seat for seven series. It’s all selfish love versus the good of the world kind of guilt. It’s agonising and beautiful all at once. Plus, speaking of beauty, David Boreanaz is a total babe.
Honestly, it’ll be among the best 144 hours you’ll ever spend. And this is me aged 25 with something of a social life talking.
Follow Dephine on Twitter @DelphineChui
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.