Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Complete First Season

This is where it all began! The first time we get to see Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Angel and Cordelia. It's amazing to see the beginning of their relationships, and the first glimpses into a world that would last 7 seasons. The special effects weren't as refined, the picture quality was a little less, and there were only 12 episodes to this first season. But the humor and wit were here, the heartbreak, and a good hero's adventure begins! Buffy Summers moves to Sunnydale with her single mom to start a new life - hopefully a vampire-free one. But Sunnydale sits on a Hellmouth, so it attracts vampires and any number of demonic beasts hellbent on world destruction. She's gonna need a whole team of friends and a mentor to help her! It's a great first glimpse into the Slayer's world.

Oddly enough the first season was almost entirely shot on location rather than on sets. So the graveyard is enormous and really spooky! The high school looks impressive, and Sunnydale seems very real. The vampires look a little different as they play with the make-up as the series goes on, and the dusting effects are a little primitive in this season. But the first cut is always the deepest, and this season really sets the stage for everything to come! Buffy is an amazing show with a female hero who relies on others to help her keep the demons at bay. At its core the show is about growing up, and how high school can be hell. Especially if you feel like an outsider - not quite fitting in to the mainstream. Beautifully written and well-acted the show set action/horror cliches on their head and made it cool to be a strong girl who can kick butt and still get her heartbroken! Buffy is a hero because we can relate to her. She hurts as much as we do even if she's a little stronger physically.

Joss Wheedon (series creator and head writer) gives commentary on the premiere episodes and discusses how and why the series came about. You also get interviews with him and David Boreanaz (Angel) talking about the series in video clips initially produced for the VHS series that came out starting in 1997. You get the pilot's script and some photos as well. Collectors need this set, and newcomers should start with this one. Debate rages on which is the BEST season, but this is the first and thus absolutely crucial no matter what your opinion on where it ranks among the 7.

Okay, I love Buffy no matter what, and therefore I am biased. If you want the TV show, you got it! There's not much to complain about. Plus you get all the interviews with Joss and commentaries that are worth something. One sort of negative thing you get with this DVD set is the poorish-picture quality, but you got that in the first two seasons anyway on tv. Also, you only get three discs because this season only has 12 episodes (it wasn't aired the whole October-April season, it was just a summer show that became popular). I'm pretty sure Joss mentions those 2 things in some commentary or other. Anyway, if you're looking for the first season of Buffy, you're not gonna get it any other way unless you want 6 or so VHS tapes that are probably hard to find.

It's hard to beat Buffy. Now in its sixth season, this series has proven time and again to be one of the best acted, superbly written and well directed drama series of all time.
Finally, fans have a chance to acquire the show on DVD, complete with commentaries from show creator Joss Whedon. Available in Britain for some time, this DVD has been delayed reportedly due to a conflict with the cable network FX, which has just started broadcasting the series in syndication.
For non-Buffy fans, this collection of DVDs is where you start. For Buffy fans, seriously, how can you resist?
The show starts with one of the better premieres of any program, "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" -- two excellent episodes that introduce Buffy and her loyal companions Xander and Willow, and blow away any comparison to the mediocre movie.
I won't argue that this is Buffy's best season, mostly because it is a show that gets constantly better. And other seasons, like the second and third, have better villains. But this DVD showcases a great start, and lays the groundwork for everything to come.
Included in the DVD is "Angel" which explains the origins of Buffy's true love, and "Nightmares," where everyone's worst fear is realized (and a killer of an episode not least for Buffy's nightmare -- turning into a vampire herself). Last but not least is "Prophecy Girl," where an ancient prophecy reveals that Buffy is fated to die in her war against the Master.
And the show's start even reveals tidbits of information not fully explored until later episodes, and other series. Note that Darla -- Angel's sire and original bad girl of Sunnydale -- gets her start in the first season. Upon seeing her, Angel remarks, "The last time I saw you, you were wearing kimonos." Later episodes of Buffy's spinoff series, Angel, show that very scene, where she is indeed in a kimono.
Its a nice change from other series, which forget the background comments as soon as they are spoken.
Its impossible to say enough great things about the series. I don't watch that much TV, but everyone I've introduced this show has been hooked.
I wholeheartedly recommend that you purchase these DVDs and experience the show for yourself. Buy it for a friend at Christmas, or just take it home yourself -- you won't be sorry.