Buffy the Vampire Slayer:S4

Having battled a hellish vampire master, an evil boyfriend, a rogue slayer, a giant man-eating demon-snake thing and a particularly nasty high school principal, Buffy Summers embarked on one of her biggest challenges in the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: college. With boyfriend Angel out of the picture (and on his own show) and Sunnydale High destroyed, new horizons were to be tackled for Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang. There were cute guys (Buffy's new boyfriend Riley), cute girls (Willow's new girlfriend Tara--yes, Willow's gay!), frat parties, irritating roommates, harsh professors, and, oh yes, a secret military initiative that was experimenting on the demon population (Riley's part of it).

Buffy truly hit its golden years in the fourth season-–just when you thought this show couldn't get any better, Joss Whedon and his creative team pulled out all the stops and took Buffy and co. into rich new territory. By far, the highlight of the season (and the entire series) was the Emmy-nominated "Hush," a nearly dialogue-free episode in which the creepy "Gentlemen" rob Sunnydale of its collective voice, and Buffy and Riley finally come face to face with each other's hidden identities. While Frankenstein-esque monster Adam wasn't the show's best villain (you'll have to wait until next season's Glory for that), he was a worthy adversary for the biotech age, and the military milieu was a nice contrast to Buffy's previous gothic outings. Season 4 also marked the return of blond vampire Spike (who developed a crush on Buffy), the ascension of vengeance demon Anya to full-time cast status, and the brief return of bad slayer Faith (in a fab two-part body-switching episode). Throughout, the entire cast, headed by the unparalleled Sarah Michelle Gellar, worked television magic of the kind rarely seen on the small screen. This is Buffy at its best. --Mark Englehart

Angel est parti, Buffy démarre une nouvelle vie à l'université où vampires et démons se font plus rares. Y aurait-il un lien avec la présence de militaires cagoulés qui rôdent la nuit sur le campus ? Buffy croit avoir enfin un petit ami normal mais Riley joue dans la même cour qu'elle, ou presque. Ils s'en rendront compte dans un épisode sublime faisant la part belle au silence et aux contes de fées. Spike, capturé par les militaires, est rendu doux comme un agneau (un régal d'humour et de second degré que cet épisode où Willow croit finir sous ses crocs). Faith renaîtra de ses cendres tandis que Willow nous réserve une surprise des plus étonnantes pour une série américaine. Buffy contre les vampires, saison 4, est l'année de tous les changements. L'arrivée de l'Initiative, organisation militaire, enrichit la série en abordant plus spécifiquement le mythe du savant fou et de l'être invincible tout en multipliant les ennemis pour Buffy et ses amis. Giles, en retraite forcée, reprend goût à la vie et retrouve son rôle de protecteur auprès de la tueuse. La série prend un nouvel élan, de quoi faire un pied de nez à tous ceux qui prédisaient sa fin après le départ de Angel. --Aurélie Rochman

Buffy begins college feeling completely overwhelmed. But once the monsters show up, it’s just like old times. Then she strats dating Riley, a handsome commando battling the same monsters. He’s part of a secret organization called The Initiative and Buffy is all too happy to join the team. But she soon suspects The Initiative may be more dangerous than the monsters they are supposed to be battling . . .