Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1x01: Welcome to the hellmouth

Earlier this year I commented on the fact that it was 20th anniversary of Buffy. Now I am keeping the promise I made back then to look back at the earlier episodes. How does Series 1 hold up after all this time?

The pre-titles sequence sets up the basic premise of Buffy. A man and a woman enter the school. In horror movies the girl would die but in this scenario she turns out to be the vampire and attacks the boy. The female victims are the empowered ones.

After the distinctive title sequence we are introduced to Buffy Summers. It is her first day at Sunnydale High after she was kicked out of her old one in Los Angeles. She meets new friends such as WIllow and Xander and also the adversarial Cordelia. Unfortunately she cannot escape her destiny. The librarian is her new watcher, Rupert Giles. Soon afterward, the body of the man from the pre-titles sequence is found and it becomes clear that Vampires are present.

In the evening, Buffy meets the mysterious Angel and gets a cross. She then goes to the Bronze where Willow is taken by a vampire.

Buffy is a likeable character. At this stage she is trying to move away from her vampire slaying duty but she is not too winy about it. Sarah Michelle Gellar successfully protrays the

Cordelia is the Queen Bee of Sunnydale High. She is unlikeable at this stage but it will be interesting to see where she goes from here.

Willow is shy and a victim.Alsion Hannigan does a good job portraying her.

Xander is outgoing but gawky. Nicholas Brendon does a good job in portraying him.

Jesse appears to be a main character and he is nerdy.

Principle Flutie is amusing and Buffy's mom is alright.

Vampires: The Master, Luke and Darla. The Master seems like a great character with nosferatu style make-up.

The sets are good. Teh graveyard is eerie and the Master's lair is a wonderfully gothic looking place.