Fiona Moore wrote:
I agree with you on the first point, but I have to say I don't find Willow too sugary-sweet. A bit of a nerd sometimes, but I do like that. Initially I liked her better than Buffy, but Buffy's grown on me since.
As did Willow on me. As I said, my "too sugary sweet" objection is only to the first two seasons, and a bit of the third. Then she stops being Saint Willow and makes mistakes, like cheating on Oz with Xander. And I certainly felt for her in season 4, both when Oz left and when she had to chose between him and Tara.
Well, I like Spike, but he wasn't why I started watching. He's just an added bonus.
Same here.
I can't say I care much for Angel to be honest (too brooding) but I
know I'm in the minority :). Cordelia I used to despise, but I've been watching a bit of S2 Angel and I like her a lot better in that.
Now I on the other hand had liked Cordelia ever since "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" in the second season (though she had good moments before this, notably her "spank your inner moppet" talk with Buffy in "When she was bad"), but I agree her best developement occured during the 1 and 1/2 seasons of Angel.
overdue) I'd still continue to watch. But the show wouldn't work without
Buffy
at all, and not just because of the title.
Agreed. Buffy is the element that pulls it all together. Getting rid of the lead worked on B7 IMO because Avon was not only a strong and interesting character but a leader-figure in his own right, if a different one to Blake. But I can't see Willow, Giles, Xander or Spike at the head of the Scooby-Gang somehow... and Angel, of course, is in San Francisco.
Los Angeles, and taking a serious trip to the dark side now. But yes, great as the other characters are, they wouldn't work as leader-figures. We saw the Scooby Gang sans Buffy once, in "Anne", and it worked as comic relief, but honestly, the scenes with Buffy in Los Angeles taking a trip to hell, first figuratively, then literally, were much more compelling.
*Buffy*, IMHO, never ceases to amaze with the way it takes simple, even cliched premises and characters, and turns them into something that's really quite clever without being too clever for its own good.
You've captured the essence of the show beautifully. BTW, I could count both Willow and Cordelia as examples for this. Both, as introduced, are well-known clichés from every high school movie - the shy nerd who is a Cinderella destined to blossom, the cheerleader bitch - but quickly moved beyond that stage.
Tanja