Screen Grab - A TV column by Jamie Hill
It’s about time I let you all know that I’m a bit sad. I’ve been writing this TV column for a couple of years now and I’ve made quite a big ommission so it’s about time I confess.
I’m a Buffy The Vampire Slayer fanatic. And I’m such a fanatic that I’m currently watching it through from start to finish, all seven seasons worth, for the umpteenth time but this time with my daughter Annabel.
And she is loving it. In my humble opinion it is the greatest pre-watershed TV show that has ever been created. A slice of screen heaven that never gets old. For the uninitiated Buffy, which was originally spawned from an average movie, is the brainchild of Joss Whedon, who has gone on to a lot bigger things since. It ran from 1997 to 2003 and was seven seasons of awesomeness. 
The basic plot is that Buffy is a high school teenager who is also secretly a vampire slayer by night helped by her nerdy friends Willow and Xander and even nerdier mentor (watcher) Giles. And it was funny. Very funny. With more pop culture references and knowing winks than a whole multitude of Screams. Each character has their own arcs and are loved by the writers as you see them tackle everything from teenage angst to the loss of a loved one to simply being hunted by a multitude of monsters. For me, the best episodes were Hush and Once More With Feeling both of which defied conventions - one being almost entirely silent and the other being a musical. It was a genre TV show like Charmed but had so much more going for it. Since it went off air having finished naturally where it should have (unlike other shows I could mention like Supernatural), there have been a thousand other shows trying to emulate its success with varying successess and failures. There was just something about the world of Buffy. It never talked down to its audience and was so full and rich with excellent characterisations and world-building. And although I loved the spin-off series Angel it never reached the same heights as Buffy. We’re now living in a world of remakes and reboots but if they dare to go near this with ‘remake’ in their minds there will be a multitude of fans ready to break down the TV executive’s doors with pitchforks and torches (and probably stakes) to get them to stop.
