Is it as far back as early 1997? It’s hard to get my head around that fact. Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes back that far. I must admit that, when it first came out, I wasn’t aware of this off-beat American TV series. I came to watch it later when its reputation started to raise. People started to say: have you seen?
We were in the age when video tape was thought of as advanced technology in the home. Dial up internet consumed time and energy even to do the basics. On reflection that period, just before the millennium, was a significant one both culturally and in terms of technology.
Vampire stories are nothing new. Ideas have been cycled and recycled ever since the printed word was placed in the hands of fiction readers. What’s refreshing about the Buffy saga is that it did venture onto new ground. The idea of a “Hellmouth” opening under an ordinary California school mixed up lots of crazy notions about what the forces or darkness might do. As a plot device for a series of stories, having a dangerous and mysterious “portal ” is a clever idea.
What’s incredibly smart about the stories is the role of the “Watcher” whose job it was to train and educate Buffy as she faces relentless evil challenges. The character Giles steers her through volumes of supernatural history and helps investigates new perils.
Perfect as the Watcher was actor Anthony Head. He added an authority and stability to what could have become a stream of silliness. He fitted the juxtaposition of a normal, even slightly boring, schoolteacher with a wizard like seriousness of a mature elder.
With his passing, I’d like to remember Anthony Head as the actor who gave the Buffy series a wide appeal and stopped it becoming no more than a wacky teenage romp. It’s a series that is eminently watchable. The passing of nearly 30-years hasn’t diminished its sense of youthful drama and pure entertainment value.
I don’t think it would be possible to remake Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was of its era. Thanks to those who played their parts so well. Thank you Anthony Head.
John Vincent 