800 Reviews. I can't believe it. And yet...it doesn't surprise me.

Seven months ago I first visited Sunnydale, and met Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'd been encouraged to check out the adventures of Buffy for years and years by friends and neighbors, and finally caved when my favorite toy company announced they were going to be making Buffy toys. Why did I wait so long? First off, it seems like it'd be a girly show. Second, I'm not all that comfortable with "evil" shows...worshipping Satan blah blah blah...which is what I thought the show was about. And third, I was afraid I'd like it. I'm already a Star Wars/Muppet/X-Files/Star Trek/Comic Book geek--do we really need to add to that list?

Yeah, we do.

I just finished watching the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD, and although it was...uncomfortable in places, I'm impressed with the direction creator Joss Whedon and other writers (and the actors) have taken the characters. Painful as it was to watch at times, the fourth season takes the steps so many of us take after high school--making new friends, and losing others. As exciting as the supernatural/adventure sequences are, the most poignant episodes dealt with very human, ordinary issues that make up all of our lives.

Two core members of Buffy's "Scooby Gang" of comrades leave Sunnydale to create the new "Angel" series...spoiled rich girl Cordelia Chase and Buffy's sometimes-boyfriend vampire-with-a-soul Angel both move down to Los Angeles, and although Angel shows up a few times in the season, Cordy seems to be gone for good. Add to that an exit early in the season by Seth Green's Oz, and you've pared down the Scoobies to just Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles. Which is how the series started, so it's fitting, in a way. Since nature abhors a vacuum, several other characters speed in and become a new Scooby Gang--Xander's girlfriend Anya, Buffy's new boyfriend Riley, and Willow's girlfriend Tara, and even the vampire Spike all become regulars by the end of this season.

Something that's characterized every season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer up until this point has been the powerful story arcs. Each season has had a "Big Bad" that drives many of the stories, and there are strong entries for the beginning, middle, and ends of those arcs. This makes for a great payoff when it works...and Season Four left me kind of cold because the arc isn't nearly as satisfying somehow.

There are various evils that raise their heads in Sunnydale in Season 4--some of which are just "sucks to be me" college life, and some of which are driven by outside events. Up until this season, we've seen magic used to fight the vampires and demons spawned by the Hellmouth under Sunnydale--this season, science and the government step in and try to do their part.

It turns out there's a ginormous lab underneath UC Sunnydale, and it's filled with government guys in army uniforms and lab coats doing experiments on vampires, demons, and other things that go bump in the night. Buffy's discovery, infiltration, and defeat of "The Initiative" is probably the biggest story arc for the season, and her new boy-toy Riley is one of them. This makes for some good episodes, but it came off as a pale copy of the paranoia of "Alias" or "X-Files"...the creators never fully explored the deep dark government secrets behind the Initiative--maybe in the name of mystery, but it wasn't as compelling as it could have been.

The stand-alone episodes were better than the "mythology" episodes for me. One of the best is the critically acclaimed "Hush," which is largely a silent episode. This was a great, unnerving episode that would have given me nightmares as a kid--grimacing blue-faced demons glide silently through the streets of Sunnydale, gutting their victims accompanied by psychotic heralds...a great episode that pushed the envelope for the series. One of Buffy's enemies, Faith (The Vampire Slayer) awakens from her coma in Season Four, and is...angry. This sets up a great mini-arc in the middle of the season that eventually takes Faith (and Buffy) down to Los Angeles, which is picked up in some excellent episodes of "Angel."

The best stories in Season Four don't have much to do with monsters or demons--they're character-driven. It's a measure of how much I love these characters (I knew I'd be hooked) that following the crushing breakup of Willow and Oz, I felt that horrible despair that she helped. It keenly reminded me of my own breakups in college--the writers, actors, and directors found the perfect notes to hit, and if you've ever been through a breakup like that, you'll recognize that pain. All of the relationships are in flux in this season--those that we thought were solid a year ago are gone, and new ones take their place. That applies to non-romantic relationships as well: Rupert Giles, once Buffy's Watcher and school librarian, has lost his roots, and is usually shown puttering around his apartment, HOPING evil will erupt somewhere so he'll have something to do. Buffy's mother, such a prominent figure in previous seasons, is nowhere to be seen--I can only think of three episodes where she had more than a sentence or two to say to Buffy.

All of these relationships ring true, and the stories are good, but the discomfort of the characters makes for an uncomfortable season. There are some pretty bad episodes in the bunch--the tongue-in-cheek "Beer Bad" about the evils of alcohol just didn't work for me, but I hear that's a love it or hate it episode for people. The closing episode of the season, instead of being the conclusion to the big Season Arc, is more of a stream-of-consciousness tone poem kind of thing...and I assume it will lead somewhere in successive seasons, but it's not as satisfying as killing the enormous monsters or villains at the end of other seasons.

This is a good season, and I'm excited to see more, but it's not the best of Buffy. I like some of the additions to the Scooby Gang--having Spike around more often is a guarantee of laughs, and the same for Anya. Riley seems too wooden, too straight-arrow, and just isn't that interesting as supersoldiers go. Tara...I'm not completely sold on yet. She's very quiet, very...not fun so far. I could still miss Oz, or still be distressed about my own high school girlfriend leaving me for a woman. You never know.

If you're a Buffy fan, well...you've probably already seen these episodes. If you're not, this is an essential building block for what's ahead. Check it out, and let me know what you think--I'm excited for the next season of Buffy to slay me.

MORE BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
Buffy Season One http://www.epinions.com/content_148969197188
Buffy Season Two http://www.epinions.com/content_158297394820
Buffy Season Three http://www.epinions.com/content_161138445956



Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening