Tuesday night at 8:00 PM had it's own meaning in which all other realities
were not in my thought process. I would expect no phone calls, all emergencies
had to take a number and if you disturbed my concentration, and you would feel
the wrath of my temper. You ask what could cause such a ritual behavior? The
answer is Buffy the Vampire Slayer!! I am a proud slayer addict. However, after
May 20th my slaying fix will come to screeching halt.
What would cause an Adult female to become so transfixed to one particular
television program? Buffy Summers wasn't just a female hero that conjured evil.
She wasn't just another California blonde chasing down bloodsuckers and other
demonic evil.
Buffy was portrayed with every day human faults. She had her own dysfunctional
relationships. Her first love and first sexual experience with Angel became
abusive. Then she had a moment of bad judgement that resulted in a one-night
stand with that guy in her first year of college. I thought there would be hope
between her and Riley Finn but there seemed to be issues of commitment. As for
Spike, he just appears to obsessive and clings in order to maintain a healthy
relationship.
Of course Buffy has her closest friends, Willow and Xander but even those relationships
have their own faults. Buffy was not truthful when Angel turned to hell and
completely hid her relationship with Spike not to mention other moments. Buffy
was very real in terms of her human qualities and lack of. There were even moments
when she even gave up like when she ran away from home after killing Angel,
when Dawn was taken from Glory, and even more recently after being thrown out
by Dawn and the Potentials.
Buffy was never portrayed as the perfect hero. She had the similar moments
of disappointment in all her relationships and with herself and these are just
some of the reasons that I will have a Tuesday night void. Of course there will
be repeats on other channels and that all the seasons will be available for
purchase on DVD but it still will not fill the void.
The only realistic sense of relief that a can dwell in are original stories
written by such authors as Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder. Even though
the stories are not in up to date settings, they unique. The stories in the
books are like watching a missed episode. The Gatekeeper trilogy by Holder is
like a season of it's own. In fact, if you search in the New York Public Library
catalog for Buffy books, there so many to relish in. So there is relief for
the feeling of my Tuesday night despair.
Perhaps there will be such a drop of in UPN viewing after the final Buffy that
the networks will find the intelligence to create a spin-off that is almost
as worthy as the original. Even better, maybe Christopher Golden and Nancy Holder
will create even more stories and books that I can check out at the New York
Public Library.
