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« Roush Dispatch
A Salute to Buffy
Matt Roush and Joss Whedon by Kevin Parry/WireImage.com
Because I was so honored to be a part of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion, wanted to share my opening remarks in text form with the fans who weren't there. (Our crew was busy catching late arrivals on the red carpet, so we don't have video.) Imagine moments when the hyped audience burst into spontaneous applause: not so much at my words (heartfelt as they were), but at the shared love for the magic that was Buffy. At times, I felt I was giving a state-of-the-Buffy-union address. What a rush. Here goes:
My name is Matt, and I'm a Buffy-holic.
Have been since 1997, when Joss Whedon’s odd and completely disarming Buffy the Vampire Slayer hit the WB. Trying to find a point of reference when writing about it at the time at USA TODAY, I likened it to “Clueless meets Carrie by way of Salem’s Lot” and described it as “90210 with a 666 suffix.”
We had no idea.
What Buffy really was, was My So-Called Life as a Vampire Slayer, a show that used fantasy to get to some very real and disturbing places. It was so ingeniously entertaining, so scary and so funny, but also so emotionally evocative. A coming-of-age allegory where high school really was hell, where the wrong decision truly could herald the end of the world, where adolescent anxieties often took demonic form, and where even after graduation (a truly explosive event) the life lessons—and afterlife lessons—never stopped coming. With all of the pain and joy and sex, and friendship and betrayal and sex, and consequences and death and sex, that all of that implies.
Yes, Buffy was also a very hot show. And yes, it was very good for me.
In fact, the new issue of TV GUIDE ranks the scene of Buffy and Spike bringing down the house as they do the hot nasty the #1 hottest scene ever. (Even outranked The Thorn Birds. Imagine.) But what really set this show apart, and why we’re still talking and obsessing about it five years after it left the air, is what it represented. Buffy took genre conventions and flipped them upside down, starting with a title that was too easy to regard as a joke. As we all know, Buffy was no joke.
Like its title, it mixed comedy, horror and action as it took the horror-movie cliché of the pretty blonde girl who always got killed in the first reel and turned her into a kickass icon of feminist empowerment. Although her power always came with a price, and like everyone else on the show (living or living dead) she was far from perfect, she juggled duty, incredible sacrifice and responsibility for the world along with friendship, family and love.
The tone could range from a stark episode without music in which Buffy’s mother died suddenly of natural causes to a full-fledged musical comedy episode complete with dancing demons. Buffy was known for its clever, quippy, pop-culture-obsessed dialogue, but earned its one Emmy nomination for writing for what was basically a silent horror movie. As the Scooby gang might say: Ironic much?
In its seven years—first on the WB, then on UPN (making it sort of the first actual CW show), it became a true cult phenomenon, adored by fans and endlessly dissected by academics. We are all "Buffy-ologists."
And the show lives on, currently in Season 8 in comic book form, but also in its influence in such shows that came later, like Alias and the current Heroes.
And now, let’s get this party started.
And what a party it was.
Related:
•Ausiello Report: Laughter, Tears and (Yikes!) Tension at Buffy Reunion
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Mar 21, 2008 1:06 PM
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A salute, indeed! Thanks for sharing this oratory love letter. It causes Sunnydale nostalgia and makes one ever-greatful for the gift of DVDs.
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Mar 21, 2008 1:21 PM
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Thanks for that Matt! No truer words have ever been said. How much I miss Buffy/Angel and how much I look towards other shows to do what Buffy did and completely immerse me in the characters and really care about them (Veronica Mars and Lost anyone?) One thing that really struck me with Buffy was season 6 because it started after 9/11 when everyone including Buffy was depressed and trying to figure out life again. I remember being in a dark place and watching Buffy somehow got me through it. How much I miss this show!!!!!
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Mar 21, 2008 2:02 PM
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Matt, that was truly beautiful. Thank you for posting your speech. With all of this Buffy talk, I'm breaking into my Buffy DVDs for sure this weekend!
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Mar 21, 2008 2:24 PM
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Matt -
That was a wonderful introduction. Thank you for posting it. I couldn't agree with your words more. This was my favorite bit though:
We are all "Buffy-ologists."
So true!! 
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Mar 21, 2008 6:36 PM
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Well said, Matt! How exciting for you to be able to moderate such an amazing event; I'm sure you did a great job.
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Mar 21, 2008 10:02 PM
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Truer words were ever said by a Buffy-aholic! Thanks for saying what we fans always felt! Long Live BTVS, forever in my Heart!
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Mar 21, 2008 10:13 PM
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Dear Matt
Just to let you know I started watching BTVS entirely on your say-so from reading about it on tvguide online. I started watching in season 3 and was permanently hooked. It was a tremendous show and I owe my enjoyment of it to your recommendation. Thanks!
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Mar 22, 2008 9:25 PM
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Matt -
You write so eloquently that you are making me weepy. This is as beautiful as what you wrote at the end of Farscape.
It is because of your passion for great tv experiences that I keep reading your opinions, reviews and Q&A on tvguide.com.
And it is because of your recommendations that I started watching BTVS, Farscape and other shows, and why I have the BTVS and Angel collector's editions (Farscape and other tv shows) on DVD.
These are shows that will never be duplicated, but always will be imitated.
I hope you get a chance to moderate more panels. Television shows are lucky to have a champion like you.
--
Edited by tvdiva at 03/22/2008 7:11 PM
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Mar 22, 2008 10:07 PM
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In fact, the new issue of TV GUIDE ranks the scene of Buffy and Spike bringing down the house as they do the hot nasty the #1 hottest scene ever.
This is why I dropped my subscription over a year ago and only read your work online, Matt. You're the last bastion of substance and intellect in the brand-killing tabloid wasteland that is TV GUIDE, circa 2008.
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Mar 24, 2008 9:35 AM
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Great tribute. Buffy was amazing. The only show I can actually remember the moment I was hooked. I was channel surfing one night and came in on the middle of 'Teacher's Pet' and never left. The dialogue...nothing compared to it then...I'm not sure anything does now, though I credit Joss for raising the bar. And for that and seven years of Buffy (and 13 episodes of Firefly) I'm grateful. Thanks not only for this tribute, but also for always championing this great show.
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Mar 24, 2008 11:23 AM
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We still watch Buffy here at the house. Sometimes there will be parties where we'll screen our favorite eps which include the hysterical Thanksgiving episode with Spike showing up at Giles' with his implanted chip and a full Indian attack, the Musical, the episode where Willow's spell goes nuts and Giles goes blind while Buffy and Spike get engaged. And don't forget Dracula. It was a fantastic series and we all miss it here!
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Mar 31, 2008 1:20 PM
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OMG, "Pangs" is one of my favorite eps too. I always have it on when I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
I still love Buffy and rewatch it more than Angel. What a great show it was. There are too many good episodes to list, but surprisingly, Season 4 has become a favorite, despite the rather lame Initiative story arc. Some of the funniest eps are from Season 4.
And I still have a mad crush on Giles and Angel.
Thanks Joss, David Greenwalt, all the writers, Sarah, David B. Charisma, Nicky, Allyson, Emma, Amber, James, Kristine, ASH and Michelle for giving us such a great show. I wish I could've been at the Paley Fest.
Kitty
Scottsdale, AZ
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Apr 10, 2008 6:47 PM
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