Eric's television page

(updated 3/24/03)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I am a confirmed Buffy the Vampire Slayer (UPN, Tue, 8pm) addict, I have every single episode aired (all 7 seasons) on tape, and the first three seasons (all that's available so far) on DVD. I can quote lines from the show til people flee in terror. I helped write the first version of the alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer FAQ, although I later had to pass it on after I left grad school. I just love the show - it's got witty dialogue, social commentary, metaphorical struggles with outer monsters mirroring inner conflicts, a heroic journey straight out of Campbell, well-defined human characters with actual flaws, and action sequences that are better than most movies due to the tremendous work of Jeff Pruitt, the Buffy stunt coordinator, who was unfortunately forced off the show after season 4.

The series is going to end after this 7th season, but I won't mourn its passing. I think it had lost a lot of its freshness over the past couple seasons, so it's time for them to move on and do something else. I'll still have my DVDs and tapes to remind me of the good ol' days :).

I used to watch Angel (WB, Wed, 9pm), the companion series to Buffy, until it just got weird. I just picked it up again recently in anticipation of the massive 5-part crossover event that's going to end the Buffy series. Angel was quite good in its first and second seasons, but I started losing interest during the third, and stopped watching during the fourth season last fall.

Some of the best Buffy sites out there include:

Other shows

My favorite show on TV right now is Gilmore Girls (WB, Tue, 8pm). I don't think I'm quite the target demographic, but, heck, it's well-written, and it's got interesting characters who have interesting interactions. Plus the show is all about mother issues, and I'm down with that. The two main actresses, Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, have a great rapport with each other, and my favorite scenes are ones where they're just sitting around and comfortably riffing off of each other in a way that is totally believable for two people that spend all of their time together.

My other favorite show used to be Sports Night, which was sadly cancelled after two seasons. Fortunately, they recently released the entire run on DVD, so I'll be able to watch them forever and ever.

After Sports Night, Aaron Sorkin went on to do the West Wing (NBC, Wed, 9pm), which I used to like a lot, but it's started to drag this season. More Donna! I still watch it, but have given up archiving it.

I also have been watching Alias (ABC, Sun, 9pm) since the beginning because I really like silly action flicks. Plus Jennifer Garner is quite attractive (Yes, I went to see Daredevil for pretty much solely that reason).

I recently started watching Boomtown (NBC, Fri, 10pm), which has its interesting points, but I can't say it's in my pantheon of must-watch favorites yet. What makes early Buffy and Gilmore Girls and Sports Night great is that I still enjoy watching episodes even when I've seen them several times already. The acting and the dialogue are so well-done that I'll laugh even though I know exactly what's coming. That defines great television for me. But anyway...


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