Dean's Thoughts on Entertainment

Buffy: Probably the last list

I wanted to put this one together for my final review but I got tired and fell asleep, so here it is in all its delayed glory

The Cast Ranked (Cast = Good Guys, even if temporary)

1. Xander Harris – Normal Guy (Nicholas Brendon) Seasons 1-7



The everyman, the guy we all pull for, the funniest voice in the crowd. Xander is the only character who you will always enjoy, and the best episode of every season is the Xander focused episode. I felt the most in common with him; maybe because he is often the only male in the episode but also because I would wish that I would play a role like his if I was the friend of a superhero. Just for consistency alone he deserves the top spot, but for me personally he is my hero.

2. Willow Rosenberg – Witchy Woman (Alyson Hannigan) Seasons 1-7



Willow is almost always funny and enjoyable, and her storylines were well done except for the inception of her lesbianism. And when Willow witches out, she is the coolest character in the Buffy universe. She had the biggest transformation of the show and she was great all the way from her girl-next-door cutey to her ultra-powerful Wiccan Witch (I must protest however the use of the word “Wicca” since Willow doesn’t follow any of the standard Wiccan ideals or rules) The lesbian transformation was a mixed bag, it was interesting and controversial but I would have rather seen her remain straight and hook up with Xander or something.

3. Rupert Giles (Ripper) – Watcher (Anthony Stewart Head) Seasons 1-7



The wise and bookwormy Watcher of the slayer was used powerfully throughout the entire series. He was deeply missed when absent, and even when he was no longer needed to give direction he was a great character to enhance the story. His humor was always brilliant, and his British mannerisms were key to the comedy of the initial seasons. And on a few occasions you got to see into his darker side and realize that Giles is the man indeed, his part in the 5th season finale made my appreciation of his character triple.

4. Oz – Werewolf Boyfriend (Seth Green) Seasons 2-4



Oz was great while he lasted, and although that was only for one whole season and for chunks of the two around it his presence was great. Few of the characters have the comedic abilities of Seth Green which is why he has moved on to bigger and better things, but I could only imagine how good the show could have been had he stayed on board. But part of me still blames him for making Willow gay by leaving, but I guess I forgive him.

5. Anya Jenkins – Ex-Demon (Emma Caufield) Seasons 3-7



Anya was another character who was always good for a laugh, as she plows through the PC way of doing things and just blurts out every thought in her head. Her time with Xander was tremendous especially in their courting stage, and even as her character got deeper in the end seasons she was straight quality.

6. Faith – Volatile Slayer (Eliza Dushku) Seasons 2-5,7



Faith was always an interesting character, and her turmoil in the third season was one of the best serious issues they delved into in the series. Personally, I am hoping that Tru Calling will get canned after a season and she agrees to do a spinoff of Buffy with Xander and Giles. Faith was a much cooler slayer than Buffy and her attitude and demeanor was always a welcome addition to the show.

7. Dawn Summers – Sister (Michelle Trachtenberg) Seasons 5-7



No idea of the show could have blown up as badly as the addition of a annoying sister, but somehow she wasn’t annoying and actually added to the appeal of the show. She had her moments (as any 16 year old would) but overall Dawn was a solid addition to the show, and it is probably the only time in the history of television where such a stunt actually worked. I wouldn’t mind a Dawn spin-off, but once again take Xander and Giles.

8. Buffy Summers – Slayer Extraordinaire (Sarah Michelle Gellar) Seasons 1-7



It is sad that the star gets 8th place on the list, and in a real honest listing I would have her farther down the list still, but credit has to be given for the fact that because of her role the quirky sidekicks work. She was almost always too preachy, and she had very few good comedic moments in the last 3 seasons. But without her soldiering along then the show would have been very awkward and as much as I wanted it to be more ensemble Buffy had to take center-stage for the dynamic to work.

9. Angel – Ensouled Vampire (David Boreanaz) Seasons 1-3



Angel was cool as the mysterious Soulful Vampire who always appeared in the nick of time to wreck house in the first 3 seasons. And his romance with Buffy was much more natural and interesting then the later Spike/Buffy romance which seemed almost like a ploy to make Spike more important and avoid making another boyfriend character. But Angel was cool enough to allow for a Spin-off which in some ways is better than Buffy and in other ways isn’t. I would have liked Angel to have stayed on for the whole seven seasons but in actuality I like having two quality shows instead of one.

10. Spike – Sarcastic and later ensouled Vampire (James Marsters) Seasons 2-7



Spike is a riot, and few characters were half as cool as he was. My reason for putting him so far down the list was that they made all of his stories very redundant, like he would have the same story and purpose in like 4 episodes in a row and it was wasteful at times. So I liked him better as a villain and a neutral vampire than I did Buffy’s love interest and teammate.

11. Andrew Wells – Comical Supernerd/Nemesis (Tom Lenk) Seasons 6-7

I felt like he was the least of the three arch-nemesis’ but in the 7th season he really came out on his own and was consistently funny and enjoyable. Andrew took the show in a few good directions at points in the last season as well, so he deserves praise for many things.

12. Wesley Windham Price – Watcher (Alexis Denisof) Seasons 2-3



Another hilarious character who was pretty minor on Buffy but has become my favorite character on Angel. His time in the early seasons was solid quality, and really worked to make Giles look good.

13. Principal Wood – PrinciPAL (D.B. Woodson) Season 7

He was another short lived character since he was introduced in the final season, but he was awesome. He was a part of just about every cool happening in the 7th season and was a big part of making the season great.

14. Cordelia Chase – Prom/Drama Queen (Charisma Carpenter) Seasons 1-3



No one on the show could be as irritating as Cordelia when she made a point of it, but she set up some great jokes and was fun when she dated Xander.

15. Jonathan – Another Comical Supernerd/Nemesis (Danny Strong) Seasons 1-7



Jonathan was kind of annoying in the early seasons because he just seemed like a disposable teenage character that just never died. But his stint as a villain and his occasional episodes of importance made him an enjoyable character.

16. Tara Maclay – Lesbian/Weaker Witch (Amber Benson) Seasons 4-6



I hated her in the 4th season, but she grew on me. Although by grew I mean she stopped pissing me off, I never really loved her. She was definitely the weakest link although more because she was there only to make Willow gay, she had almost no other purpose. Amber Benson I have grown to appreciate more and I hope she does well elsewhere.

17. Miss Jenni Calender – Gypsy Computer Teacher (Robia La Morte) Seasons 2-3



I really liked her and wanted her romance with Giles to stick around for awhile because Giles was hilarious when he is in love, but sadly Angel had to be a jerk and snap her neck. Shame

18. Principal Snyder – Principal - Seasons 1-3



He was really funny as the intrusive and obnoxious Principal who got in the way of everything that Buffy did in school. He was missed when Buffy went to college.

19. Riley Finn – Buffy’s Boyfriend and Government Soldier (Mark Blucas) Seasons 4-5



Riley was the least irritating human boyfriend that Buffy ever had, but I still felt no love for him. I wasn’t sad when he left except he made me suffer through more depressed Buffy.

20. Joyce Summers – Buffy’s Mother (Kristine Sutherland) Seasons 1-5



She was never really that significant to me, she was just the mother and at points she was a pain. She filled a role but she wasn’t deeply significant.

21. Kendra – An annoying Slayer - Season 2



She was worthless, except for Mr. Pointy her lucky stake. She served a purpose to show how much Buffy was a rebel as far as official slaying goes but they did right by killing her off quick.

20. Kennedy – Lesbian Potential Slayer - Season 7

Willow needed a girlfriend to prove she was gay and so she was written in to make for a happy ending. She sucked, and only helped push the limits of how much lesbian sex you can show on TV.