Dean's Thoughts on Entertainment

Buffy Season 7 Review



Part of me is pretty sad because the journey is over and my last few months of Buffy watching is now over. I must say that I was impressed by how good the 7th season was especially after the suckiness of the 6th. The season felt much more like the earlier seasons mostly because they returned to many of their roots. Dawn and Buffy returned to the high school and they fought many episode long battles instead of a single entity that plagued them for an entire season. There was also the presence of happiness which was almost entirely lacking from season 6. For me I was happy with some of the new characters namely D.B. Woodside (who I am also enjoying as Michael Massee's brother on 24 season 3) who entered the show as the principal. And I also was surprised by the guest appearance of the talented and popular Ashanti. The highlight of the season of course is the ultimate finale, which surprised even though I knew elements of it from watching Angel, and as a naughty spoiler I was very surprised by the non-chalant killing of a few essential characters. My main complaint with season 7 is that it got preachy a lot, and I mean a lot. Almost every episode had a sappy speech about life as Buffy prepared everyone for the final fight against evil, thankfully I think they caught on at the end and smacked themselves down for it. Overall, I was very pleased with Season 7 and since it is the final season I have some final thoughts I want to delve into.



I entered into this venture with the belief that the show would trail off at the end, and now I will disagree and argue that the show remains solid throughout. I will rank the seasons in the order in which I most enjoyed them,

1. Season 2 - Season 2 corrected many of the problems in writing that existed in the first season, and was able to properly balance between humor, action, and drama. The feel good vibe created a great ying for the serious battle against evil yang and the show was most enjoyable.

2. Season 3 - Followed in season 2's footsteps and brought in some wonderful new characters like Faith. Was slightly more somber but this season is excellent and is right behind Season 2 as far as quality is concerned.

3. Season 5 - The introduction of Dawn was actually a quality move, and the romance between Willow and Tara is less frustrating. The season long villian is enjoyable and the show delved into some neat ideas and concepts. Plus we get our first glimpse of Willow as a witch of Death.

4. Season 7 - A return to glory, with all the major characters present and accounted for (except Tara, Oz, and Cordelia). The feel good vibe returns and the quirky dialogue is back in force. The finale is excellent, and the show ended well.

5. Season 4 - The introduction of Willow as a lesbian didn't flow and I felt that it was unnaturally written, this factor alone reduced this season's power. Besides this, the show is still doing well, although I definately was missing Angel since this season coincided with the first season of Angel, although on the same token I am not missing Cordelia.

6. Season 6 - Depressing as all hell, but the last four episodes and the musical make it superior to the first season.

7. Season 1 - The writing was awful, and I almost gave up on the series at this point. Some of the characters were so irritating you want to rip out your eyes. But the groundwork was being lain.

I didn't want to steal any of Dave's thunder in case he was headed here with one of his Buffy lists, but I put together a list myself. And as a sidenote I agree with Dave's villian list entirely and wouldn't change a thing.

Best Cameo Appearances in Buffy



1. John Ritter - Ted Buchanan
John Ritter began the episode as the stereotypical John Ritter nice man who is dating Buffy's mother, but as the episode progressed you discover that the authoritative Ritter is actually a robot. Buffy see's his bad side and tries to get rid of him, but her mother thinks she is just mad about her mother dating. Ritter dies in the end, but he is just head and shoulders above every other cameo celebrity because he is just amazing.



2. Brian Thompson - The Judge, and Luke
You may remember him as the giant chin-weilding villian of many 80's movies like Cobra, but in Buffy he played two different villians. His first was as Luke the second hand man to the Master in the first season, and his second was as the near unstoppable Judge in season 2. Both times he was a brilliant villian, and you just gotta respect the chin.



3. D.B. Woodside - Principal Robin Wood
He was the finest black man that graced the show, and he was pretty sweet throughout the whole season as he kept you wondering whether not he was good or evil for the majority of the show.



4. Mark Metcalf - The Master
Mark Metcalf has come a long way since his days in the Animal House, actually no he hasn't, but it was nice to see him getting work, and the Master was well done.



5. Ashanti - Random Woman
Another cameo where I almost jumped out of my skin. She was good as a romantic interest and then BAM evil. That happens a lot on Buffy, but this one was cool because she is famous.



6. Harris Yulin - Quentin Travers
The evil Leader of the Watcher's Council was so well played by Harris Yulin that it made you sick. He was so swarmy and evil and powerful that I wish he could have been featured more often. Plus, he is one of the three people who were in Buffy that also were in 24.



7. Clea DuVall - Invisible Girl
She was invisible for much of the episode so she gets 7th place, but hey half the people of the word didn't notice her at all, so I feel special.





P.S. Eric Balfour, star of the New Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, well maybe not star, but he gets his face cut off and worn. Anyway, he is the third actor to be in both Buffy and 24, he turns into a vampire back in season 1 and he played Milo on 24.