Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Complete Season 5 [DVD] [1998]

The pilot, 'Buffy Vs. Dracula', side-steps potential corniness to put a post-modern spin on the tale. Indeed, for anyone who's read the book it's a real treat to see Buffy and her gang adopt personas from the book and witness an absolutely hilarious ending as well as get a few allusion to what is to come. Other episodes worth pinpointing are 'Fool For Love', an outstanding episode that deserves kudos for its technical innovation as we get to see how Spike killed two Slayers in the past. As usual though the Joss Whedon penned episodes are the best, with 'Family' moving forward leaps and bounds in its gentle depiction of a normal lesbian relationship in Willow and Tara. However, it's 'The Body' that is perhaps not only one of the best 'Buffy' episodes yet but one of the best moments in the whole of television history. Set over one day we get to see, in four scenes only, the gang's reaction to the horrific death of someone close to them. Quite simply, it is the best study of grief that I have ever witnessed, either on the small screen or in the cinemas. Whilst Buffy is too shocked to say anything, Dawn breaks down, Willow becomes paranoid about how she should be acting and Anya achieves a glimpse at mortality that terrifies her. Any other show would be tempted to have a sentimental episode filled with tears and heartache but Whedon manages to get you crying from single lines - in particular Willow's yearning 'Can't I just be a grown-up'? Never has television been so painful, so gripping and so outstanding. There's also an impressive use of the long-shot and a complete lack of any score that adds to the poignancy and realism of the episode. Whedon also wrote the season finale, 'The Gift', which offers a fantastically mounted confrontation between Buffy and Glory as well as a conclusion that's shocking and heartbreaking.

Of course, it would be wrong to talk of 'Buffy' and not mention the performances. Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance in the title role constantly speaks actress of a generation, especially in the episode 'Forever'. The show always gives each actor a chance to shine though. Nicholas Brendon shows amazing versatility in 'The Replacement', where he gets to play both his good self and his useless self. Alyson Hannigan puts in her best performance yet in 'The Body', Clare Kramer puts in a wonderfully over-the-top performance as Glory and Michelle Trachtenberg shows amazing maturity in her performance in 'Blood Ties', an episode that has more than a passing reference to adoption. It's commendable that any actress could fit so well into an already well-established cast.

The only real thing to say is that this is a show that has matured along with its characters and audience. It started off excellently, something original that cleverly used metaphors to represent life as a teenager. Who'd have thought that it could have sustained its excellence across what is now seven series? It remains innovative, involving and constantly interesting. If it wasn't for its title and people's bias that this is a children's show (it's not) this would be seen for what it is: a landmark in television history.