Buffy and Angel are one of my fondest high school shows. While that gives away my age, it is without doubt that it had a significant impact on the industry. The shows creator Joss Whedon went on to give us the game changing Avengers. The show itself was a game changer. It took the damsel in distress character and moulded her into the protagonist. Who could forget the snarky Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) battling the undead while complaining about a broken nail or her outfit ruined?
Buffy was a rare find back then. A female action hero was not the most popular attraction back then. However, fans both male and female welcomed her with open arms. This was mostly due to its freshness, but I would like to think it was also because it never felt shoe-horned in. It felt organic.
It also introduced us to the world of a shared universe before Marvel made it mainstream. We had Buffy and Angel running consecutively as well as story telling overlapping both shows. Sure, the shows do feel a bit on the campy side but have still aged well. Thanks to Disney+ we can now re-watch both shows. I would recommend the watch order below for the best experience.
Best Watch Order
http://www.myths.com/pub/tv/buffy/viewing-order.html
Do the shows deserve a reboot?
Reboot is a dangerous word in Hollywood these days. It is either a tremendous success or a colossal failure. Buffy and Angel were great shows because beneath the vampire hunting was a show or shows that tackled real life issues head on. It was very much in touch with what the youth of that time was going through. It was not afraid to push the envelope, who can forget the ground-breaking scene of Willow kissing a girl. This was decades before the push to Tinsel Town for more diversity.
Times have changed and maybe it is time for a reboot. Sure, it will be hard at first to watch new actors take on the roles of our favourite slayer and vampire with a soul, but it would be harder to let such a novel concept not be resurrected.
A show such as Buffy and Angel has so much it can offer the new generation. There is many dynamics and social commentary that can be incorporated into a rebooted series.
More so the original shows did not close out in the best of manners. Angel in particular was cut short by poor administration. And while there was comics that allowed us to continue to follow the story, it was never the same. We all want to see if Buffy and Angel get the happily ever after.
Another one bites the dust
Do not let a great story sit on the shelf. Sure, reboots can be exhausting but this one is loaded with potential… well that is what the prophecy tells us anyway.
There have been rumblings of a reboot, which I pray is true. The show deserves it, and whit Disney+ as right owners and a streaming service, I would think it is more of when then if. The audiences love vampires and hunters, and the world loves a good love story. It is time for the slayer and her friends and fiends to return.
