Upon Further Review by EVAN BEVINS

Halloween without 'Buffy' like tricks without treats

by EVAN BEVINS
columnist

With Halloween less than a week away, the natural inclination for an entertainment columnist would be to write about scary movies.

But beyond "The Blair Witch Project" and "Scream," I have never been too fond of horror movies. And besides, The Parthenon already has a resident horror expert, managing editor Rhanda Farmer.

So instead, I'll use the upcoming holiday as an excuse to write about my favorite TV show, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The sixth season is underway (10 p.m. Tuesdays on the local WB affiliate) and syndicated reruns started in September (7 p.m. weeknights on FX).

Halloween is just an excuse to discuss the show because watching "Buffy" for the vampire slaying is like watching "Seinfeld" for Jerry. Sure, it's the name and starting point of the show, but you know you liked George, Elaine and, of course, Kramer a lot more.

Vampires, demons and other supernatural story elements are just the back drop for one of televisionÕs best shows.

And no I am not saying that because, as my friend Don put it, "Sarah Michelle Gellar is HOT." She is, but it takes more than an attractive cast to make a quality program. "Baywatch" anyone?

The show takes on conventional stories and plot elements from a unique perspective born of a creative blend of drama, action and humor.

For example, do you like romance in your entertainment? "Buffy" has that.

The love triangles, rectangles and other romantic geometry problems of "Buffy" are far more complex than those on an average TV show.

In the first season, Buffy (Gellar) starts out at a new school, her only real friends being fellow social outcasts Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Willow (Alyson Hannigan). Xander immediately falls for Buffy, while remaining ignorant to the fact that his lifelong friend Willow is crazy about him.

Meanwhile, Buffy is infatuated with mystery man Angel, who turns out to be a vampire. "How poetic," as BuffyÕs adviser Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) puts it in season one.

The thing is, "Buffy" doesn't just cave and get the interested parties together. That can kill a show. One reason "Wings" started to go downhill was Joe and Helen's marriage. Nor do the romantic subplots drag on too long. By the time Niles and Daphne actually got together on "Frasier" I could not have cared less.

The characters' love lives keep taking interesting twists and turns. None of the original potentials ended up with each other. Xander is now engaged to a former demon and Willow, after dating a werewolf, came out as a lesbian and is involved with a fellow witch.

Buffy and Angel did get together early on, but they're so star-crossed they make Ross and Rachel on "Friends" look like harmless flirting.

Currently, Angel has his own self-titled series and although the relationship remains an important part of the show's lore, the sale of "Buffy" to UPN will probably prevent future crossovers.

But love's just one example. The show's supernatural plots are just jumping-on points that often serve as metaphors for everyday situations.

Remember the quiet kid at school that nobody really liked? Other shows may have had super-nerds like Steve Urkel or Screech, but on "Buffy" the out-girl is so unpopular and unnoticeable that she literally turns invisible.

What about the weird feeling of watching a parent date? "Buffy" tackled that theme in season two with a memorable guest shot by John Ritter as her mom's new boyfriend (an episode that aired on FX Wednesday).

The show nailed parent-teenager dynamics and wrapped up with a surreal knockdown, drag-out between Gellar and Ritter (I won't spoil it and tell you why).

"Buffy" can come down-to-earth in a powerful way. In season five, Buffy faced a very different challenge when her mother died from complications following the treatment of a brain tumor.

The episode about Buffy's mom's death was haunting and moving ... and almost totally devoid of any supernatural elements. The fact that this show did not get an Emmy nomination still astounds me.

Now in season six, "Buffy" retains its originality. Series creator Joss Whedon gave himself quite a challenge at the end of last season -- he killed off Buffy.

A return from the dead is a tough plot device to pull off. Anyone remember the dream season on "Dallas" (shudder)? But nothing so lame from Whedon and company. See, Buffy's friends brought her back, but not from some endless void or torturous hell-dimension.

As we learned in this season's third episode, Buffy had completed her work on earth and was rewarded by going to heaven. Her friends' spell ripped her out of eternal peace and dropped her back in a world where everything is a struggle ... starting with digging out of her own grave.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is not everybody's cup of tea, but you might at least want to take a sip. New episodes and classics are on a TV set near you.

And if you need Halloween as an excuse to check it out, go for it. Because this show is so good, it's scary.

Wonder what makes Bevins tick? Ask him yourself by sending a comment to parthenon@marshall.edu.