I love Grey’s Anatomy. It entered the scene at a time when I was losing hope in television altogether from the exes all the way down. I have always been a big fan of ER but since Noah Wyle left the regular cast, I feel like there was no one there for him to pass the torch to. At any rate, no one expected a little mid-season replacement with a cast as fresh as Grey’s to take off like it did, but here we are two season’s later and the world practically stops when the show airs.

I recently watched the entire second season again as ABC was kind enough to replay it leading up to the premiere. It is obvious that this cast gels together like very few that we have seen in recent years. Furthermore, the characters aren’t segregated into little cliques so it is truly an ensemble. Miranda Bailey’s interns started out as a little clique, but their interpersonal relationships have developed immensely with other characters very quickly. They also force characters to interact who would not necessarily do so willingly or regularly, like Preston Burke and Derek Shepherd who start out the show in contempt of each other but have cultivated a grudging respect and admiration for each other. All of this points to brilliant writing and the writer’s ability to get into the human psyche.

Somewhere along the way while re-watching the second season of Grey’s I got that warm fuzzy feeling that I haven’t had since Buffy ended. If you’re a BtVS fan you know what I’m talking about. It’s a mix of nostalgia for the crew you ran with in High School mixed with grown-up teen angst and a dab of super-hero worship. Somewhere along the way I came to the realization that the leading characters in Grey’s Anatomy were the Scooby Gang with scalpels. Let me break it down:

Lauren Graham who plays Lorelai on the Gilmore Girls just rocked house on Bravo’s Celebrity Poker. Not only did she win but she played really aggressively and it was good to see a woman who knows how to play poker take out an experienced player like Matthew Perry.

Well I kept putting it off, mostly because I was really kinda sad about writing this. It’s like putting the last nail in the proverbial coffin (punny). This is the post I’ve dreaded making for over a week now, my thoughts on the series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was initially reluctant to start watching the series because I’d been unfortunate enough to see Kristy Swanson stink up the role of Buffy in the film. After about three seasons, I turned it on and made it through part of an episode here, a couple of minutes there. By the end of season four I was a full blown addict even though Riley (Marc Blucas) was still part of the cast.

It really tells you something about the power of a show when you can fall in love with it even though you completely abhor one of the characters. That’s the sign of good writing, plot arcs, and good acting. Let’s face facts people, Buffy was hands down one of the best shows on television. In a television schedule riddled with inane reality television, tired medical shows, multiple flavors of CSI and Law and Order, and painfully bad sitcoms (Good Morning, Miami, Just Shoot Me), a show with a ridiculous title turned out to be a beacon of hope for a spakin’ new network and a huge cult favorite.

Who would’ve thought that a mid-season replacement on a fledgeling network with a bitingly sarcastic title could’ve become such a phenomenon and grow into a franchise? Furthermore, who would’ve thought that this little-show-that-could would have a wildly successful spinoff that ended up almost beating its mother show in the ratings and threatens to outlive it? Initially, Joss Whedon, Buffy’s proud creator, might not have thought that this little show could’ve grown up into something so pervasive in American culture, but he did believe that his story was not finished after the release of that disheartening cinematic experience. A few years later, Joss came back with a slightly tweaked concept and a handful of virtually unknown talent only to enthrall scores of rabid fans for seven seasons.

So now we’ve come to the end. Some little part of me still doesn’t believe it’s over. I find myself confused and lost on Tuesday nights at 8pm, and I’m not the only one. Thousands of fans including myself, laughed, squealed, and cried their way through the series finale of Buffy on May 20th. I can’t say it was the best episode of the series, but it definitely reminded you why you started watching it in the first place.

The finale had a series of touching moments. Angel and Buffy have a quarrel over who’s going to wear the trinket Angel was given by the brass at Wolfram and Heart. Buffy sends Angel away telling him that she needs him to be part of the second line of defense. The cliche lover in me wanted Angel to fight shoulder to should with Buffy in the “last battle” but I think it turned out better this way. Buffy and Angel then bicker over whether or not Buffy and Spike are together. Buffy goes home to quibble with Spike about her kissing Angel. They get past that and Buffy gives Spike the trinket to wear in the final battle. Buffy rounds up the troops and gives them an inspirational speech, and it’s cut in such a way that key elements aren’t revealed (in true Buffy/Whedonesque style). Everyone goes to their respective corners, gathers their bits and pieces, and steels their spines for the last battle. The most poignant moment in the whole episode was when the Core Four (Giles, Xander, Willow, and Buffy) have a funny little conversation
in the hallway of the high school about what they’re going to do tomorrow (providing they survive). The Buffster apparently still has a jones for shoes. Then they go to their respective posts and wait for the excitement.

I won’t bother to do a complete blow by blow of the last scenes, but it was well written and well filmed. It had a very Helm’s Deep feel to it (LOTR: Two Towers). The ending of course turns the whole concept of the Buffyverse into something absolutely HUGE. Let’s put it this way, the Buffyverse could eclipse the Star Trek universe in the long run.

Now for the things I didn’t like about the finale. Willow performs THE biggest work of magic known in the Buffyverse and she had maybe 10 minutes of total screen time. I felt very rushed through the whole thing because they tried to cram about three hours worth of material into a one hour show. I will never forgive Joss Whedon for that. The finale should’ve been more than one hour. 90 minutes would have been a lot better. Finally, this incarnation of “The First Evil” was just plain dumb. It reminded me of Boss Hog and his cronies on the Dukes of Hazard. It never came close to really putting the Scoobies and the Slayers in Training out of commission. The incarnation of The First that convinced Angel to kill himself was much more effective. If you’re going to conjure pure evil, at least give it common sense. Other than those few things, I thought the finale was swell and I am thrilled that Anya is dead. She was a bigger thorn in my side than Riley ever was.

The good thing about the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is that in the future (hopefully the near future) there will be more series and more characters to make you laugh and cry, not to mention the veterans that have finally graduated from Buffy. James Marsters is also signed on to do a complete season of Angel and there will be guest appearances by other Buffy characters. Regardless of the presence of a Buffy-related show on the prime time schedule, Buffy, Xander, Willow, and Giles will live on in the hearts of their fans for an eternity.

I have not forgotten! I saw a lot of movies and finales this week (’tis the season) and I am still digesting it. I watched it again today and I have some slightly different feelings about it from the second viewing that I have to think about before I post. I promise something will show up here about it before the end of the weekend.

As an aside, I said it once and I’ll say it again: DING DONG ANYA’S DEAD!