OT: Buffy the What?

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

Statistics for Season 6:

Out of 22 episodes, the number of times vampires appeared in an episode:
8 ("Bargaining, Part 1", "All the Way", "Once More, With Feeling",
"Tabula Rasa", "As You Were", "Entropy", "Seeing Red" and "Villains")

Number of times vampires actually had something to do wtih the plot: 4
(the slayings in "OMWF", "As You Were" and "Entropy" were just jokes in
the beginnings of the eps, the vamp at the bar in "Villains" was a
non-combatant).

Number of times vampires were the chief antagonist of an ep: just "All
the Way" (they mostly fought vamps in "TR", but the antagonist was
Teeth, the shark-demon). Well, you could argue for Spike as the
antagonist of "Smashed", but he was more like the protagonist, really.

Number of vampires who had names and personalities: 2 (Justin and Zack,
"All the Way")

Number of vampires who had names, personalities and acting skills: um,
maybe Zack... (was Kavan Reece, who played Justin, wooden or what?)

Contrasting stats for Season 4, previously considered the most vamp-lite
season:

Number of episodes featuring vampires: 12 ("The Freshman", "The Harsh
Light of Day", "Beer Bad", "Wild at Heart", "The Initiative", "Pangs",
"Something Blue", "Goodbye, Iowa", "Who Are You", "Superstar", "Where
the Wild Things Are", "Restless")

Number of episodes featuring vampires in the main plot of the episode:
5 ("The Freshman", "The Harsh Light of Day", "The Initiative", "Who Are
You", "Superstar")

Number of eps where vampires are the main antagonists: 3 ("The
Freshman", "The Harsh Light of Day" and "The Initiative" [Buffy and the
commandos are at cross-purposes, but they're both fighting Spike]) and
Boone and his gang's attack on the church in "Who Are You" is a key
battle moment.

Vampires with names and personalities: Sunday, Harmony, Boone. Also
Spike returns as a villain (before he gets changed), and the vamp he was
locked up with has a name (Tom) in the script, it just didn't get
mentioned on air. And while Sunday's minions are simply called "Stoner
vamp" and "Not-Thin vamp", they do definitely have personalities.

Vampires are far superior foes than demons. They are alienated, looking
like humans but not human. (A metaphor for gays and other minorities,
"passing" for human, but carrying a secret [see "Are You Now Or Have You
Ever Been?"]) They are capable of stealth, hiding in crowds and then
striking from the shadows. They are seductive in their attacks, with
the intimacy of the bite, the blood, the "penetrating wound'. They are
a threat because of the corruptive nature of their conquests; not only
do they kill humans, but the vampires take over the bodies, should they
choose. They represent the allure of evil: immortality and strength at
the cost of your soul. They are true creatures of the night, not some
jerk in whatever the makeup department came up with this week. (Oh,
look, Buffy, it's that Rubrsute Demon we were tracking!)

There's a reason they made vampires Buffy's duty, and I can only hope
Joss's jokes about Buffy doing something new and being a vampire slayer
in Season 7 mean that this element will be brought back in.

Dan

who likes his vampires evil, but likes them...