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Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Slayer Chronicles (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: The third season of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her calling just a little bit too much--she definitely got a pleasure out of staking vamps that went beyond mere job satisfaction. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches.

While Faith was around for a good deal of Buffy's third season, the six episodes of the Slayer Chronicles represent the highlights of her and Buffy's relationship. "Bad Girls" shows Buffy and Faith at their closest, going on a demon-killing rampage--until Faith accidentally kills a human being, and shows little regret for doing so. "Consequences" deals with the, well, consequences of the accidental murder, and also brings Buffy face-to-face with the mayor's evil plans for Sunnydale. "Enemies" details Faith's attempts to seduce Angel away from Buffy, by stealing both his body (hubba hubba!) and his soul. The controversial "Earshot" (pulled from its initial broadcast due to its similarities to the Columbine massacre) is one of Buffy's best episodes ever, mixing pathos, humor, and suspense as Buffy develops the ability to read minds, and discovers someone is thinking very seriously about mass murder at Sunnydale High. The Slayer Chronicles' pièce de résistance, though, is the two-parter "Graduation Day," wherein Faith tries to kill Angel, and the students of Sunnydale High prepare to do battle with a mutated mayor and his army of demons. Aside from the series' exceptional writing and acting, what makes the Slayer Chronicles so compelling are the performances of the consistently excellent Gellar (as Buffy) and Dushku as the complicated Faith, a girl you truly love to hate. By the end of these episodes, Faith will have cast a spell on you that you'll find very hard to shake off. --Mark Englehart

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Volume 1 - Bad Girls/Consequences (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: The third season of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her calling just a little bit too much--she definitely got a certain pleasure out of staking vamps that went beyond mere job satisfaction. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches. "Bad Girls" shows Buffy and Faith at their closest, going on a demon-killing rampage--until Faith accidentally kills a human being, and shows little regret for doing so. "Consequences" deals with the, well, consequences of the accidental murder, and also brings Buffy face-to-face with the mayor's evil plans for Sunnydale. Up until this point, Buffy and Faith had come to a somewhat wary understanding of each's personality; these two episodes show the deterioration of their friendship into something more deadly. "Bad Girls" also showcases the arrival of Faith's watcher, Wesley (Alexis Denisof), now of Angel fame. --Mark Englehart

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Volume 2 - Enemies/Earshot (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: The third season of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her calling just a little bit too much--she definitely got a certain pleasure out of staking vamps that went beyond mere job satisfaction. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches. "Enemies" details Faith's attempts to seduce Angel away from Buffy, by stealing both his body (hubba hubba!) and his soul. Fearing what may happen to Angel if he crosses over to the dark side again, Buffy is heartbroken by Angel's conversion--or is she? The controversial "Earshot" (pulled from its initial broadcast due to its similarities to the Columbine massacre) is one of Buffy's best episodes ever, mixing pathos, humor, and suspense as Buffy develops the ability to read minds, and discovers someone is thinking very seriously about mass murder at Sunnydale High. Jonathan (Danny Strong), Buffy's nebbishy classmate who got his own Buffy "episode" the next year, plays a pivotal role. --Mark Englehart

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Volume 3 - Graduation Day 1 & 2 (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: The third season of Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marked by the arrival in Sunnydale of renegade slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), a moody loner who seemed to like her calling just a little bit too much--she definitely got a certain pleasure out of staking vamps that went beyond mere job satisfaction. While Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was always wary of Faith, the two developed a deep friendship and appreciative rapport--that is, until the evil mayor of Sunnydale (Harry Groener) tapped into Faith's dark side and lured her into his plot to take over the world, first as a double agent spying on Buffy, then as out-and-out nemesis. And as the mayor's ascension approached--which happened to fall on Sunnydale High's graduation day--Buffy and Faith's battles got nastier and nastier, as Buffy attempted to wrestle with her dark side (literally and figuratively), save the world and her friends, and keep her lover Angel (David Boreanaz) out of Faith's evil clutches. The season's pièce de résistance is the two-parter "Graduation Day," wherein Faith tries to kill Angel with a poison arrow, and the students of Sunnydale High prepare to do battle with a mutated mayor and his army of demons. The first episode features one of Buffy's best fight scenes ever, as Buffy battles Faith in order to provide Angel with the antidote--slayer's blood--that he needs in order not to die. The second episode (and season finale) is a clever nod to the anxieties that accompany anyone's high school graduation, as well as a resolution to the mayor's evil machinations. --Mark Englehart

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season (dvd):

Amazon.com video review: Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) looks like your typical perky high-schooler, and like most, she has her secret fears and anxieties. However, while most teens are worrying about their next date, their next zit, or their next term paper, Buffy's angsting over the next vampire she has to slay. See, Buffy, a young woman with superhuman strength, is the "chosen one," and she must help rid the world of evil, namely by staking demons. The exceptional first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduces us to the treacherous world of Sunnydale High School (where Buffy moved after torching her previous high school's gym). The characters there include "watcher" Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and the original "Scooby Gang" members--friendly geek Xander (Nicholas Brendon), computer whiz Willow (Alyson Hannigan), and snobbish popular girl Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter)--who aid Buffy in her quest. Those used to the darker tone that Buffy took in its later seasons will be surprised by the lighter feeling these first 12 episodes have--it's kind of like Buffy 90210 as the cast grapples with regular teen problems in addition to saving the world from demonic darkness. Fans of the show will enjoy the crisp writing, the phenomenal chemistry of the cast (already well-established within the first few episodes), and the introduction to characters that would stay for many seasons, including moody vampire Angel (David Boreanaz). Through it all, Gellar carries the series with amazing confidence, whether conveying the despair of high school or dispatching various demons--she's one of TV's most distinctive and strongest heroines. --Mark Englehart

Buffy & Angel Chronicles Gift Set (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer rocked the foundations of television and redefined the one-hour action-drama genre with its bleeding-edge humor, smartly crafted teenspeak, fascinating mythology, and the most ambitious of all themes--you know, that good versus evil thing. At the show's heart is the romance between Buffy (the charming Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Angel (hunky David Boreanaz), the tortured vampire destined to walk the earth with a soul. These six episodes take the Buffy-Angel pas de deux from ecstasy to agony in a now-classic plot arc from the show's second season. You see, if the cursed Angel ever experiences true happiness for a moment, he'll revert to being an evil vampire again. And guess what happens after Buffy and Angel finally declare their love for one another and consummate their relationship...

Episodes "Surprise" and "Innocence" chart the events of Buffy's 17th birthday, when evil vamps Drusilla (Juliet Landau, Martin's daughter) and Spike (drolly wicked James Marsters) plan a nefarious surprise party for the slayer, and Buffy wakes up the morning after to find her beloved Angel transformed into (literally) the boyfriend from hell. "Passion" and "I Only Have Eyes for You" chronicle the evil Angel's ascent to power and the love-hate relationship that grows between him and the emotionally wracked Buffy. And the series' ostensible high point, "Becoming, Part 1" and "Part 2," finds Buffy going up against Angel as she fights to save the world from being sucked into hell. It all sounds like horror-action mayhem (and there are great ass-kicking fight scenes), but Buffy grapples with its themes of good and evil with amazing depth and intelligence, not to mention prentention-deflating humor. And oh man, the love story! Buffy and Angel's tragic relationship is one of the most heartbreaking you'll ever find. Buffy's final dilemma finds her having to save the world at Angel's expense, and Gellar (who deserves a passel of Emmys for her work) is phenomenal at telegraphing Buffy's swirling conflicts between love and duty. Fans of the series, as well as newbies to the world of Buffy, will find this outstanding video set indispensable--it's some of the best TV ever made, period. --Mark Englehart

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Slayer Pack (vhs):

Amazon.com video review: It's no secret that Buffy creator Joss Whedon was unhappy with the hilariously campy and charming 1992 film about his vampire-slaying heroine. When the opportunity for the Warner Brothers series came along, he set out to present his complete vision of the teen dream. This set is a nice introduction to Buffy (petite and pretty Sarah Michelle Gellar); her watcher Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head); her best friend, the computer whiz Willow (winning Alyson Hannigan); their devoted but slightly goofy friend Xander (Nicholas Brendon), and the self-involved beauty Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). Also featured is Buffy's angst-ridden, 240-year-old beau-to-be, Angel (David Boreanaz). Sunnydale, where former Los Angelean Buffy now resides, just happens to be at a Hellmouth opening, allowing for the presence of not only vampires, but all kinds of beasties and demons. This keeps Buffy and her posse very busy.

The two-part opener, "Welcome to Hellmouth" and "Harvest," introduces Buffy and audiences to her new high school, her friends, and her enemies. Most importantly, the episodes introduce a demon who'll plague her through the series' first season: the Master. She also meets Angel, the most beleaguered vampire this side of Lestat's Louis. Together, the newfound friends and the watcher battle--and win (for now)--against the Master's minions. "The Witch" is an early example of the demons Buffy faces--it's not just about staking vamps. Here Buffy meets Amy (a recurring character), whose mother is a cheerleader-obsessed--you guessed it--witch. "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" explores a recurring theme: Buffy's thwarted attempts for normalcy in her life. As viewers come to expect, demons get in the way. Here, the Anointed One (a kiddie vamp) is crowned. Buffy learns the true identity of the mysterious and handsome Angel, who's spent the last 80 years without a kill. The couple agree not to pursue a relationship (yeah, right). Another episode that explores the demonic is "The Puppet Show," which borrows from the familiar theme of the possessed ventriloquist's dummy. Some episodes are quite graphic ("The Puppet Show," for example, features a potential brain removal), but there's always the inevitable triumph of good over evil. This justifiably popular phenomenon serves up healthy messages of loyalty and friendship, complete with hip, dead-on funny dialogue and great clothes. It's also a celebration of the quirky and the odd(balls). --N.F. Mendoza