Unless you've been kidnapped by aliens or Shriners for the last half a decade or so, you have at some point been exposed to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, either through conversation, magazine/web articles, or by actually watching the show. For seven years, those of us who watched religiously have come to know and even love the cherished characters in the "scooby gang"; we have watched them grow up together, truly mature as characters and as people, all the while being supplied an endless army of monsters, demons, and people to wage the classic good vs. evil battle against. More than that, though, we have felt their highs and lows, their loves and losses, truly in a way that only a good friend or a frighteningly obsessive person can. And then something truly epic happened:

The last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired.

I'm not going to go into the history or origins of the show, that has been done to death. I'm also not going to try to justify my obsession with this show; ask around, and you will be surprised how many other people became wrapped up in the pseudo-drama. But I feel that, now that it has ended, the true scope of the show and its mythos can finally be explored (of course, nothing is ever complete, and there is still the spin off Angel which, though diverging into its own almost equally engaging story over the last two years, is still based in the Buffy world).

The show wasn't about a cute blonde girl kicking ass or monsters, demons, and magic. Ok, maybe some of it was, but the real beauty of Buffy was in its writing. In the seven seasons it was on the air, I have found only two real continuity errors. It was an ever progressing, evolving mythos created around four main characters, and in the seven years we watched it, we saw all the characters evolve naturally. We grew to know and love these characters and, leaving out the supernatural aspects of the show, were witness to some of the most natural and real human interactions and emotional responses ever written into a television program. The way that the characters treated each other, the way that events effected them, even the way they spoke was very real. And the stories would grow and shape with twists that were sometimes predictable, often not, but always intriguing. The only other television show that has captivated me to such a degree was David Lynch's "Twin Peaks". Seriously, in writing and continuity it was that good.

Add to this the fact that it had some of the best special effects on tv and cinematography on par with most feature films, and really some great performances from a rather odd crew of actors, and you end up with really the best American television has had to offer to date. Buffy has raised the bar for TV; for three years it has been the only show I watched religiously, and I know a LOT of people who felt the same. Saying goodbye to Buffy was like saying goodbye to a group of friends. And my Tuesday ritual.

Seasons 1-4 are currently available on DVD, and I highly suggest renting or buying them. Watch the show from the beginning, and fall in love with the story, characters, and general feeling of a world that more and more of us became captivated with over more than half a decade. You won't regret it.