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CliffyClif t1_j1ris2k wrote

It's dated, but was ahead of its time. Although Wire and Sopranos gets most of the credit for bringing us serialized television, Buffy was one of the firsts to tow the line between freak of the week procedural to serialized, imo.

It was an action/horror that used the horror genre as a metaphor for the struggles of teenage angst and obstacles faced primarily through the lens of a teenaged girl, something that would be criticized by many today as "woke". It dealt with loss, grief, suicide, grooming, sexual assault and more in a very real way and despite the horror setting, it was always effective imo. We got our first on-screen lesbian kiss that wasn't focused through the lense of the male gaze but genuine love and affection. I think the younger generation can watch it and now see it as not a big deal, but as someone raised in the nineties, I promise you a lot of stuff that was shown was quite taboo.

It had wit and the characters felt real. The actors were all in their 20s, but i bought them as teenagers. The show had a great knack for giving each and every one of their characters an arc. No one was wasted. I'm still gonna say it; Dark Willow is still by far the best character heel turn in tv history

The action is dated as h***. Very cringe worthy. I could understand why some people did not like season 6, although I did. Knowing the behind the scenes of the show definitely does taint a rewatch. But that aside, I can't sit here and say that Joss and his show did not have a profound effect on me when I was a kid

It's not for everyone. But for simple episodes like "the body", amd "once more with feeling," the social risks that the show took, and the fan community it produced. I wouldn say yeah it deserves GOAT for it's time

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Columbus43219 t1_j1uil4h wrote

man... I remember a co-worker explaining what an "arc" was to me in like 2000. I was watching the shows, but didn't really know the lingo.

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[deleted] t1_j2brwxm wrote

[deleted]

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Columbus43219 t1_j2buyqn wrote

That's exactly what he was doing, participating in the early forums. I asked him once where he was hearing this stuff.

I still had dial up, and two kids, so no forums for me!

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whenforeverisnt t1_j1ukuo1 wrote

An actual quote from The Wire's David Simon:

"We thought some prolonged arguments about what kind of country we’ve
built might be a good thing, and if such arguments and discussions ever
happen, we will feel more vindicated in purpose than if someone makes an
argument for why The Wire is the best show in years. ('Buffy,' by the
way, was the correct answer to that particular bracketfest.)"

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AgentElman t1_j1se4e3 wrote

Wire and Sopranos get credit for serialized television?

Lost was clearly the show that made serialized television a big thing. It was hugely popular and spawned a ton of imitators.

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CliffyClif t1_j1sn9fz wrote

Wire and Sopranos were 1999/2002. Lost started in 04. They were the first and widely popular

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