Welcome to the Hellmouth

Written by Joss Whedon

Original Air Date: March 3, 1997

Thus, we find Buffy, the series hero, moving to a new school and trying to forget the past. For those who didn't see the movie - you're forgiven - the short of it is Buffy burned down her high school's gym on prom night and killed a bunch of vampires, yet would forever be scarred as, well, the girl who burned down her high school gymnasium.

As with all television series about high school kids (see "Beverly Hills 90210" and "My So-Called Life," for starters), this one places Buffy as a sophomore.

The quality of the first episode, like all first episodes, is defined not by its production value, but by how it sets the tone for the rest of the series. No matter how short the series runs nor how long, the audience immediately gets a sense of what it's in for in that crucial first stab, so to speak.

The driving force behind "Buffy" is its metaphor; taking the fantastic and, in its own way, relating it to everyday life. Remove the supernatural factor, and what we are dealt is a formerly popular adolescent girl who is removed from one school and forced into another; if you ever changed schools mid-stride as I have, you immediately relate to the pressure of trying to at once stay yourself but re-invent yourself; you have to be more open to who your friends are, what you think is funny and how you see yourself, all while wondering if you're going to look like a complete moron on this first day by showing up late for a class when 25 sets of strange eyes staring at your unzipped fly. Regardless, the idea is set in the first few scenes. Popularity is a currency, and to do harm to one's chances at popularity is to do harm to one's overall social value.

In Buffy the character, we get the clever, smart-mouthed slayer in all her glory. Attempting to ignore her past, she tries to ignore the library and the mysterious British librarian, Giles, yet she cannot do it. She understands that to succumb to its pull is to not only put her in with a square crowd, it is also to return her to the life she no longer wants a part of.

She is immediately taken in by Cordelia, the wealthy, popular girl who at first exists as the antithesis to everything that is good but the embodiment of everything that is valued. Cordelia's ruthless treatment of Willow early on sheds light on a theme that is explored throughout "Buffy," that of power-versus-compassion. Cordelia, acting on her own nature, is cruel to those weaker; Buffy, as the hero, seeks out the weak and empowers them, often to a dangerous degree.

In "Welcome," though, we get Buffy trying to ride both sides of the fence. She is politely nice to the off-putting Cordelia while immediately making friends with Willow and Xander. Themes explored throughout the first season are set in place in the first episode:

*Giles' strict demeanor and Buffy's refusal to accept all of it, trying to be a normal girl while incapable of wholly ignoring her fate;

*Xander's pain of immediately being labeled a nice guy while trying to win Buffy's heart;

*Willow's complete lack of self-confidence, one that begins to be built from this episode - although completely unintentional, that Willow evolves from a shy wallflower in love with Xander to a black-eyed lesbian-witch avenger over the course of six years is fun to have as background.

All of these elements are at play. Buffy's secret is out before the first week of school ends, and through a series of happy accidents, Xander and Willow insist on helping Giles and Buffy fight the powers of evil.

Remembering other pilots of shows I liked - most notably "90210," which has an eerily similar premise if you take out all the killing - "Buffy's" early success and cult following stemmed from its ability to trust its material. Unlike "90210," which set out with a great premise and within three years devolved into a lurid, inbreeding soap opera, Joss Whedon and company were able to develop five intriguing characters and stick with them to the end.