Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 7
Lucky number seven. A good a number as any above five to end a stellar run, which might be why most playoff series in professional sports are best of sevens. At the start of the season, things happened that didn't have explanations readily available (which is why I can't watch regular TV. Who wants to wait a week for an explanation?). Things were kind of haphazard, but the rumblings were there, & they weren't just Tremors-like worms. Okay, one was, but that was just Anya doing her job.
This season, more than any other, seemed to introduce the most new characters, odd for a final season in my opinion. However, those characters were introduced to bring hope for the future that we'll probably never see. I'd be interested to read something that explains Sarah Michelle Gellar's reluctance to embrace her icon-like status. In one of the featurettes on the DVD set, there was footage of the wrap party for Buffy, & it didn't appear that she attended. Kind of a slap in the face to all the friends she might've made in seven years, in my opinion again.
As well as all the new faces, we saw plenty of dead faces of the past, & that brings me to one of my biggest gripes about the Buffy series. If you're going to have a surprise guest-star (assuming it hasn't been advertised ad-nauseum on TV for a week), go the Se7en route & not announce it in the opening credits, or on DVD on the option menu for the particular episode in question. I want to be surprised should Angel or the Mayor show up in an episode, not sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for them to show up.
I was sorry to see my favourite character of all, Anya, meet such an underwhelming end. One quick cut scene & that was pretty much it. Granted, the whole Buffy series has shown different ways to accept things normally overblown in movies & such (see The Body for a stark reality check on how to deal with someone you love dying). Ah well, Anya will always be in my heart.
I truly enjoyed Tom Lenk's coming-out as Andrew, the reformed "evil genius." He was one of the most enjoyable parts of the final season, as became a pseudo mascot for the Scoobys, without truly being accepted into the fold until the end.
I didn't really like the whole Slayer Squadettes, especially that back talking black girl. Whiny bitch. But I guess it did show the reality of dealing with potential powers well, even though I thought The First should've just blown up the Summers household without toying with them so much. You're evil personified? Prove it.
A suitable ending for a TV series that will influence so many others for years to come. It ended with a feeling of hope for the future. Damn you Sarah Michelle Gellar for not repaying David Boreanz' favour of showing up in the last couple episodes of Buffy when his Angel series unfortunately ended. Thank you Joss Whedon for giving me faith in TV once again.