Buffy goes to the school library to get some text books. The library, although a more unusual setting was much more like something from a vampire story, it was dark and empty. To add tension the producers used ‘scary’ disjointed music to try and set the scene and the camera moves in onto a newspaper article, to which you can read the headline which refers to a missing teenage boy. This article casts a question mark over the ‘normal’ nice Sunnydale.
Then a figure appears behind Buffy, it is Giles, the new school librarian and Buffy's new watcher. He presents a book with ‘Vampyr’ on the cover which scares her off. This endorses the old traditions as the book was old, and full of cobwebs, possibly to add more mystery to this section. The spelling ‘Vampyr’ again highlights the books age and tries to make it look even more strange, this also brings more history and tradition into the episode, two elements that are important to any gothic style story.
The programme seems to take a different twist when a dead body is found on campus, in the school changing rooms. It is unusual that the body was discovered in the school and another good point to note is that the victim was male, which is unusual for a vampire story, as traditionally the victims were all defenseless females. Buffy goes to investigate and finds that the body was killed by vampires.
When she goes to inform Giles about the body, she also tells him she no longer wants to be a Slayer and hoped that she left that life back in LA. He tells her she has no choice in the matter and that her living in Sunnydale was no co-incidence since it is where mystical events center. As Buffy leaves Giles follows to try and make her understand what is going on. They leave and Xander pops his head out from behind one of the shelves unsure what to make of their discussion.
At home, Buffy prepares for her night out to the 'Bronze,' Sunnydale's only night club. Her mum thinks that everything is going to work out in Sunnydale and that they will be able to have a happy life there. It is very ironic as Buffy knows that bad things are just around the corner and also this shows that her mother is unaware that she is a ‘vampire slayer’.
On her way to the Bronze, Buffy senses she is being followed and heads into an alleyway. A tall young man comes out of the shadows searching for her. She swings down from a bar above him and knocks him to the ground. He claims not to bite and that he just wants to help her. This section endorses up to the point where Buffy swings down and attacks the man. He warns her of the Harvest and tells her about the Hellmouth. This name paints a bad picture in the audience’s minds and it is the total opposite to Sunnydale.
Later at the Bronze, Buffy chats with Willow about boys. She tries to inspire Willow to stop waiting and to 'seize the day.' Buffy spots Giles upstairs and goes up to talk to him. He continues to tell her she is the Slayer and has no choice in the matter. At first the setting for this scene may seem to be totally radical in a vampire style story, however after thought the venue is dark and full of young potential victims so is a modern adaptation of the settings for the older tales. For example, the more traditional tales were set in a graveyard or ‘spooky’ house, which was dark and the time was always in the dead of night. These characteristics can also be linked to the nightclub used in Buffy, as it too is dark and people only go to these clubs during the hours of darkness.
Buffy spots a vampire in the crowd below them and then realizes he's talking to Willow. The guy leaves with Willow as Buffy goes searching for him. She mistakenly attacks Cordelia and then pretty much ruins her chances for popularity. As Buffy leaves, she runs into Xander and asks him where Willow may have gone or else there will be one more dead body tomorrow. The vampire manages to lead Willow into the cemetery where he throws her into a tomb stone. As he tries to escape, Darla arrives with Jesse. Buffy and Xander turn up and Buffy kills one of the vampires and then fights with Darla as Xander gets Willow and Jesse out to safety. A vampire shows up and fights with Buffy. While they are fighting, Darla escapes to get Jesse, Xander and Willow. The vampire throws Buffy into a coffin where he jumps in and leans in to bite. Apart from Buffy, a female fighter, who manages to attack all the vampires single handed. This ending endorses the signifiers we think off when we talk about vampires. As the setting, a graveyard is the usual place for an attack in a gothic or vampire story. It is also interesting to note that the episode concludes with a cliffhanger, an unusual ending for many gothic style stories and films. As traditionally, the story finished with either the death of a victim or of the attacker.
In any television programme or feature film, camera angles and effects are important as they portray certain feelings that the producers want to show to the audience, these may be something like making the audience think a character is small and weak by using a high angle shot, which looks down on the character. Or you could use the opposite effect by making a character look strong and powerful from using a low angle shot (looking up). In ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ they producers use one effect which is featured on several occasions. This is where a quick series of flashing images is presented to the viewers; this technique is called a ‘montage of images.’ In episode 1 this feature is used twice, in the first case, the montage is used as a title sequence and shows images that both subvert and endorse the conventions, including images of signifiers including black cats, stakes and green monsters along with modern things like female fighters. This sequence promises viewers fast pace, all action entertainment and shows clips of future episodes in order to encourage continual viewing throughout the series. The second montage is shown where Buffy is in bed dreaming at the beginning of the actual programme, after the introduction and the title sequence. This series of images is showing the audience that she is restless as there is some kind of distortion in the images, and some are not fully visible. This makes the viewers to try and understand the sequence and the majority suggest that Buffy is involved in someway with vampires or as a protector of some description. The images shown include an old book which suggests the cultural history of vampires, a cross which represents Christianity and the way to kill vampires. Because of this legend, the cross points out that Buffy is a protector.
There are 4 main characters featured in the first episode, these are Buffy, Xander and Willow and the school librarian, Giles. Buffy has just moved to Sunnydale High after being expelled from her last school after she burned down the gym. This is unusual behavior for the ‘normal’ heroine. Buffy is a strong character and seems to be very mature for her age. Xander on the other hand is your average teenage boy, he seems not as intelligent as the others and seems to embarrass himself regularly, as we seem him do several silly things during the episode, highlighted when he falls of his skateboard onto some railings. This subverts tradition as a comic character is usually not involved with a vampire story. Then there is Willow, who is very intelligent and slightly shy, Buffy attempts to change Willow and make her more outgoing. Obviously, Willow is viewed as a weak plain character and not somebody you would find in one of the traditional vampire stories. Giles is the only character that really endorses the old vampire conventions and is obviously very intelligent and has a great knowledge of vampires. It is also important to note that he is English and this to an American audience shows historical heritage.
My conclusion to this question is that I felt ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ is a popular programme because it provides a good mix of many aspects of popular programming. It contains scenes that are scary, action packed and also offers addictive viewing like a soap opera. Buffy can be viewed by many different age groups as it seems that there is almost something for all, just the opening episode included many different styles of programming, from comedy to gothic style features. If you look at the most popular programmes on TV (Coronation Street, The Simpson’s, Neighbors, Heartbreak High, Relic Hunter etc) you can see that ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ includes story lines and scenes that would attract people who normally watch one or more of the programmes listed above. Buffy is a blend of a American high school comedy mixed with sitcom/soap opera story lines, all this as well as including scenes of violence and horror.