Top 10 Sci-Fi Shows: Number 5 - Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Half way through my top ten list we reach Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This spin off from the less than successful movie of the same name is really more a re-vamp of the concept and ran from 1997 through to 2003. Where the X-Files was able to broaden sci-fi fandom by incorporating UFO mythology, Buffy reached out to a whole new gender. Thats right Buffy the Vampire Slayer introduced female sci-fi fans.

Okay, I'm exaggerating. There are women who were fans of Star Trek, or the X-Files or many other shows. But not in the quantity that there are female fans of Buffy (or its spin-off show Angel). The script writer of the movie, Joss Whedon, was in charge of the tv series and shaped it to present us with a but kicking female lead who was not inclined to scream and rarely needed help.

Buffy took vampire mythology, radically updated it and then served it up in 45 minute action packed chunks along with snappy dialogue and a knowing wink to the audience. This was a show that was primarily about fun. Which was why when it deviated from that, such as the death of Buffy's mother, it hit so powerfully.

Like many (most) series, Buffy did begin to struggle as the seasons crept by. Many fans, myself included feel the first 3 seasons of the series were the strongest and seemed to have the most unified story to them. But even the final couple of years of the show had much to offer.

And if you need further reasons to justify Buffy the Vampire Slayer's placement on my Top 10 list… I give you Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles. One of the greatest genre tv characters of all time.

Top 10 Sci-Fi Shows