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she has to, she is the Chosen One. This is another of the big themes that the show deals with; the very real feeling of loneliness while being surrounded by people. The show confronts this in Chosen' (Season 7, Episode 22), the final episode of the programme. Willow is able to control and use her power to change the entire Slayer prophecy. No longer is the Slayer the Chosen One'; the Potentials can choose whether they want to be a Slayer. The final line of the show is said by Dawn to Buffy: "Yeah Buffy, what are we going to do now?" The whole series deals with her burden of super strength, the burden of her destiny. As I mentioned at the very start BtVS is about a normal girl who happens to have a special power and her struggle to accept that fact, to weave her destiny into a normal life'. The final shot is of Buffy. She does not need to reply. Any self-respecting Buffy fan knows the answer: she can do whatever she wants, because finally she has a choice.

BtVS came along just at the right time. Aired in 1997 the first season of Buffy coincided with the global phenomenon of Girl Power brought about by The Spice Girls. The contemporary audience was bored of having their expectations fulfilled. They were (and still are) a media-savvy bunch who have seen it all before. Yet Joss Whedon came up with a show that was so unique, a show that turned everything on its head, and had fun with it. The important feature that gained the show its cult status is that the writers wrote for the fans. I hesitate to use the word postmodern, because this label is so hard to define it cannot do the programme justice, however the show is popular culture at its most self-aware. Joss Whedon catered to a cult audience that would spend a large amount of their time recognising pop culture references and finding connections between episodes. For example in The Wish' (Season 3, Episode 9) we see an alternate reality where Willow and Xander are vampires; in Dopplegangland' (Season 3, Episode 16) the alternate-reality Willow appears in the normal Buffy reality and living-Willow (pre-lesbian) says about her evil double "I think I'm kinda gay"; finally in Tabula Rasa' (Season 6, Episode 8) the characters lose their memories and Willow (who is actually gay now) says about herself "I think I'm kinda gay". Evil vampire Willow also first says the line "Bored now" in The Wish'. She repeats this when she turns evil in the normal reality of Buffy to avenge Tara's death in Villains' (Season 6, Episode 20).

Considering the combination of a crack writing team, led by creator Joss Whedon, along with the stellar cast, it is easy to see why BtVS gained so much critical acclaim. In my opinion, the opinion of both a fan and a critical media academic, BtVS is the best fantasy television show of all time.

Learn more about this author, Helen Abbott.
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