Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my favorite shows of all time. Full stop. So I was immediately curious about this new spin on an old favorite, capitalizing on our cultural zeitgeist for multiverse properties. Why Buffy? Why not! When I learned that the series was written by Amber Benson, i.e., the actress who played fan favorite Tara? Take my money, Audible. And they did.
I saw a three-star review of this story that started with “I never watched Buffy but…” Let me go ahead and stop you there. This material is not for you. It’s made, with love, by stars of that show, who are also fans of the show, who are clearly on a mission to wrest the Buffyverse out from under the dark shadow of Joss Whedon and into a new sphere.
James Marsters is a seasoned audio professional (serving as the voice of Harry Dresden across all seventeen of the The Dresden Files books) so he is at home in this format and I never don’t want to hear him as Spike. (Swoon). Throw in Buffy favorites Giles, Anya, Cordelia, Drusilla, Clem, and a few I’ll leave as surprises and I’m in. This whole experiment is a campy fun time.
Is the dialogue as quippy and sharp as Joss? Well no. Is audio the best format for the story? Also no. The fight scenes are like a time warp tour to Adam West’s Batman show, a lot of “oof” and “argh” and “grr” and scuffle sounds. They don’t work. In audio-only, it’s a lot of tell, not show, and that can be a bit tedious. And the new characters are a little thin, and the story wraps up a little too tidily. But guess what I DON’T CARE. GIMME MORE. If you liked the show, I can almost guarantee you will find this to be a fun nostalgic journey.
This new story has encouraged me to finally go back and finish watching Angel (Way overdue. I know!) and get back around to reading the Buffy Season 8 graphic novel series, so chalk up a win for whetting my appetite for the Buffyverse.