Buffy-pa-looza

I was something of a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fan…about as much a fan as I ever am of anything (after “Dark Shadows” which is in a separate category). I was on and off fan e-mail lists, I was an official member of the Anthony Stewart Head fan club (and Keeper of the Apartment Stairs, along with a couple of other things), and the one and only piece of fan-fic I ever wrote, and published online, was a comic Buffy fic. (I still think it’s funny, and it was a hoot to write, but it was a response to a fic challenge on the ASH fan list and hence so in-jokish that it probably wouldn’t mean much to most people now–I’d have to explain too much!) For me, that’s pretty seriously fannish!

I watched the show’s premiere episode the first night it aired, decided it was worth following…and couldn’t get away. Kind of like the Job from Hell which started at about the same time. I taped almost all the episodes, but there was one episode I never did manage to see, from Season One. I really watched the show for Giles. Tony Head was my favorite actor on “Buffy” (I now have a cat named Giles in his honor). But I liked most of the cast or I wouldn’t have kept on watching. Yes, I liked James Marsters, rather a lot…but I liked the women on the show, too. Usually I don’t get hung up on females in the abstract. I like my eye candy to be male, and I get attracted to females when they’re present. There are a few exceptions to this, however, and Sarah Michelle Geller is definitely one of them. I never have figured it out (she’s straighter than Anita Bryant), but Sarah just about makes me break out into a sweat.

I know, I’m pathetic! 🙁

So. The local video rental store is going out of business. (Bummer. I don’t know where I’ll rent movies now! I don’t want to sign up for a monthly subscription service and I’ve had a grudge against Blockbuster ever since the whole mess with their not allowing their employees to wear pentacles.) They’re selling off their entire stock at fire-sale prices. I went in on Monday and bought a big stack of DVD’s, then I asked my sister in Chicago if there was anything she might want. She sent me a list, so I went back today. The store had the entire set of “Buffy” on DVD–all seven seasons. I’d looked on Monday…and today I looked again. I love the “musical” episode, so finally I thought I’d get Season Six. Each season separately was $20.

I went up to the counter, and the sales assistant said, “you aren’t getting whole series? It’s only $100 for the whole set.” I thought about it…and I caved. I bought all seven seasons of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on DVD. They’re mint condition. They were never rented even once. So now I have all seven seasons of “Buffy,” and I can watch the musical episode (which I think is brilliant) and sing along, and I can finally see the episode I never saw! Not to mention Season Three with Harry Groener as The Mayor, worth the price of the whole set all on his own.

If you bought these at full list price, according to Amazon.com, all seven seasons would be $280. With Amazon’s discount, it would come to $216.93. I paid $100 plus tax. Not a bad deal, eh?

Silly, silly, silly, silly! And at my age, too! Shame on me! If anyone really wants to read my Buffy fic (you’ll need to remember the show story arcs well, and it was for a Tony Head list, so it’s focused on Giles), drop me a line. It, too, is silly, silly, silly. But funny, if I do say so myself.