Better than the series

i thought the movie sucked and am suprised that such an awesome show came out of this horrible train wreck

Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life

Okay, my personal $.02. MurderedKurt said "the original is always better." Hmm...usually, I'd have to agree, but not in this case. I guess if you prefer out-and-out comedies to comedy/dramas, I can see how a person might prefer the movie to the series. However, the movie was played out just to be a cheesy teen comedy, which was *not* what Joss intended. His original script called for the same dark comedy/drama/horror that the series blended together. But the higher-ups decided they would do better to make a full-out comedy/horror. They were wrong. The movie *bombed* in the theaters, which ended up being a blessing in disguise for Joss, allowing him to eventually write another version of Buffy, this time closer to his original material. And the show was born.

Now, as for my personal opinion...I love both. When I was fairly young, I was visiting family, and I picked up this book called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: the novelization." I was intrigued, so I started reading. I fell in love with the book, and decided I *had* to see the movie. I rented it, fell in love with it, and later bought it. Years later, I'm watching the WB, and I see commercials advertising this new show: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." I was *really* excited about it!! From the first episode, I *loved* the show, even though it was so different from the movie. Now, I will admit, the show did have points and episodes I didn't like as much. (Bad Eggs...x_X). And I have to admit, I did stop watching during season 4, and didn't return to my love of Buffy until *after* the show was cancelled. But I have all the seasons that are out in the US. And I still love the show. I consider it one of my favorites. My problem with the movie has to do with the ending. The ending is kind of a mess, with random cuts. Example: we see Buffy spray the hairspray into the fiery cross, lighting Lothos on fire. The very next instant, she's running up the stairs. There's no transition from one scene to the next there, and I have always wondered what was originally between the two parts. Also, the final fight between Lothos and Buffy, leading to Lothos's death is choppy and not very well-done at all. Lothos has random lines in there, that with a tighter plot, could have been relevant, but as they stand now, they make Rutger Hauer look like an amateur actor.

Spreaking of acting...Kristy Swanson did do a good job as Buffy in the movie. However, she didn't bring the range of emotions to the character, like Sarah Michelle Gellar did. But I think that's understandable, since Kristy's Buffy didn't go through *nearly* as much as SMG's Buffy did. After all, as someone else pointed out, the show had 144 hours for plot and character development, while the movie had only 1 1/2 hours. The rest of the movie cast wasn't terribly horrible. I liked Donald Sutherland as Merrick, and I can't compare him to Anthony Stewart Head's Giles, because they are two distinctly different characters. I do think the show's cast *was* better, acting-wise (Alyson Hannigan and James Marsters being the best actress and actor on the show, in my opinion.) But I think at least part of the reason the show can be seen as having more talent is because we see emotional ranges of the characters in the show, emotional ranges the movie just does not have the luxory to show. For instance, all of Buffy's cheerleader friends from the movie are all ditzy, shallow, rich girls who don't really seem to have a thought in their heads or a care in the world. The show had two characters who started out that way: Cordelia and Harmony. Charisma Carpenter's season one Cordelia seemed like the stereotypical snobby head cheerleader, while Mercedes McNab's Harmony seemed like a ditzy, shallow follower. Thanks to the arcs of the show, both characters were allowed to grow and change. Cordelia grew into a strong and very capable woman who actually cared about the world around her. Harmony grew into a still ditzy, but villainous vampire who kept going back and forth from good to evil. Now, my point to this is that if the movie had had more time, we probably would have seen at least one or two of Buffy's old friends turn into stronger characters, instead of the stereotypes they were shown as in the film.

Okay...that was a *LOT* longer than I thought it would be. o_O Cheers!

What a filthy job!
Could be worse.
How?
Could be raining.
*BA-BOOM!* *Rain pours down.*

I wholeheartedly agree. I saw it when it first came out and have been a fan since. I was extremly excited when the show first started but when I watched the pilot I didn't like it.

So yeah I prefer the movie, the cast was much better and the movie was more enjoyable.

I agree the series really is pathetic. Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry really make it so hot. The series was just like all the other teenie-bopper shows of its day like the gilmore girls, charmed, angel, felicity.

Yeah, Buffy the series is so cool, mannn, like, they had a frat house with an underground military facility, so original mannn, and, like, Buffy and friends love to crack jokes while people are getting killed around them, mannn, cool, and like, cops almost never show up even if multiple murders occur, and their school keeps running the next day after monsters run riot the night before, killing students and security guards...

Any college film professor who looks for deeper meaning in a TV show (as mentioned by someone earlier in this thread) with such shoddy script-writing needs to get out more.

Anyone who thinks the movie is better than the series has probably not seen the series.
SMG is not a great actor, but she is quite good. Season Six proves by point.
Comparing Buffy (or ANGEL for that matter) to Dawsons Creek or Gilmore Girls is ridiculous! Obviously you haven't seen the show...

No doubt the quality of the writing did vary (Bad Egg, Beer Bad, etc) but overall, it was a good show. (Angel was even better!)

They're both good but the series is much better than the movie. The movie is more of a comedy while the TV show is more on the dark side. Don't get me wrong, I like both the movie & the series but the series is much better.

"the movie seemed like there was so much more to it ,obviously leading to the series,and this gave the film a bit more depth than it seemed on the surface,the very fact the film came first ,setting the whole buffy ball rolling should mean it's people's first choice."

Uh, buddy... that's just not how it happened. Someone didn't say, "Hey, this movie was pretty cool. Let's turn it into a series!". Nope. Joss Whedon(you know, the guy who wrote the movie?) hated the way the movie turned out and turned the great idea he had into a wonderful television show that has more than likely wiped the memory of the movie out of most people's heads.