SciFi Fall Preview

From SciFiWire - September 2000

With Adam and the Initiative out of the way, Buffy and the Scooby Gang can now get down to some serious slaying. In Buffy's fifth season, changes are afoot. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) will acquire a mysterious sister named Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), but it won't be explained where she came from for a few episodes. Anya (Emma Caulfield) will become a regular. Xander (Nicholas Brendon) will find a career, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) will take over the magic shop, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) will continue to develop her powers and Spike (James Marsters) will be around to be, well, Spike. Tara's (Amber Benson) secret will be revealed, and Drusilla and Faith will drop by. In the season premiere, Buffy and Xander fall under the spell of the ultimate vampire, Dracula.

Prediction: Even non-genre critics are calling Buffy one of the top five best shows on the tube. While the Initiative and Adam were probably Buffy's weakest villains yet, the series remained strong, imaginative and consistent with a compelling mythology at its core. No other show on TV takes the kind of chances Buffy takes. All the characters grew this year as they became adults. Willow and Tara's romance was handled gently and respectfully, as was Willow's break up with Oz. Gay and interracial issues were so wonderfully subtle, it's difficult to imagine that not that long ago these were big issues. The only real gripe is that Xander didn't get much screen time last season. As Buffy approaches its 100th episode during this year's season finale, it's showing none of the signs of a series near the end of its run. Buffy will make it to the end of the year comfortably, and if it maintains its quality, look for a sixth season.