The 10 Best Shows of 2000

From TV GUIDE - December 23rd, 2000

#7 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

When Dracula came to Sunnydale this year, Buffy was shocked to realize that "Count Famous has heard of me." We in the Buffy brigade weren't in the least surprised. While The X-Files has successfully reinvented itself this season, WB's enchantingly enjoyable Buffy is easily TV's top purveyor of dark fantasy. The relationships among the now college-age "Scooby Gang" have deepened, none more than the awkward and tender blossoming of love between the spellbindingly witchy Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and the demure Tara (Amber Benson). And while we're still skeptical of Buffy's new kid sis Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), whose true identity is too bizarre to explain here, we're loving the comically pathetic crush that punk vamp Spike (James Marsters) harbors for the slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar). He stammers like a smitten schoolboy when caught stalking her or sniffing her sweaters. After four seasons, Buffy's bold blend of comedy and terror is as confident and compelling as ever.