What you'll
find here are my absolutely favorite shows on television. If you've always
wondered
if a particularly
series was worth your time and investment, this is the place to go in order
to make your mind.
Undergrads
Rated 18+ (in cartoon standards, like South Park)
Where does it air? MTV and Teletoon
(french and english)
Teletoon Schedule:
French Teletoon
(show name is "La Clique") : Monday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday 22:00 Eastern
English Teletoon:
Monday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday 23:00 Eastern
The scoop:
A humourous and realistic parody of college life. The adventures of 4 life-long
friends keeping contact through
computers. You'd be hard-pressed
not to recognize yourself or unable to identify with the traits of the
characters on the
show, becauseas they say...we've
all been there. There's Rocko, the frat-boy which interests can be summed
up with sex and
beer. Cal, the good hearted but
incredibly dumb and oblivious guy whom all the ladies want. Gimpy, the
computer geek who always stays in his room and who is a rabid Star Wars
fan. Finally there's Nitz, the "normal" guy trying to make sense of the
crazy college life, and with a crush on a girl he's known since High School.
In retrospect you'll recognize some parts of yourself in all the characters.
The show has great animation, compelling
characters, mature and raunchy humor. In a word: funny, funny, funny.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer
Rated 14+
Where does it air? Reruns: In
Canada and US: Fox In
Canada only: Space, Vrak TV (formerly Canal
Famille)
In US only: FX
New episodes: Canada:
YTV
US:
WB
Canada Schedule:
Fox:
Saturdays (17:00 Eastern) Sundays (18:00 Eastern or sometimes at 13:00
when there's auto-racing on...)
Space:
Weekdays at 20:00 and repeats at 2:00 AM (Eastern)
Vrak TV
(it's in french! Xander is Alex, a Slayer is a Killer and some names sounds
weird (Faith, Angel) :
Thursday(20:00)
and repeat at Saturday (21:00) (Eastern)
YTV:
Lately it's been at 21:00 (Eastern) but before it was at 20:00 So
that some people (like my 13 year old cousin) won't be grossed out
by two lesbian characters kissing...
"This world is older than any of you know, and contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons, demons walked the Earth, made it their home, their Hell. In time, they lost their purchase on this reality, and the way was made for mortal animals. For Man. What remains of the Old Ones are vestiges: certain magicks, certain creatures... and vampires. The books tall that the last demons to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed - infected - by the demon's soul. He bit another and another... and so they walk the Earth, feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out and the Old Ones to return." - Rupert Giles, Watcher
Giles: "Into each generation, a Slayer is born.
One girl, in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the..."
Buffy: "...the strength and skill to hunt the
vampires, to stop the spread of evil, blah blah blah.I've heard it, okay?"
"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
The scoop: Cult-hit, classic of modern television, underrated masterpiece...oddly titled. All these terms describe the epic work of art that is this show. To my admittedly limited knowledge, no show besides Star Trek or Babylon 5 generated such a rabid fan base, dissecting every character, episode and event in the show and where discussion and debates spans hundreds of thousands of websites, message boards, essays, articles, works of fanfiction (some of which I proudly contribute) and merchandise. I mean, there are slash fics (romantic pairing stories) of virtually every characters in the show!
The complexity of the characters, quality of the writing, wit of the script and lines, the sheer genius and chemistry between the actors, gripping storylines, tense character development, a disturbingly real metaphor of life and the fact that this show is more in touch with reality and down-to-earth than most TV dramas out there (and it's a fantasy show!), funnier than most comedies, more compelling than most soap operas (when a character dies part of you does too) and finally, the fact that it keeps you more on the edge of your seat than most movies definitely puts it on a class of its own.
Might be a good time to talk about the show itself, wouldn't it? It's currently spanning 6 seasons, each representing a year in real-time. To summarize it would leave out too much of the angst, and betray the complexity of the show, but I'll give it a shot.
In the suburban californian city
known as Sunnydale, where the citizens would rather close their eyes to
the darkness
surrounding them than to come to
terms with the fact that they are living right on the mouth of Hell, comes
their only hope of
salvation, in the form of the Slayer.
After receiving her calling as one of the only forces standing between
good and
evil, Buffy Summer's relunctance
to accept her destiny resulted in the death of her Watcher (the Slayer's
guide and trainer). Unable to cope with the responsability that faced her,
she left Los Angeles after disposing of the vampires that killed her Watcher
and moved to Sunnydale, where she made it clear to her new Watcher that
her duty is done, preferring to lead a normal life and straying away from
the Slayer's destiny, which is to fight the good fight until her death
so that another Slayer will receive her calling (most Slayers don't live
past their late twenties). She also didn't look too favorably on a Slayer's
need to isolate herself from the world she seeks to protect, meaning no
friends or education, save from her Watcher. However, the rise of an ancient
and powerful vampire known as the "Master", and several threats close to
her force her to assume her role as a Slayer, but while keeping her own
way of life that contradicts itself with the Slayer's ethics and responsabilies,
namely having close friends, attending high school, disrespecting her Watcher
and falling in love with a repenting vampire. Ironically, it is that very
stance that allowed her to escape the fate of the other Slayers, her link
to the world giving her the strength to endure the harshest of destinies.
That description might make the
show sound too serious, but no other series have such a perfect balance
of light-hearted
humor and fun with poignant storylines
and intense moments. It fits no genre in particular, a unique and refreshing
concept
that is a contrastof good and evil,
love and hate, happiness and sadness, and a touching and realistic view
on life that
transcends the bounds of television
to make it something truly special.