Opinion

Slayer - The Next Generation

Written by: Keith Topping
Published by Virgin Books

"The problem, in Buffy's case, is one of a consistent quality which sets it apart from virtually everything else on TV. A case of hyperbole? Not a bit of it. [From the Introduction.]

(Note: This review contains spoilers for episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer which have not yet aired on UK terrestrial television. You have been warned.)

I've gone on record before regarding the generally high standard of Keith Topping's TV series guides, so I won't dwell here on the way they work, only note that this one matches the high standard of its predecessors. Matching Buffy The Vampire Slayer, its subject series, in starting afresh at the beginning of its sixth season. (The series changed networks and raised its title character from the dead, the episode guide effectively leave its earlier version as a complete entity (Buffy - the Warner Brothers Years), and starts over with the first episode of season six).

The previous editions of Slayer had become, as Topping notes in his introduction to this one, rather unwieldy. Covering the first five years of a series as content-dense as Buffy The Vampire Slayer inevitably leads to a chunky volume, meaning that in the most recent edition for instance, the plot synopses for season five were radically shortened to conserve space. Fuller synopses are restored in this new edition, and the book is significantly enhanced by them. By starting afresh, the book succeeds in the aim which Topping states, of once again becoming a book that can be read, rather than one which can only be referred to for specific items of reference. This is the way I prefer to read these volumes, as it makes it possible to see trends and follow threads in both narrative and themes, as well as chart the growth of what is, after all, one of the best-made pieces of television around.

Many of the usual categories of information familiar from the earlier versions return, and are supplemented by some new ones which reflect the changes in the programme last year. Additionally, to round out the book, some detailed background to the events around the network change, a comprehensive synopsis of what happened in seasons one to five, reviews of the most recent novels, and an astonishingly extensive bibliography are provided.

Along the way, the book also takes time to dip into the controversial waters surrounding the production team's decision to kill Tara and so trigger the events which closed season six; and tricky waters they are: The discussion on both sides of this subject is sensitive on several levels, and there are some strong feelings that need to be taken into account when dealing with them. Unfortunately, it isn't a subject that can have a particularly satisfactory outcome, as the events have happened, and the world has moved on, but this is a commendable effort to present both sides of the case in an even-handed manner. As a viewer who had extremely mixed feelings about the whole thing myself, I found several points were made that caused me to re-examine those feelings, and that alone requires praise.

There was, especially online, something of a backlash against the series during the season covered here, which is a pity, because although it was perhaps more uneven than previous years, when viewed as a whole it's actually a remarkably coherent and powerful meditation on redemption and love. Topping makes that point explicitly, but the content of the book (and the episodes obviously) reinforces it throughout. And I think I said something similar myself at one point.

If I have a criticism, it's an extremely nit-picking one, but something I regularly found grating as I read the book. For some reason there's an overuse of commas where they're not at all needed. Sentences like Many of the performances that Michelle Trachtenberg has put in over the last year and a half, are worthy of considerable praise, this included and The fact that Spike is in love with Buffy can seemingly, motivate a heroism within the vampire are simply wrongly-constructed, and when read as part of the ongoing content, can be extremely jarring. If it was just here and there I wouldn't mention it, but it keeps happening. It's not something I've noticed in any of Mr Topping's previous books, and came as something of a surprise.

That said, even as picky a reader as I didn't find it sufficiently annoying to prevent me giving the book a whole-hearted thumbs-up.