2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the premiere of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a fact that makes me feel very, very old. But it also made this seem like a good time to pull down this guide to the first two seasons that I've had sitting around on my shelves forever and take a little trip down memory lane.

This has pretty much all the stuff you expect from this kind of book. There are little recaps of each individual episode, which don't go into a great deal of depth, but do include fun little notes about things like continuity with previous episodes, pop cultural references made by the characters, and which weapons Buffy uses, as well as occasional snippets of dialog that were cut during filming. There's a surprisingly meaty section on the show's monsters, including some general comments about its take on vampires and other kinds of monsters and short profiles of the various creatures and bad guys, including fairly minor ones. There's also a longish section with some good (if slightly fawning) interviews with the show's cast members and creators, including a few people you don't often see highlighted, such as the director of photography or the casting coordinator. (The interviewer's obsession with asking everyone about their scars strikes me as just a little bit creepy, though.)

There are also a lot of quotes. So many quotes. Including some of the same ones repeated multiple times, and others that just aren't all that interesting out of context. I mean, I know Buffy's a very quotable show, guys, but there are limits! Also mildly annoying is that fact that the book as a whole is not nearly as visually impressive as it seems like it should be. There is a very small selection of color photos stuck in the middle, but mostly the illustrations are black and white, and oddly murky. Also, I for one, could probably have done without the ten-page tribute to Buffy and Angel's relationship, complete with long passages of quoted dialog and overwrought commentary comparing them to Romeo and Juliet. But I'm aware that there are other people who are much more likely to enjoy that, and I probably should not begrudge them.

Anyway, overall it was reasonably interesting and provided a nice little hit of nostalgia for me. Although I do find that I'm not quite feeling the urge to revisit my old Buffy DVDs the way I half expected I would be by the end of it. ( )

Read this some time during 2002, thus can't remember too much of it now, though recall that I enjoyed it more than expected. Reason being, books inspired by TV shows that I really like don't always appeal to me, yet this one did. ( )

This is a good book if you love Buffy. It only covers the first two seasons which is both bad (its only two seasons) but good because it goes into quite a bit of detail on minor characters. I only skimmed the book - but I did read the bios of the costumer, special effects team, and the make-up artists. It is quite amazing what Buffy did, considering the budget they had to work with. By the way - I love the late 90's look. Totally took me back to my high school days. ( )

If you loved the show, if you miss the show, this book is a great walk down memory lane. With quips, insider info, pictures and character profiles, this book brings back the fun, the snarky, the quippy, quirky and brilliant world created by creative demi-god Joss Whedon. A must have for any true fan of the Buffster and her Scooby gang. ( )

This book is a must-have for Buffy fans! It has great behind-the-scenes information on the show and all things buffy. ( )