INCA MUMMY GIRL Based on an actual real event: the discovery of a 500 year old mummified teenage girl in Peru. This starts off in a romantic vein -Xander's pairing with Ampata, Oz's discovery of Willow- but soon turns very dark. Features the most screen time ever given to a one-off guest star.

My 100 Favourite Movies #81 Zulu Dawn Dir: Cy Enfield Starring: Peter O Toole The story of the battle of Isandlwana The warm up battle directly before the heroic defense of Roark's Drift in 1879, with much stiff upper lippery from British Officers heading towards a calamitous massacre.

SCHOOL HARD Die hard in a school? Another great one here, with the arrival of two of it's greatest characters: Spike and Dru. Both actors are truly captivating from the start and add yet another layer of greatness to this Series. Features one of the great gaffs: Spike referring to Angel as his Sire

My 100 Favourite Movies #82 Full Metal Jacket Dir: Stanley Kubrick Starring: Mathew Modine A Marine recruit endures a brutal Drill Instructor then fights in the Vietnam War. Like all Kubrick movies, filled with scenes that will haunt you forever. Here his chosen topic is man's inhumanity to man

THE PROBLEM WITH VAMPIRES A Canon story written by Drew Goddard as a set up to Spike and Drusilla's arrival in Sunnydale in 'School Hard'. Here their trip and exit from Prague is examined in detail and we are shown why Dru appears in such a fragile and weakened state. (Spoiler: it involves torture)

My 100 Favourite Movies #83 Aliens Dir: James Cameron Starring: Sigourney Weaver Ripley joins a rescue mission in search of survivors of a terraforming colony Earth's toughest Hombres loaded up with guns and ready for anything. What could possibly go wrong? One of THE great movies of the 1980's

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED Having already featured variations on 2 Classic monsters (Nosferatu and the Invisible Man) here the show throws subtlety aside and gives us a high school Frankenstein's Monster. A solid Episode with some great scenes of Giles romancing Jenny. Or is it the other way round?

My 100 Favourite Movies #84 Day of the Dead. Dir: George Romero Starring: Lori Cardille In a world now overrun by Zombies, a few scientists and soldiers hide out in an underground bunker. The third chapter of Romero's Zombie opus. Masterfully made on a budget of $3.5 Million. Avoid the remake.

WHEN SHE WAS BAD Whedon's second show as director and the Series best Episode to this point. Buffy is pissed off and horrible throughout, but we know it's a glitch and so do the Scoobies, who forgive her in a beautiful final scene Trivia fans: watch for John Lennon's son Sean playing in the Bronze

My 100 Favourite Movies #85 Get Carter Dir: Mike Hodges Starring: Michael Caine A London gangster returns to his home town to investigate his brother's death. One of Mr Caine's best performances, and a grim reminder of life in 1970's Britain.

PROPHECY GIRL Joss Whedon's debut as a Director and the first hints of his greatness and his ability to raise the bar ever higher on an already great show. The main storyline -Buffy VS The Master-is resolved beautifully and we finally get to see what's lurking under the Hellmouth. Wonderful stuff.

My 100 Favoutite Movies #86 Nicholas and Alexandra DIR: Franklin Schaffner Starring: Michael Jayson, Janet Suzman The story of the last Czar of Russia. Overly sympathetic to the lead characters, but still a great film. Features a Tom Baker masterclass as Rasputin the Mad Monk.

OUT OF MIND OUT OF SIGHT Cordelia Chase -very much the secret weapon of Buffy Season 1- who appears very little, but has delivered the goods with every scathing putdown she utters. Here she's given the airtime she deserves and takes the first steps towards becoming an actual Scooby member.

My 100 Favourite Movies #87 JFK Dir: Oliver Stone Starring: Kevin Costner New Orleans District Attorney investigates the assassination of John F Kennedy. A riveting examination of one man's search to find who was really behind the Kennedy shooting in 1963.

NIGHTMARES Reality running amok is never a good thing, but particularly in Sunnydale where the monsters are eternally waiting to pounce. Here we have everyone's nightmare coming true and for the first and only time we see Buffy as a vampire. A Great Episode let down by an appalling final 3 minutes.

My 100 Favourite Movies #88 Deliverance Dir: John Boorman Starring: John Voight, Burt Reynolds Four city slickers take a canoeing trip in the Georgia wilderness only to find themselves hunted by the locals. A film that features one of the most harrowing and disturbing scenes in cinema history.

THE PUPPET SHOW A Whodunnit set amid the School Talent Show, and an Episode so packed with story, plot threads and subplots, even the end credits feature a scene. Strangely, despite being a first rate show, it holds the lowest viewing numbers ever for the Series. Introduces Principle Snyder.

My 100 Favourite Movies #89 Thunderball Dir: Terence Young Starring: Sean Connery James Bond tracks down a terror organization that has stolen two nuclear bombs. The introduction of SPECTRE, and the absolute pinnacle of 1960's Bond mania, which was screened in cinemas in the USA 24 hours a day.

I ROBOT YOU JANE And yet another Buffy Season 1 show that deals with a legitimate Teen-issue: here the dangers of the internet. Literally here, as the villain is a Demon trying to seduce Willow online. Contender for Buffy's worst Episode, and yet a fun, entertaining and totally enjoyable 43 minutes

My 100 Favourite Movies #90 A Fistful of Dollars Dir: Sergio Leone Starring: Clint Eastwood. A stranger arrives and manipulates two warring outlaw families fighting for control of the town. The First 'Spaghetti Western' of note. And a phenomenal success that turned Eastwood into an icon.

My 100 Favourite Movies #91 The Chase Dir: Arthur Penn Starring: Marlon Brando. An escaped convict returns to his hometown causing tensions to flare.

THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS A 3-issue Canon comic set midway through Buffy Season 1. No great shakes compared to the post TV Buffy comics of Season 8-12, but these are well written and drawn and supplement the early Buffy shows well. The Manga style art is inappropriate but these are still worth a look.

ANGEL The most important Episode of Buffy Season 1, with Angel revealed as a vampire, and Buffy's education and acceptance that not everything that looks like a monster, is one. Also of note is the correct portrayal of Darla, who was badly misinterpreted in the Pilot. The ending is incredible

My 100 Favourite Movies #92 Frankenstein Dir: James Whale Starring: Boris Karloff A scientist discovers the secret of creating life and creates a monster.

THE PACK Another show and another real life teen issue highlighted: namely this time bullying, made all the more horrific with the addition of spirit possession, potential rape and the school mascot eaten alive and screaming. The first of several very dark Buffy episodes that dared to disturb.

My 100 Favourite Movies #93 Out of Sight Dir: Steven Soderburgh Starring: George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez A female cop finds herself attracted to an escaped convict.

NEVER KILL A BOY ON THE FIRST DATE. AKA Buffy has a crush. The best show yet, and one that demonstrates this Series ability of taking two separate genres -namely Horror and teen comedy here- and merging them together perfectly. The show still undiscovered by the TV watching masses at this point

My 100 Favourite Movies #94 Ulzana's Raid Dir: Robert Aldrich Starring: Burt Lancaster A native American chief leads a war party targeting the local settlers.

TEACHER'S PET Firmly establishing the 'Monster of the Week' format of Buffy Season 1 -here in the form of a sinister teacher. More importantly, the writers continue the smart move of using actual everyday teen-issues. Namely here, peer pressure (following up on the Parental Pressure of 'Witch')

My 100 Favourite Movies #95 Magnum Force Dir: Ted Post Starring: Clint Eastwood Dirty Harry hunts down a gang of renegade cops that are executing known criminals.

TUNGUSTA EVENT 1908 A huge asteroid (estimated 200 feet wide) hit the rural Krasnoyarsk area of Russia causing monumental damage, but a mere 3 deaths. It's is deemed the greatest impact event ever recorded in earths history. A Nasa photo of the impact site taken in 2005 ⤵️

WITCH The Series begins proper, and here Whedon shows that vampires aren't the only creatures menacing the town of Sunnydale. A body swapping, spell casting Witch is the villain, but already it's become evident the real substance of the show will be the ongoing relationships of Buffy and the gang.

My 100 Favourite Movies #96 Quatermass and the Pit Dir: Roy Ward Baker Starring Andrew Keir A mysterious object is discovered near a London Underground train station.

THE HARVEST A perfect conclusion to Buffy's pilot, which constructs the template for the next 7 years of the series. The setting and characters are now fully established and will only grow, expand and evolve in wonderful ways from this point on. The Town now has a protector and her name is Buffy.

My 100 Favourite Movies #97 Invasion of the Body Snatchers Dir: Don Segal Starring: Kevin McCarthy A small town Doctor discovers that the people living there are being replaced by alien life forms.

Buffy Season 1 Promo shots.

WELCOME TO THE HELLMOUTH Now 29 years old, Buffy's first show is a textbook example of how to do a TV Pilot correctly. Here we get the main characters -virtually perfect and on point from the first line- the setting and the entire premise for the show delivered in 42 minutes. Oh and vampires too.

My 100 Favourite Movies #98 Bonnie and Clyde Dir Arthur Penn Starring: Warren Beaty, Faye Dunaway

youtu.be/WR3J-v7QXXw Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Pilot. 🙂 This really needs to be included as an extra when they eventually reissue the Buffy Season 1 on the next format.

BUFFY: THE PILOT A low budget 26 minute episode made by Joss Whedon to sell the show to potential buyers. Essentially the show's first episode -minus the characters of The Master and Angel- and notably featuring Riff Regan as Willow and Stephen Tobolowsky as principle Flute A fascinating watch

The First Slayer Sineya First appearance: Buffy S4: 'Restless'.

TALES OF THE SLAYERS The perfect starting point for any Buffy fan should be this book. The famous faces appear, but here Joss Whedon and the other writers focus on Slayers through the ages beginning with the very first: Sineya. The first cannon comics to supplement the TV show.

My 100 Favourite Movies #99 Casino Royale Dir: (5 listed) Mainly Joe McGrath, John Huston Starring: Peter Sellers, David Niven

My 100 favourite movies. #100 Laurence of Arabia. Dir: David Lean Staring: Peter O Toole.

Area 51 A USAF facility in Nevada Where nothing goes on. Nothing, Y'hear.