I was still living overseas when Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on televisions across America in the spring of 1997. I missed the initial interest at the time of its broadcast, and the series has only recently come to my attention because of its accessibility on Netflix and my being colleagues with the #1 Buffy fan. (I’m looking at you, Bryant!) As the resident Buffy the Vampire Slayer newbie who has just finished watching the first season, I admit I wish I would have actively sought this show out much sooner. It’s not like I’m not familiar with Joss Whedon – I have watched Firefly (LOVED IT!) and Angel (the first two seasons, so now the pieces are starting to coming together) – and his innate skill at creating engaging characters that audiences quickly grow to care about, so I am glad that I’m coming to the franchise at this point – better late than never! As a result, I found there are several aspects of this midseason replacement show (It replaced a cancelled show, Savannah.) to appreciate and enjoy. In Season 1, the characters, themes, and social commentary were all factors that resonated with me as I watched the first twelve episodes (out of 144) and became familiar with the show.

Losing a beloved pop culture icon is always an occasion filled with sorrow and pain, but the circumstances seem even more cruel when we lose talented and creative artists from our community who still seem to have so much left to give to their craft and so many more years to share with family, friends, and fans. This sentiment definitely rang true over the past weekend, as news broke regarding the heartbreaking loss of prolific actor Bill Paxton. Passing at the all-too-early age of 61, confirmation of Paxton’s death occurred on Sunday, February 26, 2017, and the following statement was released by a representative for the family: