Stephen Samuel's Journal: Buffy a drama ?? That's a laugh!

In noting that Buffy the Vampire slayer was, once again denied an Emmy nomination, I notice one thing: Buffy -- The Musical was supposedly nominated for something like "best writing in a dramatic series". I find this rather strange, because I've always seen Buffy as a comedy, not a drama. I think that some brain-sucked bureaucrat from another dimension has concluded that, because the show has no laugh-track, it can't possibly be a comedy.

Now, granted: There are fight scenes, conflict, serious plot lines and arcs and heart-wrenching dramatic moments (like when Buffy comes home to find her mother motionless and cold on the couch). But the truth of the matter is that comedy is wrapped tightly into most plots; Comedic moments are often either the first or second scene in any show; and the dialogue regularly cracks me up.

background For those of you who don't know the series, it's set in Sunnydale -- A quiet University town of, at most, 100,000 people where the nightlife is dead (or, rather undead); magic spells usually work (work, here, includes backfires); safe sex means 'anything but hickies'; people mysteriously die or go missing at about half the national average rate (as in: Sunnydale is responsible for the other half); and nobody seems to consider it strange that -- despite the town's (necessarily) young population -- the Sunnydale Times has three sections: News, Sports and obituaries.

OK, I'll help -- but if the world doesn't end, I'll need a note for class.
-- Cordelia

Well-- nobody, that is, except for Buffy, her compatriots, and a top secret military task force that spends a season trying to take advantage of the area's unique ,uhm, wildlife.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the show has it's plot twists and dramatic moments -- chases, fight scenes, battles and the occasional permanent death of a reasonably major character (Buffy, herself is getting rather tired of dieing). The action will, however, be sacrificed to a higher (comedic) purpose -- such as when Buffy was working for a fast food chain. An attacking vampire -- repelled by the smell of 'Ode de Hamburger' -- stopped the fight mid-swing, held his nose and scampered off, leaving Buffy entirely distraught.

Like most good comedies, Buffy can brilliantly combine social commentary and comedy. For those who missed the social double entendre of Zander and Cordelia having sex physically "in the closet", the relationship between Willow and Tara was a bit harder to ignore as an opportunity for social statement. Most brilliantly was when the Watchers' Council was inquisiting them:

Examiner: So tell me a bit about your relationship..
Willow/Tara: Oh, we're just friends. Real good friends. Extremely close friends... Girlfriends, actually. As in Lesbian girlfriends. Lesbian lover girlfriends. Yeah! Lovers!. We're very much in love.
(as they tag-team this answer, they slowly go from sitting close to each other for protection/comfort, to holding hands and being clearly affectionate. In the space of less than 30 seconds they managed to run the full gamut from in the closet to boldly affectionate.)
Examiner:Your relationship to Buffy?
Willow:Oh! We're just... friends.

Even Buffy's seasonal relationships turn out to be opportunites for comedy.

Buffy:Dammit Spike! You're a vampire! I should be putting a stake through your heart, not breaking it!
SpikePretty much the same thing, if you ask me...(1)

After Spike and Buffy have a secret Tryst under a tree, Willow meets Buffy and comments that "it must have been a pretty rough fight", noting the grass stains on Buffy's back. (insert lame coverup response here).

(yes, Buffy and her friends seem to be a highly sexualized group -- but that's actually realatively realistic for both their age and their situation. People in a war zone seem to have a reputation for being more sexually active than usual. This makes much sense from a dariwnistic point of view ("use it before you loose it"). Buffy's group isn't just in a war zone, they're on the front. )

Similar things could be said for the humorous comments that sometimes pass between the characters. Sunnydale nominally exists in the normal world. The characters know that the rest of the world exists and that it is them and their situation that's abnormal.

Buffy: I was really hoping that I'd finally fallen in love with a normal boy from small town Minnesota.
Ryan: I am a normal boy.
Buffy: Well, maybe for this town you are, but I'm not grading on a curve.

Now, for those of you who think that I'm arguing to have Buffy go more to the Drama side of the scale or more to the blatent Comedy side -- I'm not. I'm simply arguing that, given it's rather unique status, the people who promote Buffy for awards need to be responsible for the fact that, when a show has one foot firmly planted in the comedy genre, it's rather hard for some people to also take it seriously as a drama.

I think that Buffy would have a much better chance at awards like the Emmy if producers put it forward in the comedy stream. Yes, I realize that it should also win in the drama stream as well but, until people can take it seriously as a comedy (excuse the oxymoron), they're not going to be able to take it seriously as a drama, either.

footnotes_________
(1) A (probably) fictional quote that gives a sense of the relationship. (back)