12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 29, 1998 Strong and weak make 'Buffy' good b Michael Galloway hily IV/Multimedia Editor Welcome to Sunnydale High School, where vam- )ires roam, the mortality rate keeps climbing and the caching staff and student body are completely oblivi- )us. Well, not completely, but most people would have ;uspected something amiss awhile back. Fans of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" have been agerly awaiting tonight's season premiere to find out A.hat happened to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who an away from home after a falling out with her moth- ,r (Kristine Sutherland), and Angel (David Boreanaz), ier vampire boyfriend whom she was forced to kill. And to add even more angst to it all, she didn't kill urm when he was still being a jerk. No, he got his soul q ck, so he was the Angel she knew and fell in love j ith. But the portal to Hell could only be shut by illing him. So in a scene almost as poignant as when ;pock died in "Star Trek II" (I'm three-quarters seri- I Cone l ties 6 love and loss Buffy The Vampire Slayer The WB Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ous here), she thrust the sword through her vampire lover's chest, sending him to Hell but saving Earth and Sunnydale once more. Sound incredibly melodra- matic? Or maybe just verging on the ridiculous? Well, it is. In fact, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is nothing short of a comic book, with cliffhang- er endings, ominous interludes and long anticipated confronta- tions. Keep that in mind, and "Buffy" becomes endlessly Courtesy of the WB David Boreanaz, Anthony Stewart Head, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter fight the forces of evil in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." entertaining. The show is such a )arody of high school life. Angel is the boyfriend you ust don't know any more, especially since his charac- er transformation came right after having sex with Suffy. The "Buffy" version of the Invisible Man was a ;irl who wasn't just unpopular, but unknown, and so inknown that she actually ceased to be visible. Then here's Willow's (Alyson Hannigan ) boyfriend, Oz Seth Green), who confuses her by showing interest )ut keeping her at distance. Then it's discovered that ic's a werewolf, so they just have to chain him up once i month. Tonight's episode, "Anne," will be no disappoint- nent to fans anxiously waiting to see what has hap- )ened to our favorite neighborhood vampire slayer. If I say anything about it, it'll ruin it (plus the WB ietwork would be upset at me), but a special no-prize o anyone who catches the visual gag that makes 3uffy a hero of the worker. For those who aren't fans of the show, here's a quick )lot synopsis. Every generation has one girl, known as he Slayer, who alone has the strength and skill to fight vampires, assorted spawn of hell and any other super- natural jerks. Not all are cute and spunky, just most of them. Buffy is our generation's Slayer. She and her recently divorced mom had moved to Sunnydale after being kicked out of her former school for burning the gym down (a vampire slaying incident). In Sunnydale, she has found a new Watcher, an instructor in the ways of demons and a trainer by the name of Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), whose Oxford Degree and incredible credentials easily land- ed him a job as the school's librarian. Buffy has also befriended Willow, an unpopular, aptly named wall- flower. Both she and her best friend Xander know Buffy is the Slayer and are her trusty sidekicks, along with Willow's love interest Oz and Xander's make-out buddy, the self-absorbed Cordelia (Charisma "former San Diego Chargers Cheerleader" and "There's no way I'm in high school" Carpenter). Now, Buffy has been kicked out by Principal Snyder (Armin Shimerman or Quark on "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"), who knows much more about who Buffy is then he lets on, and Buffy has run away from home after a falling out with her mom (Kristine Sutherland). Most of the credit for this show, which is actual- ly smarter than it first appears, goes to the show's executive producer, Joss Whedon, who also wrote "Alien Resurrection," "Speed," "Toy Story" and, regrettably (though it eventually led to something greater), the movie version of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The show's star, Sarah Michelle Cellar, also deserves credit for the continued practice at kickbox- ing and for good melodrama. Hey, she won an Emmy for her role on the soap opera, "All My Children," so she must know how to overact. Some honorable mentions need to be given out in the acting category. Xander is often the comic relief, and Brendon delivers the punchlines with high school style sarcasm. Boreanaz was much better at being the evil and soulless Angel than at being the moping but good boyfriend. James Marsters shows a lot of style and humor as the bloodsucking villain Spike, and Juliet Landau also delivered some good performances as the insane and flighty Drusilla. But Seth Green, Oz, is the scene stealer. You never know what he's going to say, and it always ends up being funny or at least original. Part of that may be the writing, but few actors could make the role work. Still, "Buffy" is not really an acting showcase. In fact, the bad episodes of the show can be as much as the good ones just because you sit back and make sar- castic remarks. Actually, you can do that with every episode, but that's the point. Even when it's bad, it's good. You're entertained. If you can't buy into the fantastic or silly, avoid "Buffy" at all costs. Otherwise, you should be following the continuing adventures of the uncanny Buffy. Sarah Conley Ellen Gilchrist Back Bay Books Lost love, lost friendship, lost life. Ellen Gilchrist's newest novel, "Sarah Conley," is not only a story of losses, but of a titular character whose strong personality deals with the ghosts of her past with vibrant energy. Ellen Gilchrist is the accom- plished writer of 15 books, one of which won the coveted National Book Award in 1984. The complex character and plot that Gilchrist creates in "Sarah Conley" puts this book in the same ring with her others. Sarah ..h Conley, a;GM successful 52-year-old writer and "Time" maga- zine editor, is forced to reexamine lurking emotions when a childhood friend calls Sarah to her deathbed. This figurative visit to her past subsequently pre- sents Sarah with the choice of being with the man she has always loved or continuing to pursue her ever-rewarding career. In addition to her past love affair, Sarah runs into many aspects of her life that her fast- paced New York City lifestyle has allowed her to forget. Through this gradual revealing of her past, the reader comes to completely understand Sarah Conley. The strength that Sarah exhibits despite past hardships is unparalleled. She is a woman of steel, a woman of ideas and ideals pjaced upon her by her- self. The possible love affair is an indulgence that this self-suffi- cient woman logically knows she should not take, yet she is tempt- ed. And the beautiful, romantic scenery in which the novel takes place does not help her logi. . Gilchrist's descriptions are detailed and breathtaking. She uses beautiful and striking imagery that masterfully draws the readers into the center of Paris, as if they, too, are walking by the Seine. The same descrip- tive prose is used to transport the reader to an old farmhouse in Tennessee and even to Conley's small-town birthplace, Tyler, Ky. Along with stunning images* Gilchrist's writing is filled with the same wittiness that her title character embodies. Such humor gives insight on how Sarah her- self handles her serious prob- lems. And, mirroring Sarah's complexity, the novel's plot is filled with twists that constantly keep the reader guess- ing. Sarah Conley focuses on the strengths of a love, of a friendship, of a family, of one woman. The timeless binds between Sarah and these relations are underlined, as is Sarah's strength of character. What makes the story interest- ing, however, is Sarah's fall from her pedestal of strength, for the reader then sees the beauty of human weakness. Through Sarah, the reader sees the impor- tance of occasionally letting raw emotion overcome logic, even if strength is compromised. Sarah Conley is an unforget-@ table literary character. Her trag- ic past has only created a beauti fully complex character that the reader can not only identify with, but strive to become. This novel is about a rekindled love affair, but more importantly, it focuses on the strengths and tender weaknesses of one very interesting woman. - Gina Hamadey.* m m