Buffy Vampire Slayer fans: first time I watched the show today...

Enjoyed this rerun...please fill me in on some of the details. Who is she and how did she get this awesome responsibility? Sorry for being such a slow starter but I never had a chance to watch the show before due to illness and other factors.

Now sit back and enjoy the show.

and was she around before, like in a previous life? (I know this is annoying, like having your husband ask you in the middle of a good movie, "so what's going on?") But since I would like to continue to watch the reruns, I would love to know a little history.Thanks :)
edited for spelling

He broke the news. He trains her and tutors her. I envy you in this,you have 7 years of terrific shows to discover. Wait til you meet Tara.

In the episode today there was a guy called Angel and another called Spike. And a girl called Willow. They seemed to be main characters. Am I toward the beginning or middle or ending of the series?

Enjoy it.

you may only be in the second season though. Can you tell me what each character did? Was anybody mean?

The first show had Buffy in a fight with Spike...Buffy's mom attended a parent-teacher meeting and ended up whacking Spike as he was about to kill Buffy. The second show featured a girl mummy who sucked the life out of a kid or two to stay alive. That is my whole experience with the show.

Very early.

the first season was only a half season anyway. You're pretty much right at the beginning.

unless the episode is about them. Angel's character became a spinoff ("Angel" and Spike goes with that show after the last season of Buffy).

Except I'm in love with Willow. That has nothing to do with the show and so contains no spoilers.

Enjoy it. You are in for a treat :)

It's out on DVD so if you wanna start from the beginning....

Khash.

But Cordelia is my absolute favorite!! Oh baby...

Seriously, you are going to enjoy this show. It will all become clear the more you watch. My wife got me hooked on this show and I still watch it in re-runs as I missed a lot of the episodes originally.

Have fun!

who is somehow mystically selected to receive super powers

The mythology of the slayer is described in the very first episode. Before there were humans the world was populated with demons. As humans came into being one of the last demons fed off of a human and mixed his blood with that person's. That person became the first vampire. As long as there have been vampires, there has been the slayer, one girl chosen to wield super strength and combat the vampires and demons that still walk the Earth.

The force that guides the slayer is eternal. When one slayer dies, another is chosen. This time it happened to be Buffy Summers. I won't tell you exactly how the first slayer was created, because that wasn't actually revealed until the final season of the show. I don't know what season you're watching, and different season's feature different characters as sidekicks or enemies. Also in Buffy, someone who is an enemy one season can be an ally the next. The roles are constantly changing. But the core Buffy group consists of four characters. They are

Buffy-the slayer

Willow-Buffy's best friend. A super smart science geek and in later seasons a powerful witch thanks to her Wicca practice.

Xander-Kind of a nerd but he has a great heart. Although he has no special talents, on occasion he can show incredible courage.

Giles-The elderly English gentleman. Giles is Buffy's watcher. For as long as there have been slayer's, there has been the Watcher's Council. It is the job of these folks to seek out the new slayer when she is called and train her to fight vampires and demons. At first Buffy and Giles had a rocky relationship, but as time went on, he became something of a surrogate father to her and they grew to love each other very much (in a father and daughter sort of way).

Like I said, there are others that hang around with these four and fight with them, sometimes for years on end. But they are not the central core. One thing you will learn about Buffy that makes it different from other shows is that it's not afraid to kill off a major character when you are least expecting it.

Anyways, hope that helps you out!

Giles is ELDERLY??????

Khash.

From my point of view, Giles is just the right age!

well compared to the youngin's, yes. That's what his role is supposed to be. The old guy trim and proper that doesn't understand the younger generation. Of course, we all know that underneath Giles is quite the animal, in a whole variety of ways.

until you're that elderly. You'll change you're tune.

Khash.

Here's the official web site. It has lots of info on the characters and such to give you some background.

http://www.upn.com/shows/buffy/

Have fun...I really enjoy the show. Haven't watched it in awhile.

Good friends let you down,enemies did noble things. Geeks,jocks and lesbians were treated with a kindness and respect missing from pop entertainment.

:(

The show comes on while my grandson is napping and I have nothing better to do than to watch something, and I've always wanted to catch up with this show. But it really helps to have some background.