Wait, is this available in descriptive? I did the first episode without it once but stopped-there wasn't any incentive to keep watching-but it keeps coming up all over the place lately, so I'd probably try again if I could find it described.

Well as far as series go I've only just finished season 1 and not started on season 2, so I can't say specifically.

On the descriptive front This site has some very good transcripts which might be useful.

I initially never liked Buffy sinse on the few occasions I caught an episode, it always seemed really superficial and airhaead, not really a lot to it. I then however watched Firefly (which I loved!), and my brother pointed out to me that Buffy had some of the same characterization being also Joss Weaden.

what I'm finding thus far is a little odd. The world and vampires really don't do much for me in terms of exploring fantasy worlds, but I am just enjoying how witty the thing is. Buffy herself really isn't that interesting (neither is Angel), or at least not at this moment sinse she is just sort of generic main character, however the two supporting characters, Sander and Willow are great. I love Sander's streight man act, it really reminds me of socca from last air bender (although Socca is considderably cleverer), and Willow is that rare thing a completely decent character.
Giles is also amusing in his bemused state, and for once it's nice to see an English character on an American series who isn't a walking sterriotype who sounds either like a reject from Dickensian london or a bloody second world war bloody fighter pilot old bloody bean!

I also appreciate the fact that unlike so much else featuring teenaged girls, the characters in Buffy are not held to be individually! special simply by virtue of being teenaged and females. It's a very annoying sexist attitude in society, that anyone with two x chromosomes between 13 and 20 can automatically do no wrong. Well not in Buffy, everyone is nicely a person.

I also like the fact that vampires are just plane brutal! street thugs who smack people around, and Buffy's response to this is to punch and kick them repeatedly with no finesse but considerable force, ---- take that Twilight!

Do I think Buffy is the best series in the universe? at this moment not exactly. Do i think the world is unique? Again no, not right now.

However unlike so much these days (including Doctor who), it's got dialogue that actually is interesting to here and genuine characters, not just a bunch of rehashed cliches.

I will say I don't know if there is a degree of visual element to the series. While I cannot follow the fast action sequences precisely beyond usually determining who is getting gnullered, I do see enough to see changes in environment and pace, which helps a lot, and sinse buffy's plots tend to move quickly and for all the good dialogue run around locations in the school a lot, I don't know if there is something missing if your always playing catch up.

Whether the series will either get better or worse I don't know, but we'll see.

Well as regards Firefly, there again it was the characters, ---- although unlike Buffy the world was also one I found fascinating what with it being a terraformed solar system 600 years in the future with hundreds of planets and asteroids but only one sun. I also don't have anything particular against westerns, or at least not when done well although there are far too many that aren't.

With Buffy herself, I don't sort of mind that she is basically wearing a badge saying "I am the main character" she's just sort of there, and at least we don't have to put up with a huge load of anxt and wining from her which is good, although Buffy and Angel thus far have been the part of the series that interested me least.

I have heard season 2 gets far better with the bad guys and characters, but we'll see, ---- I'll likely start it this evening.

As to Dresden comparisons, well I actually found the red and black courts rather more interesting in Dresden, albeit I didn't think much to the white court, however I appreciate that in Buffy the main character doesn't suddenly go "noooooo! my anxt is over whelming me! so die vampires in sudden spell of emo fire plus a hundred!" Buffy at least is reasonably martial and up against an overwhelming number
of vampires she wil! lose unless help arrives, (it usually does sinse I get the idea buffy isn't a grimdark series, but I'd rather have that than pulling out a deus anxt machina).
then again I confess I never liked Harry himself that much either (how someone can winje so much about not having a girlfriend for an entire two years).

Dresden I regarded as more a bit of fun than really serious reading that engages my emotions and makes me care, (and riding zombie dinosaurs is rather awsome), and thus far I am finding Buffy's dialogue at least more witty, albeit the characters I like best are as I said Willow, Sander and to a lesser extent Giles as opposed to Buffy herself.

Actually if you want a series with vampires that explores real character and is genuinely dark at parts try Being Human, ---- at least seasons 1-3 (I unfortunately missed the last two seasons and I've heard mixed reports, sinse Season 3 came to a natural close).

The series is about a vampire, a warewolf and a ghost who share a house together, but in a way it's as much about the characters, and the takes on all the paranormal are genuinely different.

Vampires there are portrayed as a bunch of roudy, violent  drug adicts with no control whatsoever, it also has some uniquely amusing black social commentary as well.

It's also fully audio described, at least it was on first broadcast, I don't know about the dvds, though it really is a series I ought to buy, although I'll stick with Buffy for the time being.

Well saying "harry and women" brings up another serious problem I have with the series, sexism! People are getting murdered, ---- noooo! women are getting murdered! oooh the horror!
I'm not sure whether the view is Butcher's or Dresden's, but it irritates me either way.

Then there are the problems as I said with too many deus ex, with Harry's wining (which most of the time isn't justified and is just irritating), and the problem I have with a lot of urban fantasy which is that only a few bits of the world get serious fleshing out and attention, ---- it sort of irritated me that we'd have a great book with someone interesting like the Summer Court or the Black Denarius, and then have to sit through yet more warewolves or the white court or some random necromancers, the series really did suffer from the "one bit a book" syndrome. Hand in hand with this is the crazy way harry just keeps picking up random attributes until he's the half undead fae, demonically possessed angel powered magically warded spirit wizard from hell! Really, what happened to just being a wizard? :d.

On the other hand, I will say some of the world is really unique, and it has some fantastically great grey area characters who aren't exactly evil but up to their own thing  (the Black Denarius are awsome).

I also really like Michael, the sword wielding Ned flanders of doom! and Butters was a fun character (at least before he turned into bat man).

Actually is anyone normal in that series? .

Good fun certainly, and some of the climaxes definitely are great for absolutely surreal action overload syndrome, but I don't know when i'll fansy reading the series for a second time around.

Then again, at this point I'd say the same of Buffy (I haven't started season 2 yet as I got engrosed in other stuff like reading Ian M banks great scifi).