Are Buffy And Angel Dead?

[white avenger]

We're currently resting from hauling several tons of Christmas decorations out of the attic. There's currently an all day "Castle" marathon playing, and it's gotten me to remembering the "Buffy" marathons that we used to get just about every holiday. That got me to trying to remember just when the last time that I saw either "Buffy" of "Angel" on TV, and I just can't recall seeing either one in at least a couple of years. Is it the same way where you live? Have the series of our beloved Slayer and barely tolerated vampire syndicated themselves into oblivion? Or do hey, somewhere, some time, still slay and suck, respectively, on the little screen?

 

[Blaze]

I watched the entire series again on the retro Much channel (I'm not sure of the actual name of the channel). So it's still (or at least was until recently) playing in Canada.

 

[Kean]

Both shows are still in full syndication on a couple of channels here but even so, I feel the reach of the shows getting further snd further away. The relevance of the shows is dying, IMO.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Yeah it's still on a few places here.

But I think it makes sense they aren't on, I dont think Buffy has aged so well, the fashion and stuff is very very dated.

I think Angel doesn't have that problem, but it was never the icon show that Buffy was. If you compare Buffy to Friends, both are very much from that time, but Friends has aged so much better.

 

[VisionGirl]

Yeah it's still on a few places here.

But I think it makes sense they aren't on, I dont think Buffy has aged so well, the fashion and stuff is very very dated.

I think Angel doesn't have that problem, but it was never the icon show that Buffy was. If you compare Buffy to Friends, both are very much from that time, but Friends has aged so much better.

Hmm, I don't quite agree, but Buffy was initially a show about teenagers & high school, and high school culture does indeed change quickly.

A while ago I couldn't find Buffy on at all, now I see it on FX (where I feet started watching it 🙂) and isn't Angel still on TNT very early in the mornings? But when I first joined this forum, Buffy was being aired on Logo, MTV, Nick Teen, etc.

I am always pleased to see younger people join BB though. 🙂

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Hmm, I don't quite agree, but Buffy was initially a show about teenagers & high school, and high school culture does indeed change quickly.

It was initially a show about that but not all its metaphors are still relevant, I Robot You Jane depicts online dating as murderous, online dating on TV went from a murder scenario to going on a crazy date with a weirdo, to now a normal scenario.
Same way with Buffys first time having sex having disastrous consequences, teenage sex isn't depicted like that any more on TV.

Buffy was such an iconic show becasue it tackled a lot of the big issue, but because it tackled them it makes it dated cuz of how society changes.

Friends was more of a toe the line show, so it ages better as the show is about 6 grown up friends, there isn't a lot of metaphor.

I also meant the dated thing really comes from the look of the show, like the characters fashion is really dated, so it makes the show look really dated.

 

[white avenger]

But I think it makes sense they aren't on, I dont think Buffy has aged so well, the fashion and stuff is very very dated.

.

That makes sense, I guess (God, but it makes me nervous when we agree on something!) Either as a young adult show or a vampire show, it's just been left behind. Even "Moonlight," which came on the year after Angel was cancelled, seemed to present more mature stories and more relevant situations.

 

[Robb Stark]

I rarely see it in popular syndication at all, but from time to time back home BTVS airs marathon sessions on MUCH (the Canadian subsidiary of MTV), usually during the day, and occasionally on FX or, oddly enough, Spike TV. I'm not sure what the particular reach of those are though. They've always struck me as easy ways to fill cheap programming slots.

I never see Angel, even though I am aware it's syndication...somewhere I suppose. It's a shame, because Angel was always a bit more serial in nature than BTVS, which would lend itself easier to widespread syndication. That supernatural element would give it a bit of uniqueness as well, especially today in a era teeming with serialized shows.

But yes, on the whole I think that BTVS and Angel are fading into cult-icon obscurity. They'll probably always have a dedicated base of fans, but I don't at all think they reach kids or teenagers at all today. Maybe that's to be expected. Every generation has "their" television shows. Rare is the one that can cross those generational lines. Friends and Seinfeld both do, which is nice to see. I'd like it if BTVS and Angel could. There's a lot to be taken from them.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

In terms of being dated, It's interesting to note that the likes of Netflix and the new released boxsets used the new more Twilight-like marketing images, I definitely think they were trying to reach the Twilight market of younger fans

 

[Blaze]

Speaking of Netflix, does anyone know how much BtVS is watched on there? A long time ago, I heard that Buffy was still watched very very much on it, but I can't find any sources of that.

 

[Veyron]

Buffy plays daily on the SyFy channel here in the UK, Angel also plays daily, but on the Horror channel. The only problem is that SyFy are showing the seasons out of order - which winds me up no end.

As for the programme ageing, I think Buffy has aged quite well (even if the fashion is outdated), the stories remain as fresh as the first time I saw them.

Angel - well, I think it's timeless in it's story telling and the type of fashion that's shown never really goes out style.

 

[EVIL UU]

[MENTION=5973]Black Eye Guy[/MENTION]

I also meant the dated thing really comes from the look of the show, like the characters fashion is really dated, so it makes the show look really dated.

I think that for a teenager in 2013 lack of mobile phones on the show might just be a bigger issue than the clothes characters wear.

 

[Steven123]

I think on SKY that SyFy often has Buffy on through the day, and the Horror Channel has Angel. Only two channels i have seen it on.

 

[Wesley Pryce]

I know it would be great for BTVS and ATS to be in syndication more,however i believe most people these days like they're TV shows on DVD. Usually if i tell someone about a great tv show or if they tell me about one the first thing we want is to find it on DVD. Why sit through commercials or wait week-to-week for the following episode if we don't have to do that. So,the dynamics of television viewership has changed and i believe that is the reason why we don't see our favorite shows syndicated as we have in previous years. I'm sure both shows do well on Hulu and Netflix and i don't believe either will ever be out dated,not entirely at least,for they are timeless. 🙂

 

[Xin Rong]

Speaking of Netflix, does anyone know how much BtVS is watched on there? A long time ago, I heard that Buffy was still watched very very much on it, but I can't find any sources of that.

I'd hope the figures are high, especially considering Charmed is the second most watched thing on Netflix, according to an interview I read with the actress who played Piper.

 

[Blaze]

I'd hope the figures are high, especially considering Charmed is the second most watched thing on Netflix, according to an interview I read with the actress who played Piper.

Out of curiosity I started googling the top rated Netflix shows, and it seems like every site has a different list, I'm not sure if an official list has been published, seems like there is a consensus that Breaking Bad is the top show thought. None of the lists I found featured Charmed, but I don't think it's too farfetch that it'd still be a very much watched show.

 

[Black Eye Guy]

Yeah Netflix dont release that information, I think there are a few opinion ones out there and there is one that is considered the "main" one, done by a third party that has Prison Break as the most viewed and Charmed very high on the list, but the list is from a while ago, before Buffy or some of Netflix new original shows joined the service.

 

[Xin Rong]

Out of curiosity I started googling the top rated Netflix shows, and it seems like every site has a different list, I'm not sure if an official list has been published, seems like there is a consensus that Breaking Bad is the top show thought. None of the lists I found featured Charmed, but I don't think it's too farfetch that it'd still be a very much watched show.

It was an interview with Holly, about Charmed's legacy and effect on the current 'season of the witch' thing that's going on with TV at the moment.

 

[SlayerPrincess]

In NYC they play Buffy on the Chiller on Sunday from 12am until 6am and every morning at 8am. And TNT plays Angel every morning at 7 and 8