Does BtVS seem dated?

[sisterofmercy]

Yeah I think the first few seasons are, you can definitely notice a 90s vibe in terms of the high school and the fashion, etc. Season 4 onwards didn't have the same feel to it. I did think it strange that Dawn only got a mobile in S7, though I know it was basically a plot device.

 

[Angels baby101]

Yes, in all honesty, the earlier seasons are dated. From the outfits, to the hair, to the electronics, but its over 10 years ago the show was on, so its bound to be that way. It doesn't take away that it was and still remains an amazing show. Dated or not 🙂

 

[Jaeger]

It's dated in the same way anything becomes dated a few years after it's release - fads, clothing, technology, fashion, ect. all change very rapidly. What keeps something timeless is when it's able to transcend it's era. For example, I love the movie They Live (1988). It's full of late 80's fashion and style, but the plot is a timeless message, the characters and acting are all very well done. It doesn't matter if the story took place in 1988, or 2008, or 1958 - it's the story that I watch it for, not the time period it's set in. I feel the same way about Buffy - the earlier seasons have a very strong 90's feel, but the characters, story, and action are what keeps me coming back to it, not the time that it happened to be filmed.

 

[Jodast]

I watched Welcome to the Hellmouth earlier today as I am going to try to watch an episode a day for the next few months and go through it all, and my first thought at the start of the episode was "God this looks old" Even though it's only been a couple of years since I last watched it all, it didn't occur to me then. The clothes, hairstyles and technology are a bright neon time stamp. Dated? It's carbon dated.

But...

At the end of the episode my first thought was "it's still freaking awesome and I can't wait until tomorrow"

So yes, it looks old, but like all things classic, the quality shines through.

 

[Taake]

The earlier seasons, yes, but that's probably why I love them so much. I much prefer the look and dialogue of e.g season 1 to season 7.

 

[Robb Stark]

I don't think it's dated, not at all. I just re-watched the entire series and that was something I was a little worried about. But seeing it again, it was just as enjoyable as when I first watched it.

The lack of cell phones is really the only big difference, even from the first season of Buffy. Oh, and the fact that the entire Buffy and Angel casts must have had massive medical funds, because they're in the hospital all the time.

 

[Spikefan31]

The clothes. Definitely, the clothes 😀

 

[BlessedLunatic]

It's dated a bit, but in a fun way, not a bad way.

Watching it for the first time last year (yes, I'm a newbie fan) I remember thinking it was like a wonderful bit of middle school nostalgia for me. I would have been about 13 when it first aired, so all the clothes, the slang, the computers and new technology...all of that was a lovely walk down memory lane.

But I don't think that shows showing their age is a bad thing. I love a lot of TV shows from the '60s - '90s, and the "dated" feel to them just adds to the charm. I imagine the plots to a lot of older shows would've been much less complicated if only there had been cell phones! 😛

 

[bottark]

Season 1 is the only one that seems awkwardly dated to me, but that probably has to do with the fact that I was a toddler at the time. That's not to say it isn't worth watching, of course.

Otherwise, the show has never felt antiquated to me. They did a pretty good job keeping it era-friendly... although Willow's big ol' laptops on the dinner table sometimes make me giggle.

 

[SinisterPledge]

I find it dated as well. I mean the first seasons are just screaming 90s. It's not a bad thing though. It's kinda charming! 😀

TV-shows today might look better but that doesn't make it quality!

 

[Wesley Pryce]

Of course there will be technological and fashion aspects that date any kind of film or television,however the timeless issues,realistic characters,superb directing and great writing of buffy and Angel is what makes both shows so timeless. The rest are minor issues in comparison with the bigger picture of the shows artistic integrity. 🙂 🙂

 

[fitz1980]

I don't think dated is the right word.

To me dated is when a show like Star Trek (which I am still a big fan of) is set 300 years in the future but still has stuff that looks like an artifact of the 1960s. The women who serve on the crew wear go-go boots, mini dresses and are basically secretaries to the men who run the ship.

Something like Buffy is set at a specific time and place, namely Southern California in the late 90s/early 2000s. Hence fashion and pop culture references from that era make sense, same as 70s references would be expected on "That 70s Show" or 50s fashions on "Mad Men."

I will say that some of the CGI from early Buffy does look pretty dated, but that is kinda expected. Buffy's first episode was made only 4 years after "Jurassic Park." Computers have come so far since than in terms of resolution, rendering and processing power. These days $2,000 will get you what used to cost closer to $100,000.