The CW's Reaper is Incomparable to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Why, why, why are people equating The CW's new show Reaper with Buffy the Vampire Slayer???

I'm sorry, but as someone who has always loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the comparison is an insult.

My first assumption was that the people making these horrendous associations had never actually seen Buffy. To my surprise, I then discovered that Buffy is actually the favorite show of Reaper's creators, Tara Butters and Michele Fazekas. Say what?

No offense to Butters and Fazekas, but Reaper is one of my least favorite shows of the new fall season. So to compare it with a show that it is so dissimilar to, like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, is simply ludicrous.

In Reaper, Sam is required to be the devil's bounty hunter, a duty he must fulfill. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy is the vampire slayer, and it is a job that she can not ignore. Both shows deal with the supernatural. And that's where the similarities end and the differences begin.

People who didn't watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer on a regular basis sometimes viewed it as a cheesier version ofBeverly Hills: 90210or as a silly show about a girl killing demons. So while Fazekas and Butters leave me speechless, I'm going to pray that the other people comparing the two shows never really watched Buffy

Perhaps that's why people liken Reaperto Buffy - because Reaper is just another inane show, which is what ignorant people perceived Buffy to be. In Reaper, main character Sam finds out that his parents sold his soul to the devil and he must now become said devil's bounty hunter. Sam also has the typical best friend - the fellow underachieving chunky guy - and the girl who he wants but is just way too pretty for him, making this just like every other mundane show.

Yet again, the people who make those comparisons don't know Buffy.

Buffywas one of the most intelligently written shows of my teen years. In high school I could actually discuss the show at length with many of my teachers. My English teacher loved to dissect the storylines with me and converse about the characters. I'm not so sure I see Reaper as the next show that teachers can't wait to use for examples in class.

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, knew what made humans tick. The idea of a slayer, vampires and demons was just a backdrop upon which Whedon had the chance to showcase some of the most intense and real human relationships. We see Buffy surrounded by friends who love her, while she feels alone in her different world. We watch as Buffy falls in love and is yet kept at a distance from the objects of her affection because she is the slayer. We know Buffy, we understand her love and we feel her pain.

The actors on Buffy were so talented that they were able to not only pull off a successful musical episode (way before Scrubs took a stab at it), but also an episode in which, for the majority of the episode, no words were uttered. That episode, appropriately titled "Hush," was not just about the battle against demons. More than that, it was about the role that speech plays in our society and the importance of using our voice for our personal needs.

Proponents of Reaper might want to say it also delves deeply into the human experience as Sam must reevaluate his life now that he's the devil's bounty hunter (but c'mon, how can you even read that sentence with a straight face?). Take one scene, for example, when Sam first gets wind of his powers. A box is going to fall on his too-hot-for-him girl, and he is able to save the day by moving the box out of the way just in time.

Sam: "It was too far away, it was like I moved it with my mind or something, and that's not the first time this has happened today. Something is really..." Sam then screams as his best friend Sock throws a bottle at his face. "What the hell, man?" Sam questions. "You were supposed to move that with your mind," Sock responds.

Supposed to be funny? Yes. Predictable? Yes, again. Whereas Reaper took Sam's initial fright as a way to pull off a quick joke, Buffy would have made it a riveting and introspective look at life, with some humor thrown in.

Reapermight be able to succeed at being a light-hearted supernatural comedy. But to say it will venture into Buffy the Vampire Slayer territory, which was often dark, emotional, riveting, intelligent and cosmic, is absurd.