Contrary to rumor, Eva is not the passive victim in this picture. © Warner Bros All Rights Reserved

The dramatic fifth season finale of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," though not entirely unexpected for those who have followed the work of series creator Joss Whedon for a while, marks the end of many things. Buffy's life for one, at least temporarily, since Sarah Michelle Gellar is under contract for another two years and Whedon has assured fans in a May 24 TV Guide Interview that Gellar will indeed return. The end of the series run on the WB Network is another one, although the show will make a fresh start with a bigger budget this fall on UPN (who has smartly kept it in its regular time slot, Tuesdays at 8 p.m.).

But the most important thing, for me at least, is that the season finale marks the end of my "Buffy" watching days for the time being. Not by choice mind you, but by circumstances that require relocation to a different continent, where the series, while available, is on average one season behind the US schedule.

So now it's time to say good-bye, and as "Buffy"-withdrawal slowly sets in, I feel the need to reflect upon what I consider five truly great years of series television and a show that has always had class and quality. Whedon is known to consistently push the envelope and "Buffy" has often gone where no show has gone before. Last season's episode "Hush" comes to mind immediately, one of Whedon's masterpieces that held prime-time viewers enthralled with 29 minutes passing without a spoken word. And in the upcoming sixth season, fans can look forward to an all-musical ep.

What has captured my attention over the past five years though is not only the quality story line, but particularly the assembled cast and their characters, who play off each other so incredibly well and (attention Academy of Television Arts and Sciences!) have delivered Emmy-worthy performances many a time.

And while I will greatly miss all of them, there is one in particular I will miss most terribly. The one under whose vampiric spell I have been ever since he first came to Sunnydale in the Season 2 episode "School Hard"—my beloved Spike.

He announced his arrival in this friendly town above the Hellmouth with a rather loud bang as he and his ladylove Drusilla drove their car right through the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign. And when he climbed out from behind the wheel, with his platinum blonde hair, trademark black leather coat, devilish grin and endearing British accent, it was obvious that a new era had begun for this TV cult hit. An era of true evil—true evil with a wicked sense of humor, mind you—and the reign of William the Bloody, named thus for, ahem, his bloody awful poetry as we've since learned, and more commonly known as Spike.

Originally signed for a mere three episodes, Spike, played by California native James Marsters (that's right ladies, the accent is all part of the act), was a welcome break from the ever-tormented, angst-ridden Buffy-Angel plot, and viewers in general (though me in particular) quickly became enthralled with the sexiest undead to ever strut across the screen. Not one to let a golden opportunity pass by, Whedon wrote Spike and Dru (Juliet Landau), "the Sid and Nancy of vampires," as he calls them, into the show for most of that season, creating some of the most outrageously funny plots and memorable dialogue.

I was truly sad when they left at the end of the season and disappointed when Spike returned for only one episode the next year, but my universe unexpectedly became whole again when he resurfaced early in Season 4 and ultimately became a series regular in episode seven, "The Initiative."

Since then many things have befallen my favorite bloodsucker, most notably a chip that was implanted in his head and renders him unable to attack anyone but those who are evil like himself.

Now, I've really had to come to grips with this concept, since I always liked Spike's delicious evilness—it's so much more fun to watch than the good guys being good, and he was just so good at being evil. But I do of course realize that the chip is what has kept and continues to keep him around, and all things considered, the writers have done a great job with his story line and the character has become a real staple of the show. So while I may not always like it, I have come to accept Spike's reluctant un-evilness, with much of the credit going to Marster's for his unfailingly superb portrayal of the character. For me, now and forever, Spike rules.

So as the time to say good-bye draws near I dread the "Buffy"-less months ahead, but as I have learned to do over the past five years, I will put my faith in the abilities of Whedon and assume that Season 6 will be the most spectacular yet—and every bit worth the long, long, wait.