From Jana Riess, author of What Would Buffy Do?, an examination of morals and ethics in the Buffyverse:

I was taken in by its clever, rapid-fire dialogue. I was surprised by the depth of the show, and then I thought, “I’m in graduate school! I’m supposed to be a scholar! How can I be loving something with the unlikely name of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?”

Right with you, Jana. Mea culpa as well.