Oh, to be sure, eye candy was a large part of it, hence the following among a lot of males, me included. No argument there at all.
Buffy in some ways, arguably, WAS in fact original for it's time (late 1990s), as it was about a stereotypical blonde girl (at least on the surface) who would be the victim in any number of horror or slasher flicks, but instead was being the heroine and killing monsters. The setting taking place in your average American high school which was not shy about showing how much HS sucked for many, including myself. Yes, I know there's worst things, but it was hardly an enjoyable experience.
It was hardly a deep philosophical tract of any sort, no matter how much some BTVS fans might claim (sorry folks), but the dialogue and particularly the characters, especially in the earlier seasons were quite witty and enjoyable. The show sadly seemed to begin to sputter a bit around Season 5, then went downhill in Season 6.
As far as Whedon's stuff....well, I can only speak for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Never really cared for, or got into his other stuff like Firefly, Dollhouse, etc. I tried though. Firefly just felt a bit too goofy for me, and Dollhouse, didn't care for the premise. YMMV, of course.