Our tax return was deposited last night, so I ordered Seasons 1-4 from Amazon this morning.
I’d add Anya’s backstory ep to that list as well.
I wanted to give a bit of update to this thread as thanks for the people who suggested the series. I’ve now watched 6 full seasons of Buffy (and one of Angel). I positively love this show. But I’m truly glad I’m (temporarily, when’s season 7 come out?) over it. I’ve been dreaming about it, I watched it so quickly. It’ll probably take me a week to keep from thinking about it all the time.
Some thoughts (and spoilers) in reverse season order:
I really liked Season 6. People commented that it was darker than other seasons, but I actually felt more depressed about Season 5 than 6. I liked the Spike/Buffy relationship, though it made me very sad to see, and I hated the problems the other Scoobies had in their relationships. I never quite understood why Buffy didn’t want to admit how much she really cared for Spike. I kept wanting to scream, “There’s nothing wrong with having a fuck buddy! Get over it and enjoy yourself!” Some people commented that Buffy became a bit of a bitch in Season 6, but I didn’t see it. Everything she did, I could understand. I just loved Once More, With Feeling. I heard in other threads that SMG became very difficult to work with during this season, but I didn’t see it in her performance. She’s a good character actor; doesn’t have a lot of range, but she does fine with what she can do.
Season 5 just had me in a funk watching it. I cried more times during it than any other season. The Big Bad was terrific, but the other elements were so depressing. I felt that Tara and Willow’s relationship was better than in Season 4. The actors seemed more comfortable in the roles, for starters, and Tara became a much more interesting character overall. Dawn’s introduction almost made me want to give up the series. I knew the sister was coming; I just didn’t expect her to be thrust in retroactively. And to wait 5 episodes before explaining was just killer. I’m glad Riley finally left; he was getting really whiny. “Oh, my girlfriend’s tougher than me; I can’t deal.” But I do so wish he’d turned. He could’ve been a great Bad.
Season 4 had some good elements. Tara and Willow, for starters, which was so beautiful and natural. Spike’s transformation, which provided some rather hilarious lines for everyone. But I didn’t like the Big Bad, and I never really liked Riley. He was a good guy, and the actor did a good job with his role (I hope he gets more work in the future), but the character was so uninteresting that I couldn’t wait on them to break up. I also hated the Initiative. They were taking the magic out of the Buffyverse. I thought Eliza Dushku’s performance as Buffy was extraordinary.
Season 3 had the best Big Bad of all of them. I just loved the mayor. Faith was a good character, complex and dangerous and vulnerable. I’m glad Buffy’s classmates were finally able to admit that something was up in their town. I was also glad that Angel left at the end. He was a great character (and works well in his own show), but he was so brooding that Buffy needed someone that didn’t keep her depressed all the time. At least Spike makes her angry.
Season 2’s Big Bad was good, but the ending was so terribly sad. Angelus is a terrific character, and the relationship between Angelus, Spike and Drusilla was complex. You start to feel sorry for Spike, and you realize he’s not like other vampires. Cordy really became a great character as you realize she’s much more than she seems.
Season 1 is still the poorest of all I’ve seen so far. They didn’t really have as clear of an idea of what the show was going to be about, plus they hadn’t really nailed down all the rules of the 'verse. Buffy’s fighting was pathetic and goofy-looking. The Big Bad was good, and I liked how Cordy started to show her better side.
Other thoughts: I’ve read the summaries of season 7, which I think I’m going to like. I wish things could’ve been different between Buffy and Spike. Their characters are perfect for each other in a way that neither Angel nor Riley were for her. I liked Cordy going to Angel. She got a chance to shine in a way she wouldn’t if she’d stayed a Scooby, and she deserved that chance. I loved almost everything Anya ever said.
I hope all of the actors have long, productive careers; that they recognize how much enjoyment they gave their fans; and that James Marsters stays just as gorgeous as he is now.
Maybe one day they’ll have a show just called The Slayers, with different slayers from all over the world fighting evil.
Thanks again, Dopers!
I myself an a recent convert, more or less at the urging of a friend, still working my way through randomly-spaced episodes.
I think season one is great, just because of the overarching metaphor of “high school is hell” being taken so literally. As someone way upthread said - all high schools have their own brand of evil. Sunnydale High just has a rather…more severe type.
Season two, IMO, is the absolute best, just because I love, absolutely love, the Angel-Spike-Drusilla relationships. So wonderfully complex and twisted, but I think people can generally (on a different scale) relate.
Alas, I’m now Joss Whedon addict, and am seriously considering spending way too much money on Buffy and Angel DVDS (Firefly is easy enough to download).
<small hijack>
Ouch! The entire Firefly series on DVD only costs $35, and the more people buy it the more the ‘powers that be’ will know that we love it (and that we can’t wait for Serenity). Please don’t download Firefly!
</small hijack>
I agree with Misnomer. I know what it’s like to have limited income for entertainment, but I highly recommend buying the Firefly series. I keep hoping that if enough people bought the DVD and like the movie that the show will come back on the air (so that I can buy the DVDs when they come out).
When you have the money, buy the Firefly DVDs. It’s pretty cheap because there are so few (:(), and the special features are totally, 100% worth it.
I’m also a recent convert - enough so that I’ve bought seasons 1-3 at my local used book/DVD store. I borrowed season 4 from a friend (and boy, did I dislike most of that season), but no one has seasons 5 or 6 that I can borrow. Meanwhile, since I just got season 3 back from a loan out, I’ve got the first disc in the player tonight.
I still think that season 2 was the best, with season 3 following closely behind.
But I was hooked from the first episode. They re-ran the pilot in the summer after the first season ended, and I watched it under duress. (I thought it was just another “Dawson’s Creek” type show). The opening teaser (with Darla) was extremely cool, the episode on the whole showed a lot of potential, but I remember the exact moment I became hooked.
It’s when Giles is trying to show Buffy that she’s gotten rusty from lack of training, and asks her to point out a vampire in the midst of the crowd at the Bronze. (paraphrased)
Buffy: “There.”
Giles: “How can you tell, just like that?”
Buffy: “Look at his clothes.”
Giles: “They’re… dated?”
Buffy: “They’re carbon dated.”
That’s always stood out as my favorite bit of dialogue in the entire series. Well, that and Willow’s “Uh, hello? Gay now!”
Interesting… those are two of my favorite things in all of Buffyhood.
One of the things I always wonder after watching a movie or show in which supernatural things take place in what is otherwise basically the real world is “what would have happened if the real world powers that be got involved?”. Haven’t you ever wanted to see what would happen if a batallion of marines along with tanks and helicopters were let loose in Jurassic Park, or what have you? I felt that The Initiative filled that need.
As for Dawn, I thought the way her appearance was handled was nothing short of brilliant. First of all, the big surprise of “what they heck? Buffy has a sister?”. Then of course we get suspicious… “she’s probably some demon in disguise, and Buffy will find her out and kick her ass”. But it turns out to be so much more interesting and meaningful than that…
According to tvshowsondvd.com season 7 will most likely come out in October, but they should get more definitive information within the next six weeks.
I miss BtVS even more now that they’ve slayed “Angel” too. 
Cruelly enough, the very day I finally admited to a friend that, yes, the Buffyverse/Angelverse was indeed an entertaining and addictive world was the very day that I found out they were cancelling the show.
Also continuing a hijack, I think I will splurge for the Firefly DVD, because I just cashed another paycheck and am feeling giddy.
Budgeting? Wuzzat?
It’s worth mentioning that the new Firefly movie was greenlit precisely because of the sales the DVD set generated. DVD sales were also instrumental in getting Family Guy back on the air, and it’s no stretch to imagine that the posthumous success of both franchises is encouraging interest in other prematurely defunct TV shows, such as Futurama or even Angel. Buying a copy of Firefly on DVD may be buying a new future for your favorite TV show.
[sub]Buy Liberty Bonds![/sub]
But you missed the best part!
Buffy: Oh, please. He looks like De Barge!
I now own seasons 1-6 of Buffy, 1-3 of Angel and Firefly. I’ve lent *Buffy * and Angel seasons to various workmates and friends who are now converted and are buying copies of their own. Wish I could think of a Whedon quote for this, since apparently resistance is futile.
Oh, and I bought Firefly after not having watched but after reading the high recommendations of posters here. Now I’m hooked, dammit, and can only wait for the movie to come out. And hope for a future beyond that.
I got into the show when S5 was running on FX. I spaced out mostly during it, got hooked with S6, and thoroughly enthralled by S7. When the show started over at S1, I started spacing out again but now that it’s on S2, I’m about as addicted as I was during S6.
I’m definitely not the normal fan. The much maligned last two seasons are my favorites so far. S2 is a close third though.
I know its not fair, you wrote this back in January, but this thread just got revived and I just read it. Reading this post after reading about your encounter with abroom (post#18) made me laugh my ass off. 
Reality can be pesky.
Another recently addicted fan, here. I actively mocked Buffy when it was on, much to my shame now. I thought it was a ridiculous concept, and never even gave it a chance. Then several friends got hooked and I wondered if they were crazy, or if there really was something to this show.
Then Hush came along.
I heard clamorings about it all over, especially on the Ravenloft (Fantasy Horror RPG) boards. Begrudgingly, I gave it a try, and loved it. But I wouldn’t yet admit that the show was good. Hush must’ve been an exceptionally good episode of this lame show, right? It can’t be that I’ve been ignoring a good show, can it? Even if was, I can’t just jump in the middle, I’ve got to start from the beginning. But I can’t pay money for DVD’s if I don’t know if I like it, and I can’t admit to my friends who own the DVD’s that I’m looking to borrow them.
Then I got TiVo, and figured this would be a good way to test the theory. I looked up the name of the pilot and set up a wishlist to trigger when FX rolled back around to season 1. That was a couple months ago, and I’ve watched every one since then. We just started season 2, and I saw Reptile Boy last night. Great stuff.
I especially love Joss’s dialogue. He writes banter like very few can. And the actors are really good at delivering it, too. I love the long story arcs, with seeds planted well ahead of time. Reminds me of the best of B5, and DS9. It looks like the effects are starting to pick up, and most of the supporting characters have shown up. (Spike and Oz, most recently). Looks like I’m in for a fun ride.
But I still can’t quite admit it to anyone except GonzoGal… and you guys…
I can tear up – as I am right now – just by thinking of Willow’s desperate plea: “Oz, don’t you love me?”