I just wanted to make a public service announcement to all the Buffy addicts here. Because of Firefly, we suffered through the first season of Buffy, and about halfway through the second, we started to really enjoy it.
Still not as good as Firefly, but it has considerably grown on us, and we’re looking forward to season three.
I might add that I’m still expecting to find the damn creature from Killed by Death looming over me some night. I hope it eats Mr. Lissar first, thus giving me time to club it to death. And that I hate Drusilla even more than I think I’m supposed to.
Just remember that Dawn is mine and we’ll get along fine, cuz she’s legal now and there’s nothing icky about it.
I’ll take Tara as a back-up.
Giles: “Here. I suspect your mother will want to put it on the refrigerator.”
Buffy: “Yeah, she saw these scores and her head spun around and exploded.”
Giles: “I’ve been on the Hellmouth too long. That was metaphorical, yes?”
I didn’t care for the first season, and watched it on DVD at my friend’s urging, with much skepticism. The first moment that made me start liking it was toward the end of the first season, when Cordelia actually showed gratitude for one of the times Buffy saved her life – actual character development, and in such a cliched stock character, too! The season 1 finale, “Prophecy Girl,” was very good, but the moment Buffy won me over for good was season 2, episode 3, “School Hard,” which introduced Spike and Drusilla. I knew I had struck gold, and the show quickly became my favorite ever.
I had a very rough year in 2005, beset by personal and professional problems, and Joss Whedon’s shows on DVD got me through that year and gave me something to look forward to every night. I saw every episode of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly in 2005 for the first time ever, and I consider them responsible in large part for seeing me through all the rough stuff. I’m jealous of anyone discovering them for the first time!
One of us, one of us, one of us! Congratulations on your purchase. I think you’ll find you enjoy season 1 of Buffy much more after you’ve seen the series in its entirety. That was my experience, anyway.
And if you love Giles - as I do - you’ll need to order the complete Angel series so you can fall in love with Wesley Wyndham-Price, too. There’s something about those understated, brave Brit librarians…
There’s no question that Buffy (the greatest American TV show of all time so far) continued to improve from season to season. The corollary of this is, as noted above, that the first season was the worst. This makes it hard to win recruits. I’m glad to see you guys have stuck with it.
(I’ve heard Buffy “scholars” recommend starting people with the third season, which is easier to take seriously; this is more likely to hook skeptics, who will then feel compelled to return to square one, only suitably respectfully.)
We were mildy enjoying in from the beginning of season two, but it was disc four that hooked us. That would be “Surprise/Innocence”, “Phases”, and the one about the silly love spell. The only epsiode I really remember from season one is the were-hyena one with the principal getting eaten. Oh, and the one with the nightmares.
We saw Serenity (the movie) first, before any of the episodes. A friend made us go to the movie, and we immediately bought the dvds. Firefly has pretty much endless rewatch value for us.
And, because of mentioning “Killed by Death” last night, I was a little freaked out after my husband left for work this morning. I am a royal wimp, forbidden from watching horror movies or The X-Files or anything else scary, because of my whimpering-in-a-corner-for-weeks reaction. That was the first monster that I actually found scary. I think it’s the evil grin and the trailing around after the kid. silenus, we won’t be watching season 3 for a couple of weeks, so I know not of whom you speak.
I just spent all of my Christmas money on all five seasons of Angel so I can finally watch the series all the way through, in order.
After that, I’ll probably finally get around to trying Buffy. I love Firefly and Angel, so I’m sure I’ll like Buffy too, but I’m just extremely wary of spending that kind of money without being able to sample the show first-- I wish it ran in reruns on TNT like Angel does.
As it happens, I’m currently rewatching Season 4 on DVD, after watching the whole series a couple of years ago. Mostly it holds up, although there are moments when I feel very tired of the cutesy-clever dialogue, clunky plotting, pointless misdirection, and sometimes just plain lazy writing. But that stuff is always outweighed by the many good things about the show. Just saw the episode that introduced Tara, and it struck me that she may be the most believable character in the show – that is, the most natural in her lines and delivery, at least at first.
My Buffy collection got completed this Christmas, twice in fact (S7 from two different people) and my Angel collection will be completed shortly (one of the S7s will get returned as Angel S5). I’ve been working through Buffy with some friends who’ve not seen it at the rate of one ep per week. We’re up to disc 2 of S4 and they’re required to watch the corresponding Angel S1 eps during the week.
Note to the OP: while it’s not required, you’ll enjoy Buffy S4 more if you alternate the S4 episodes with the Angel ep from S1. The two shows were still on the same network at the time and there are a number of crossover eps. Start with a Buffy then an Angel.
Anyway, it’s fun watching them watch it (even though they talk too goddamn much over dialog) and it’s really fun listening to them try to guess what’s going to happen next and getting it utterly utterly wrong.
Massive Firefly fan here… I’m slowly working my way through Buffy with a friend, and every week or two, I go back and eyeball these. It’s not really a question of if I’ll get it, it’s when.
Second this. There are some powerful moments that become totally brilliant when you see both episodes back to back. Even better is Season 5’s “Fool For Love” and Angel Season 2’s “Darla.”
Lissla, you won’t see Dawn until Season 5, so you’ve got a ways to go yet.
Welcome to the Doper Scoobie Gang, Lissla! Watch the whole series. Then go back and watch it again, listening for throwaway lines of dialogue that reference events that will occur in fuure episodes. These prescient remarks are one of the delights of the show.
If nobody has dibs on Xander, I claim him as my toyboy.
If no one else wants him, I’ll take BuffyS1 Angel. He still ain’t bad but back in the day David Boreanas was a pretty, pretty man. Plus he’s best friends with Christian Kane so there’s the chance for a twofer.
Not being a super-fan, though I really, really did like Buffy, the absolute best episode I think is called “Once more, with feeling”. I’m not sure what season it’s in.
J.
Bragging time: I am going to the FX Show (comic/toy/sci-fi/pop culture convention) in Orlando later this month, and among the guests are:
Andy Hallett (Angel’s Lorne)
Adam Baldwin (Firefly’s Jayne Cobb/Angel’s Marcus Hamilton)
Ron Glass (Firefly’s Shepherd Book)
Christina Hendricks (Firefly’s Saffron)
Sam Anderson (Angel’s Holland Manners – I hear he is now on Lost)
Bianca Lawson (Buffy’s Kendra)
Plus Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars herself!), Lance Hendricksen, Michael Biehn, and some great comic book talent like Matt “Grendel” Wagner. I can’t wait!
Dude, I don’t think anyone else wants Dawn. Everytime she opens her damn mouth it’s whine whine whine. And I strongly object to the way she was introdced to the series.
I think season 4 was the best overall and 7 was the worst, although there were some awesome episodes in every season. I never did watch more than the first season of Angel though, I’ll have to get to that one of these days.
