The In Praise Of Buffy Thread.

Kraegor · Post by **Kraegor** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 4:15 pm

IceBear wrote: Also, if you're watching Buffy and Angel you'll know when Firefly was cancelled when you start seeing some familiar faces

ahhh... I had order of events backwards... I was running on the theory they got the parts for Firefly as a result of Buffy... not vice versa...

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:12 pm

sgoldj wrote:So............

What about Season 8?

(I haven't picked it up yet, I was hopeing for some impressions)

Does answering a question a year-plus later win any kind of award?

I'm picking up Season 8 as they publish it in 4-5 comics collections, so I've only read the first 10 "episodes" so far, but it's pretty good. Each comic feels shorter than an episode - probably about 15-20 minutes worth of TV - but they pack a lot of plot into each one. Joss also clearly enjoys working with the freedom of a comic format - the setting is now essentially global and he's free to use any of his characters on a whim (for example, Ethan Rayne and Amy the Rat/Witch have both made appearances). The humour is still there, too.

Definitely worth any Buffy fan picking up, I think.

- Ash

disarm · Post by **disarm** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 5:53 pm

i think it's hard to come up with an episode better than 'Hush,' where the cast goes through most of the episode without the ability to speak. i don't know if i've seen another hour of tv where so much is said with so few words...great job

Baroquen · Post by **Baroquen** » Thu Jun 26, 2008 6:09 pm

Kraegor wrote: What an awesome choice for final villain! Nathan Fillion played his part perfectly... I'm beginning to see how the initial cast of "Firefly" was rounded up

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Fillion & company end up with Buffy/Angel roles after Firefly got canceled?

If I had to pick favorite episodes, they'd probably come from season 2 though the musical episode was genius.

And I've been pleased with season 8 thus far. Old Buffy comics are pretty mediocre, but this latest series of Buffy (and Angel:After the Fall too) actually "feels" like the actual shows. I can imagine the actors speaking the lines and the characters just feel right. I've been impressed.

Terrified · Post by **Terrified** » Mon Jun 30, 2008 2:01 pm

disarm wrote:i think it's hard to come up with an episode better than 'Hush,' where the cast goes through most of the episode without the ability to speak. i don't know if i've seen another hour of tv where so much is said with so few words...great job

Bit of trivia... The main, and by far the most creepily effective "gentleman" in Hush is played by the same guy who played Abe Sapien in Hellboy and in Hellboy 2 (coming soon.)

noblues · Post by **noblues** » Tue Jul 01, 2008 9:38 pm

Glad to hear season-2 is so good; I just picked it up today at Best Buy.
They have each season of Buffy and Angel on sale for $17. Sounds like a bargain to me!

Mr. Fed · Post by **Mr. Fed** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 7:50 pm

Stopped watching this early in Season Two a while back.

Now that it's all available on Netfix instant streaming, going through Season Two. Enjoying it.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 8:58 pm

Why would you stop watching early in season two? Season two is probably the best in the series, though you can make a case for season three as well.

JonathanStrange · Post by **JonathanStrange** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:25 pm

Season 3.

I wish Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale.

sgoldj · Post by **sgoldj** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:45 pm

Season 3

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 9:51 pm

I'm the weirdo that liked season 6 the best.

malichai11 · Post by **malichai11** » Tue Jul 06, 2010 10:13 pm

Hamlet3145 wrote:I'm the weirdo that liked season 6 the best.

Me too. A couple stinkers aside (like Doublemeat Palace, which I just skip upon re-watch), it's also my favorite season.

Hell's Taco · Post by **Hell's Taco** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 3:37 am

Mr. Fed wrote:Stopped watching this early in Season Two a while back.

Now that it's all available on Netfix instant streaming, going through Season Two. Enjoying it.

Now we know what Fed was embarrassed Netflix knew he was watching.

Buffy isn't just a show for adolescent girls, it's also for grown men who are in touch with their love of hunky, brooding vampires and cute lesbian witches.

Remember, it's better to have a fourteen year old girl inside you than to be inside a fourteen year old girl. Or something like that.

Vorret · Post by **Vorret** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 9:34 am

Hell's Taco wrote:
Mr. Fed wrote:Stopped watching this early in Season Two a while back.

Now that it's all available on Netfix instant streaming, going through Season Two. Enjoying it.
Now we know what Fed was embarrassed Netflix knew he was watching.

Buffy isn't just a show for adolescent girls, it's also for grown men who are in touch with their love of hunky, brooding vampires and cute lesbian witches.

Remember, it's better to have a fourteen year old girl inside you than to be inside a fourteen year old girl. Or something like that.

Ehhh... you'll have to work on that one.

I actually enjoyed Buffy when I was kinda "forced" to watch it.
Probably the fact that I came in with very low expectations.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 10:18 am

malichai11 wrote:
Hamlet3145 wrote:I'm the weirdo that liked season 6 the best.
Me too. A couple stinkers aside (like Doublemeat Palace, which I just skip upon re-watch), it's also my favorite season.

I enjoyed season 6. Overall it's a little emo, and kind of an emotional drag, but good.

Overall I'd rank the seasons like this, in order of best to worst: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 1, 4.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 11:32 am

Season 2 & 3 are tied for the best. In order for me

2, 3, 4, 1, 5,6 & 7

Season 6 & 7 are the weakest in my opinion, but I did enjoy

Spoiler:

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:08 pm

It is madness to consider season 4 - aka "Buffy 90210" - to be better than season 5. Or to be better than a colonoscopy, for that matter.

Freezer-TPF- · Post by **Freezer-TPF-** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:41 pm

I think my ranking would be 2, 3, 5, 6, 1, 4, 7. It's a little tough to rank Season 1 since it is short and still raw.

It's too bad that Netflix streaming does not include any extras or commentaries (or does it?). The episode commentaries done by Whedon are always worth a listen.

Tscott · Post by **Tscott** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:59 pm

I'm not going to get into the season ranking game, except to say that the show took a little time to get up to speed and faltered a bit in the end, but overall the ride was fantastic. The universe was fun and constantly evolving. I think this show made major leaps forward for television in how it handled storytelling - allowing to tell episodic stories, while moving forward a season long story arc, while weaving story threads from the beginning of the show through to the very end. Almost every show I'd watched prior to Buffy was either strictly episodic, or purely serial. There may be a few notable exceptions, most obviously The X-Files- but that show ultimately failed in trying to keep the overall arcs going while sticking with episodic shows.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:06 pm

I liked season 6 the best, due to "Hush" and "Once More with Feeling". Each is interesting on its own, but taken together, I'm hard pressed to think of a much better 1-2 punch on network TV.

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:08 pm

Hush was a awesome episode and I can't imagine another show even doing almost full 45 min show without any dialog. I hope that wasn't to spoilerific

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 1:25 pm

PLW wrote:I liked season 6 the best, due to "Hush" and "Once More with Feeling". Each is interesting on its own, but taken together, I'm hard pressed to think of a much better 1-2 punch on network TV.

"Hush" is Season 4. Definitely the high point of that season.

The best episode, in my opinion, is "The Body" from Season 5. It's probably the best hour of TV I've ever seen.

Season 5 is otherwise a real mixed bag -- a fantastic story arc, crippled by a horrible, horrible actor playing the main bad guy.

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Wed Jul 07, 2010 2:03 pm

My bad. I think I just assumed they were the same seasons because they should have been.

Ignore everything I said.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat Aug 21, 2010 10:42 pm

I just got back from this year's Can't Stop the Serenity event, where we watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and Serenity on the big screen. I managed to win an autographed picture of Stephanie Romanov (Lilah from Angel) in cute nerd glasses and braided pigtails.

Maybe I need to go back and watch these shows...

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 5:27 pm

Last weekend I was channel surfing and Chiller was having a Buffy marathon, and having nothing better to do I sat and watched while they showed two of my favorite eps, the prom where Buffy is named "Class Protector" and the graduation episode where the entire Senior class arms itself to fight the mayor and his minions. I was hooked again. I promptly remembered that I had thought I'd seen Buffy come up on Netflicks Instant Streaming so I checked and there it was. Now a week later, I'm starting season 2. I remember the main points but so many of the details I've forgotten and I'm looking forward to experiencing it all over again. What a great show!

Asharak · Post by **Asharak** » Sun Sep 11, 2011 6:26 pm

Grifman wrote:Last weekend I was channel surfing and Chiller was having a Buffy marathon, and having nothing better to do I sat and watched while they showed two of my favorite eps, the prom where Buffy is named "Class Protector" and the graduation episode where the entire Senior class arms itself to fight the mayor and his minions. I was hooked again. I promptly remembered that I had thought I'd seen Buffy come up on Netflicks Instant Streaming so I checked and there it was. Now a week later, I'm starting season 2. I remember the main points but so many of the details I've forgotten and I'm looking forward to experiencing it all over again. What a great show!

The Class Protector scene is still one of my favourite Buffy moments. Of course, I could go on for most of the night listing favourite Buffy and/or Angel moments: "you hit me with an axe, once", "nancy-boy hair gel", etc.

No time to rewatch them now with the new fall TV shows about to start but I usually try to watch them every few years. Recently, I've been hankering for Angel more than Buffy, though. It had some deeper character arcs.

- Ash

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Sep 22, 2011 3:03 pm

Ha! SMG recently made a guest appearance on the show where she go her start, All My Children, playing a patient at a mental hospital. Nice wink and a nod to Buffy here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5T07MEvpNwU" target="_blank

Funny!

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 8:40 pm

Wow, finally finished all 7 seasons and what a ride it was. Doing a marathon like this is the way to do it. So many episodes foreshadow future episodes or call back to previous episodes (sometimes just a single line of dialogue inserted for a laugh) that it was much better watching them all close together, one after the other.

SPOILERS, don't read if you don't want to know

Favorite episodes:

The Becoming - Buffy defeats Angelus, but has to kill Angel, all to save the world
Anne - This is the first episode where I think we start to see how powerful Buffy really is as she takes on a horde of demons in a hell dimension
Helpless - Buffy, her powers taken from her by the Watchers Council, has to defeat a powerful insane vampire as an 18th birthday test
The Prom - Buffy is named "Class Protector" showing that everyone at school wasn't exactly clueless as to what was going on in Sunnydale
Graduation Day - Buffy leads the Sunnydale High Senior Class of 1999? in a fight against the demonic mayor at their graduation ceremony
Hush - JW's tribute to silent movies?

And Giles presentation using an overhead projector and stick figures is not to be missed!
The Body - Joyce dies, and no show has ever been more realistic about an unexpected death and it's impact on those left behind
The Gift - Buffy kicks Glory's ass, dies (again) and saves the world
Once More, With Feeling - JW's tribute to musicals?

and everyone's secrets are revealed . . . I think I was in heaven . . .
Grave - Xander stops Dark Willow with the only weapon he has, love
Showtime - Buffy, after getting her ass kicked the previous episode by the uber vamp, sets up a confrontation with the uber vamp in front of all of the Potentials, to show them how it's done.
Chosen - The final episode, the final battle against Evil, with everything on the line. Buffy has no words in the final scene, just a smile.

Favorite moments, emotional highs/lows, great fights:

Buffy, having been tormented by dreams of the dead master who killed her (the first time), emotionally breaks down as she smashes his bones which has been gathered by a group of vamps seeking to resurrect him

The first appearance of Spike and Drusilla

Buffy, jumping to the top of a merchandise counter in the middle of a crowded a mall and using a rocket launcher against a powerful demon just arriving to launch his reign of terror, blowing him to bits (truly one of the most over the top moments in the show!)

Angelus killing Jenny Calendar, totally unexpected (and she was so hot too!)

Buffy's fight against Angelus, seemingly defeated, catching and stopping Angelus' sword in her bare hands, then going on to defeat him

Buffy having defeated Angelus, preparing to kill him to seal off a hell dimension, is forced to kill Angel instead as Willow's spell changes him back from Angelus

Spike and Joyce sharing an awkward moment in the den, when they realize they've met before when Joyce hit Spike with an axe in the head as he tried to attack Buffy

Buffy and Faith's knockdown drag out fight to the finish, second best fight of the show

The death of Buffy's mom.

Buffy, with the Watcher's Council in town to assess her, tells them off and lays down the law - they work for her, not the other way around! (And Giles gets back pay in the deal!

)

Buffy's tombstone: She saved the world - a lot

Buffy's fight with Dark Willow, third best fight of the show

Xander saves the world from Dark Willow with the only weapon he had, love

Buffy, alone, after getting her ass kicked by the uber vamp. She looks horrible, eyes blackened, bruises on her face, a big gash on one side, puffy lips, the worst she's ever looked on the show after a fight. She's listening to her friends despairing of what to do . . . Buffy was our plan. There is no back up. She gets up, then marches in and give the gutsiest speech she ever gives on the show:

I'm beyond tired. I'm beyond scared. I'm standing on the mouth of hell, and it is gonna swallow me whole. And it'll choke on me. We're not ready? They're not ready. They think we're gonna wait for the end to come, like we always do. I'm done waiting. They want an apocalypse? Oh, we'll give 'em one. Anyone else who wants to run, do it now. 'Cause we just became an army. We just declared war. From now on, we won't just face our worst fears, we will seek them out. We will find them, and cut out their hearts one by one, until The First shows itself for what it really is. And I'll kill it myself. There is only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil, and that's us. Any questions?

Buffy, defeating the uber vamp, best fight of the entire show. I love this one because Buffy won this on sheer determination. Towards the end of the fight, after pretty much being beaten down, she's still standing there toe to toe with the uber vamp, trading blows, boom, boom, boom, neither one fazing the other until the uber vamp finally goes down, and then Buffy maneuvers into position to take it's head off with a garrote she's fashioned with wire. At the end she looks almost as bad as after her previous fight with the uber vamp, but the difference is this time she's alive and it's dead . . . Here endeth the lesson

Buffy losing her leadership of the Potentials after a disastrous initial foray against Caleb, the minion of the First. She was in total shock and disbelief, and then emotionally crushed because everyone, even her friends (except for Spike) and sister doubted her and turned against her when she wanted to attack again, realizing that Caleb was protecting something. In the end, she's proven right and has to rescue everyone (as usual) but she has to go through this crisis of leadership first.

I could go on and on, and I've probably missed something I'll think of later, but this was just a great show, really one of the best shows ever on television.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:02 pm

So... you liked it, then?

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Thu Oct 27, 2011 9:07 pm

Blackhawk wrote:So... you liked it, then?

Yep

Second time around was better than the first!

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:05 am

I recently started watching Buffy for the first time on Netflix, and am absolutely loving it so far. I wrote it off when it was on TV as something for teens, but am glad I finally came around and gave it a shot. I'm about midway through Season 4 right now (we've been discussing it as I go over at GT) so needless to say, I haven't read most of this thread. Will definitely be back once I'm done.

KKBlue · Post by **KKBlue** » Fri Oct 28, 2011 10:50 am

Skinypupy wrote:... I wrote it off when it was on TV as something for teens, but am glad I finally came around and gave it a shot...

Actually was going to page telcta and see if he was willing to give it a try. So much of what we've watched together, both TV and movies, have come from you guys, I'm surprised he's never suggested ms Buffy? Maybe he has been secretly watching all these years

And yes I wrote that line so I could add the ninja to my list of smiles posted

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 1:22 am

I feel like I've spent the last 2 months doing nothing but watching Buffy, and I just finished the final season on Netflix Instant. Holy damn, that is an absolutely incredible, wonderful, amazing, moving, funny, crazy show. Easily my favorite TV of all time. Didn't think there was any way I'd enjoy it as much as I did, but it was simply brilliant. It was actually really hard to watch the last couple episodes know that it would soon be over.

Trying now to decide whether I want to jump right into Angel or take a bit of a break. not sure I'm up for another 100+ episode show...

tru1cy · Post by **tru1cy** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 8:10 am

Angel takes sometime to ramp up, but is a good ride. Once they stopped riding on Buffy's coat tails I think the show came into it's own

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 9:24 am

I agree that Angel takes a bit to get good. I almost gave up in Season 1 as it seemed that it was just going to be "case of the week" again and again. But then it just kept getting better and better and a number of favorites from Buffy show up.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun May 20, 2012 3:48 pm

I haven't wandered too deep in this thread for fear of spoilers, but we've been watching Buffy rather religiously over the past few months while waiting for Breaking Bad to return. Anyway, we finished season five a few weeks ago but we're having a hard time getting into season 6. In checking online, apparently the show was canceled during the 5th season but at some point another network picked them up for two more. It really felt like the final episode for season 5 was the end of the show and if I didn't know any better, I really think we would have just stopped watching and thought it was awesome. However ~4 episodes into season six and the tone is really different. It just feels...off. I can't imagine not finishing the entire series at this point (we've come this far), but can I at least get some reassurance that these last two seasons are worth it?

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Sun May 20, 2012 3:58 pm

Smoove_B wrote:can I at least get some reassurance that these last two seasons are worth it?

Season 6 has some very cool surprises and twists in it that are definitely worth it, including some fun humor, a fantastic villain and the episode, "Once More, With Feeling", which was one of Buffy's best.

The last season is OK, but not great. Buffy becomes annoying. Still, it is worth watching for the finale and to see how the previous six seasons get wrapped up.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Sun May 20, 2012 4:12 pm

Yeah I think SMG wanted out after season 5, but got thrown enough money to come back. Didn't seem like their hearts were fully in it after that (and Joss was focusing on Firefly). Still there were some good episodes and it's worth it to finish off the series

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun May 20, 2012 4:17 pm

Smoove_B wrote:I haven't wandered too deep in this thread for fear of spoilers, but we've been watching Buffy rather religiously over the past few months while waiting for Breaking Bad to return. Anyway, we finished season five a few weeks ago but we're having a hard time getting into season 6. In checking online, apparently the show was canceled during the 5th season but at some point another network picked them up for two more. It really felt like the final episode for season 5 was the end of the show and if I didn't know any better, I really think we would have just stopped watching and thought it was awesome. However ~4 episodes into season six and the tone is really different. It just feels...off. I can't imagine not finishing the entire series at this point (we've come this far), but can I at least get some reassurance that these last two seasons are worth it?

I felt the same as you, and really disliked the beginning of Season 6. However, it takes some serious turns midway through and the way it ends up is absolutely fantastic, IMO. Stick with it...I'd be surprised if you didn't end up liking it by the end. And if not, you at least get to see "Once More With Feeling", which is by far the best Buffy episode.

I thought Season 7 was mostly awful, but most fans seem to like it well enough.

Baroquen · Post by **Baroquen** » Sun May 20, 2012 5:22 pm

Add my voice to the choir here. I thought season 6 was a little rough, though I love "Once More with Feeling". Season 7 was ok. Nothing spectacular, but didn't dislike it. Had to watch to see it wrap up.