Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[elevenism]

Buffy is my favorite show of all time, hands down.
And I have a strong feeling that a lot of you have a similar sentiment. I joined a Buffy forum, but I already know a lot of you guys and would love to discuss it here.

So let's get a little ETS BtVS discussion going. Let's start by saying something we love about the show, mentioning a favorite episode, or telling a Buffy-centric anecdote.

I think Buffy is fucking ingenious. It's campy, scary, funny, sad, silly, serious and deeply moving. Buffy's strength in the face of insurmountable odds and willingness to sacrifice herself for her loved ones has been a massive inspiration to me since it first aired.
It dared to address teen sex, feminism, addiction, homosexuality, rape and the reality of death, and it was way ahead of its time regarding several issues. It had its own quirky language that linguists have written books about. And it pushed the limits of what is possible when it comes to character growth: I still think that Willow's journey is the most powerful in the history of television.

Some of my favorite episodes are Hush, The Gift, Seeing Red, The Body and The Becoming.

[Space Suicide]

It's up my alley but I've honestly NEVER seen an episode of this show ever. Might keep an eye on the thread.

[elevenism]

It's up my alley but I've honestly NEVER seen an episode of this show ever. Might keep an eye on the thread.

Oh man.
It's not for everybody, but i would definitely give it a shot.
It's on Hulu.

[Baphomette]

Best show ever.



Like the video says, the first season is pretty painful. Would totally recommend first time watchers skip the majority of it and only watch Welcome to the Hellmouth, Harvest, Angel and Prophesy Girl. If you end up hooked, you can go back and watch the others. Season 2 starts slow but it gets better and then you're off and running.

[elevenism]

Best show ever.



Like the video says, the first season is pretty painful. Would totally recommend first time watchers skip the majority of it and only watch Welcome to the Hellmouth, Harvest, Angel and Prophesy Girl...

IDK, I really liked some of the S1 MOTW episodes. Would you not add The Witch and The Pack to that list?

Also, like that video says, the monsters and supernatural phenomena in BtVS aren't just an end unto themselves; rather, they are largely allegorical, representing everything from painful relationships to dope to terrorism. I seriously honestly believe that Joss Whedon is a real live genius.

So who else wants to jump in here: @Vertigo ? @thelastdisciple ? @eversonpoe ? What are you guys thoughts on the show? Btw, this is the 20th anniversary of the show. I can't believe that shit! I've been watching it for TWENTY years!!

[muad'nin]

Thank you ever so much for this thread, @elevenism .

"Normal Again" is my favourite episode (at least it was on my first watch-through 8 years ago). My wife and I are in the middle of re-watching both Buffy and Angel at the moment; season 6 of Buffy, season 3 of Angel. Buffy is largely of excellent quality throughout, which is remarkable. Though of course, every series that lasts seven seasons will have troughs, hahaha. And yes, season one is rough at times but is definitely worth watching for anybody who wants the Buffy "experience" (besides which, some of the lesser episodes are referenced from time to time later in the series, making them important to watch, in my opinion). Angel, too, is great, and importantly stylistically different enough to keep the shows separate, giving Angel its own identity.

I'm very interested in following through with reading season 8, if somebody here can recommend it. We have the first batch of issues here at home, but I've never delved in. We also have the trade paperback of Fray.

Yay for this thread! Come out of the woodwork Scooby-fans and join in the fun!

P.S. Spike is the best example of peripheral-character-with-a-limited-shelf-life-becomes-indespensible-central-character-due-to-fan-popularity that I can think of. He is So.Much.Fun.

[elevenism]

@muad'nin , I've never read comic books other than Archie when I was a kid. But I got a Kindle Fire last year and got hold of the first 40 issues of Season 8 and I'm getting a big kick out of it! It's canon, Joss is involved, it retains the tone of the show, they use the likenesses of the actors: all in all, it really feels like buffy. I'm loving it! Oh, and by the way, it's still going! It's up to season 11 now!
Also, holy synchronicity: my wife and I are also currently rewatching Buffy and are also on Season Six!
Another thing: normal again was SO FREAKING AWESOME. I forgot about that one; it's absolutely a contender for best episode.

Edit: look at all the exclamation points in this post. Yes, I'm ridiculously enthusiastic about this subject. I'm a total Buffy geek ☺

[thelastdisciple]

I definitely had a lot of fun watching this series when i was growing up, I've only seen it once all the way through really so my memory of it all is mostly gone but i definitely remember that one episode with the nightmare demon, scared the shit out of me lol

[Haysey_Draws]

Loved the show growing up and the film (that really hasn't aged well)! I didn't manage to keep up much past season 4 (i moved out of my mum's house so didn't have Sky anymore) But what i did see i really enjoyed! I had a Buffy encyclopedia for seasons 1 & 2...not sure why but i did.

[eversonpoe]

Best show ever.

Like the video says, the first season is pretty painful. Would totally recommend first time watchers skip the majority of it and only watch Welcome to the Hellmouth, Harvest, Angel and Prophesy Girl. If you end up hooked, you can go back and watch the others. Season 2 starts slow but it gets better and then you're off and running.

i don't understand the idea of skipping episodes of a show. unless there's something really objectionable or triggering (i still haven't watched the "everybody loves a clown" episode of supernatural because i am deathly afraid of clowns), why not just watch the whole show? i mean, a couple mediocre episodes (which i honestly don't believe there even are in season 1, there's just some bits where the show is still trying to find its footing) aren't going to cause you that much mental and emotional distress that they need to be skipped. i just never get that. like when people say "oh, skip most of season 2 of twin peaks" and i just go "WHY!?"

aaaaaanyway, i love buffy with all my heart. i've watched through the entirety of it 7 or 8 times. been thinking about getting a buffy tattoo forever (probably "without passion we'd be truly dead" wrapped around some important objects from the show).

though the show has its flaws (some accidental misogyny, a weird mix of analogies for witchcraft, a few other extremely problematic things), it's really a lovely piece of pop culture that has a bit of something for everyone.

edit: baphomette, i'm not giving you a hard time specifically. just don't want you to think i'm being a dick. it's just a trend i've seen when people talk about tv shows and it's something i don't understand. love you, though <3

[elevenism]

I'm thinking of getting a Buffy tattoo also @eversonpoe . Id really like to get a full on portrait of Buffy holding that axe, but I don't think I can afford it. So I'm thinking of "the hardest thing in this world is to live in it," or maybe just the B symbol. I ought to warn you that I want a twin peaks tattoo and a star wars tattoo too I promise I'm not trying to steal your identity.
I promise

[Vertigo]

I think Buffy deserves a lot of credit for sparking the golden age of TV we've been experiencing in the 21st century.

There wasn't a lot of precedent for a TV genre drama that offered such deep subtext, emotion, serialised storytelling or filmic camerawork. It worked on every level, whether as an action series, teen soap, supernatural drama, mild comedy, or a subject for deep cultural analysis. And most importantly, it defied expectations to be enormously popular for a tiny network.

Between Buffy, HBO's subsequent groundbreaking stuff like the Sopranos, and 24 making it acceptable for film talent to transition to TV, media changed forever. All the great scripted series we've had since owe something to that period around the millennium, and particularly to Buffy.

[Baphomette]

edit: baphomette, i'm not giving you a hard time specifically. just don't want you to think i'm being a dick. it's just a trend i've seen when people talk about tv shows and it's something i don't understand. love you, though <3

it's all good.

My psychiatrist is a recent Buffy convert. Interestingly, he didn't have any issues with Season 1 but really hated Season 7.