Up first?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
It took me seven months to get through what most people got through in seven years: watching all 144 episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I began in mid-December 2004 and finished in July. (Thank you, Netflix, I couldn’t have done it without you!) I absolutely adored the show. I do wish I had watched it when it was airing, but thank goodness for DVDs and Netflix, right? So here is my little tribute to the little show that put the WB (RIP, LOL!) on the map.
By the way, if you've never seen this show, I would advise you not to read this because of a) spoilers and b) you are going to have no idea what I'm talking about!
Oh, and if you're a Buffy fan and hate Twilight (like moi) and have six minutes to spare, you will love this.
By the way, I've heard rumors that they're remaking this show. I think it is way too soon to be remaking this show and there's no way in hell I'll be watching it because nothing will ever come close to the original! (Even though the TV show was based off a movie...)
Ranking the Seasons:
Season 2
Season 3
To me these two seasons were the ones when Buffy was at the top of its game. Second and third seasons just simply rocked. Our favorite trio still acts like, a well, trio, Angel, Oz, and Cordelia are still with us, Spike hasn’t gotten all lovesick on us, and librarian!Giles! I did like the show better when they were in high school, although I know they can’t stay there forever. Most of my favorite episodes come from these two seasons, especially the second one. I loved Evil!Angel and his snarky comments and the Mayor from S3 was hilariously awesome. These are the two seasons that made me fall in love with the show.
Season 5
This is definitely the most emotional season of the series and I did find a few episodes difficult to watch (likeThe Body). This season is full of angst and death, and then there’s more angst and more death. But I loved the premise with Dawn being a key sent to Buffy in the form of a sister. I love it! It’s so wacky! At the end of the first episode where we learn Buffy has a sister, I was trying to rack my brain, figuring out when the hell all this came in. Did I miss an episode? Was Dawn her stepsister? Was it just some sister we had never heard of, living with their dad? I was so baffled! And I liked Glory: she freaked me out and made me laugh at the same time.
Season 4
There were some great episodes in this one (and also, IMO, the worst of the entire series: Bad Beer), but the overall season felt like a buffer season: between Spike being evil and Spike becoming part of the Scooby gang. It’s like they came up with the idea of the Initiative because they wanted Spike to have a bigger role, so then they came up with the chip in the head idea so he couldn’t hurt anyone (the exception being demons) and therefore hang out with the gang without being a danger. To me this season was all about, how can we make Spike a bigger part of the show?
Season 7
I know S7 gets a lot of flack and even though it’s not as good as the previous ones I’ve mentioned (although I would probably tie it with S4), I did enjoy the final season. I loved that they brought back the high school, though why the hell would you build the school in the same spot over the Hellmouth? Well, I guess they wouldn’t have a show if they didn’t do that! I liked the storyline of the Future Slayers and the First was creepy and I totally hated Caleb. I liked the very last episode, Chosen, but I really thought they should have made it a two hour event. It seemed like a lot of things had to be squeezed in and rushed.
Season 1
The reason I have the first reason ranked so low is that it really didn’t seem to have an ongoing plot (well, except for the Master). All the episodes seemed to have the same formula: something evil comes to town, someone (Giles, Xander, Cordelia, or Willow) gets in trouble and Buffy has to rescue them. Rinse and repeat. I really didn’t get hooked on the series with this season. Like I said, it wasn’t until the next season where I was fully addicted.
Season 6
Okay, S6. Oh, boy. Here are a few reasons why I hate S6: Spuffy, (I’ll get more into that later), hardly no Giles (I remember he was only in about three episodes at the beginning, then at the very end he came back, but his presence was definitely lacking), I really didn’t care about the Xanya ‘ship, the Evil!Willow and her magicrack was a little too much for me. And while the Nerd Trio were funny, I never really understood why Jonathan and Andrew turned evil. Okay, they were never really evil and probably didn’t know what they were getting themselves into it, but I really thought at least Jonathan would have better sense than that. Oh, and I absolutely hated that scene from Gone where Buffy turns invisible and has sex with Spike when Xander is in the room. Eww, Buffy. Don’t be so clueless, Xander. I really hated Buffy in this season. Yeah, yeah, I know she just got back from heaven and blah, blah, blah, but she really annoyed me in this season! Just everything about this season makes me shudder. Truly the worst of the whole series. At least they redeemed themselves with the next season a bit.
Ranking the villains from each season:
The Mayor, S3 - The Mayor was hilarious! Best villian ever! I can see why they brought him back in S7 for that one episode where he comes back as the First.
Spike, Drusilla, and Angelus, S2 - I loved the relationship between these three, especially how Spike hated Angelus and Angelus calling Spike “roller boy” and of course weird-ass Drusilla.
Glory, S5 - I know a lot of people don’t like Glory, but like I said before, I thought she was hilarious with her narcissism and all her little minions calling her “Your Glorification” and “Almighty Glory” or whatever it was they called her. The fact that she could trade bodies with that med student creeped me out a little, especially when he didn’t tell them. Um, whose side are you on anyway, Ben?
Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew, S6 - First of all, I guess you could argue who was the real villain of S6: The Nerd Trio or Evil!Willow? Well, I’m counting it as the NT becase E!W was in only three episodes. Even though I do hate S6, I have to admit that the trio were hilarious. I remember they’re discussing villains in ficition work and Voldemort’s name comes up. Hee! But I never thought Jonathan and Andrew were really evil, Warren was really the only bad guy of the trio.
The Master, S1 - Don’t really remember too much about him, but I do remember him making me laugh a few times, so I’ll give him credit here. Plus he was a you know, a vampire, Buffy’s specialty.
Tie between Adam and Caleb, S4 and S7 - Adam bored me to death! He was so dull! Whenever he talked, I was like *yawn*, blah, blah, blah. Caleb, on the other hand, I absolutely despised his misogynist, bang-wearing, southern-drawling ass! Urgh! Hate!
My Ten Favorite Episodes (in chronological order):
1. Halloween, S2 - This is the eppy where the Trio becomes what their Halloween costumes are which they bought from Ethan Rayne’s shop. Willow becomes a ghost, Xander becomes a soldier, and Buffy turns into an 18th century girl and is helpless when they’re attacked by Spike. A very clever episode, I thought!
2. What’s My Line (Parts 1 and 2), S2 - Ah, the episode where Spike sends four assassins to finish off Buffy. The Order of Taraka reminded me of the Deadly Viper Squad, how could you not love it? The one I remember the most is the guy who disguised himself as a salesman and could turn into a million little worms. Eww. We meet Kendra, the girl who became the new slayer when Buffy was “dead” for about a minute in the last episode of the first season.
3. Passion, S2 - The very first episode of Buffy that made me cry. Jenny Calendar finds a spell for getting back Angel’s soul, all she has to do is decipher it into English on her computer disc and she’s ready to roll. Only problem is Angel finds out about this and ends up snapping her neck. A very dark episode, but wonderfully done. I felt so bad for Giles! I liked him and Jenny together.
4. Becoming, (Parts 1 and 2), S2 - Buffy and Willow find the computer disc that contains the key to restoring Angel’s soul and Willow who is been dabbing in a little bit of magic is going to try it. Drusilla murders Kendra! Buffy’s mom finds out her daughter is the vampire slayer! Drusilla turns into Jenny and messes with Giles! Willow gives Angel back his soul! But it’s too late! Buffy kills Angel! Oh, and I have to say that the first part contains the best scene ever in BTVS: Buffy running slow motion around a corner towards the library in her vinyl blue coat. They even had that in the credits, but took it out either during fifth or sixth season. Boo!
5. The Prom, S3 - Okay, I admit the only thing I remember, besides the demon dogs, is Buffy and Angel dancing to The Sunday’s cover of Wild Horses at the prom. I absolutely love that song and I love Buffy/Angel.
6. Graduation Day (Parts 1 and 2), S3 - This is probably my favorite season finale of BTVS. (It’s closely tied with Becoming and The Gift. At graduation day (hey it’s the class of ‘99! I was the class of ‘99! Yay!) the Mayor gives the commencement speech and turns into a giant snake. Luckily Buffy has tipped all the students off so they come all compared. One of my favorite fights from the series. I actually thought of this scene when I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when all the students are fighting the Death Eaters.
7. Hush, S4 - The entire town of Sunnydale goes silent when some of the creepiest demons I have ever seen on the show called The Gentlemen appear and seize everyone's voices. A human scream is the only thing that can kill them before they cut outthe hearts of seven people. Buffy and the Scoobs must come up with a plan to get rid of them without being able to speak. One of the most creative episodes. Ironically this was nominated for an Emmy for best writing. Who knew a show where there’s hardly any dialouge would get nominated for a best writing Emmy?
8. Who Are You?, S4 - A Freaky Friday episode where Buffy turns into Faith and Faith turns into Buffy.
9. The Body, S5 - The episode where Buffy deals with her mother's death. I think this is the first death in the show that isn't caused by anything supernatural; her mother died of a brain aneurysm if I remember correctly. One of the most powerful scenes is when Buffy is telling Dawn the news in Dawn's art class and the camera is outside looking in, so we don't hear them, but we just see Dawn's reaction.
10. The Gift, S5 - This one is a real tearjerker. Buffy saves her sister from the evil clutches of Glory and sacrifices herself to save the world, hence her gift is death. Awww.
Unpopular Buffy Opinions:
- I hate Spuffy. I am a Bangel shipper through and through. Their relationship in S6 just felt icky to me and the idea of Spike falling in love with a Slayer and getting a soul for her? Please. And the idea of Spike making a Buffybot for his uh, pleasure is just the sickest thing ever. Although the Buffybot did make me laugh with her naiveté.
- I like Faith and Cordelia. I don’t know the consensus about these two, but it seems most people don’t like them since Buffy doesn’t like them, but I enjoyed their characters. I liked how Faith was the antithesis of Buffy and how she called her “B” and her “Five by five” and “I got mad skills!” lines. I loved Cordy’s snobbiness and missed her when Anya took her place on the show.
- I don’t like Anya. She annoyed me. A lot. I could only handle her in small doses. Maybe I would have liked Anya better if they hadn’t made Emma Caufield a regular cast member. But her sex jokes and her ditziness got really old after awhile. And I know this is mean, but if anyone from the credits had to be killed off in the very last episode, I’m glad it was her. I didn’t want her to go in such a brutal way though!
- I like Dawn. I’ve seen a lot of Dawn hate, but I liked her. I thought the relationship between her and Buffy was really sweet. And I actually felt worse for her when she found out Joyce had died. That scene where Buffy is telling her the news was the only scene I bawled my eyes out during that eppy. And she was just a key! She’s not even Joyce’s real daughter! I have to admit I cracked up in that eppy where she screams “GET OUT,GET OUT, GET OUT!” at everyone.
- I like Riley. Okay, he was Captain America and could be dull sometimes. (He’s from Iowa, what do you expect?) But I really did like the relationship between him and Buffy, yes me, being a Bangel shipper. But if it couldn’t work out with Angel, I’d be happy with Buffy and Riley.
-I didn’t like Once More, With Feeling. Or rather, I just didn’t think it was the Best! Buffy! Episode! Ever! like everyone else seems to think. I liked the song they sang at the end (I think it was called "Through the Fire") and the people dancing around claiming that “they got the mustard out of my shirt” did make me giggle. But some of the songs went on way too long and the dancing went on even longer. I was a little bored. I was grateful that they don’t do all their episodes in musical form!
I'm a big fan of Buffy, but what show is my all-time favorite? Watch the video to find out:
By the way, if you've never seen this show, I would advise you not to read this because of a) spoilers and b) you are going to have no idea what I'm talking about!
Oh, and if you're a Buffy fan and hate Twilight (like moi) and have six minutes to spare, you will love this.
By the way, I've heard rumors that they're remaking this show. I think it is way too soon to be remaking this show and there's no way in hell I'll be watching it because nothing will ever come close to the original! (Even though the TV show was based off a movie...)
Ranking the Seasons:
Season 2
Season 3
To me these two seasons were the ones when Buffy was at the top of its game. Second and third seasons just simply rocked. Our favorite trio still acts like, a well, trio, Angel, Oz, and Cordelia are still with us, Spike hasn’t gotten all lovesick on us, and librarian!Giles! I did like the show better when they were in high school, although I know they can’t stay there forever. Most of my favorite episodes come from these two seasons, especially the second one. I loved Evil!Angel and his snarky comments and the Mayor from S3 was hilariously awesome. These are the two seasons that made me fall in love with the show.
Season 5
This is definitely the most emotional season of the series and I did find a few episodes difficult to watch (likeThe Body). This season is full of angst and death, and then there’s more angst and more death. But I loved the premise with Dawn being a key sent to Buffy in the form of a sister. I love it! It’s so wacky! At the end of the first episode where we learn Buffy has a sister, I was trying to rack my brain, figuring out when the hell all this came in. Did I miss an episode? Was Dawn her stepsister? Was it just some sister we had never heard of, living with their dad? I was so baffled! And I liked Glory: she freaked me out and made me laugh at the same time.
Season 4
There were some great episodes in this one (and also, IMO, the worst of the entire series: Bad Beer), but the overall season felt like a buffer season: between Spike being evil and Spike becoming part of the Scooby gang. It’s like they came up with the idea of the Initiative because they wanted Spike to have a bigger role, so then they came up with the chip in the head idea so he couldn’t hurt anyone (the exception being demons) and therefore hang out with the gang without being a danger. To me this season was all about, how can we make Spike a bigger part of the show?
Season 7
I know S7 gets a lot of flack and even though it’s not as good as the previous ones I’ve mentioned (although I would probably tie it with S4), I did enjoy the final season. I loved that they brought back the high school, though why the hell would you build the school in the same spot over the Hellmouth? Well, I guess they wouldn’t have a show if they didn’t do that! I liked the storyline of the Future Slayers and the First was creepy and I totally hated Caleb. I liked the very last episode, Chosen, but I really thought they should have made it a two hour event. It seemed like a lot of things had to be squeezed in and rushed.
Season 1
The reason I have the first reason ranked so low is that it really didn’t seem to have an ongoing plot (well, except for the Master). All the episodes seemed to have the same formula: something evil comes to town, someone (Giles, Xander, Cordelia, or Willow) gets in trouble and Buffy has to rescue them. Rinse and repeat. I really didn’t get hooked on the series with this season. Like I said, it wasn’t until the next season where I was fully addicted.
Season 6
Okay, S6. Oh, boy. Here are a few reasons why I hate S6: Spuffy, (I’ll get more into that later), hardly no Giles (I remember he was only in about three episodes at the beginning, then at the very end he came back, but his presence was definitely lacking), I really didn’t care about the Xanya ‘ship, the Evil!Willow and her magicrack was a little too much for me. And while the Nerd Trio were funny, I never really understood why Jonathan and Andrew turned evil. Okay, they were never really evil and probably didn’t know what they were getting themselves into it, but I really thought at least Jonathan would have better sense than that. Oh, and I absolutely hated that scene from Gone where Buffy turns invisible and has sex with Spike when Xander is in the room. Eww, Buffy. Don’t be so clueless, Xander. I really hated Buffy in this season. Yeah, yeah, I know she just got back from heaven and blah, blah, blah, but she really annoyed me in this season! Just everything about this season makes me shudder. Truly the worst of the whole series. At least they redeemed themselves with the next season a bit.
Ranking the villains from each season:
The Mayor, S3 - The Mayor was hilarious! Best villian ever! I can see why they brought him back in S7 for that one episode where he comes back as the First.
Spike, Drusilla, and Angelus, S2 - I loved the relationship between these three, especially how Spike hated Angelus and Angelus calling Spike “roller boy” and of course weird-ass Drusilla.
Glory, S5 - I know a lot of people don’t like Glory, but like I said before, I thought she was hilarious with her narcissism and all her little minions calling her “Your Glorification” and “Almighty Glory” or whatever it was they called her. The fact that she could trade bodies with that med student creeped me out a little, especially when he didn’t tell them. Um, whose side are you on anyway, Ben?
Warren, Jonathan, and Andrew, S6 - First of all, I guess you could argue who was the real villain of S6: The Nerd Trio or Evil!Willow? Well, I’m counting it as the NT becase E!W was in only three episodes. Even though I do hate S6, I have to admit that the trio were hilarious. I remember they’re discussing villains in ficition work and Voldemort’s name comes up. Hee! But I never thought Jonathan and Andrew were really evil, Warren was really the only bad guy of the trio.
The Master, S1 - Don’t really remember too much about him, but I do remember him making me laugh a few times, so I’ll give him credit here. Plus he was a you know, a vampire, Buffy’s specialty.
Tie between Adam and Caleb, S4 and S7 - Adam bored me to death! He was so dull! Whenever he talked, I was like *yawn*, blah, blah, blah. Caleb, on the other hand, I absolutely despised his misogynist, bang-wearing, southern-drawling ass! Urgh! Hate!
My Ten Favorite Episodes (in chronological order):
1. Halloween, S2 - This is the eppy where the Trio becomes what their Halloween costumes are which they bought from Ethan Rayne’s shop. Willow becomes a ghost, Xander becomes a soldier, and Buffy turns into an 18th century girl and is helpless when they’re attacked by Spike. A very clever episode, I thought!
2. What’s My Line (Parts 1 and 2), S2 - Ah, the episode where Spike sends four assassins to finish off Buffy. The Order of Taraka reminded me of the Deadly Viper Squad, how could you not love it? The one I remember the most is the guy who disguised himself as a salesman and could turn into a million little worms. Eww. We meet Kendra, the girl who became the new slayer when Buffy was “dead” for about a minute in the last episode of the first season.
3. Passion, S2 - The very first episode of Buffy that made me cry. Jenny Calendar finds a spell for getting back Angel’s soul, all she has to do is decipher it into English on her computer disc and she’s ready to roll. Only problem is Angel finds out about this and ends up snapping her neck. A very dark episode, but wonderfully done. I felt so bad for Giles! I liked him and Jenny together.
4. Becoming, (Parts 1 and 2), S2 - Buffy and Willow find the computer disc that contains the key to restoring Angel’s soul and Willow who is been dabbing in a little bit of magic is going to try it. Drusilla murders Kendra! Buffy’s mom finds out her daughter is the vampire slayer! Drusilla turns into Jenny and messes with Giles! Willow gives Angel back his soul! But it’s too late! Buffy kills Angel! Oh, and I have to say that the first part contains the best scene ever in BTVS: Buffy running slow motion around a corner towards the library in her vinyl blue coat. They even had that in the credits, but took it out either during fifth or sixth season. Boo!
5. The Prom, S3 - Okay, I admit the only thing I remember, besides the demon dogs, is Buffy and Angel dancing to The Sunday’s cover of Wild Horses at the prom. I absolutely love that song and I love Buffy/Angel.
6. Graduation Day (Parts 1 and 2), S3 - This is probably my favorite season finale of BTVS. (It’s closely tied with Becoming and The Gift. At graduation day (hey it’s the class of ‘99! I was the class of ‘99! Yay!) the Mayor gives the commencement speech and turns into a giant snake. Luckily Buffy has tipped all the students off so they come all compared. One of my favorite fights from the series. I actually thought of this scene when I read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when all the students are fighting the Death Eaters.
7. Hush, S4 - The entire town of Sunnydale goes silent when some of the creepiest demons I have ever seen on the show called The Gentlemen appear and seize everyone's voices. A human scream is the only thing that can kill them before they cut outthe hearts of seven people. Buffy and the Scoobs must come up with a plan to get rid of them without being able to speak. One of the most creative episodes. Ironically this was nominated for an Emmy for best writing. Who knew a show where there’s hardly any dialouge would get nominated for a best writing Emmy?
8. Who Are You?, S4 - A Freaky Friday episode where Buffy turns into Faith and Faith turns into Buffy.
9. The Body, S5 - The episode where Buffy deals with her mother's death. I think this is the first death in the show that isn't caused by anything supernatural; her mother died of a brain aneurysm if I remember correctly. One of the most powerful scenes is when Buffy is telling Dawn the news in Dawn's art class and the camera is outside looking in, so we don't hear them, but we just see Dawn's reaction.
10. The Gift, S5 - This one is a real tearjerker. Buffy saves her sister from the evil clutches of Glory and sacrifices herself to save the world, hence her gift is death. Awww.
Unpopular Buffy Opinions:
- I hate Spuffy. I am a Bangel shipper through and through. Their relationship in S6 just felt icky to me and the idea of Spike falling in love with a Slayer and getting a soul for her? Please. And the idea of Spike making a Buffybot for his uh, pleasure is just the sickest thing ever. Although the Buffybot did make me laugh with her naiveté.
- I like Faith and Cordelia. I don’t know the consensus about these two, but it seems most people don’t like them since Buffy doesn’t like them, but I enjoyed their characters. I liked how Faith was the antithesis of Buffy and how she called her “B” and her “Five by five” and “I got mad skills!” lines. I loved Cordy’s snobbiness and missed her when Anya took her place on the show.
- I don’t like Anya. She annoyed me. A lot. I could only handle her in small doses. Maybe I would have liked Anya better if they hadn’t made Emma Caufield a regular cast member. But her sex jokes and her ditziness got really old after awhile. And I know this is mean, but if anyone from the credits had to be killed off in the very last episode, I’m glad it was her. I didn’t want her to go in such a brutal way though!
- I like Dawn. I’ve seen a lot of Dawn hate, but I liked her. I thought the relationship between her and Buffy was really sweet. And I actually felt worse for her when she found out Joyce had died. That scene where Buffy is telling her the news was the only scene I bawled my eyes out during that eppy. And she was just a key! She’s not even Joyce’s real daughter! I have to admit I cracked up in that eppy where she screams “GET OUT,GET OUT, GET OUT!” at everyone.
- I like Riley. Okay, he was Captain America and could be dull sometimes. (He’s from Iowa, what do you expect?) But I really did like the relationship between him and Buffy, yes me, being a Bangel shipper. But if it couldn’t work out with Angel, I’d be happy with Buffy and Riley.
-I didn’t like Once More, With Feeling. Or rather, I just didn’t think it was the Best! Buffy! Episode! Ever! like everyone else seems to think. I liked the song they sang at the end (I think it was called "Through the Fire") and the people dancing around claiming that “they got the mustard out of my shirt” did make me giggle. But some of the songs went on way too long and the dancing went on even longer. I was a little bored. I was grateful that they don’t do all their episodes in musical form!
I'm a big fan of Buffy, but what show is my all-time favorite? Watch the video to find out:
Hmm. Never saw "24". I might check it out.
ReplyDeleteI think that Season 2 was overrated. I didn't care for the finale, due to a big plothole. And if it weren't for the presence of Spike and Drusilla, it would have really felt disjointed to me.
ReplyDeleteUnlike many fans, I didn't mind Buffy and the Scoobies getting older. I would have hated it if they had remained the same as they had been during Seasons 1-3. That would have been just bad writing on Whedon's part.