Poll!

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Quite a while back, snickfic posted about her season 1 rewatch, and there was talk about "The Pack" being the first really effective episode of the series. And that got me to thinking.

It seems pretty generally accepted that season 1 is in a different category than the rest of BtVS - Buffy with training wheels, almost. It doesn't get much fandom love. Full series rewatches usually begin with a grumble about slogging through season 1 in order to get to the good stuff. I've even heard plenty of people suggest NOT starting at the beginning in order to get new viewers hooked on Buffy, or at the very least, assuring people, "Just keep watching! It gets much better, I promise." It's shorter, it's campier, the metaphors are really anvilicious, the monsters are really cheesy (okay, that doesn't totally change), and it features less of the long-term arcs and emotional character moments that become the touchstone of the show.

But where, exactly, does the "real" BtVS begin? What's the first episode that makes you sit up and say, "THAT'S the show I know and love!"

[Poll #1494098]

Comments

[deird1]

Full series rewatches usually begin with a grumble about slogging through season 1 in order to get to the good stuff.

I really don't get that mindset. The show was always worth watching, IMO. It was just... a different flavour of show.

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Yeah, I can see that. I think for some people, though, the flavor makes a difference. If you fell in love with the show because it was peanut butter fudge ripple, and season 1 is just plain old fudge ripple, it might still taste good, but every time you eat it, you're gonna be missing the peanut butter.

Then there's people who happily eat any flavor, as long as it's got fudge, and don't mind the variance. :)

Um. I might have a sublimated food-related thing going on.

[deird1]

Then there's people who happily eat any flavor, as long as it's got fudge, and don't mind the variance. :)

Like me! *loves my show*

[ladyofthelog.livejournal.com]

My housemate was watching BtVS with her boyfriend for the first time when I saw the series. I'd sit in on a few episodes every now and then, but had little interest. Until Season 4. Then I was hooked!

I actually had to go back and rewatch s1-s3 because I'd missed so much of them. s1 does nothing for me, although I do enjoy the other two on the second go-round.

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Yeah, I think a lot of people have stories like that. For me, I caught random episodes occasionally, but none of them inspired me to watch the show, until my college roommates started a campaign to convert people. :) I was a little "meh" on season 1, but I was addicted by s2.

[shapinglight]

For me, it's The Witch. I found the two parter WttH/The Harvest a bit cringeworthy in parts, plus the vampires were boring. The Witch was the episode that made me sit up and think there was more to this show than first seemed.

The Witch is just a great little episode and rather than repeat why I think so, I'll just link to my review. I was a bit rude about cheerleading. Sorry.

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I can see that. I always thought it was cool that the show so quickly moved away from vampires as the MOTW. For a show called "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," that's a risky move when they're still trying to define what the show's about. But I like shows that take risks. :)

And LOL, I have no problem with being rude about cheerleading.

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

For me it was "Passion." Yes, I know, I'm probably going to have the latest episode. Pretty much I wasn't interested in seeing the show because I thought it was that faux grrl power thing popular when I was in high school (I graduated the year after the Scoobies did) and I'm not big on vampires. But I loved Firefly and my sis got into the show, showed me OMWF and Hush.

Finally I decided to watch it, but she suggested I start with season 2. I ignored her, started at Welcome to the Hellmouth and was bored and disappointed so I skipped to season 2. I got more and more interested as the show picked up steam, but it was "Passion" when I was hooked. It was so well done and showed the consequences of actions that the characters made, had the drama, and raised the stakes. But then I'm probably weird in that regard. And yeah, I'm kinda morbid.

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I could definitely see "Passion" as a defining moment for the series. Morbid though it may be, that part's pretty critical, since Jenny's death shows that Joss is willing to kill off important characters, and Angelus killing her shows that he's not afraid to take his characters to really dark places. I mean, sure, Angel lost his soul and has been killing people since "Innocence," but killing someone close to the Scoobies takes things to a whole new level.

And you should listen to your sister. She's very wise. ;)

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

And you should listen to your sister. She's very wise. ;)


Eh, I guess;-)

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

I was trying to hook you with Spike, but I suppose Jenny dying will do, you morbid, morbid person you!

[alexeia-drae.livejournal.com]

When have I ever been a fangirl type?

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Nice timing, I just finished my rewatch of s1 yesterday. :-)

I think a case can be made for all of these (except NKABOTFD), but "Prophecy Girl"... that's a seriously good episode, for everyone involved; I don't think there's a single character in it who doesn't get at least one more dimension in those 42 minutes. Especially Buffy.

[next_to_normal]

Heh, I probably wouldn't have thought to include NKABOTFD, but deird1 specifically mentioned it in the original discussion, so I thought others might feel the same way.

And word on "Prophecy Girl."

[deird1]

That episode rocks! *loves it*

[snickfic]

So, uh, I broke your poll, because despite my comments about "The Pack," my BtVS pretty much starts with "School Hard." It isn't even just because of Spike, exactly. To me the key difference between the show before and after SH is the very last scene: Spike kills the Annoying One.

To me, that was a sea change in the show. We'd just disposed of the last vestige of S1's stock horror villainy, and were moving into much more complex and interesting evil for our heroes to fight. Spike's comment could almost be taken as meta-commentary on the show: "From now on, we're going to have a lot less ritual and lot more fun around here."

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

Excellent point! That last line is killer, and is practically a mission statement. I'm still miffed that they had Spike say teevee instead of telly right after, but it doesn't really matter, in the grand scheme.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

OMG! That's always miffed me, too! Geez, Spike. So Americanized. *shakes head*

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

Spike's Americanisms never annoyed me half as much as his misuse of British expressions. It will probably seem like heresy to you but I always used to wish that they'd cast an actual British actor as Spike instead of James Marsters.

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That's it! Off my LJ!

Where's Gabs when I need a good spanking icon?

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

Never fear! I have come to deliver spankings in icon form!

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Thank goodness. I was afraid I'd have to shoot him. I think I need some icons in between "love and puppies" and "I like to kill people."

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Haha, that's okay. I will overlook your gross insubordination just this once, but only because you posted a new "Seraph" chapter and that makes me happy.

[snickfic]

Hee. I cannot tell you how tickled I am that I managed to suck you in mwah hah hah get you interested in Seraph.

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I watched Season 2 first, so I'm biased. It was School Hard that got me, not just for Spike, but for Dru and little Sheila, as well. The little scene changes ("Is she tough?" "Ow, my creme rinse..." "If nothing bad happens" "Home, sweet home.") were so delightfully silly and playful, I was all in. That said, I also enjoy Season 1 on rewatch, especially The Witch, The Pack, Angel and Prophecy Girl. My main issue is with the darkness of the visuals. It's kinda hard to watch, after the visual pop of Season 3. The stories are still great, though.

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I watched Season 2 first, so I'm biased.

Aw, man. Now I'm gonna have to do a second poll to see if what order you watched the show in affects your answer! lol

My main issue is with the darkness of the visuals.

Yeah, I've noticed that, too. Even just in general, though, watching older TV shows, they look so dark and muted compared to the vividness of HD and digital and the way TV is filmed now.

[gabrielleabelle.livejournal.com]

I'm a traditionalist. I always start at the beginning. And since I started from the beginning with Buffy, S1 still very much feels like the show I know and love. I got hooked from episode one. Oh, sure, it got even better later on. But I'm a fan of campy, cheesy fantasy, so it was right up my alley.

[next_to_normal]

Heh, I spent years specifically avoiding Buffy because I thought it was campy, cheesy fantasy. :) Season 1, while definitely better than I expected, wouldn't have hooked me by itself.

I always start at the beginning, though. But that's more about being OCD than anything else. :)

[empresspatti.livejournal.com]

I somehow managed to catch the first show the first time it aired. Complete surprise = and I thought it was wonderful. The humor just attracted me from the start.

All that being said - Band Candy has always been my fav ep. I just think it is so funny!

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Well, the first "real" ep doesn't necessarily mean your favorite. Especially if you're like me, and the favorites are much later in the series - I'd hardly say the series doesn't really start until season 5, lol.

[green-maia.livejournal.com]

The first season has so much character development (and so much development of relationships), and so much foreshadowing of what is to come. It's an essential part of the story.


(And knowing what is to come, Buffy's "Go ahead - prepare me!" speech in "Welcome to Hellmouth" makes me cry.)

[speakr2customrs.livejournal.com]

I agree absolutely.

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And knowing what is to come, Buffy's "Go ahead - prepare me!" speech in "Welcome to Hellmouth" makes me cry.

Oh, Buffy. Season 1 just makes me want to hug her so hard.

[servus-a-manu.livejournal.com]

This is a hard one, because I actually watched the first 3 seasons of AtS first. Then I needed all that backstory, so I went back to watch BtVS. I honestly can't remember my first impressions of s1, except that it seemed a bit unpolished in comparison to AtS, but I was able to rationalize that as part of the mechanics of TV series. Also, I'd caught glimpses of a few eps on tv when it was being aired. Enough to know it existed, and to recognize the look of the show, but not enough to really be savvy to the series.

School Hard was a watershed ep for me, less because Spike shows up and more because a character like Spike shows up (along with Dru). Does that make sense? It seems to hail the beginning of the story arcs and multi-faceted characters that become the hallmark of the entire 'verse (a few exceptions notwithstanding *cough*Andrew*cough*). But I'm not sure that School Hard is the defining moment for me. Maybe Prophecy Girl, which I thought was still pretty campy, but the theme lended a gravitas that was at odds with the humor and made me sit up and really take notice.

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School Hard was a watershed ep for me, less because Spike shows up and more because a character like Spike shows up (along with Dru). Does that make sense?

Yep, it definitely does. I think it kind of ties into what snickfic was talking about, with Spike killing the Anointed One. Spike and Dru are definitely different from most of the vampires we've seen before, and Spike in particular embodies a lot of what makes the show great.

And the gravitas of "Prophecy Girl" is definitely what caught my attention. Buffy's emotional response to the prophecy? OMG. That might be when I first loved her.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I watched since the very beginning, and I loved the show a lot, but I didn't get the urge to enter the fandom till season 5-6 (I watched s5 in Russia while the rest of the fandom watched the end of season 6.)
~~~
WttH was a cheesy fun.

The darkness of "The Pack" was a nice surprise, but the lack of continuation was a bit disappointing. I was looking forward to a darker Xander and got nothing.

"Angel" - that's when I realised that the show takes itself seriously.

"Nightmares" confirmed it.

"Prophecy Girl" was the episode which made me appreciate SMG's acting abilities.

But I voted School Hard, because, I suppose, I'm a Spike girl, after all...

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But I voted School Hard, because, I suppose, I'm a Spike girl, after all...

Hee! Aren't we all, really? :)

[ms-scarletibis.livejournal.com]

Big-big big time Spike fan here, but it really kicked in for me with "The Pack"--mos def the first ep to show real promise. "Nightmares" is also very good.

Season two doesn't start until "School Hard." In fact, I can't even remember what the first ep even is...oh wait, I can. Well, the second ep--don't remember what it is...At any rate, one of my favorite seasons which is nearly Spikeless (even though he gets his face on one of the DVDs anyway) is season three.

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The second ep is "Some Assembly Required," which is immensely forgettable. :P Season 2 really vacillates between brilliance and extreme clunkers.

[clevermonikerr.livejournal.com]

Probably Prophecy Girl. It's where I tell my friends to start watching the show. I watched WTTH and wasn't interested, then gave Prophecy Girl a chance when it popped up on a download community I frequent, and have been hooked ever since. Season One as a whole isn't my favorite, though some episodes are so fun to rewatch.

When She Was Bad is one of my top 10 episodes. I think I'm weird in that I prefer that to School Hard.

P.S--I've seen you around in different Buffy journals/communities. Friending you if that's okay.

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Yep, Prophecy Girl was it for me, too. :) I must admit, I never gave much thought to WSWB, except as it parallels Buffy's much longer post-death depression in S6, but there is definitely some good stuff in there.

And of course friending is okay! :) Friended you back.

[urania-calliope.livejournal.com]

To me the story begins at the beginning but I will admit there is a part of me that sees the true heart of BtVS showing up with 'Prophecy Girl'.

[next_to_normal]

Yep, same here. :)