Poll!

[next_to_normal]

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

[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.

[next_to_normal]

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.