Buffy...convince me

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Jan 26th 2003, 3:57 am

Ok well i have never been a Buffy fan. Probably grows from my strong dislike of Sarah Michelle Gellar. But since I am a DVD slore, and even more so a growing tv on dvd slore, I have been tempted to join the darkside and pick up the Buffy season 1 disk as a complete blind buy.

I noticed by accident that it is like 29.99 at amazon. Now two of my very good friends are Buffy fans, and as much as I don't want to be a fan I am debating on diving into the abyss and trying it. My girlfriend will openly mock me once she finds out. So I am not looking forward to that. She hates Buffy more than I.

So, your mission: Convince me to buy, or not to buy, the Season 1 box. You may begin.

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jan 27th 2003, 5:19 am

Well, I don't know that there is anything I can say to convince you. I admit that I ignored the show during the first season. My friend of mine and my sister both told me how great it was, so I began watching during the second season - my sister had to fill me in on the plot from the first season (and the specific vampire lore of the Jossverse since I was only familiar with the Interview with the Vampire rules). The second season was one of my favorites, so it was a good place to start. When I watched the first season, the low budget was obvious, as was the immense effort that went into trying to be cool. By the second season, the writers and the cast had become more comfortable and the show clicked a lot better.

I do have the first season on DVD, but it's kind of like having the first season of the Simpsons - it's good to have as a point of reference, to see where everything came from and to have a measuring stick so you can see how far they have come, but honestly I hardly ever break out the S1 Buffy DVDs. S1 is important because it set the ground rules and created a new world for storytelling, but I didn't really like the Monster of the Week plotlines or the contrived wisecracks which seemed very forced to me. Compared to the other crap that was on tv at the time (90210 in its 8th fricking season), Buffy was a breath of fresh air. Remember - there was no Felicity, Roswell, Dawson's Creek, Smallville, Gilmore Girls, etc. At the time, MSCL was literally the last television show that (1) was aimed at young adults and (2) didn't completely suck.

I'd say give S1 a go since it's only $30 and only 12 episodes. Then watch S2. The season finale still gets me! Quite possibly the best season finale of the entire series (S5 is pretty damn close though).

I can understand why your dislike of SMG - she is a very soap opera type actress and sometimes I see her clicking into that mode (I thought her portrayal of Katherine in Cruel Intentions was very cliched and amateur), but she has had some great moments in the series. In addition, the rest of the cast is fantastic. Even though she has the title role, it really is an ensemble show and the regulars are wonderful. Joss Whedon is a great storyteller and the show has some awesome writers. I could go on and on about why I love the show, but I'll let some other Buffy fans take up the chorus.

lance · Post by **lance** » Jan 27th 2003, 4:27 pm

Hey Fnordboy,

Let me take up the chorus. I came across Buffy the vampire slayer in the summer of 1999 between third and fourth seasons. I too thought, what's the big deal? My friend Mek tried literally for weeks to watch the show. Finally in the beginning of August I borrowed his Seasons 1-3 on VHS and watched it, I got hooked.

I liked for the same reason I loved Babylon 5 and Homicide: Life on the Street. All of these shows have great writing, good use of humor and strong acting.

Try it, you may like it.

Lance Man

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Jan 27th 2003, 7:13 pm

Well I actually ended up buying the set (even before anyone replied here lol). I was at Costco and they had it for 29 so i said what the hell. I watched the first 4 eps last night. So far I am on the fence. I liked the first 2 eps. But "Witch" and "teachers pet" were kinda bleh. Too monster of the the week. The writing is ok, not bad. I forgot how hot Willow was

I will probably finish off the set by the end of the week, if not before that. Unless the show turns really stupid in the next few eps I will probably end up picking up the S2 set. I'm easy like that, and am a completist. So unless i hate it and eBay it I will probably end up buying the whole series as they come out.

I wouldn't say I am a fan yet, but it has it's possibilities.

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jan 27th 2003, 7:28 pm

I guess that's what I was trying to say except in a much less obvious manner: when you watch S1, you can see the potential that the show has but it hasn't quite all come together yet. They start to hit their stride in S2, and the improved storylines really help - much less individual Monster of the Week episodes (which I saw as too similar to the 90210 Problem of the Week - oh no! Brandon crashed his car!) and a lot more season-long arcs with continuous storylines that make a lot less sense if you haven't been watching the entire season. As off-putting as that is to newbies who try to jump into the show midseason, it does make the show a lot more enjoyable to watch because there is background and more reasons for what's going. And if you keep going, S3 = Eliza Dushku! No actual girl-on-girl scenes

but she and Buffy have some great scenes together.

lance · Post by **lance** » Jan 27th 2003, 9:22 pm

candygirl wrote:I guess that's what I was trying to say except in a much less obvious manner: when you watch S1, you can see the potential that the show has but it hasn't quite all come together yet. They start to hit their stride in S2, and the improved storylines really help - much less individual Monster of the Week episodes (which I saw as too similar to the 90210 Problem of the Week - oh no! Brandon crashed his car!) and a lot more season-long arcs with continuous storylines that make a lot less sense if you haven't been watching the entire season. As off-putting as that is to newbies who try to jump into the show midseason, it does make the show a lot more enjoyable to watch because there is background and more reasons for what's going. And if you keep going, S3 = Eliza Dushku! No actual girl-on-girl scenes but she and Buffy have some great scenes together.

Egad!

Candygirl is almost at 1400 posts. Cool.

Fnordboy, Season Two is definately worth it. Yes, Williow is quite cute. Season Three is also good. I am glad that you gave Season One a try.

Best,

Lance Man

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Jan 28th 2003, 1:30 am

candygirl wrote: And if you keep going, S3 = Eliza Dushku! No actual girl-on-girl scenes but she and Buffy have some great scenes together.

Egad!

Candygirl is almost at 1400 posts. Cool.

If you have taken an average of 30 seconds per post you have wasted 700 minutes of your life posting on here

(though judging by your posts in the show forum I would say 2500 minutes

)

I need to catch up.

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jan 28th 2003, 3:34 am

Like I said before, I have fleet fingers

Besides, anything MSCL-related isn't a waste!

lance · Post by **lance** » Jan 28th 2003, 1:37 pm

candygirl wrote:Like I said before, I have fleet fingers

Besides, anything MSCL-related isn't a waste!

OCD! OCD!

Lance Man

Post by **Sascha** » Jan 28th 2003, 2:15 pm

candygirl wrote: I do have the first season on DVD, but it's kind of like having the first season of the Simpsons - it's good to have as a point of reference, to see where everything came from and to have a measuring stick so you can see how far they have come, but honestly I hardly ever break out the S1 Buffy DVDs. S1 is important because it set the ground rules and created a new world for storytelling, but I didn't really like the Monster of the Week plotlines or the contrived wisecracks which seemed very forced to me.

I totally agree. Season 2 was better than S1. S3 finally made it my favorite show until S6, where it became somewhat slow (except for the last 3-4 episodes). I haven't seen anything of S7 yet, but I will in March

As for SMG, I don't like her that much either. I mainly watched the show because of the unusual stories, the good writing (the way the story arcs were written kinda reminded me of Babylon 5) and of course, Alyson Hannigan. She was soooo incredible cute in the first 4 seasons, and then there was that "Doppelgangerland" episode in S3

. Her scenes with Xander in S2 & S3 were hilarious. I remember another scene where she was dressed in something like an Eskimo(?) suit .... oh, real eyecandy

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jan 29th 2003, 6:18 pm

I totally remember that Eskimo outfit - she looked so cute all bundled up, then her Doppelgangerland outfit - grrrrrr (the good kind)! Those were two great departure from her usual fuzzy green sweater with overalls look. Cordelia said it best: "Nice to know you've discovered the softer side of Sears, Willow." At least now she gets to wear normal clothes

Post by **mglenn** » Jan 30th 2003, 10:36 am

I totally agree with Sascha, Willow is who hooked me on the show as well as the B5 storyline arcs, although I discovered B5 after buffy... I like to pretend that I didn't stumble on to the show when seeing the pilot for Dawson's Creek and hoping that it would be MSCL'ish.

And I can't stand SMG, I don't know why everyone thinks that you have to like her to like the show? Willow is the reason...(as well as Joss's writing) Every geek guy wants the geek girl next door who doesn't realize she's a hottie!

fnordboy · Post by **fnordboy** » Jan 30th 2003, 11:43 am

So I have finished up to ep. 7, couldn't stay awake for ep. 8. I'm liking the show for the most part, some of it gets pretty dumb though. I already know thatI will be getting Season 2, so after I pick that up and watch it is when I will make my decision of continuing or not. I am definitely leaning on the continuing side right now, but there is still part of me that is unsure of the show.

We will see.

lance · Post by **lance** » Jan 30th 2003, 12:17 pm

Sarah Michelle Geller,

is okay. In terms of acting do you remember the episode where Faith and Buffy switched bodies? (Help me out her Candygirl with episode name here) Eliza Drusha (might be butchering the spelling here) who plays Faith did a spectacular Sarah Michelle/Buffy imitation. SMG imitaiton of Faith was subpar at best.

Lance Man

Post by **Natasha (candygirl)** » Jan 30th 2003, 3:43 pm

The body switch takes place at the end of "This Year's Girl" but most of the SMG imitating Eliza Dushku (and vice versa) takes place in "Who Are You?" - both S4 episodes.

Spike: You know why I really hate you, Summers?
Buffy: 'Cause I'm a stuck-up tight-ass with no sense of fun?
Spike: Well, yeah, that covers a lot of it.
Buffy: Cause I could do anything I want, and instead, I choose
to pout and whine and feel the burden of slayerness? I mean, I could
be rich, I could be famous, I could have anything. Anyone.
Even you, Spike. I could ride you at a gallop until your legs
buckled and your eyes rolled up. I've got muscles you've never
even dreamed of. I could squeeze you until you popped like warm
champagne, and you'd beg me to hurt you just a little bit more.
And you know why I don't? Because it's wrong.

Talk about foreshadowing!

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