Topic: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Marathon

[Critter]

Buffy The Vampire Slayer



So I thought it was about time I did a marathon of one of the only TV series that I actually have the complete collection of. I know a lot of people on this forum have already done this marathon but if anyone wants to join in then feel free. Buffy has always been one of my favourite shows, and I don't remember the last time (if ever) that I watched every episode in order from the start of the series to the finish.

*This marathon will contain MANY spoilers, it's more for people who have watched the series and are interested in my thoughts on the episodes, rather than anyone looking to try it.*

Completed Original Air Date
- Season 1  (1997)
- Season 2  (1997 - 1998)
- Season 3  (1998 - 1999)
- Season 4  (1999 - 2000)
- Season 5  (2000 - 2001)
- Season 6  (2001 - 2002)
- Season 7  (2002 - 2003)

Total Episodes: 144

[addicted2dvd]

Looking forward to reading your reviews.

[Critter]

1.01
Welcome to the Hellmouth

Plot: Buffy arrives in Sunnydale and is not happy to meet her new Watcher, Rupert Giles. A mysterious "friend" offers guidance, but Buffy resists her destiny until Willow and Jesse are abducted. Buffy saves Willow from an ordinary vampire, but loses track of Jesse in a confrontation with Luke, the Master's vampire vessel.

My Thoughts: As far as pilots go this one has never been up there with my favourites. It's a solid start to the series but I have always felt Buffy starts to shine the most as a show around halfway through season 1. This episode is a great improvment to the 'Unaired Pilot' which I once saw and does interestingly leave the episode on a cliffhanger, which means the pilot is almost shown over two episodes instead of one. Not many shows I have watched end a pilot episode on such a cliffhanger but I think it works well here. I found myself laughing at quite a few of the lines in this one. The show may be outdated by quite a lot now, and we know that the way teenagers speak changes over the years but that quirky way that characters seem to speak in Whedon shows never seems to get old. Like I said, this is a solid start to the show but compared to some of the Buffy episodes to come it is certainly not one of the stronger ones.

Rating: 3/5

[Critter]

1.02
The Harvest

Plot: After escaping from Luke, Buffy goes in search of Jesse, with a little help from Giles and Willow, from her mystery friend, Angel, and from Xander, who braves the dank, dark sewers with her. The Master plots the Harvest, a ritual designed to imbue him with strength enough to open the Hellmouth, but Buffy defeats his minions in a showdown at The Bronze.

My Thoughts: This episode was a great way to wrap up the beginning of this series. It showed the scoobies working together for the first time and it was interesting to see how they are trying to cope with everything, especially for Xander and Willow as they have just entered a new world. It was also the first time we see Buffy having issues with her home life, as it may only be the second episode but she is already having slayer-related trouble at school, and also with her Mum. This balance is something that has always added to the show for me, how she not only has to deal with trying to save the world every second week but also with normal teenage issues as well.

Rating: 3½/5 

[DJ Doena]

1.01
Welcome to the Hellmouth

My Thoughts: As far as pilots go this one has never been up there with my favourites.

The Buffy pilot has always been one of my favourites. May I ask which pilots are among your favourites?

[Critter]

1.01
Welcome to the Hellmouth

My Thoughts: As far as pilots go this one has never been up there with my favourites.

The Buffy pilot has always been one of my favourites. May I ask which pilots are among your favourites?

The pilot of Alias has always been one of my all time favourites. I think it was perfect, almost movie-length, thrilling and action packed. It almost set the bar too high for the first episode though as after that I think the first season had some weak moments. Firefly is another pilot I can think of which I just loved, it was long, another movie-length almost but I think it worked perfectly as a pilot. Most of the time though I am not the biggest fan of pilots, I find shows sometimes take time to really get settled in and pilots often feel weak to me, but those two, Firefly and Alias are the only exceptions I can think of right now.

[Tom]

Not many shows I have watched end a pilot episode on such a cliffhanger but I think it works well here.

Actually the first two episodes make up the pilot. And on first airing it was shown as one 90 minute pilot movie. At least here in Germany (I am a Buffy viewer since day 1 . At the time I didn't have yet "grey channels" to watch it earlier, so I have to say day 1 of the first German airing.)
The pilot didn't even have the famous opening credits.
Other series which come to mind which have a two-episode long pilot episode but are shown as two single episodes in further airings are Star Trek TNG and Star Trek DS9.

[MEJHarrison]

For those who don't know, here at work we watch a TV show during lunch every Tuesday & Thursday.  We're beginning Veronica Mars Season 3 tomorrow.  Anyway, whenever the time rolls around to pick a new show, Buffy is always mentioned.  I have a feeling it will be our next show.  I just dread 6 1/2 seasons watched 2 episodes per week.  That's going to take forever.  We've done long runs like that (the first 7 seasons of Smallville in fact).  But it's a big commitment at that pace.

[karmesinrot]

Mark I don't know that I would reccomend Buffy as a lunchtime viewing thing, especially seasons 5-7..Buffy can get verrrrrrry annoying with her "woe is me" attitude. It's still an amazing show but would maybe be better to watch a season at a time?

[MEJHarrison]

I agree that the later seasons can be quite annoying.  There are about 5 of us regulars and I think 3 of us (at least) have seen the series, so we know what we're getting in for with it.  I'm just saying it's been tossed around for years and has lost to Lost (1-3), Smallville, Supernatural, Veronica Mars, Arrested Development Season 1 (which was widely despised by this group ) and Firefly.  So I have a feeling it's about time for people to choose it.

Personally I think we should do seasons 1-3 and call it good.   I can't stand the Initiative from season 4 and as you mentioned, season 5-7 have their own issues.

[Critter]

Arrested Development Season 1 (which was widely despised by this group )

  People can despise Arrested Development? Crazy.

And Rhonda I heard you mention before that you find Buffy gets a bit annoying, I have been a die-hard Buffy fan for years and I never really get that from her. I think she deals with everything amazingly well considering how much she has to cope with. She is one of my all time favourite characers from anything. I know it sounds corny but I have always found her a fantastic role model, and I have been watching the show since I was 7 or 8 haha.

I do have other characters I find annoying though, mainly Dawn and Tara, they both drive me insane.

It might be a few days before I start up this marathon again since I just had my teeth out and don't feel like wacthing/writing reviews just yet.

[addicted2dvd]

Oh.. Arrested Development can be disliked that is for sure. All 3 seasons was given to me by a friend because he didn't care much for it. I watched part of the first disc. And while it was ok... I wasn't very impressed myself. Maybe something I would watch an episode here and there I figured... but to be honest I am yet to pick up the set again since. Been just sitting on my unwatched shelf for almost 3 years now. 

[Critter]

That's fair enough Pete, I never usually give up on shows quickly though, as I have already said in this thread I find a lot of shows take time to get on their feet. I myself didn't like Arrested Development when I watched the first 3 or 4 eps but I continued on with it and now it's one of my favourite shows. The same thing with 30 Rock, I think it started so slow that I almost gave up with it, now I have seen almost every episode 4 times.

[karmesinrot]

Rhonda?!  I quite like Arrested Development, I never thought I would, but it's offbeat and quirky in a good way. Really Sophie? I think after she's not too bad in seasons 1-4, but then she starts to become a mass of contradictions. She's all like "I'm the slayer, I have to do this alone" when her friends offer to help her willingly, then two minutes later she's all like "Waaaaah I'm so alone" etc so on and so forth. She just comes across as hugely spoilt to me. I know that according to Joss that inner conflict is intentional to some degree after she dies in season 5, but tbh I just find it so annoying! Also, I have beef with the increasing severity of near-apocalypses in the later seasons, I think they took a huge amount of fun out of the show and called it "maturing".
Phew, rant over! Even with all that Buffy is still one of my favourite programmes, and I think the writing and acting is consistently good all the way through. I can definately understand why she makes a good role models as she really is the opposite of stereotypical blond movie stars!

[Critter]

Haha sorry Rhona, I knew I had one letter too many in there. 

I know she can seem to contradict herself sometimes but that never really bothered me. I think I would like the show less if she dealt with everything perfectly. I mean for a young woman/teenager she has a lot to carry around, so much that in some episodes it seems almost overwhelming and I always used to think to myself that there is no way I could ever cope with her life. So seeing her break down in some episodes, contradict herself or even lose it brings a more human level to her character that I like. It gives her a grounding on a more realistic level as in the end she isn't perfect character, but far from it, she is a real character (with superpowers ).

I agree with you about the apocolypses though, I mean how many times exactly did that team stop the world ending haha.