Buffy The Vampire Slayer

[Mossopp]

Every day it’s becoming more and more obvious to me that I have very little in common with anyone here. So before I go into a huge spiel I’ll just simply ask if anyone else here is a fan of ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’ (the TV show, not the hideously awful movie version!)?
I suppose I could always join a ‘Buffy’ board in order to discuss the show but ‘Buffy’ boards these days are - as you can appreciate - pretty dead since the show ended. I’m also not much into praying for and writing petitions for spin-offs that are never realistically going to happen.
So anyone want to talk about BtVS? Any opinions at all, people? Anyone?
Hello……?

[Tom Violence]

I'm very much a fan, albeit I was a late convert. I only really started to watch the show during the fifth season, watching at first to get a weekly fix of Alyson Hannigan. Then I came to realise there was a lot more depth to the show and its writing than I had originally supposed. It was probably 'The Body' that really had me hooked.

I've now seen just about all of the episodes from the first six series, but have yet to see any of series seven, as I was in Russia when it aired. I should have this sorted out very soon - broadband be praised - but for now, please be kind enough to mark any spoilers, as I've managed to avoid hearing too much about how everything ends.

So, favourite episodes, anyone?

'Hush' is the one for me, I think. It's a remarkable piece of television. Plus the exposition section is brilliant.

[haku]

I am a fan. I've watched Buffy since the 1st season and i own all 7 seasons on DVD, as well as the 4 seasons of Angel (the 5th is not on DVD yet), but i prefer BtVS over Angel.

I'm working now so i can't say more but i'll be back, i just wanted to let you know you're not alone.

[Mossopp]

I was a late convert to the world of BtVS too. And, like Tom Violence, it was the need for a regular fix of Alyson Hannigan that drew me in.
Initially I had perceived ‘BtVS’ to be a regular teen drama/fantasy show, full of pretty faces and with no real depth to it. However, after watching and properly paying attention (paying attention is not something I usually do) to a couple of episodes, I realised how wrong I was.
I first started watching the show on BBC2 when they were regularly airing episodes from season 4 at around 6pm. Season 4 happens to be my least favourite series and this wasn’t helped by the fact that BBC2 seemed intent on cutting out even the slightest bit of gore or violence from every episode!
To date I’ve seen all of seasons 4, 5, 6, and all of season 3 from ‘Faith, Hope & Trick’ onwards. I’ve also seen most of season 7 but not all of it - Sky1 is running season 7 every day at 4pm so I’m still catching up.
My favourite seasons are 3 and 5. Three because it introduced the character of Faith and I’m completely in love with Eliza Dushku. And Five because I thought that Glory was a kick-ass Big Bad (not to mention pretty damn hott).
Willow is my favourite character, not just because she’s played by Alyson Hannigan, but because I feel she showed the most character development throughout the course of the show. She went from being the shy, unpopular geek, to really finding out who she was and where her place in the world was. I thought that she and Tara were the cutest couple on TV and I loved the way their relationship was played-out. I also really dug the way that Willow’s dependency on using magic in season 6 was portrayed like an addiction that was eating away at her and destroying her life and her relationships. I found that easy to relate to - a lot of people have found their lives being torn apart by an addiction they have no control over. To make that addiction something as fantastical as dark magic and yet make Willow’s struggle believable and something you could sympathise with was an amazing feat on the writer’s part.
My favourite episode is the season 4 finale, ‘Restless’. Buffy, Xander, Giles and Willow sit down to watch videos but they fall asleep and enter a bizarre dream world where they are pursued by a primitive force. The force turns out to be the spirit of the first Slayer who is confronting each of them with their deepest secrets and fears before trying to kill them. Despite the heavy subtext, it’s actually a really humorous episode. I love the bit where Giles is directing the play and giving orders to all the assembled actors while Harmony is making her best effort to try’n bite his neck. “Stop it - that’s very annoying!” The Cheese Man rocks too - “I don’t wear the cheese. The cheese wears me.”
Like I said previously, the season I enjoyed the least was season 4. I just thought it was boring. I also didn’t like the way Spike was suddenly all subservient just because some weirdos had put “a chip” in his head. I hated Riley Finn aswell - he was just an arsehole! Dawn bugged me too - she was the archetypal annoying little sister. Most of the time I just found myself wanting to kick her in the head. I must point out however that Michelle Trachtenburg (Dawn) is actually pretty hott now - go’n rent ‘Euro Trip’ and you’ll see what I mean!

As you can see, I could happily talk about ‘Buffy’ all day. It’s well after midnight now so I’m gonna toddle off to bed. I’ll be back tomorrow.
Thanks for replying, guys!