Buffy and Angel

October 23, 2004 11:17 PM

I've recently become addicted to Buffy. But now I am up to season four and have a dilemma. I am planning on going back and forth between Buffy and Angel, but I don't know which to watch first, since they appear to have aired on the same night. I know there are some crossover episodes, so I don't want to mess that up. Could somebody tell me which order to watch in?

P.S. I tried a little googling, but I got scared when the first link I selected had some damn spoilers.

posted by shotsy to media & arts (8 comments total)

You can use the spoiler-free episode lists for Buffy and Angel to plan your viewing. Buffy aired at 8 pm, Angel at 9 pm, so watch the Buffy episode before the Angel one that has the same airdate.
posted by jjg at 11:36 PM on October 23, 2004

awesome, thanks!
posted by shotsy at 12:44 AM on October 24, 2004

I'd say it's not worthwhile going through the series with them interspersed. You can get away with watching Buffy first, and then switching over to Angel, or even vice versa. You're only going to run into trouble during the first season of Angel, and even then only for a few episodes.

Angel's first episode picks up 3 months after the end of Buffy Season 3.

The third episode of Buffy season 4 leads into the third episode of Angel season 1.


The 7th episode, "Bachelor Party," leads into the Buffy season 4 episode "Pangs," and then comes back to Angel's 8th episode, "I Will Remember You."

The 16th episode of Buffy season 4, "Who Are You?" leads into the 18th episode of Angel, "Five by Five." Then, Angel's 19th episode, "Sanctuary," comes before the 17th episode of Buffy season 4. Got that?;>

After that, you can pretty much coast. Be sure to end season 5 of Buffy before you end season 2 of Angel, or you'll be met with an unwelcome surprise at the Hyperion Hotel. For a similar reason, watch the first two or three episodes of Buffy season 6 before the first few episodes of Angel season 3.

Finally, there's some crossover near the end of Angel season 4. This occurs after Buffy 7x17 and before 7x18. Then, after Angel's 4th season is over, there's some crossover for the final episode of Buffy's final, 7th season.

And be sure to have finished Buffy before you start the wonder than is Angel season 5.

IMO, going through, alternating episode by episode is too much damned work. You also lose track of the narratives. For quite extended stretches of time, there is no interaction between the two series, not even at a thematic level. I didn't watch the series in alternation like that, and I don't think I missed much. In exchange, I got to enjoy the flavor of each show by itself, and wasn't constantly comparing how each show was doing or wasting time wondering if there was some over-arching evil plot going on in both series (which I gather was a major pasttime when Buffy s.7 and Angel s.4 were on air). Some day, when hard drive prices are cheaper and processors are faster, I plan to rip all three of Whedon's shows to divx and organize them chronologically. That way, I could watch "Spin the Bottle" followed by "Conversations with Dead People" followed by "Ariel." Hmm. That sounds pretty good. Maybe I'll think differently after seeing them that way. But manually switching disks every 40 minutes? Blah.
posted by jbrjake at 7:23 AM on October 24, 2004 [2 favorites has favorites]

I was a late-comer to Buffy, and the summer after it ended watched all the Buffy and Angel and then watched Angel 5 as it aired. We thought about watching the crossover episodes in the right sucession, but we didn't, just all the Buffy then the Angels. It worked for us and was much less work than trying to get chronology right.
posted by spartacusroosevelt at 9:22 AM on October 24, 2004

I watched all of Buffy, then all of Angel. You miss a little of the cross-over cuteness, but it's no big deal since they really are separate shows for the most part.
posted by smackfu at 9:33 AM on October 24, 2004

The only real crossover you see after season 2 of Angel is the use of the same flashback scenes. In some cases, the flashback on Angel is more detailed, in others it's more detailed on Buffy. Actually, it's kind of interesting, because they manage to get a lot of mileage out of one flashback. You get Spike's perspective or Angel's perspective, yet it's all in one scene that's split between the two shows. It's well done.
posted by xyzzy at 9:55 AM on October 24, 2004

Yeah, xyzzy's talking about the 7th episode of Buffy Season 5 "Fool for Love" that leads into the 7th episode of Angel Season 2 "Darla." Admittedly, these episodes do only share similar flashback scenes, but they also share similar themes of "sex and death and love and pain" and how it's all the same thing to vampires. For my money, this was one of the best Buffy/Angel crossovers and one that I would strongly encourage lining up your viewing for. Those of us who are lovingly devoted to Spike (or at least were before he took over the show) found the above perspective contrasts particularly illustrative and entertaining and heartbreaking.
posted by pokeydonut at 7:53 AM on October 25, 2004

Wow! Thanks a lot. I think you are probably right, jbrjake, that switching over between every episode might be a bit much, so thanks for the guide to where it is required. I don't think that I'm going to watch Angel beyond season one inititally as the friend I'm borrowing the discs from doesn't have them and I'm not sure how into Angel I will be anyway. But you never know... I'll miss Cordelia...

Thanks all for your thoughts.
posted by shotsy at 7:54 PM on October 25, 2004