Diving into Buffy?

March 2, 2005 9:18 AM

I have a friend who has never ever watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is curious, after hearing about it from me and others, and wants to know what episode(s) to rent that would give her a good feel for it. If I had to recommend, I would start out with The Body in Season 5 and then a couple episodes after that, as a "representative slice" of the show. It has more gravitas than earlier seasons but not over-the-top intense like most of Season 6. Not that this is an earth-shaking topic but perhaps other fanboys and fangirls could weigh in.
posted by Danf to Society & Culture (43 answers total)

I leave it to others to know the name and season of this episode, but as someone who never really liked Buffy, I really enjoyed the Xander-centric "I'm the guy with the car." episode where he has his own adventure while the rest of the group are off fighting evil. I think it had zombies, too.
posted by robocop is bleeding at 9:22 AM on March 2, 2005

(You mean The Zeppo.)
posted by nobody at 9:29 AM on March 2, 2005

I really enjoyed the Xander-centric "I'm the guy with the car." episode

The Zeppo. One of my faves.

I don't think The Body would really have that much impact on someone who doesn't already know the characters, and it's missing the tension between camp and serious that really makes the show dynamic and different. I would recommend beginning at the beginning myself (I think the real gold is in Series 1-4), explaining to your friend that it's a show originally targeted at young adults that transcended its demographic more and more as the series went on.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:30 AM on March 2, 2005

The Body is very very good, but I think it'd be confusing for someone that doesn't know who any of the characters are, what's going on, etc.

I'd probably recommend something from the first couple of seasons, if only for the character development.
posted by bshort at 9:30 AM on March 2, 2005

What good is "The Body" if you don't know who the characters are? I think it's better to pick a season (maybe #3 with the principal and faith) and watch from the start.

(bshort just said the same thing.)
posted by smackfu at 9:32 AM on March 2, 2005

My mom got hooked on it after watching "Hush."
posted by transient at 9:33 AM on March 2, 2005

Response by poster: Ironically, the first episode I ever saw, on first run TV was Once More with Feeling. A totally strange experience, after having only heard very tangentially about any of the show.
posted by Danf at 9:34 AM on March 2, 2005

I hooked someone on the show by showing them the Buffy vs. Dracula episode (first one of season 5). The only potentially-spoily thing about seeing that episode first is the introduction of Dawn.

I myself was hooked on the show by a trusted friend who convinced me to start at the beginning, season one, episode one (and stick it out through 6 episodes or so till I really got into it).

I know of a few others who started with the musical and then went back to 1-1.
posted by xo at 9:34 AM on March 2, 2005

I'm not a fan myself, but perhaps that might be helpful as a 'layman's' perspective. My favourite is the one where they're all mute, and have to communicate by gestures and writing.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 9:40 AM on March 2, 2005

Best answer: In addition to the Body episode:
Earshot (3.18)
Hush (4.10), aka the Silent episode
Who are you (4.16)
Fool for love (5.7)
Once more with feelings (6.7) aka the Musical episode
Normal again (6.17)

A good resource here.

The best Buffy episodes are the special ones, that may not have a monster-of-week or fully belong to the season's story arc.
posted by elgilito at 9:42 AM on March 2, 2005

I think "The Body" is a bad choice not only for the reason mentioned above (unfamiliarity with the characters will really blunt the emotional impact) but also because 1) I don't think it actually is representative of the show, and 2) if it worked and your friend got hooked on Buffy, how fun would that be for her knowing about such an important event that happened in the middle of season 5?

I got my friends to start watching Buffy purely on the basis of episode 1 of season 2. which is a good place to start, I think, because you avoid the finding-its-way-ness of season 1, but still get the youthful exuberance of a show really stretching its wings.

Myself, I started with "Hush" and then immediately had to go back and start from the beginning. But if I could have chosen, I would've started with season 1, episode 1, because having watched a season 4 episode I already knew which cast members were going to stay on the show and which ones wouldn't... but I know my spoilerphobia is not common.
posted by evinrude at 9:48 AM on March 2, 2005

I introduced a newbie to it using Hush. Though it's sort of a weird episode to watch together with someone, since there's no talking. I think he liked it well enough, though we haven't watched the series together since.
posted by onlyconnect at 9:51 AM on March 2, 2005

Another vote for "Hush" here.
posted by matildaben at 9:53 AM on March 2, 2005

I have been watching them all on DVD. This is the only way to go - from episode 1.
posted by Quartermass at 9:53 AM on March 2, 2005

Best answer: I third "Hush," since it (a) shows how technically and artistically good the show can be, (b) has humour that doesn't necessarily require being familiar with the characters (and while strength of the characters is probably one of the best things about the show, the humour is one of the initial draws, and (c) was the episode my friends used to turn me on to the show, and hey, it worked!

I'm not sure that "Once More With Feeling" is the best introduction, since it's rather extraordinary.

The best thing, that worked with an ex-boyfriend of mine, was what xo experienced -- being obliged to sit through from the beginning. But oh, there are real clunkers in Season 1! (Season 3 was where my ex really started to get hooked)

on preview: what everyone else said. Best to start at the beginning, but if your friend isn't sure she'll like it, Hush is where to go.
posted by little_geekette at 9:56 AM on March 2, 2005

I got hooked after the last episode of Season 2, and then had to go back and watch all the reruns. I'd watched the premiere episode when it started but hated it because i wanted it to be like the movie! Oh the follies of youth. After seeing the last episode of season 2, I fell madly in love with it.

The episodes mentioned above are awesome. But like everyone else said, it really does pay to watch from the beginning. You really need to fall in love with the characters.
posted by bDiddy at 9:56 AM on March 2, 2005

Re: starting with any episode that isn't the first -

I dunno - I was very skeptical. After hearing so many people (whose opinions I respect) talk so highly of it, I finally relented and borrowed the first season box set. I was hooked by the end of the first dvd (3 or 4 episodes). So hooked that I ended up watching 6 episodes in a row the next day (home sick from work).

I love the show. The best part of it is watching the characters develop and riding the rollercoaster that is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Don't cheat this future fan out of anything by showing her an episode out of context.

On preview - yeah, what they said.
posted by MsVader at 9:59 AM on March 2, 2005

My first Buffy episode was "Lie to Me" from season 2. It got me hooked. It had Spike when he wasn't a wuss, some complexity (the kid wants to be a vampire so he won't die of cancer), and silly goth kids to make fun of.

The Halloween episode from the same season, where everybody turns into their costumes, is another good one, since it has little to do with the storyline and it's funny as hell.
posted by goatdog at 10:00 AM on March 2, 2005

Response by poster: While visiting my mother, I got her to watch Never Kill a Boy on the First Date and found it to be rather lacking in interest for me and my mom was not impressed and could not see what the big deal was about with this show.

So I think that when it comes up, I will recommend Hush to this friend, and also rent it myself because I have not seen it!
posted by Danf at 10:04 AM on March 2, 2005

Me, I would say dive in from the beginning, less confusion.

However - Hush, The Zeppo, Once More With Feeling, Smashed, Wrecked, and I Was Made To Love You (these are NOT in order, apologies...do not have list handy) are some of my favorites.
posted by angeline at 10:10 AM on March 2, 2005

Agree with above, especially about not starting out with The Body. I'd say start from the beginning (or season 2, maybe. Season one is kind ofa turn off), since I think it's important to watch the characters develop and keep up with the soap opera-y parts of buffy if they're really going to apprecate why people like it so much.

If you're set on just showing her a sampler, Hush is a must watch. Earshot is wonderful, as well. I think Living Conditions (s4: buffy vs roommate) has a lot of the really insightful quirkiness that makes buffy great. Tabula Rasa (s6) is great, but - again - not so good if you don't understand the characters. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Band Candy (same problem as Tabula Rasa for the newbies, though). Maybe "Gingerbread" (s3) if they can't get past the people of Sunnydale not ever picking up on the constant magical occurances.

Also, every single episode of season 3. Season three is the shit.
posted by absalom at 10:10 AM on March 2, 2005

"Hush" just to convince them that it is, indeed, awesome, and then begin from 1-1.

2-1 would also be a fine place to start, as much as I enjoy the first season. First season seems like just an awfully good show, but I didn't really see why there was a cult around it until season 2.

As for my own getting into the show, I saw the musical back when it was on air, and then this year a certain roommate started borrowing the DVDs.
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:14 AM on March 2, 2005

'Once More With Feeling' and 'Smashed' are my all time favourite episodes.

I'd start them off with 'Once More With Feeling', because in my skewed world view, it's hard to go wrong with musicals. (Of course, many would argue that it's hard to go right with musicals, but that's a different argument altogether).

'Smashed' is just great in the writing. If you get it on DVD, there's also a writer's commentary on that episode, which I found very interesting.
posted by spinifex23 at 10:20 AM on March 2, 2005

It's hard because to fully appreciate the episodes that are good, funny, standalone episodes, like The Zeppo or Something Blue, you have to know the characters beforehand.

I would show something from season two or three, which I think were the best seasons. The characters actually seemed to like each other back then, and the show didn't take itself so damn seriously all the time.
posted by amarynth at 10:30 AM on March 2, 2005

Oh, and there's a "How to Introduce Your Friends to Buffy" thread on the TWoP forums here. But it's also 16 pages long.
posted by amarynth at 10:38 AM on March 2, 2005

I have been thinking in the past few weeks that maybe I should take a look at "Buffy", seeing as how so many people worship, so I assure you all this thread will be very helpful to me.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:41 AM on March 2, 2005 [1 favorite]

Another vote for "Hush" and "The Zeppo". Also "Surprise" and "Innocence" from season 2 would be a good Buffy/Angel primer. "Fear, Itself", the halloween episode from season 4 was a good stand-alone episode.
posted by theFlyingSquirrel at 10:47 AM on March 2, 2005

I started in season 5 and went back to season 1 later. BtVS season 1 is really amazingly good for season 1 of anything (look at ST:TNG season 1 sometime, or better yet, don't!). Just about every episode looks initially like it has some standard plot, and then comes a sucker-punch plot twist. I'm in the "start at the beginning" camp.
posted by Aknaton at 10:53 AM on March 2, 2005

Hush for sure. Then go back.
I personally got hooked on the Willow/Tara thing because I knew she'd been with Oz and wanted to find out what the heck happened. So, any of the painful Oz/Willow or Oz/Willow/Tara Episodes.

Also, I think this is season one, toward the end when Oz introduces the phrase "monkey pants".
posted by FlamingBore at 11:23 AM on March 2, 2005

Best answer: I have an interesting perspective on this because I was a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for a few years back when Buffy was on the air, and each season, Fox would send out a tape of whichever episode they thought would be most likely to impress somebody who wasn't a regular watcher.

"Hush" was the first episode I saw of the show, and it absolutely blew me away. It made me want to watch the series--although when I next caught an episode, I didn't like it much, and so didn't got hooked.

"The Body" left me absolutely cold; I remember thinking, "If this is the best of the season, this can't have been a very good season." (Later, when I got the first season on DVD and watched the series from the beginning, I found "The Body" to be deeply powerful, which tends to support the thesis that it really only works if you know the characters.)

"Once More With Feeling" blew me away even more than "Hush". I was considering letting my Academy membership lapse, but "Once More With Feeling" was so incredibly brilliant that I renewed my membership in large part so that I could vote for it. (Not that it did any good; the rest of the Academy obviously didn't share my taste.)

All of this is a somewhat roundabout way of agreeing that "Hush" is a good introduction and "The Body" is not. "Once More With Feeling" is as good as "Hush" in terms of demonstrating the genius that is Buffy, but because it comes much later, it will spoil several surprises.

When I did get the first season on DVD, "Dummy" and "Nightmares" struck me as particularly strong episodes. They weren't as good as the best of the following seasons, but they're early enough that you can show them with only minor overall spoilers. And, really, the pilot is pretty good.
posted by yankeefog at 11:40 AM on March 2, 2005 [1 favorite]

Got to agree with the consensus here: Definitely not "The Body". "Hush" is the way to go.
posted by mr_roboto at 11:43 AM on March 2, 2005

Although "Hush" is a level of fantastico that cannot be ignored, I'd actually say "School Hard" (from season 2).

Sets up a kickass Big Bad, has a lot of the wacky high school hijinx that made the first three years wonderful, and has Joyce with a fireax — what's not to love?

I am horribly biased, though, because season 2 was when I got into Buffy, so I'm going with the episode that hooked me hard.
posted by Katemonkey at 11:51 AM on March 2, 2005

"School Hard" is the episode that hooked me on Buffy too, Katemonkey. I was just going to recommend adding that to the shortlist!
posted by bcwinters at 12:06 PM on March 2, 2005

I started in season 5 some episode where Glory was in rare form & went back to catchup on previous seasons while season 5 played out. I think writers and characters are all at the top of their game in season five. I also think the vampire willow episode, and the last jennie calendar episode are great beginners. Doing the Halloween episodes might be nice...
posted by putzface_dickman at 12:12 PM on March 2, 2005

Ted is my my favourite non-OMWF episode and is also very accessible. I'm surprised no one's mentioned Restless, because even if you don't know the characters it's fun to watch on a purely visual level.

(Also, show them "Superstar" if you want to screw with their heads)
posted by cillit bang at 12:27 PM on March 2, 2005

I don't remember which episode "School Hard" was, but I gotta go with early season 2. That is also when I got hooked on the series, after considerable skepticism.
posted by furiousthought at 12:28 PM on March 2, 2005

I'd stay away from "Zeppo" to start since it's such a boy episode.

The brilliant thing about Buffy in general is that each (early) episode takes something figurative and literalizes it: I finally had sex with my boyfriend and then he turned, like, evil. (or maybe "I really liked this guy but then we had sex and afterwards it was like he was a completely different person.")

This literalization of teen-metaphor thing is there from the beginning; that's where I'd start.
posted by nobody at 12:41 PM on March 2, 2005

I wouldn't start a newbie on any of my favorite episodes. (Well, not anymore. I did try that method actually and it did not work out...) The richness of the mythology and the characters' individual development are such an important part of what makes BTVS work. You can't savor that if you start anywhere other than the beginning.

The problem with personal favs like The Body, Hush, Something Blue, The Zeppo, Once More With Feeling, Dopplegangland, New Moon Rising, Prophecy Girl, Becoming pts 1 & 2, Selfless, Conversations With Dead People, Real Me, etc. is that from an outsider's perspective they just don't work nearly as well. Characters, story, language, and metaphor are what make the series work, but what stands out most to the newbie is low-budget effects/makeup, teenybopper fashion, and that airheaded title. To love Buffy, you need to be lured in by the series' soul.

Start 'em at the beginning. If, by the end of The Harvest they're not hooked, give 'em a sneak peak at the opening flashback sequence and pre-credit scene from The Gift. If that crescendo of images and Buffy's worldweary transformation doesn't pique their curiosity enough to keep watching, it ain't gonna happen.

Don't start with the The Body. Least. Representative. Episode. Ever. And much of its emotional impact is lost if you haven't spent those four and a half seasons invested in the characters, knowing the contrast between their everyday heroism versus the level of courage it takes to get through that day.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 4:06 PM on March 2, 2005

I'd do pretty much any episode from season 2, for a lot of the reasons already mentioned. Season 1 is almost better seen in retrospect, since once you know how great the show is going to be, you can forgive some of the awkwardness in the first season. Things do sort of straighten out after episode 4, and are pretty well rolling by the time you get to Angel (don't show that one, 'cause it does get kind of schmaltzy). I do think that the earlier episodes (especially in season 2) really are great for the relationships between the characters and just the general bad-assedness of the show before things started to get a little thin. I think Lie to Me was pretty great, and you really see how Buffy started to be a really, really great show. On the other hand, School Hard is really fun to watch, and since it's the episode that introduces Spike and Drusilla, it doesn't take very much back story.

I loved Hush, but like The Body, it's not entirely representative of the show. You're (obviously) missing the dialogue, which is very much part of the appeal of the show as a whole. Superstar and The Zeppo were also two of my favorite episodes, but they're essentially hour-long inside jokes, albeit extremely well executed ones. Along the same lines, The Wish was one of the greatest hours of television that I'd ever seen, but it's a whole lot better if you've been watching for a while. I think that I'd feel a little cheated if I watched any of these first, since I'd miss out on seeing them for the first time when I knew what was going on.

The Body might be my last choice, mostly for the reasons that nakedcodemonkey said. I think that I would actually think that it was oddly paced and too self-conscious if I saw it out of context.
posted by LittleMissCranky at 4:12 PM on March 2, 2005

I would have thought that the first episode would be a handy place to start, then move onto Hush and Earshot.
posted by krisjohn at 4:23 PM on March 2, 2005

If your friend is a philosophy (or lit) geek, one alternative is to not suggest an episode as the starting point. A ton of academic writing, conferences, etc. has been done on the series. Pick some article that you know appeals to a pet interest of hers, and pre-screen to make sure it doesn't have too many major spoilers or assumes the reader is already a complete fangirl/boy.

If the author can give her an appreciation for how the series will be cleverly riffing on some of her favorite themes, she'll be able to pick out a good entry point based on the episode/arc references in the article.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 6:15 PM on March 2, 2005

I would definitely go Season 3 or earlier, though Hush is one of the best episodes ever made (also the most frightening). I know I started following early in Season 2, with School Hard and Phases being episodes that got me more hooked - Phases is a good stand alone episode, with some very funny dialogue.
posted by jb at 8:49 PM on March 2, 2005

I'd start at the beginning, it gets good fast. The Body was brilliant and all, but I don't think it's representative of the bulk of episodes and also it made me so sad I quit watching Buffy.
posted by frenetic at 8:28 PM on March 3, 2005