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[frelling_tralk]

Gateway episodes: Buffy The Vampire Slayer


So if you’re a late-comer to Buffy, and want to know whether you’ll actually enjoy the show, which of these standalones should you give a shot? Start with “Earshot,” the 18th episode of Season 3. Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy relied a bit much on excessively campy bad guys—fish monsters, a ventriloquist’s dummy, a giant man-eating insect, a robot—who served as narrative crutches clumsily telegraphing real-world evil. The bad guys of Season 3, on the other hand, embody villains we all know: adolescent alienation, romantic jealousy, teenage insecurity, high school frenemies, parents who just don’t understand.

Do people consider Earshot a good choice, or do you prefer to go earlier than season 3? (That would be me! I hate introducing newbies to a really late episode in a show as it spoils a lot of what comes earlier, so I try to choose the earliest classic episode that I can). Which episode do you generally consider the perfect episode to introduce newbies to Buffy? Do you have more than one?

Heh someone recommended Ted in the comments, and someone else responded with "You do want people to watch the show, right"? :P


ETA What was your first episode of Buffy, and did it win you over right away and make you want to see more?

Comments

[stolenglimpse.livejournal.com]

There's a way to excuse season 1, actually. Since Buffy was a filler to something that got cancelled, they worked on the show because they had to fill in but you can definitely feel a vibe from the movie in there for some reason. They didn't know they'd be picked up for another season at that point. As for season 2, they had a chance to improve but they stayed in the same vibe. Again, as the Angelus arc approaches, you feel a change in the entire season. You can definitely see the difference, pinpoint exactly when it got better. Surprise was that and from that point on, it only got better... with a few weird fillers.

I keep going back to the Angelus arc but it's totally true. I kinda also feel like if it hadn't been for that arc, maybe the show would have felt the same as the first part and as season 1. I don't know. It's like everyone sat down and said "okay, we're going in deep now. Deeper than we ever did. Time to get serious about the whole thing. Mature every character, make the plot really good since a huge life changing thing is gonna happen. It's shaping the future of the show."

I hate to say this but it's almost like they got a wake up call or something. I hope I'm not the only one thinking this way.

I could so talk about Buffy to no end, too :)