(no subject)

[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

just passing by

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

I would suggest: Band Candy, Hush, Halloween, Beer Bad, Fear Itself, Once More With Feelings. Oh, boy, so hard to pick any one episode they are all so great for different reasons.

How old is the person? Older the person, I would suggest later the season.

Hey :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I love most of those choices! Halloween and Fear Itself especially are perfect one-off episodes to watch for the first time

I'm not sure about the musical though, I always feel like those one-off concept episodes are a bit too odd to introduce a newcomer to Buffy as they're not as representative of the average episode. Hmm now I'm curious about what people's first episode was, and whether anyone did watch something like Hush, The Body, or OMWF first and it made them want to see more :goes to edit that question in:

[sabotabby]

The first Buffy episode I ever saw was "Becoming Pt. 2" and my friends were all bawling their eyes out, and I was like, "What?" Somehow, I got into the show anyway. Part of it was that I actually liked the movie and was willing to give the series a go on that basis.

I'm one of those people who needs to watch TV in order, so I'd start with the first one. Otherwise, I might say something like "The Puppet Show," as "Hush" and "Once More With Feeling," brilliant as they are, are approximately a million times better after you're familiar with the characters.

[ladyoneill.livejournal.com]

I started watching from the start and when it originally aired (a very positive review in Tv Guide intrigued me though I watched anything with vampires back then--well, still do). Plus ASH. I was hooked from the start.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Heh yeah that would be an odd one to watch for the first time I'm guessing! My intro to Buffy was kind of a strange one. I watched the movie and thought it was fun, mostly the first half when she's finding out about the vampires and training, it was really the climatic dance that I found the cheesiest from what I remember, although it's been years since I watched now. So anyway I was curious about the show and started watching the pilot, then I was so unimpressed at Cordelia being snotty to Willow, this will sound weird now but I remember that I thought it seemed like something cheesy like Sabrina The Teenage Witch with steteotypical characters like bitchy mean girl and shy sidekick, so I switched off then. Later on I saw Inca Mummy Girl and didn't like that one much either, then finally I watched Halloween and I was hooked from then on and crazily obsessed with Spike and Drusilla at around that time, so clearly they were the hooks to get me into the show :D

And yeah I'm the same with preferring newbies to watch in order and as unspoiled as they can, so I always hesitate in recommending an episode that's too far along

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I used to be really into vampire literature back then and I even watched the Buffy movie, so it's weird that I didn't give the show more of a chance when it first aired, instead I started switching off around the time that Bufy first goes to school and meets Cordelia. What can I say, I was young and impatient *g*

[mcjulie.livejournal.com]

My first episode was the pilot, but not live -- a friend taped most of season 1 for me. (Yes, taped! It was the olden days!) I lived in Bellingham, where the broadcast stations we could pick up were from Canada and they weren't showing Buffy yet. They were showing it by season 2 and I watched all the other seasons live, although I missed the odd episode here and there.

I was definitely won over right away -- obviously I was excited by the premise, since I had a friend tape it. I was expecting, "like the movie, but better." Which it is! The movie!Buffy only has a clueless dude sidekick reminiscent of Xander. But in the show, Buffy has a best friend who is an adorable nerdy redhead girl! It only gets better when she decides to be a witch.

Hush would be my pick if you just want someone to like the show. I think it is really entertaining as a standalone, and does a good job of introducing major themes and characters, without being really story arc heavy.

If you want to go "earliest really great episode" I think you could go all the way back to Nightmares in season 1, or Prophecy Girl.

Even though I liked the show right away, Prophecy Girl was the first episode that really GOT to me.

Halloween would be a good choice. I might also pick Lie to Me, especially if I were showing it to a goth or a vampire fiction fan.

[mcjulie.livejournal.com]

I think Spike and Drusilla are great hooks for vampire fans. I couldn't get my husband interested until season 2. He still has a huge crush on Drusilla. And Buffy's mom.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I'm biased towards Halloween because it was the episode that really got me into the show :D It's funny actually because someone in the comments also mentioned Lie To Me and I was surprised at how I've never seen that episode suggested before. It's actually a really strong episode and an early example of the show willing to go darker with Ford's fate, so yeah I'm surprised that it's not an episode you see recommended much for a first episode

I always feel like Hush might be a bit too out there for a newbie, but maybe that's just me *g* Season 4 is probably the best episode for new viewers otherwise though as it has a ton of fantastic stand-alone episodes that almost seem designed to appeal to someone just dipping into the show for the first time

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I LOVED Drusilla back when I first started watching. Spike as well of course, but Drusilla was just so fascinating to me. I remember being on the edge of my seat during the opening teaser from Lie To Me, and with her torture of Angel during What's My Line as well, there was so much more about her past and how she got went insane that I wanted to know about.

Then I introduced my sister to the show and she found Dru incredibly annoying and grating :/

[infinitewhale.livejournal.com]

Seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy relied a bit much on excessively campy bad guys

As opposed to Hansel and Gretal, hellhounds, zombies and rage-filled demons. *eyeroll*

I watched from the beginning.

As for the hooker episode, depends on the person, but I think Lie to Me is a pretty good one to indicate what the show will turn into. It's MotW but not really.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Heh yeah I was a bit confused at that, since when don't most seasons of Buffy have monsters that you could call campy?!?

My way of getting into the show after Halloween was kind of weird lol. I went to WHSmith to buy Buffy novels of the episodes and thoroughly confused myself with an Angel book that chronicled three of his episodes up to Passion, I flipped to the end of the book and I was like wait Buffy's vampire boyfriend is just pretending to be good??? Then I brought the video's so I could catch up from the beginning properly *g*

[snickfic]

I accidentally started someone off with The Initiative once, and in retrospect it turned out to be a really good choice. It's got both action and humor, and it gets the major S4 action started without depending much at all on what came before.

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Oh that's interesting! It's not an episode I would have thought of as the Iniative arc is so underwhelming for me, but in itself that episode is pretty solid from what I remember, and good moments of humour with Spike, the Xander/Harmony fight, and Riley's clumsy attempts to bond with Buffy over a mutual love of cheese! I think it's mostly The I In Team and Goodbye Iowa that really fall flat for me with the Iniative, but otherwise things still finished on a strong note with Primevil

[ruuger]

I refused to watch Buffy for the longest time because the name and the promopictures of Buffy in sexy miniskirts made it seem like some kind of a campy soft porn series. I did watch the movie, though, because while I was too intellectual to watch a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I was not above watching a movie called Buffy the Vampire Slayer if it had Luke Perry in it :D

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

Heh yes, Luke Perry may have been a small part of the appeal for me too :P

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

My very first episode was Puppet Show, which I initially watched because I loved the movie, and after 15 minutes I hated the entire series and wouldn't return until my second very first episode, which was the live airing of Becoming, Part 2. Goofy Angel exit aside (I mean really he looks comical standing there hunched over and reaching out) I was obsessed. I watched every rerun of season 2 over the summer, back when they ran reruns during the summer, and then caught up reading about season one online until those episodes finally became available to watch on tape.

I was very disappointed when Spike didn't show up much in season 3 but very happy when Angel left for his own show making room for my favorite vamp to come back.

Honestly, the episode that got my husband hooked was The Zeppo. Before he saw that one he watched with me to humor me, that one made him a fan. I think that's a great entry point for guys because they can easily identify with Xander's alienation. For women, well let me restate for *romantic* women, I'd absolutely have to go with Something Blue.

Re: Hey :)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

That's true, there is some back story that would make both HUSH and OMWF a little tough to follow.

Dead Man's party might be nice, but you'd have to add an explaination of why Buffy left.

School Hard is good and I Only Have Eyes for you is sweet, but might be a little angsty...

Re: Hey :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I think School Hard would be a great intro to the series as it's shaking the series up a bit with Spike and Dru, but it's at the beginning of that villain arc so there's not too much continuity to keep track of

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I got my sister into the show with Surprise/Innocence for romance! But then it made a lifelong fan of Buffy/Angel out of her, while I'm more of a Spuffy fan, so that was a bit annoying :P

Re: Hey :)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

And I'm all about The Spike

Re: Hey :)

[frelling-tralk.livejournal.com]

I can relate to that *g*

[falafel-musings.livejournal.com]

I watched a few standalone Buffy episodes before I was convinced to watch the whole show. 'Hush' was my first and I think that's probably the best gateway episode. But 'Once More with Feeling', 'Restless' and 'The Body' are all powerful standalones too.

I'm in the minority but I didn't like the high school seasons as much as the laters ones. Of the early seasons, 'Earshot' was one of my favourites, along with 'Passion' and 'Doppelgangland'. My other favourite episodes are listed here, most of them later season episodes.

http://falafel-musings.livejournal.com/88732.html

Re: Hey :)

[spikesgirl58.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and since he grew up just down the road from us, it would just be a sin not to pay proper homage

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

Surprise/Innocence actually creeped me out because I couldn't let go of the age difference.

And then I went full Spuffy and never looked back.