![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightGacked from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
molly_may. Once upon a time, there was a show I loved called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Behind the cut, some of the reasons why I loved it. If you're looking for precise, short - or even definite answers (as opposed to woolly prevaricating) - here is probably not the place.
Day 1: Favourite Season
I'm really torn about this one, because I love season 7 so much, but I think I'm going to have to go with 5. For one thing, the plot of 7 is deeply flawed, for another, I think 5 is the season that has the best arcs for all the characters, from Buffy herself, to Spike, to Giles, to Xander, not forgetting Willow, Tara, Dawn and Anya along the way. Oh, and Joyce. Every character has their day - their moment in the sun - and the final episode is the whole season in microcosm. Pity the season Big Bad's so annoying, though the hobbits with leprosy do make up for it a bit.
Day 2: Favourite Episode
Very tough. There are episodes I love because they're so funny, or because they're so beautifully polished and clever (Hush springs to mind), or because my favourite character gets great stuff to do (Fool For Love and Intervention, I'm looking at you), but I'd have to say The Gift. As I said above, it's the perfect episode in many ways - very Jossian (back when that hadn't become tiresome), because there's such tragedy in it, but it's also very uplifting. And did I mention that every single character gets their moment? Wonderful.
Day 3: Favourite Song Used In An Episode
Hmm, torn between Transylvanian Concubine by Rasputina in Surprise in season 2 and We Are the Lucky Ones by Bif Naked in Harsh Light of Day in season 4. Such a pity Buffy's dancing with Parker to that second one. I'm also pretty fond of Pavlov's Bell by Aimee Mann in Sleeper in season 7.
Day 4: Favourite Female Character
It's Buffy - except in season 3, where I really don't like her that much. Never have managed to get over realising that we were supposed to feel sorry for Buffy, who had friends, family and a hunky not-boyfriend, over Faith, who had nothing.
Day 5: Least Favourite Female Character
The Guardian in End of Days in season 7. Worst dea ex machina ever - and not only worst, but most useless. Get back to that am dram production of Gotterdammerung for f**k's sake!
Day 6: Favourite Male Character
It's Spike. No, really. Honestly, I mean it. Stop looking so sceptical. I do like Giles rather a lot too, though.
Day 7: Least Favourite Male Character
I love Wesley in AtS (he's my favourite character on that show, in fact), but in BtVS season 3 he's a horrible American TV caricature Englishman. I haven't words for how much I loathe how he's written. For those of you who've read the Buffy comic, one of the reasons why the Faith arc -which most people seem to think is the best one - doesn't work for me, is because so much of it is based on a similar caricature - except even more innacurate - of Brits and Britland.
Day 8: Favourite Friendship
Erm..tough one. I'm not much of a Core Four fan. I'm going to choose Anya/Everyone Else, because I love the way poor Anya tries to fit in and be a good friend and girlfriend when she hasn't the least clue how to do it and no one likes her much. I adore her in the final three episodes of season 6.
Day 9: Favourite Romance
As we all know, romance doesn't have to be romantic, so I, too, am going to go with Spike/Buffy, though I liked most of the 'ships in the show in their time. Special mention for Xander/Anya, and for Spike/Drusilla, because they're so wonderfully creepy.
Day 10: Least Favourite Season
I'm going to have to go with 3. It's odd. Season 3 contains some of the best standalone eps in the show. I also love the Mayor and Faith. However, the season arc just doesn't do it for me. Not sure why not. I think it may have something to do with my aforementioned problems with the character of Buffy this season. I also find the Buffy/Angel 'ship a drag after Beauty and the Beasts except when it's being parodied as in The Zeppo, and when it ends in The Prom, which is so beautifully done. It's plain as plain that Angel is basically stuck in a holding pattern until he can go off to his own show.
Day 11: Least Favourite Romance
I hesitate to call it a romance, but Buffy/Parker. What an arsehole. I'm not too keen on Willow/Kennedy either, not so much because I don't like Kennedy as a concept (as it were). I think she's good for Willow. But Iyari Limon doesn't sell the 'ship to me, I'm afraid.
Day 12: Least Favourite Episode
Depends in what sense. I dislike Bad Eggs because I think it's just plain bad and even boring, and I dislike As You Were because I think the thinking behind it is so horribly flawed - not Buffy breaking up with Spike, but Riley sweeping in to show Buffy how crap her life is, and worst of all Buffy apologising to him for what happened in season 5. Yuck! Yeah, I'd probably better go with As You Were - though Bad Eggs is really pants.
Day 13: Favourite Potential Slayer
Amanda. Not for nothing did Joss (whose foibles were beginning to grate by that stage) decide to kill her in Chosen. She's far and away the most likeable of the Potentials. I kind of like Rona too, because of the sarcasm, but I don't think I can ever quite forgive her the 'ding-dong the witch is dead' remark from Empty Places.
Day 14: Favourite Female Villain
Drusilla by a very, very long way. Wonderful character.
Day 15: Favourite Male Villain
Angelus, I guess. Back in season 2, Joss really knew how to hit where it hurts and have you begging for more. And none of us could second-guess him.
Day 16: Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates
I don't know if everyone else hates it, but I really enjoyed I Robot, You Jane when I did my season 1 rewatch in 2009. I thought it was very cleverly written.
Day 17: Character You Relate To The Most
Joyce Summers. My daughters were a few years younger than season 1 Buffy when we first started watching the show together. It has to be Joyce. In fact, I said so to Kristine Sutherland at one of those Collectormania events a few years back. I think I rather alarmed her.
Day 18: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Well, IMO, Spike can never have enough screen time. But, being reasonable, Mr Platt, the school counsellor in Beauty and the Beasts in season 3. I thought he could have made a great recurring character. Also Mr Trick and pretty much any POC character, because yes, Joss, you are crap at including characters that don't come from your own social/ethnic milieu. I would also have loved, loved, loved more Ethan Rayne, and killing Ethan so cavalierly early in the Buffy comic is one of the things I can least forgive Joss for ever. So there. More Darla (real Darla, that is, not season 1 Darla) would have been nice too.
Day 19: Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Umm...Rona? Except for that one bitchy comment.
Day 20: Best Spike-centric Episode
I should say Fool For Love, I know I should. It's a brilliant episode - almost perfect. However, I have a big Thing for Souled Season 7 Spike so I have to go with Sleeper. That last scene in the basement just kills me. Honourable mention to Intervention.
Day 21: Best Willow-centric Episode
More season 7 love. I'm going to go with Same Time, Same Place, even though the Gnarl scene is the only scene in the whole of BtVS that I can't watch because it's so gross. But I love the final scene where Buffy gives Willow her strength.
Day 22: Best Xander-centric Episode
I adore The Zeppo. I think it's a little masterpiece. Honourable mention to The Replacement. If someone who had never watched BtVS asked me to recommend an episode to watch, I would probably go with one of these.
Day 23: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Spike and Angel, Spike and Giles, Giles and Ethan. Sorry. That's four characters, but again I can't pick just one couple.
Day 24: Favourite Example of 90s Special Effects
How about Buffy's mini-skirts? Okay, seriously, Praying Mantis Lady from Teacher's Pet is pretty terrible, but any time anyone's shown using a computer I fall about laughing. How did we ever manage with those horrid clunky-looking monitors?
Day 25: Favourite Buffyverse Saying
"Paralysed with not caring." I can't remember who said it, though.
Day 26: Favourite Scooby Moment
It has to be that moment in The Gift where the gang are tooling up to go and fight Glory, Spike and Giles have their Henry V moment, and then later Spike offers Willow his hipflask. The gang and the rocket launcher in Innocence is pretty good too.
Day 27: Cutest Moment
You know, I don't really do cute, but Buffy catching up with Giles at the beginning of Grave and the two of them bursting out laughing when Buffy tells Giles what has been going on is sort of cute.
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Principal Snyder. He's utterly horrid, but he's also funny. "Kids today need discipline. That's an unpopular word these days, 'discipline'. I know Principal Flutie would have said, 'Kids need understanding. Kids are human beings.' That's the kind of woolly-headed, liberal thinking that leads to being eaten." How can you not love to hate someone who says stuff like that?
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Everyone Else Loves
I don't know if people love it, but I think The Body is very overrated. There are some very good scenes, granted - the ones that move me most are the beginning one when Buffy is alone with Joyce's body, and the one where we see Buffy telling Dawn that Joyce is dead through the eyes of Dawn's class mates - but I get really irritated when people pick this episode as best episode ever, and get pissy about it not winning an Emmy, simply because it's so untypical of the show as a whole. I think it would have been wrong if it had won an Emmy, because of it being so untypical. It always comes across to me as Joss saying, "Look, see! I can, so, do proper writing and not just that silly fantasy stuff."
I also hate Seeing Red, even though it's a good episode, but I'm not opening that can of worms here.
Day 30: What Do You Think Made Buffy So Great
I think Joss did what he set out to do - create a seminal character who would have a huge influence (mostly for the better) on pop culture in general. Along the way, he also created a few other seminal characters, notably Angel and Spike. Oh, and the writing/acting were pretty good.
Edited: because it bugged the hell out of me seeing 'favourite' spelt wrong.
molly_may. Once upon a time, there was a show I loved called Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Behind the cut, some of the reasons why I loved it. If you're looking for precise, short - or even definite answers (as opposed to woolly prevaricating) - here is probably not the place.Day 1: Favourite Season
I'm really torn about this one, because I love season 7 so much, but I think I'm going to have to go with 5. For one thing, the plot of 7 is deeply flawed, for another, I think 5 is the season that has the best arcs for all the characters, from Buffy herself, to Spike, to Giles, to Xander, not forgetting Willow, Tara, Dawn and Anya along the way. Oh, and Joyce. Every character has their day - their moment in the sun - and the final episode is the whole season in microcosm. Pity the season Big Bad's so annoying, though the hobbits with leprosy do make up for it a bit.
Day 2: Favourite Episode
Very tough. There are episodes I love because they're so funny, or because they're so beautifully polished and clever (Hush springs to mind), or because my favourite character gets great stuff to do (Fool For Love and Intervention, I'm looking at you), but I'd have to say The Gift. As I said above, it's the perfect episode in many ways - very Jossian (back when that hadn't become tiresome), because there's such tragedy in it, but it's also very uplifting. And did I mention that every single character gets their moment? Wonderful.
Day 3: Favourite Song Used In An Episode
Hmm, torn between Transylvanian Concubine by Rasputina in Surprise in season 2 and We Are the Lucky Ones by Bif Naked in Harsh Light of Day in season 4. Such a pity Buffy's dancing with Parker to that second one. I'm also pretty fond of Pavlov's Bell by Aimee Mann in Sleeper in season 7.
Day 4: Favourite Female Character
It's Buffy - except in season 3, where I really don't like her that much. Never have managed to get over realising that we were supposed to feel sorry for Buffy, who had friends, family and a hunky not-boyfriend, over Faith, who had nothing.
Day 5: Least Favourite Female Character
The Guardian in End of Days in season 7. Worst dea ex machina ever - and not only worst, but most useless. Get back to that am dram production of Gotterdammerung for f**k's sake!
Day 6: Favourite Male Character
It's Spike. No, really. Honestly, I mean it. Stop looking so sceptical. I do like Giles rather a lot too, though.
Day 7: Least Favourite Male Character
I love Wesley in AtS (he's my favourite character on that show, in fact), but in BtVS season 3 he's a horrible American TV caricature Englishman. I haven't words for how much I loathe how he's written. For those of you who've read the Buffy comic, one of the reasons why the Faith arc -which most people seem to think is the best one - doesn't work for me, is because so much of it is based on a similar caricature - except even more innacurate - of Brits and Britland.
Day 8: Favourite Friendship
Erm..tough one. I'm not much of a Core Four fan. I'm going to choose Anya/Everyone Else, because I love the way poor Anya tries to fit in and be a good friend and girlfriend when she hasn't the least clue how to do it and no one likes her much. I adore her in the final three episodes of season 6.
Day 9: Favourite Romance
As we all know, romance doesn't have to be romantic, so I, too, am going to go with Spike/Buffy, though I liked most of the 'ships in the show in their time. Special mention for Xander/Anya, and for Spike/Drusilla, because they're so wonderfully creepy.
Day 10: Least Favourite Season
I'm going to have to go with 3. It's odd. Season 3 contains some of the best standalone eps in the show. I also love the Mayor and Faith. However, the season arc just doesn't do it for me. Not sure why not. I think it may have something to do with my aforementioned problems with the character of Buffy this season. I also find the Buffy/Angel 'ship a drag after Beauty and the Beasts except when it's being parodied as in The Zeppo, and when it ends in The Prom, which is so beautifully done. It's plain as plain that Angel is basically stuck in a holding pattern until he can go off to his own show.
Day 11: Least Favourite Romance
I hesitate to call it a romance, but Buffy/Parker. What an arsehole. I'm not too keen on Willow/Kennedy either, not so much because I don't like Kennedy as a concept (as it were). I think she's good for Willow. But Iyari Limon doesn't sell the 'ship to me, I'm afraid.
Day 12: Least Favourite Episode
Depends in what sense. I dislike Bad Eggs because I think it's just plain bad and even boring, and I dislike As You Were because I think the thinking behind it is so horribly flawed - not Buffy breaking up with Spike, but Riley sweeping in to show Buffy how crap her life is, and worst of all Buffy apologising to him for what happened in season 5. Yuck! Yeah, I'd probably better go with As You Were - though Bad Eggs is really pants.
Day 13: Favourite Potential Slayer
Amanda. Not for nothing did Joss (whose foibles were beginning to grate by that stage) decide to kill her in Chosen. She's far and away the most likeable of the Potentials. I kind of like Rona too, because of the sarcasm, but I don't think I can ever quite forgive her the 'ding-dong the witch is dead' remark from Empty Places.
Day 14: Favourite Female Villain
Drusilla by a very, very long way. Wonderful character.
Day 15: Favourite Male Villain
Angelus, I guess. Back in season 2, Joss really knew how to hit where it hurts and have you begging for more. And none of us could second-guess him.
Day 16: Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates
I don't know if everyone else hates it, but I really enjoyed I Robot, You Jane when I did my season 1 rewatch in 2009. I thought it was very cleverly written.
Day 17: Character You Relate To The Most
Joyce Summers. My daughters were a few years younger than season 1 Buffy when we first started watching the show together. It has to be Joyce. In fact, I said so to Kristine Sutherland at one of those Collectormania events a few years back. I think I rather alarmed her.
Day 18: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Well, IMO, Spike can never have enough screen time. But, being reasonable, Mr Platt, the school counsellor in Beauty and the Beasts in season 3. I thought he could have made a great recurring character. Also Mr Trick and pretty much any POC character, because yes, Joss, you are crap at including characters that don't come from your own social/ethnic milieu. I would also have loved, loved, loved more Ethan Rayne, and killing Ethan so cavalierly early in the Buffy comic is one of the things I can least forgive Joss for ever. So there. More Darla (real Darla, that is, not season 1 Darla) would have been nice too.
Day 19: Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Umm...Rona? Except for that one bitchy comment.
Day 20: Best Spike-centric Episode
I should say Fool For Love, I know I should. It's a brilliant episode - almost perfect. However, I have a big Thing for Souled Season 7 Spike so I have to go with Sleeper. That last scene in the basement just kills me. Honourable mention to Intervention.
Day 21: Best Willow-centric Episode
More season 7 love. I'm going to go with Same Time, Same Place, even though the Gnarl scene is the only scene in the whole of BtVS that I can't watch because it's so gross. But I love the final scene where Buffy gives Willow her strength.
Day 22: Best Xander-centric Episode
I adore The Zeppo. I think it's a little masterpiece. Honourable mention to The Replacement. If someone who had never watched BtVS asked me to recommend an episode to watch, I would probably go with one of these.
Day 23: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Spike and Angel, Spike and Giles, Giles and Ethan. Sorry. That's four characters, but again I can't pick just one couple.
Day 24: Favourite Example of 90s Special Effects
How about Buffy's mini-skirts? Okay, seriously, Praying Mantis Lady from Teacher's Pet is pretty terrible, but any time anyone's shown using a computer I fall about laughing. How did we ever manage with those horrid clunky-looking monitors?
Day 25: Favourite Buffyverse Saying
"Paralysed with not caring." I can't remember who said it, though.
Day 26: Favourite Scooby Moment
It has to be that moment in The Gift where the gang are tooling up to go and fight Glory, Spike and Giles have their Henry V moment, and then later Spike offers Willow his hipflask. The gang and the rocket launcher in Innocence is pretty good too.
Day 27: Cutest Moment
You know, I don't really do cute, but Buffy catching up with Giles at the beginning of Grave and the two of them bursting out laughing when Buffy tells Giles what has been going on is sort of cute.
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Principal Snyder. He's utterly horrid, but he's also funny. "Kids today need discipline. That's an unpopular word these days, 'discipline'. I know Principal Flutie would have said, 'Kids need understanding. Kids are human beings.' That's the kind of woolly-headed, liberal thinking that leads to being eaten." How can you not love to hate someone who says stuff like that?
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Everyone Else Loves
I don't know if people love it, but I think The Body is very overrated. There are some very good scenes, granted - the ones that move me most are the beginning one when Buffy is alone with Joyce's body, and the one where we see Buffy telling Dawn that Joyce is dead through the eyes of Dawn's class mates - but I get really irritated when people pick this episode as best episode ever, and get pissy about it not winning an Emmy, simply because it's so untypical of the show as a whole. I think it would have been wrong if it had won an Emmy, because of it being so untypical. It always comes across to me as Joss saying, "Look, see! I can, so, do proper writing and not just that silly fantasy stuff."
I also hate Seeing Red, even though it's a good episode, but I'm not opening that can of worms here.
Day 30: What Do You Think Made Buffy So Great
I think Joss did what he set out to do - create a seminal character who would have a huge influence (mostly for the better) on pop culture in general. Along the way, he also created a few other seminal characters, notably Angel and Spike. Oh, and the writing/acting were pretty good.
Edited: because it bugged the hell out of me seeing 'favourite' spelt wrong.