The Mega-Super-Ultra Buffy/Angel Episode Guide

[Ortega]

I mentioned it before in the Dollhouse thread that i might compile an episode guide to the Buffy/Angel TV Shows.  I attempted this before for the show Enterprise, but feeling were that not a lot of people were into that show as much, and other things stopped me from continuing(i.e. not having internet access).  Plus, i get the feeling that the forum abounds with Whedon-ites. 

Personal Revelation time:  I didn't start out a Buffy fan.  I had a passing familiarity with the show when it first aired.  I would watch it if nothing else was on when i was in school.  Basically it was relegated to background noise while i completed homework.  I think i stopped watching it in any form after midway through season two, and even then i wasn't a devoted watcher ( no pun, intended).  So ten years pass, and i function carefree in my Buffy Ignorance, until this forum decides to have a Buffy-themed Mafia Game.  This just so happens to coincide with my brother giving me a bunch of Buffy Comics he was mistakenly double-shipped.  Well, after reading about four pages in, it was evident that i didn't know what the bloodly hell was going on, and i guess i wanted to know what the hell everybody was talking about during the Mafia game, so i took my happy-ass to Hulu.com, and started watching, from the beginning, Season 1 of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.  What initially started at me shaking my head at the screen, eventually evolved into me undergoing marathon session viewings of episodes.  After the awesome Season 2 finale, it was safe to say i was hooked, and owing to the fact that Hulu only has Seasons 1 & 2 available,  i proceeded to procure episode in any method imaginable; torrents, Netflix, Blockbuster, you name it.  What started out as a experiment, became a full-blown obession. And i blame you, RIffTrax Forum, for it.  From January 5th, all the way to February 25th, i watched almost nothing but Buffy, and when i was done with that, i moved onto Angel, and then straight into the comics.  Its been quite a ride, and one of the hardest things is that none of my friends joined me in this adventure, so i had no one to talk to about how much Becoming 1 & 2 kicked ass, no one to talk about how awesome The Gift & Dopplegandland were. No one to talk about how hot and simultanously funny Anya was.  It was Torture.  So that what brings us to this.  Possibly a bit of a selfish way to be to decompress, but there you go.  For if one cannot waste his and other people's time on the internet, then what was the internet created for anyway.

Here's the gist.  I watch a handful of episodes, post a brief summary of the episode, and then post my opinion of said episodes.  Feel free to comment on personal opinions of episodes, characters you hate, guest stars that piss you off(goddamn anointed one), episodes you hate, anything goes!  I start with Buffy 101, Welcome to the Hellmouth, continue on through Season 7, then start from Angel 101, on through to Not Fade Away.  I know that Angel started concurrently from Buffy 4, but for the sake of linear progression, i'm separating the two shows. 

I won't introduce characters like i did before, because after all, if you're somewhat interested, you know all the characters anyway.  I won't start immediately, but in the next couple of days, i will start posting episode reviews. 

[Tripe]

Excellent, I'll look forward to seeing your reviews

[TeamRAD]

So ten years pass, and i function carefree in my Buffy Ignorance, until this forum decides to have a Buffy-themed Mafia Game. 

I ruined jewcarp's boners and now this!  I apologize, Ortega. 

no one to talk about how awesome The Gift & Dopplegandland were.

"Well, look at me. I'm all fuzzy."

Doppelgängland is a top-3 episode of mine. I'm looking forward to gabbing about it.

[Courtney]

This makes me happier than you know.  YAY!

Is it time for season 7  yet?  I want to talk about Conversations with Dead People.  NOW.

[pezdrake]

This makes me happier than you know.  YAY!

Is it time for season 7  yet?  I want to talk about Conversations with Dead People.  NOW.

I'll talk to you about it now.  I wondered why The First didn't simply replicate Tara and took the form of the chick that passed away from earlier in the season.  (other than AMber B not being able to show up).

[TeamRAD]

This makes me happier than you know.  YAY!

Is it time for season 7  yet?  I want to talk about Conversations with Dead People.  NOW.

I wondered why The First didn't simply replicate Tara and took the form of the chick that passed away from earlier in the season. 

She originally was going to be in it, but there was failure in Amber's contract negotiations w/ Mutant Enemy which prevented it from transpiring.


Edit: Whoops, bypassed the parenthesis in pez's post!

[Courtney]

I get why AB didn't do it (other than being unable).  It would have been an affont to Tara for her last appearance to have been as an evil sprectre (but it still wouldn't have been as bad as Kennedy.  Harumph.)

[TeamRAD]

In Kennedy's defense, she's become pretty cool. She was excellent in Swell, and her dynamic w/ Satsu was a lot of fun. The "Season Eight" think-tank are doing what I thought was unfathomable, making Kennedy...likable.

Regarding Season Seven, the only episode I truly enjoyed was the Anya-centric, Selfless. That episode was crushing. After that, it all went downhill. 

[Tripe]

In Kennedy's defense, she's become pretty cool. She was excellent in Swell, and her dynamic w/ Satsu was a lot of fun. The "Season Eight" think-tank are doing what I thought was unfathomable, making Kennedy...likable.

Personally I always rather liked Kennedy

[Ortega]

In Kennedy's defense, she's become pretty cool. She was excellent in Swell, and her dynamic w/ Satsu was a lot of fun. The "Season Eight" think-tank are doing what I thought was unfathomable, making Kennedy...likable.

Personally I always rather liked Kennedy

I'm indifferent towards Kennedy, didn't love or hate her, she was just there....

[Ortega]

  I'm stealing episode synopses from various online sources.

Episode 101- Welcome to the Hellmouth

    The series premiere begins at Sunnydale High School, where a boy breaks into the school during the night with a seemingly reluctant girl, promising her mischief and therefore fun. Nervous and on edge, the girl thinks she heard something and fears something is there. The boy calls out but gets no response, during which the girl's face morphs into that of a vampire, and bites the boy, revealing to the viewer that she was the only danger all along. The girl, we will later find out, is Darla.

Buffy has a nightmare the morning of her first day at school. Her mother drives her to the school and encourages her to think positive. Inside the building, Principal Flutie tells her she will start with a clean slate. He reconsiders that after realizing that Buffy burned down her previous school's gym because "it was full of vampi—...asbestos."

Buffy exits the office and bumps into another student, spilling the contents of her handbag over the floor. Xander sees that and helps Buffy, introducing himself. She leaves without her stake, which Xander pockets because he called out to her, but she had already walked away. In history class, Buffy is helped by Cordelia, who afterwards tests her "coolness factor," skipping the written as Buffy had just moved to Sunnydale, California from Los Angeles. To Buffy's horror, Cordelia humiliates an awkward Willow at the water fountain. Inside the library, Mr. Giles places a book titled Vampyr in front of Buffy after realizing who she is. A stunned Buffy makes a hasty exit.

Buffy, Willow, Jesse McNally and Xander meet during a break, and Xander returns the stake. Buffy claims it is standard self-defense in Los Angeles. Cordelia appears and tells Buffy that gym is cancelled due to the "extreme dead guy" in Aura's locker. Buffy asks whether there were marks on the body, freaking out Cordelia. Buffy forces her way into the locker room, examines the body, and finds the characteristic puncture wounds of a vampire on the neck.

Buffy returns to the library and confronts Giles, who informs her that he is her Watcher. Buffy refuses to accept her calling as a Slayer, since it had gotten her kicked out of her previous school and robbed her of a social life. After they leave the library, Xander emerges from behind the shelves, having overheard the strange conversation.

That night, en route to her first visit to The Bronze, the cool hangout in Sunnydale, Buffy meets a mysterious, handsome stranger, who warns her that she is living on a Hellmouth that is about to open, and that "the Harvest" is coming. He also gives her a large silver cross. It isn't revealed until the next episode that the stranger's name is Angel.

In The Bronze, Buffy meets Willow and encourages her to seize the moment: "Because tomorrow you might be dead." She finds Giles and tells him about Angel. Giles tells her to learn to hone her skills to sense vampires anywhere. Buffy uses her fashion sense to pick out a vampire in the club and is alarmed to see Willow leave with him. She loses them and is surprised by Cordelia, nearly staking her. Cordelia immediately calls her friends to tell them about it. While Buffy looks for Willow, Jesse chats up Darla at The Bronze. Buffy is stopped by Xander, whom she convinces to help search for Willow.

Meanwhile, under the streets of Sunnydale, The Master is woken by lesser vampires from a long sleep to prepare for the Harvest. He sends Luke to fetch young blood.

Willow's new acquaintance takes her to a crypt in a cemetery, where they are joined by Darla and Jesse, whom she has bitten. Buffy and Xander arrive. Buffy kills Willow's vampire. Xander and Willow help Jesse, who has been weakened, flee. Luke takes Darla's place in the fight so she can help catch the kids. Luke throws Buffy in a stone coffin and is about to move in for the kill.

"Tune in next week!...Same Slayer time, same Slayer channel!!

My Review:

   Interesting.  At first, i was kinda turned off at the black & white portrayal of Vampires as a form of demonic possession.  But entertaiing nonetheless.  It was a bit jarring to go into the way back machine to 1996. One of the downsides in making everything in your show extremely modern, as it just dates the hell out of it.   I'm a big Dexter fan, and it was just weird seeing Julie Benz as a kill-crazy vampire right off the bat.  We get our first introductions of each characters, and this early on, you see they were feeling their way around them.  And seeing a young 27 year old David Boreanaz, i have the instincual feeling to punch him in the face, and i don't know why.  Right away, I enjoyed the Giles character. 

Overall, a decent series opener, but at this point in my "experiment", i haven't exactly been won over yet.

   

[TeamRAD]

In Kennedy's defense, she's become pretty cool. She was excellent in Swell, and her dynamic w/ Satsu was a lot of fun. The "Season Eight" think-tank are doing what I thought was unfathomable, making Kennedy...likable.

Personally I always rather liked Kennedy

I'm indifferent towards Kennedy

I'm not, but I'll wait for the arrival of Season Seven before I step onto my soapbox. There's SOOOOO much fun to be had before having to endure that for a second time. 

Episode 101- Welcome to the Hellmouth

 My Review:

   Interesting.  At first, i was kinda turned off at the black & white portrayal of Vampires as a form of demonic possession.  But entertaiing nonetheless.  It was a bit jarring to go into the way back machine to 1996. One of the downsides in making everything in your show extremely modern, as it just dates the hell out of it.   I'm a big Dexter fan, and it was just weird seeing Julie Benz as a kill-crazy vampire right off the bat.  We get our first introductions of each characters, and this early on, you see they were feeling their way around them.  And seeing a young 27 year old David Boreanaz, i have the instincual feeling to punch him in the face, and i don't know why.  Right away, I enjoyed the Giles character. 

Overall, a decent series opener, but at this point in my "experiment", i haven't exactly been won over yet.

The aspect from the pilot I enjoy very much is how Joss takes the viewer through an unlawful entrance into Sunnydale High's science lab for which metaphorically represents one of the defining characteristics of a supernatural story...the naturalistic order. That was very calculating on Joss' behalf, and it really set the benchmark for what we had coming our way. Once Season Three arrived, it's overdose. 

Ortega, you've seen the unaired pilot, right? I referenced a segment from it in the Mafia game, and if you haven't seen it, you should youtube it. You'll ever be thankful that Alyson Hannigan was cast as Willow. And the vamp-dustings....*shivers*

This thread inspired me to have a mini-Buffy marathon after the Idol shenanigans last night. I went w/ the Life Serial, Once More With Feeling, and Tabula Rasa triumvirate...they came out punching in Season Six. 

[Courtney]

This thread inspired me to have a mini-Buffy marathon after the Idol shenanigans last night. I went w/ the Life Serial, Once More With Feeling, and Tabula Rasa triumvirate...they came out punching in Season Six. 

Everytime I watch Tabula Rasa, I am compelled to listen to "Goodbye To You" on repeat for the next week. 

Re: the pilot, did we ever see Xander on a skateboard ever again?  Or was that just an establishing "this is your social-fringe funny guy.  LOVE HIM NOW." thing?

[TeamRAD]

This thread inspired me to have a mini-Buffy marathon after the Idol shenanigans last night. I went w/ the Life Serial, Once More With Feeling, and Tabula Rasa triumvirate...they came out punching in Season Six. 

Re: the pilot, did we ever see Xander on a skateboard ever again?  Or was that just an establishing "this is your social-fringe funny guy.  LOVE HIM NOW." thing?

Yep, Book 20 of Season Eight.

[Ortega]

Becuase I didn't Post it before, and there isn't any suitable version on youtube, i give you, the Buffy Theme song for Season 1.

http://www.divshare.com/flash/playlist?myId=6859065-d98

Episode 102 - The Harvest

   Luke is about to finish off Buffy, who is trapped in a stone coffin, but is repelled by the silver cross that a mysterious stranger had given her earlier that evening.

Buffy escapes the mausoleum and saves Xander and Willow from vampires in the graveyard. Darla has taken Jesse, however. She and Luke inform The Master that there is probably a Slayer in town. The Master decides to use Jesse as bait.

Giles and Buffy give Xander and Willow a brief introduction to the world of vampires, demons and Slayers. Willow accesses the city council's plans for Sunnydale's tunnel system. In a flashback, Buffy realizes that there must be an access to it in the crypt. Xander is hurt when Buffy declines his help and follows her anyway.

Willow is researching the Master in the computer lab when Cordelia trash-talks about Buffy and insults Willow again. In a fine show of nerd revenge, Willow convinces Cordelia to press the DEL key to "deliver" her assignment. It ended up erasing her hard work. The dark stranger appears just as Buffy is about to enter the tunnel system in the crypt. He is named Angel. He gives her directions to The Master's lair, but only wishes her luck after she is out of earshot.

Xander catches up with Buffy. They find Jesse, who leads them into a trap. They barely escape, with Xander pulling Buffy out of a manhole. Underground, The Master is unhappy about their escape and punishes the vampire Collin by poking his eye out. Luke drinks the Master's blood, turning Luke into the Vessel. Every soul Luke now takes will give the Master more strength to break out of his confinement.

Buffy and Xander return to the library. Giles explains that the Master arrived 60 years ago to open the Hellmouth, a portal to another reality, but was swallowed by an earthquake. He is now hoping to escape with the help of a Vessel in a once-in-a-century opportunity called "The Harvest." To prevent the Master from escaping and opening the Hellmouth, they must kill the Vessel. Xander suggests that the vampires will be at The Bronze.

On her way there, Buffy swings by her house to get weapons, and is promptly grounded by her mother, who has been called by the Principal about Buffy skipping classes. Buffy grabs her weapons from a secret compartment of a chest and climbs out of the second-floor window.

Luke and other vampires burst into The Bronze and start the killing. Buffy arrives in time to save Cordelia. She also notices the Vessel mark on Luke's forehead. Xander ends up staking Jesse with a fleeing woman's unknowing help. Willow pours holy water on Darla when she is about to bite Giles. Buffy tricks Luke to win her fight. The other vampires flee. Outside The Bronze, Angel realizes that Buffy has done it. "I'll be damned," he says.

The next morning, Cordelia exemplifies the denial most Sunnydale residents undergo after paranormal encounters. Giles warns the budding gang of more battles ahead, which they accept more nonchalantly than he would like.

My Review

    OK, a satisfying conclusion.  Here we see that Buffy isn't just a whiny girl, and is capable of dealing some major ass-kicking.  Though, The Master and his vessel Luke with their religiuosity can get a bit tiresome, but they are very much the antithesis to Buffy and her gang.  They were being WAY too mysterious with Angel's apperances, and his brooding msytiquie is not lowering my desire to punch him in the face. Here we see Willow and Xander grow into their future support roles.  Xander is laying the "I'm a quirky nerd!" schtick on a little thick, and Willow here is a bit too much of the Bookworm Nerd type, but overall, interesting and likeable. 

I read somewhere that Charisma Carpenter(Cordelia, duh) initially auditoned for the role of Buffy, but was late for the audition, and instead read for Cordy instead.  AND also interesting is that SMG was initially cast as Cordelia.  That would have been a interesting change. Rethink the entire series with that casting......would we have gotten Eliza as Faith?  who knows.....