Buffy

[I, Colossus]

[COLOR="DarkRed"]Ah, Buffy. What to say about Buffy. The most amazing TV show to ever grace the television screen. This may seem like a bold claim, and it is. And, I bet that if you watch an episode or two, you'll probably disagree. The reason for that is, Buffy doesn't seem like much on it's first few viewings. It actually takes a while to get into it. When I first heard about it on the WB, I thought it sounded retarded. Then I watched it. And I still thought it was retarded, of course I was 8, but that's beside the point.

Anyway, over the summer, I started watching the syndicated episodes on F/X. Again, at first, I wasn't impressed. But the characters really started to grow on me. I became engrossed in the story, the evolving charactes, the dramatic sequences, and the intelligent humor. Then, school happened. And I was deprived until recently, when I got DVR. grin.gif So now, I'm a normal watcher.

I wont bother with the story, it's pretty appearant from the title. And it'd get really hard to get into with all the long branching story-arcs.

So, right now it's syndicated on F/X, it comes on Monday through Friday at 7AM, 8AM, 12PM, 1PM, and occasionaly 2PM. The 7 and 8 episodes are usually the 1 and 2 episodes from the day before too. Also, sometimes movies throw it off scheduel, or, well, let's just say it's not set in stone. It moves around a lot. Sometimes I'll get one episode, sometimes 3, etc. (All Times Eastern)

I reccomend everyone watch it on F/X. They're in Season Five (out of seven) right. So it might benefit for you to wait until Season 1 rolls around, especially since Seasons 1 through 3 are the best. Or, you could rent the DVDs, they probably aren't that expensive. And please dont judge it immeadiately, I admit, there are some horrible episodes. They're usually the outlandish ones that give nothing to the story. It's definitely not as consistent as it should be. But overall, it's [ censored ] brilliant.

I command thee, go forth and watch.

(Very inconsistent and random thread/rant type thing over)[/COLOR]

[Kamuro]

wow, Buffy...what a terrible show lol. How generic can you get, a teen fighting demons/monsters and dealing with school and her own life problems at the same time. If you read that without knowing we were talking about Buffy 20 other TV shows could've popped into your head. I mean c'mon, I've seen people ngrossed in this show and it just shows me that they have nothing better to do, and apparently nothing better to watch. If you actually take a step back and look at the show, you'll see just how predictable and cheesy it really is. A lot of the acting is pretty bad as well, it just seems so incredibly obvious and its definitely not a worthwhile show. After they run out of ideas they just begin to bring certain characters back and replay some of the same problems they had before in the show. Sorry to burst your bubble. :animeswea

[saiyuki chick]

okies, i'll stick up for you, frog-chan (o.O;; don't mind that...) i think buffy's pretty cool, myself...sure, it has it's lame and strong points, like everything else, but i find it to be an awesome show...^^ i've always been into vampires, and stuff anyway, and yes, the characters grow and develop, which also goes towards making the show more interesting XD i happen to like it, so it's cool that you're a fellow fan ^^

[Cat]

I love Buffy. I like the seasons where Spike comes along and falls in love with Buffy. I mean in the Begining he hated her guts and later they becoem friends. Also if you like buffy then you would like Angel. The newest season of Angel is where they tie in the end of Buffy with Angel. For example you have Spike that dies in Buffy but he comes back in Angel as a ghost. Plus, Buffy comes in at the end of Angel season 5 and you get to find out what happend to her after the saving the world thing in season 7.

[Xyandar]

The only Buffy episode is the musical one where theres that demon that makes people dance and sing until they burn into ashes. I love how everyone sang and some of the songs were amazing...especially Spikes. I don't know what you people think but I just thought it was a really amazing episode. I didn't like the TV show in general though. That is the only episode I could sit there and watch it for a whole hour...

[shinji172]

The problem with buffy is that It mostly follows a "monster of the day" theme for the majority of the episodes (although their are exceptions such as the musical episode). Its not that Its a bad show, It just becomes a cliche of itselph (which is never a good thing). heres some good examples.

1. How many times has an apocolypse been averted

2.How many times has Buffy been brought back from (or the brink of) death?

3.How often do they rely on Giles? [spoiler] he even came back at the end of season 6! [/spoiler]

[I, Colossus]

[quote name='Kamuro']wow, Buffy...what a terrible show lol. How generic can you get, a teen fighting demons/monsters and dealing with school and her own life problems at the same time. If you read that without knowing we were talking about Buffy 20 other TV shows could've popped into your head. I mean c'mon, I've seen people ngrossed in this show and it just shows me that they have nothing better to do, and apparently nothing better to watch. If you actually take a step back and look at the show, you'll see just how predictable and cheesy it really is. A lot of the acting is pretty bad as well, it just seems so incredibly obvious and its definitely not a worthwhile show. After they run out of ideas they just begin to bring certain characters back and replay some of the same problems they had before in the show. Sorry to burst your bubble. :animeswea[/quote]

I?m all for having differing opinions and all. But I?d really like to know what shows [I]you[/I] watch that aren?t generic or terrible or cheesy. Just so I can get a better grip on what you like, and how terrible Buffy is in comparison.

The interesting thing about buffy isn?t that she?s fighting demons/monsters and dealing with school/life problem at the same time. It?s how they relate to each other. The metaphors hidden within the show, well, not hidden, but, there.

Like in Season 2 (Spoilers) ? When Buffy slept with Angel, he lost his soul and became horrible person, like he was before. This happens in real life, girls sleep with guys and it turns the relationship upside down.

As for the ?running out of ideas? ****, Buffy was almost always fresh. The reason ? Evolving characters. Buffy in Season 1 is [I]not[/I] Buffy in Season 7. They?re polar opposites. Willow is different, Giles is different. But Xander is, admittedly, pretty similar, just a bit more mature. Also, some of the acting was brilliant, James Marsters (Spike), David Boreneaz (Angel), and Sarah-Michelle Gellar (Buffy), in particular. They put on some of the best and most memorable performances on Television.

When it comes to cheesy-ness. Yes. Lots and lots of cheesy lines and camp. But I like it, so there is no use arguing it.

[Cat]

This is for all you people that like Buffy's musical episode. Both Spike and Giles have Cds out. These Cds have nothing to do with Buffy but it was Giles and Spike that wanted to be a singer before Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They both final got there chances.

[PWNED]

[quote name='Cat14']This is for all you people that like Buffy's musical episode. Both Spike and Giles have Cds out. These Cds have nothing to do with Buffy but it was Giles and Spike that wanted to be a singer before Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They both final got there chances.[/quote]

Yep I can confirm that, James Marsters is the frontband on a Pub band (When I say Pub Band I mean bands that sound like they originally played in a pub) and Anthony Stewart Head used to originally be the vocalist and guitarist in a band.

I am actually a big fan of Buffy the vampire Slayer although It is because of the minor chracters that I like it because I mean, Who else prefers Spike and Xander over any other character from the series?

[Cat]

"Who else prefers Spike and Xander over any other character from the series?" said by The Monster

I do. Spike and Xander are what makes the show. Xander adds funnyness. Spike adds the punk/ weirdness to buffy. If they didn't have that well, buffy whould just be another show with a vampire twist.

[Kamuro]

[quote name='Frog Brigade]As for the ?running out of ideas? ****, Buffy was almost always fresh. The reason ? Evolving characters. Buffy in Season 1 is [I]not[/I'] Buffy in Season 7. They?re polar opposites. Willow is different, Giles is different. But Xander is, admittedly, pretty similar, just a bit more mature. Also, some of the acting was brilliant, James Marsters (Spike), David Boreneaz (Angel), and Sarah-Michelle Gellar (Buffy), in particular. They put on some of the best and most memorable performances on Television[/quote]

[SIZE=1]Just because the episode has a new title doesn't mean its "fresh" as the WB calls it lol. Granted yes the characters have changed a bit, but aside from a couple outlandish episodes (the musical one for example) they're all incredibly similar. As Shinji said before, they fight a new demon every episode. And the characters had to change eventually, or else every episode would be [B]exactly[/B] the same, rather then just incredibly similar. It gets old, and as much "teen" drama as they want to add to the show, it's just played out already. Time to move on.[/SIZE]

[I, Colossus]

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1']Just because the episode has a new title doesn't mean its "fresh" as the WB calls it lol.[/SIZE][/quote]

How many episodes have you even watched, you sound like you?ve watched two episodes and decided it was predictable and boring.

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1'] Granted yes the characters have changed a bit, but aside from a couple outlandish episodes (the musical one for example) they're all incredibly similar. [/SIZE][/quote]

I?m really starting to think that you?ve only seen Season One + Two (and apparently the musical). They?re the only two seasons with monster of the week episodes, which are the only ?similar? episodes in terms of plot. But once they got into Season 3, those episodes pretty much stopped dead in their tracks.

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1']As Shinji said before, they fight a new demon every episode. [/SIZE][/quote]

You?re very much wrong there. There are plenty of episodes that don?t revolve around any sort of Demon/Vampire/Mystical Being or whatever. Sure, they appear in the episodes, but a lot of the time they mean absolutely nothing. They?re scenery. (Season 5 Spoilers) ? [spoilers]Like in ?The Body?, from your analysis of Buffy, Joyce would?ve been killed by a demon of some sort. No, she died of natural causes. ? Come on, is that predictable? No.[/spoiler]

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1] And the characters had to change eventually, or else every episode would be [B]exactly[/B'] the same, rather then just incredibly similar. [/SIZE][/quote]

If you?ve paid attention at all during Buffy you?d realize that (aside from Season 1 + 2) every episode is extremely different. ? Just to give you an example of an episode. Have you seen ?The Zeppo?? The episode was a spoof of the series. The Hellmouth opened, yet again, and they had their ?hardest battle yet?. You didn?t see any of it, it was nothing. It was the background for an episode about Xander regaining his confidence, that?s completely different.

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1']It gets old, and as much "teen" drama as they want to add to the show, it's just played out already.[/SIZE][/quote]

I?m guessing you?re calling it angsty, if so, just shut up. :P

[Guest Murasaki]

Buffy reminds me in many ways of Cowboy Bebop. First of all, you've got interesting and multi-dimensional characters. The lines of good and evil are blurred as the heroes and villains don't fall into the archetypes that tend to be laid out in more simplistic shows. And, while we don't see as much character development in Cowboy Bebop as we do in Buffy, we get hints into Spike Spiegel and Jet Black's pasts that indicate that they have indeed evolved over time. Another thing that they have in common that I like is that neither of them follow a simple formula that many of the more elementary shows such as Sailor Moon and Dragonball Z, which seem to rely on a few slight alterations of the exact same plot line every episode and/or season. In Buffy, it's not just about killing the monster and saving the day. It's about real issues, such as isolation, addiction, insecurities, oppression, insanity, regret, rape, death, and other things that many teenagers (unfortunately) have to face. In the early seasons these are portrayed through the monsters, but as the series goes on and becomes more complex, it reaches levels of metaphor that can (and have) been analyzed at length. While I haven't come across boards dedicated to analyzing Cowboy Bebop (then again, I haven't really been looking), I feel that you could cover a lot of similar issues in that series as well. Another great things that these two have in common is that they're both innovative. Sure there have been shows about people flying through space, and yes there have been shows about girls coping with being super heroes whilst trying to lead normal lives (especially in anime), but the great thing about both of these is that they do it in ways no one ever has before. Each show brings a good amount of intelligence, darkness, and seriousness to their show, while maintaining an aspect of humor that helps to give the show its charm. And, I might add, from my understanding Buffy not only added a great deal of depth (and fun) to the WB's teen dramas, but actually catalyzed the genre to begin with. So, to close, anyone who hasn't seen several episodes of either Cowboy Bebop or Buffy, definitely should. See the right episodes and they'll both have you laughing, crying, and thinking long after the show's over. :)

[Pumpkin]

[quote name='Kamuro][SIZE=1]Just because the episode has a new title doesn't mean its "fresh" as the WB calls it lol. Granted yes the characters have changed a bit, but aside from a couple outlandish episodes (the musical one for example) they're all incredibly similar. As Shinji said before, they fight a new demon every episode. And the characters had to change eventually, or else every episode would be [B]exactly[/B'] the same, rather then just incredibly similar. It gets old, and as much "teen" drama as they want to add to the show, it's just played out already. Time to move on.[/SIZE][/quote]

[SIZE=1][COLOR="#CC3366"][b]I kinda have to agree but I have to admit I liked the first two seasons, when it was actually about vampires mind you. It should have ended them however. It's kind of like when you first watched Sailor Moon, its exciting at first, but then you notice that it's the same drama every episode after the first two seasons you get tired of it. That's kind of how I felt about Buffy, especially since after Season 3, Spike got wierd and there was a SpikexBuffy thing going on. The episodes made no sense. And Willow became even more retarded. There were no vampires. It just became lame. But yeah. That's just my opinion, so don't mind me. [/SIZE][/COLOR][/B]

[Cat]

Ok the first few seasons sucked I will say but by season 3-4 it got better. Then at season 5-7 it was at its best. i also point out that the slayers job is not only to kill vampires but to protect the hell mouth.

Plus about fighting a new deamon each episode. In fact, in season 5 she is fighting some of the people she went to school with (Jonathan, Warren, Andrew) and saved count less times.

I would also like to point out the reason why Giles always stays. Giles always stays because he can not let Buffy go. He thinks of her as his own child and does not want to see her in danger if he can help it or help in any way. In the musical he tells Buffy to go alone but in the son he starts to secand guess him self and tries to help same with Spike in the same song. Spike saind that he would glad if she died but then said he couldn't let that happen.

I would also like to leave you with this for all the people that don't care for Buffy.
How many episodes have you seen and what season do you think there in?
Why has Buffy runs so long if it was a new monster every day?
Why did they make the show Angel if Buffy is so terrible and tie the ending of Buffy into Angel?

[Kamuro]

[QUOTE=Frog Brigade]How many episodes have you even watched, you sound like you?ve watched two episodes and decided it was predictable and boring.

I?m really starting to think that you?ve only seen Season One + Two (and apparently the musical). They?re the only two seasons with monster of the week episodes, which are the only ?similar? episodes in terms of plot. But once they got into Season 3, those episodes pretty much stopped dead in their tracks.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE=1]That doesn't really make any sense. If you see the first two seasons of the show and they suck, then what possible reason would you have to watch the following 5 or so seasons? To tell you the truth I can't really name what I've seen cause my knowledge of episode chronology concerning Buffy is a little jaded but what I have seen is repetative and lackluster after the first 5 minutes. And well, I guess thats my last comment on the subject, I've reduced myself to arguing about a show I don't even like lol. So you win *bows*[/SIZE]

[I, Colossus]

I guess thats a rather graceful way to go out. -- I understand it's not your type of show, and that's fine. But I would've defended it forever. But, for the record, I wasn't saying that the first two seasons were bad, but that they had some of the 'repetitive' episodes you spoke of.