Holy crap. I feel like the cheerleading coach in Witch trying to sort out the best from the alternates. There really were no bad entries here, so everyone makes the team, though some episodes didn’t work as well as stand-alones, and I’ve found on review that I really prefer those that played into the seasonal story arc with The Master. At heart I am a soap fan and I need to ride that continuity for a sense of tension threading the whole together. Yet in terms of setting the characters and tone for the overall series, I consider the first season a major success. I enjoyed it even more the second time around, and I can say without doubt that I enjoyed every single episode here.
And here they are from #1 to #12. Each episode is linked to my post on it.
1. Angel – s1:e7
Not just the big reveal for Angel, with both his game face and our first dose of his history, a seminal moment in itself, but also a showcase and first farewell for Darla. This episode really nails it on multiple counts: exposition dealt out in battle, a massive bombshell revelation along with a first kiss, a significant contribution to both the season’s story arc with The Master, and a foundation to alter the series with the character of Angel. I loved it.
2. Prophecy Girl – s1:e12
Fantastic finale, though not enough of a building seasonal arc to make the impact it deserves. Yeah, The Anointed One goes thud (his grand destiny is to hold Buffy’s hand while she descends into the lair?), but the showdowns with The Master – him taking the first round and Buffy the second – pay off big: Buffy’s doom and then triumph, sandwiched between her revival (I’ll stop short of resurrection and save that for s6) by competing suitors Angel and Xander. Plenty of legend laid here to be referenced for years to come.
3. The Harvest – s1:e2
Our first battle at The Bronze – plus The Master makes his presence known through his hulking vessel and special friend, Luke. A superb second half to the series opener!
4. Welcome to the Hellmouth – s1:e1
Solid start!. Tone is consistent with the rest of the season and establishes characters right out of the gate. Win from the get-go.
Welcome to the Hellmouth. If Sunnydale High is hell, Cordelia reigns supreme. I can still hear her crack about Willow’s dress and Sears.
5. Witch – s1:e3
Cutthroat cheerleading, a monstrous mother, voodoo-esque Barbies causing blindness, sealed mouths, and spontaneous combustion – all that plus body switching and a surprise villain who receives one of my favorite bits of poetic justice! This episode may be the most unadulterated fun from the season.
6. Never Kill a Boy on a First Date – s1:e5
Giles must compete with an Emily Dickinson fanboy for Buffy’s attention.
One of the better early examples of how to meld the episodic storyline (Buffy trying to date) with the seasonal arc (siring of The Anointed One). Humor and horror, teenage life and Slayer destiny – it all comes together on Buffy’s fabulously failed date. And I love hanging out at The Bronze!
7. The Puppet Show -s1:e9:
Another surprise villain, this one with a more grisly bent. Creepy ventriloquism plus an organ-stealing demon – yes.
8. I, Robot… You, Jane – s1:e8
Answering yes means getting your neck snapped. We don’t even know what a no would get you.
Memorable demon Moloch goes online to court Willow and corrupt Fritz and Dave. And hello Miss Carpenter.
Gold star for Buffy’s nightmares. The others were comical but unscary, uninvolving, and unrevealing. Moreover, the child abuse angle felt pedestrian and out of place. Yet the episode gave Sarah Michelle Gellar possibly her best quiet scene in the scene, when her father appears to tell her that she wrecked her parents’ marriage with her all her faults. Plus we got Buffy with her game face. I don’t think this happens again!
10. The Pack – s1:e7
Silly but also startling. Really, the pack devouring Principal Flutie alive may have been one of the biggest shocks of the season. The cackling of the pack still rings in my ears!
11. Out of Mind, Out of Sight – s1:e11
Good episode, but ill-fitting in the season. We really needed a jolt of The Master and The Anointed One to build into the first season finale, the very next episode.
12. Teacher’s Pet – s1:e:4
Not bad, certainly not as bad as I’d remembered it, but still last place for the first season. The episode marks Xander’s first major turn as damsel-dude in distress needing a rescue from Buffy.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Season One did not impress me so much during my first viewing a few years ago. In fact, I needed some light encouragement to continue forth to s2. However, after my second full viewing, I appreciate far more the solid foundation that Whedon set down here. The man had a plan.
I have ideas why I resisted watching the show in the 90s, despite overwhelming enthusiasm from all corners, including some corners with voices very near to my heart and loud to my ears.
- The credits: they’re awful. I hate the theme song and even the clips selected annoy me. I can understand why the nineties Raúl might not even make it through those before shutting off the TV, which would have taken some effort because I believe in 1997 I still had a 15″ set with no remote and a dial for switching channels. It would have been worth my while to get off the couch to spare me those credits.
I hate this part of the credits the most – the appearance of the mom witch with some sort of piercing shriek added to the electric guitars.
- Picture quality: everything is dark and grainy. I’ve read that the dvd collection’s picture is poor as well, so I can’t blame streaming. I suppose this might cover up some of the budgetary constraints, but the visual quality blunts some scenes; for example, I loved the chaos in the Sunnydale Funeral Home from Never Kill a Boy on a First Date, but I had a hard time even seeing what was happening in the hallways. And while Whedon works so hard to nail his characters, his actors sometimes hidden blend into the murk; case in point: at several turns Willow’s hair looks almost black, and we’re still years away from Dark Willow!
This priceless moment could only be improved with better lighting.
But hey, I avoided/missed out on the series on its initial run, which only means that it’s slightly fresher for me now that I’m back for seconds. May the great Buffy re-watch of 2014 proceed.
Doris W.
mrlousy
Raúl Zingle
1630revellodrive 
So there’s no way I’m going to post about every episode. I think that’s probably already obvious. I have however wrangled Clem into ranking the first season. We are going to do this “live”. We each came up with our own lists which we will post and then discuss/defend.
MrLousy
1 – Angel
2 – The Puppet Show
3 – Prophecy Girl
4 – Nightmares
5 – Welcome to the Hellmouth
6 – Witch
7 – I Robot…You Jane
8 – The Pack
9 – Out of Sight, Out of Mind
10 – Teacher’s Pet
11 – Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
12 – The Harvest
OK, here is my ranking of the first season, not having seen either of yours.
1. Harvest
2. I, Robot
3. Welcome to the Hellmouth
4. Witch
5. Puppet
6. The Pack
7. Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
8. Angel
9. Teacher’s Pet
10. Prophecy Girl
11. Nightmares
12. Out of Sight
I guess I’m alone in not liking Prophecy Girl. I just don’t like it. I think it has a cheap ending with Buffy dying, and just don’t think it was as fun as the other episodes, like Harvest, where it was just bloodbath at the Bronze!
I will admit I just looked at the episode titles and went with what I remembered most about each episode and if I liked it or not. I didn’t really get into summaries or going back even to my own posts. Just gut reaction. Clem and I disagree on quite a bit! Our lists are almost flip flopped! It does look like Raul and I agree mostly on the top and bottom half with our lists.
Prophecy Girl
While the point of having The Useless One continues to elude me – I agree on the lameness of having him lead a willing Buffy to lair – I liked that Buffy did actually die, albeit briefly. Rewatching these episodes I am trying to not only approach with an open mind but also trying to be mindful of how I would have watched when they aired. With that in mind, I think I would have been surprised to see Buffy die. I do like that it happened. I think The Master deserved a grander finale and I will always feel he left too soon but in general I thought it ended that story line just fine. It would have – and still does – keep me watching.
The Harvest
I just didn’t remember anything but The Bronze Bloodbath and that just wasn’t enough for me I guess. Maybe because I was never a big fan of The Bronze. It seems like such a false place. They need to be able to gather somewhere where they interact with other students and the public but I never liked these teen clubs. I didn’t like The Peach Pit either. Since the episode is not even a sentence but just a word – bloodbath – it didn’t warrant a higher ranking. I really don’t have any significant memory of a standout character or story moment.
I will add.
Nightmares – this ranked high for me because of three things:
1 – I actually respected SMG’s acting in the scene with her dad. I don’t remember feeling like this ever before and that is significant for me.
2 – Seeing Giles’ nightmare about Buffy dying was a nice touch and I don’t think should be minimized.
3 – Cordy’s dorkout nightmare was really funny
The Puppet Show
I am STILL surprised by the ending! This from an episode I’ve probably seen 2-3 times and from a show that is 15 years old. That writing deserves some credit. I liked that they took the monster of the week episode and turned it around so the puppet is not the demon at all, he just works blue. I like being surprised. And I like even this version of raunchiness.
I was again surprised by the puppet too. I totally forgot he was a demon hunter. And a funny Catskills’ style lecher.
In Nightmares I liked the nightmares, especially Buffy’s, which was a very poignant and real kind of nightmare. I thought Cordy’s and Xander’s were also fun, though light.
But what I hated about it, and I mean hate, was at the end how they become best buddies with the kid and call out the creepy coach/step-dad. I think it is really cheap when shows introduce a new character who suddenly becomes their only close companion. Why the hell did anyone think it OK for three perfectly strange high school kids to be hanging out with a comatose child? It felt like it could have ended with a pun and freeze frame, it was that fucking corny.
The ending was after school special for sure. I don’t think they ever ventured into this territory again. I have been wondering this entire first season how much network notes were a factor. This ending seems to reek of it. I will stand by my claim that it was at least a top half of the season for the above mentioned reasons.
Clem why is The Harvest #1 and Angel in the back half at #8?!? Angel is tops for me because again I was trying to watch with fresh eyes. I love the reveal that Angel is a vampire. I also love Darla here. Dear Darla – definitely too soon gone. She’s so delightfully manipulative and wicked. I also remember the banter being particularly good in this episode. I agree with Raul – this one ticked all the boxes.
The rankings do bring up an interesting question: are we thinking about THIS viewing or the original presentations, complete with all of the surprises but without all of the foreshadowing or integrity to the overall series?
I think I lean toward thinking of the series as a whole. I’m remembering and making connections as I go, like I can see Whedon doing some experiments with nerd-boy bonding in the first two seasons that would serve as the template for The Trio later on.
But I am indeed considering twists that aren’t surprises to me anymore. Cases in point: Buffy’s death in Prophecy Girl or Angel’s revelation in Angel.
I maintain that in Prophecy Girl Buffy’s body dropping like dead weight into the pool deserves its iconic status as Sacha’s site’s banner. I found it rather shocking even this time around. And Angel’s reveal – I don’t think I would have been surprised by his being a vampire – hints were abounding – but I doubt I would have been prepared for his game face following the first kiss. (And this is more foreshadowing of what happens after they have sex!)
And some of the surprises and twists still delight me, as they do apparently both of you. I love The Puppet Show for making the foulmouthed, lecherous ventriloquist dummy into the secret hero. Oh, and that conclusion when the curtain goes up for the first act of the talent show!
Harvest: Bloodbath, and done with a note of humor. But mainly the bloodbath.
Angel: Uggh! So much talking!
Oedipus Wreck!
Sorry, meant Oedpius Wrecks, of course.
I gave Angel extra points for all the exposition delivered while doing battle at The Bronze!
I thought The Harvest was funny and scary, though a bit over the top. Again, The Bronze!
Lousy, I confess to loving The Bronze. That hanging wrought iron chair, permanent the scaffolding for Buffy to use as a spying point and to toss vampires off of, the pool tables for hurling victims onto… It’s all so fun. I think maybe your hatred of the bands playing there may be spilling into your verdict on The Bronze.
We obviously cannot watch for the first time but I do appreciate the amount of time that has lapsed since I watched the series in full from start to finish. I have trying to watch with somewhat forced blinders on but I take Raul point about thinking about the whole and I think I will try to incorporate that into my future watching.
Angel – it’s setting up so much here! I must confess – I love a good curse.
Clem – I am not convinced about the Harvest. You’ll have to work harder than that . I am curious why I Robot ranked so high. I struggled just a bit about having it in the top half. Something that struck me was how prescient it was. I honestly don’t know how prevalent or well known this early version of catfishing was back then but I think it’s extremely interesting how easily people are still duped by some online stroking.
oh man I HATE the bands at The Bronze.
I was really not into the nightmare device in Nightmares. I agree that it might as well have concluded with a freeze frame and maybe some cloying hugging. Most of my points also derive from SMG with her dad plus Giles’ nightmare of her grave segueing into Buffy’s nightmare of being sired. They should have gone more with tying the nightmares into a bizarre narrative like that. I didn’t mind the silly nightmares except that they don’t tell us anything we don’t already know. I did express my fondness for Cordy’s fashion nightmare. (See my lead photo for my thoughts on that episode.) I guess for nightmares I want more a more surreal feel.
There was definitely a missed opportunity here to do something with the narrative structure and making it all nightmarish or dreamlike, instead of just running through different dreams.
I thought the Harvest was just campy fun. It was completely ridiculous, and silly, and goofy, all with a huge body count. I like that.
I liked I, Robot a lot because of the focus on Willow, and the way in which it showed how evil can work through insecurities, not just through big teeth. Also, I liked the big stupid robot, and also the playing into themes of the ones we fall for can hurt us through betrayal. Similar to the Buffy/Angel and also in Teacher’s Pet.
I also thought Alyson Hannigan was excellent at doing heartbreak in this episode.
I can defend The Harvest with Clem. It’s FUN. Remember that this is the dawn of the series and they needed to start big. They’re still establishing characters and forming the Scooby gang, all while introducing the mythology and some of the rules of vampires and slayers. They accomplish all of that AND deliver an onstage massacre at a teen club for the conclusion.
Exactly. And also the first example of something really huge happening in Sunnydale, and everybody pretty much just pretending like it didn’t happen. One of my favorite things about the series.
Raul I have to second you on the opening. It is soooo bad. Why? I just don’t understand. It seems to get worse every time I see it. I always try to fast forward through it – I just can’t bear seeing it one second more than necessary. Those last guitar strums are like nails in my earholes.
I was surprised that you said the DVDs are also of such poor quality. I was totally chalking it up to streaming.
I have two final questions.
One for Clem – what was your criteria for the rankings?
One for Raul – any thoughts on Clem’s or I guess my list?
I am a bit surprised that Puppet Show ranked so high on both your lists. I really enjoyed it, but I guess in terms of how it fits into moving the story forward or granting us any special insight, it just doesn’t accomplish much. It rides A LOT on the twist, which I’ll admit, it deserves.
On the flip side, I liked Never Kill a Boy on a First Date mostly because it DOES move the story and give us some character development. The monster-of-the-week is a red herring. That psycho on the bus is NOT the Anointed One after all. (But maybe he should have been.) I think it is a model for how to get all of that in and still have room for a battle in the Sunnydale Funeral Home.
I don’t believe I cared for I, Robot the first time around, but I softened on it, like The Pack and Teacher’s Pet, the second time around. Moloch entertained me. He was sort of like an unpredictable, incomprehensible god who punishes or loves his worshippers, sometimes doing both at the same time. The online masquerade does seem prescient. Things couldn’t have been that sophisticated at the time – I recall Buffy asking questions about an “e-letter.”
I liked the idea of the medieval (?) cursed demon being freed into the cybersphere – and then engineering its own new physical manifestation through robotics! Also, I liked the robot battle with Buffy.
I also really liked that Willow always had her own will in the episode. She was smitten but not spellbound, and she started breaking off with Moloch as soon as he started disparaging Buffy.
Dave and Fritz were obviously key points of interest for me. Fritz – “only following orders” and Dave – playing the martyr-hero. They were the mold for Warren and Jonathan.
My ranking were purely based on how much I remembered enjoying watching the episode. For example, not so much this time, but the first time through the series I loved The Pack. Like Raul I liked how they killed Principal Flutie, but also how well a pack of hyenas translated into high school petty cruelty. It was for me the first time I saw that the “High School is Like Hell” idea behind the show could be interesting.
The Pack also was almost a top half episode for me for entertainment value, edged out barely by Witch and I, Robot. Witch I love every go around. The eyes in the trophy are just so wrong. Come to think of it there are a lot of bad parenting/poor adult role models in such a short season.
Two things that almost trumped Blue Ribbon Bitch and the Worst Boyfriend Ever were the zookeeper in full makeup – and his glasses. Something about that just tickled me. That one small detail communicated so much to me about his character. I also was genuinely chilled by the savage devouring of Principal Flutie and poor Herbert.
I forgot Herbert! Poor Herbert.
I felt bad for Herbert the almost Razorback mascot. I love piglets. I also love that Buffy distinguished herself as not a prissy girl by catching a squealing Herbert and giving him a little hug.
I actually felt worse about Herbert than Principal Flutie.
I think that about does it for me. On to season 2! I am very curious how our lists will stack up. Surely we all value the Spike and Drusilla equally.
One thing that surprised me was that although I remember thinking that some of the episodes were pretty bad on my first viewing, I actually enjoyed ALL of them in s1 on my second viewing. I chalk this up to honing more of my attention on the dialogue and thinking about how much of s1 ties into what’s to come, either literally in the narratives or in themes that they would develop. [Does this mean there’s hope for Beer Bad? I’m doubtful.]
QUESTION FOR LOUSY AND CLEM: Were there any episodes in s1 that you actively disliked?
I just really disliked Owen. I found him really annoying. Not as annoying as the Annoying One, but pretty annoying. I liked the first season. All the episodes were pretty strong, but no real favorites for me, nor any real stinkers. A solid season, with no weak notes.
No I liked all of them. None of them annoyed me or were complete throwaways. I seriously doubt Beer Bad can be redeemed in any way. I’m already dreading the grunting.
Raul – I will grant you having The Anointed One turn out to be the kid was nicely done. But they completely squandered such a nice turn with truly awful casting. Have you seen Looper? Now that kid was a scary little package.
Actually – if anything disappointed me it was some of the casting. There were so many strong choices it makes the poor ones look worse still. I’m still not a fan of Joyce the character or the player. And The Annoying One has been well documented.
I did see Looper – and that kid was a creep, I wholeheartedly agree. Check my suggestion in my ep review of School Hard for my dream casting of The Annoying One?
Also, I want to put in a word for Buffy strolling out into the night and immediately dismissing the kid’s poor attempt at luring her away: “It’s okay, I know who you are” – then walking off into the darkness holding his hand! It was quietly chilling and really drove home the fact that she rightly felt she was delivering herself to her own doom. Fatalistic and matter-of-fact, even strangely comforting.
I’m still sticking up for Prophecy Girl!
Oh, season 2. I’m very enthusiastic!!! This is where I think Buffy really takes off for me.
I did have big plans for creating a rubric and weighted scoring system for each episode, but then, that sort of aggregation of data for something that is essentially subjective seemed sort of ruining the fun for me. That said, I did have to create a spreadsheet BECAUSE I’m ranking every single Buffy episode, not just season by season. I will just sort it by seasons for the seasonal wrap-ups. I had to start color coding sections to mark off categories like LOVED or LIKED BUT DEEPLY FLAWED. There are seven different levels so far. It makes it easier to rank after a viewing, especially now that I’ve seen more than twenty eps. Note: I still don’t have a color for DISLIKED or HATED. I know, it’s coming.
You guys are down for Angel too, right? I want to watch that in the same order as broadcast along with Buffy. I did that a few years ago, but my viewing schedule was punishing. I had to watch like 12 shows a day in order to have both series finished before flying out to L.A. so I could do crayon drawings of my favorite scenes.
I did not do that the first time but I genuinely looking forward to watching Angel “real time” this time around.
I hope to see the spreadsheet posted at some point with at least one graph. I always like a pie chart.