HassleInTheCastle (Level 27)

  It was the in the summer of 2009, I browsing through hulu looking for something to watch. I'm came across Buffy The Vampire Slaye r and slowly made it through the first season. For the first two seasons my opinions at that were that the show was merely alright, very formulaic, almost like a sitcom like. (Something bad happens, takes them a while to notice, try to find a solution, possible twist, then they save the day) But it wasn't until late 2010 I finally got Netflix found my way into season 3, that's where the show became a little more serious and I became invested in the story. I watched with no regularity, maybe an episode a day, maybe two on occasion but it wasn't an obsession... yet. So I made my way slowly through seasons 4 and Angel season 1, which I really didn't like at first. Angel at first seemed more like a crime drama you'd find on TNT, which reruns do air on now. It didn't have my total interest yet. Possibly because it was somewhat a new cast or just contained characters I didn't care for. ( Cordelia Chase) So as I came to spring break this last week I knew I was going to continue watching but then I came across an article online saying that among others, these shows would be leaving Netflix instant steaming. So came the decision to marathon the remaining seasons of Buffy and Angel. This decision has resulted in me becoming obsessed with these shows. It gave me somewhat the same feeling of what Lost did when I used to care about it. I feel I could re-watch most episodes of Buffy or Angel and enjoy it, unlike Lost and I think that is because I care for the characters Joss Whedon has created rather than what happens next, like the characters on Lost.

Looking back to select my favorite episodes of each season.

 
 
Buffy 1: The Prophecy Girl : This where the became “serious” for the first time and I saw the potential it had.

Buffy 2: Halloween: A simple Twilight Zone kind of episode, but it was cool change to see the cast out of character.

 
 

Buffy 3: The Wish/Doppelgangland: The Wish was one of what felt like one of the many episodes that didn't necessarily progress the story at all gave an interesting look at an alternate universe. But what amazed me was the second use of that universe 7 episodes later in Doppelgangland. I wasn't expecting to look into that ever again.

Angel 1: Hero : one that took me by surprise in the way of the plot. And the call back at the end of the episode to the video they record towards the beginning was really emotional. An excellent episode for the short lived character Doyle.

Buffy 4: Hush: anytime the plot changes the feeling of the show I'm relieved. By removing voices and speech, a higher emphasis on score gave this an interesting feel.

Angel 2: Through the looking Glass: being in another dimension, the score changed to fit with the semi renaissance setting. Plus Fred was introduced.

 
Buffy 5: The Gift: This seasons finale felt like it had the largest build up to pay off. Ever sense the reveal of Dawn's true self in the 5 episode this season ramped up to a rather dramatic finish.

Angel 3: Sleep Tight: this season was hard to pick one because mostly its all blended together in my mind but this episode has a lot going on and the plot takes a sharp turn in this one.

Buffy 6: Seeing Red: I tried hard to not pick “Once More, with Feeling” because I think that's the most re-watchable being the musical episode. But I've gone with Seeing red due to the plot, some very serious issues develop in this episode and it ends with a bang.

Angel 4: Spin the Bottle: this again is one of those “change it up a bit” episodes and it may be the funniest episode of Angel and for some reason I found myself laughing hardest at something simple like Wesley falling down the stairs, cause if you look he totally starts laughing himself before he says his next line. I feel the need to watch this one with the commentary someday.

Buffy 7: It's hard to pick a single episode because I watched this in such a quick succession but “Lessons” the first episode has a favorite moment of mine. The First comes and takes the form of all of the past villains and I thought that was an awesome way to demonstrate the First while recapping/fan serving at the same time. And the series finale was a rather quick closure to the series but it leaves enough to make you want more.

Angel 5: Smile Time/Not Fade Away. I chose two because these episodes are polar opposites. Smile Time is a good last comedic episode right before everything gets rather serious. Not Fade Away was a seriously solid way to end the series, it had its emotional bits and it built up to a stinger of an ending.

Now that I'm done with these shows I know I'll eventually proceed to the continuing comics while slowly filling out wiki pages on screened, but I need a break because it's been been almost nothing but Buffy and Angel for a couple weeks now. I seriously encourage anyone else to sit though these, they are well worth the investment.