I downloaded Season 5 of Buffy off the campus network on the recommendation of a friend my junior year, during a very depressing time when I both had mono and wanted to break up with my basically live-in girlfriend, but was too chicken.

I ended up watching the whole thing in a weekend. Bought the Season 1 DVDs, watched them and Season 6 in some weird alternating fashion, then started catching up on earlier seasons (Season 2 came out in January of that year. Seasons 3 and 4 were found through much less convenient internet means, as I could not wait for DVD releases.) Angel joined soon thereafter. At the same time, I was watching Season 7 as it aired.

Everything was done by February, except for the last episodes of season 7, and seasons 4/5 of Angel. Firefly, I had downloaded the pilot, and mourned its cancellation a few months too late. I could tell you my top 10 episodes, and had done marathons with a few friends including "The Top 5 Most Depressing Episodes of Buffy" (angst-heavy). I had seen the musical at least 6 times.

It was a crazy period.

Since then, I've been a TV fiend. Before that... never watched it.

I can remember looking forward to Buffy before it started because the movie was one that my friends and I would quote constantly ("Now it's retro", etc) and the buzz was that the TV show would be darker but still funny.

And, lo, it was, and it was good.

I had friends who started watching from the beginning, and kept telling me I should check it out, but I didn't listen. I caught a few episodes here and there, but it was the post-Columbine discussion in the media, and specifically the "Earshot" episode, that made me take a look again. By the end of GD1, I was in love, and I didn't even really know what the hell was going on. I watched "Angel" from "City of" clear through "Not Fade Away." Excuse me, I, I seem to have something in my eye.

I didn't watch until Season 5 (Willow has a girlfriend!). I did tune in once before that due to all the praise I was hearding, but it was the Halloween one when Willow was a ghost and Buffy was a Southern belle and it didn't do anything for me at the time.

It took me years to get into the X Files as well. The first one I saw was that one with the black dude who was sucking pigment out of people. I was hooked!

but it was the Halloween one when Willow was a ghost and Buffy was a Southern belle

I think she was supposed to be from one of those European countries that only exist in medieval movies with dragons.

my first ep was Becoming: Part II. i haven't looked back since.

I came to Buffy through pimpage from my friend B. We got to start at the beginning, but I watched seasons 6 and 7 in realtime. I was thrown by her name of all things. I loved it, of course, like I should have known I would.

I have now surpassed B (and most of my other friends) in my fannishness. I make no apologies either!

I'm not sure what prompted me to tune in for the pilot, since I didn't see the movie. Perhaps I saw some good buzz online, or a good review in the paper. At any rate, I tuned in and was hooked right away.

I caught a couple of episodes during S2 (Band Candy!), but I was a) sharing a tv, and b) put off by the name. I don't know whether I knew about the movie, but I certainly hadn't seen it. Then I got my own apartment and my own tv and could watch S3 in the privacy of my own space and that was that. I hooked a friend during the FX marathons so I could talk about it with someone, lurked on a couple of websites, and little by little found other friends were Buffy fans. I thought I was hanging out with my ex because he wanted to borrow my dvds; I didn't know we were "dating" until the 3rd date.

I missed the rewatch because my weekend plans got screwy. Sad now.

I saw the movie and thought Paul Reubens' death scene made it worth the price of admission. Watching Kristy Swanson bounce around in purple spandex was nice, too. I was surprised to hear about the TV series, then disappointed to find out it wasn't airing where I could watch it. I started catching up with it through the re-runs on FX in 1999. I think the first episodes I saw live were season 3.