Is Earshot the best gateway episode for Buffy? [link]
Anybody can be a prop class clown.
Xander ,'Touched'
Buffy and Angel 1: BUFFYNANGLE4EVA!!!!!1!
Is it better the second time around? Or the third? Or tenth? This is the place to come when you have a burning desire to talk about an old episode that was just re-run.
Jesse - May 07, 2013 9:56:37 am PDT #9840 of 10458
Sometimes I trip on how happy we could be.
erikaj - May 07, 2013 12:19:51 pm PDT #9841 of 10458
Always Anti-fascist!
I don't think I would have stuck with that one.
le nubian - May 07, 2013 12:29:34 pm PDT #9842 of 10458
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
The problem with any ep after Season 2 is that the relationships and personalities of the main cast are firmly entrenched and the in jokes are prolific. "Earshot" is a good ep, but part of my love for it is because it exists in that history.
If people are starting with Buffy and need to get a feel of the show, I actually might start them out with "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" or "Nightmares." Either might not make a top 10 but a newbie would get a good feel of the show.
Kate P. - May 07, 2013 12:46:40 pm PDT #9843 of 10458
That's the pain / That cuts a straight line down through the heart / We call it love
Yeah, I agree. Especially the reveal of Jonathan in the clock tower isn't going to have much impact if you don't know who he is.
That said, my first ep was in early season 3 ("Homecoming") and I was totally hooked, so I'd say that's a pretty good one to start with.
le nubian - May 07, 2013 12:53:27 pm PDT #9844 of 10458
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
I liked the pilot a whole lot, myself. But I'm a purist.
§ ita § - May 07, 2013 1:07:42 pm PDT #9845 of 10458
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Hi, LeN, I was going to start watching that show you like so much--can you tell me which episodes I can skip so I get to the end faster???
I still fucking answer those questions, because apparently enabler >= purist. That's kinda sad.
le nubian - May 07, 2013 1:09:31 pm PDT #9846 of 10458
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Ha ha. I agree with you, but a friend who recommended that I start the US "Office" at Season 2 (and not to bother with S1) was right on the $$.That is probably the one and only time I ever started a show without watching every damn episode.
§ ita § - May 07, 2013 1:13:41 pm PDT #9847 of 10458
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
It took me years to get my sister to watch SPN (seven???) and I was so scared she was going to get impatient in the first season and ask for skippage. Thank god that never happened, but she does make me tell her which episodes have Cas so she can get excited on cue.
As far as Community went, I was all YOU WILL SIT DOWN, SHUT UP, AND ENJOY THIS. And it worked on three or four other people I didn't know so well.
If someone asked me which Buffy to skip, I'd chat during Beer Bad, but I wouldn't skip anything unless it became clear an entire season was losing them, and that's also not an option until seven anyway.
(short version: I skipped...3 SPN episodes with bon bon, and still feel guilty)
Matt the Bruins fan - May 07, 2013 3:38:33 pm PDT #9848 of 10458
"I remember when they eventually introduced that drug kingpin who murdered people and smuggled drugs inside snakes and I was like 'Finally. A normal person.'” —RahvinDragand
If the Buffy pilot is too long I think "The Witch" is also a good one to rope people in with.
Polter-Cow - May 07, 2013 5:12:29 pm PDT #9849 of 10458
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
That was my first episode!