In general, although I love to watch season 1, all of it, I am conscious - in rewatch - that I probably wouldn't have stuck with the show had I started watching then. I am also conscious of this feeling that the writers, directors, and actors were constantly adjusting (as in fine tuning) pretty much everything.
I think most Buffy fans who didn't see S1 the first time around, would have stuck with it if they had. It was just so different and there was nothing else to compare it to.
In my mind (it's kind of silly), I rank and separate the seasons by the look of the show. They switched the film they used after S2 and I've never gotten used to it (I know this is stupid, but S3-5 look slightly too cinematic and "good" to me. I like the cramped and dark version of BtVS.) Seasons 3 through 5 seem very bright and pretty, and 6 & 7 seem sort of amateurish (except for the Whedon episodes). Especially this year, the lighting and the shots on BtVS were really uninspired.
The way the show looked did kind of relate to the stories. S1 & 2 episodes were constantly trying something new, and they hadn't worked out all the kinks yet, but it was exciting. The stories and arcs for S3-5 were polished, professional, and scope-y. S6 & 7 were all over the map--really uneven, and in my sometimes bitter opinion, coasting on the success of the first 5 years.
So, I don't think it relates to the actual quality of the seasons, but I rank 2 first (and I consider S1 as an adjunct to S2), then 3, 4, & 5 tie for second place (although that can change depending on my mood), then there's 6, and then there's 7.
Maysa, you may have just explained something that ocurred to me before about the cinematography. Back in Season 1 and (to a lesser extent) Season 2, there were a lot of darkly-shot scenes, but they were high contrast dramatic dark where you could still tell what was going on. Later seasons got away from the dark a lot of the time (I believe I've made comments about keylights following Our Heroine on her patrols through the graveyards), and scenes that were shot in low light tended to have everything fade into obscurity.
Holy Crap, I just heard that song last night on Sams Club radio at work. Twice.
Maysa, I also separate the seasons by the look of the show.
Back in s.6, I complained that not only the darker lighting but the increased use of indoor night shots made the show more depressing. The advantage of setting the show in high school was also that lots of time spent together during the day contrasted effectively with the darkness of night stuff. But now that I'm rewatching the eps in order, I notice lots of morning type light in the first seasons-- for awhile I toyed with the idea that bright morning light characterized s.1 and 2, midday s.3, and afternoon s.4. S.5 was just a mess, s.6 was always at night, and s.7 had more daylight. I don't think this progression was really intentional, though.
Some of the S1 episodes are impossibly dark to watch on VHS tapes. Thank god for the DVD's which made it better after years of squinting.
I toyed with the idea that bright morning light characterized s.1 and 2, midday s.3, and afternoon s.4. S.5 was just a mess, s.6 was always at night, and s.7 had more daylight. I don't think this progression was really intentional, though.
That's so interesting and the more I think about it the cooler it gets. I really like the morning light idea for S2.
Odd: I looked up Todd Babcock (Tom Warner from "Reptile Boy") on tvtome.com after seeing him in a commercial from an Angel season 1 ep tonight. Seems he was born the day before me—I would have guessed several years after. But happy to see he's getting semi-regular guest appearances on Days of Our Lives now.
