I think they took a lot more risks in Season 6 than in any other since Season 2, and the latter was of such uniformly good quality that almost all the fans fell to the loved side of the loved it/hated it spectrum.

All in all, I tend to prefer that they shoot for the moon and have a spectacular failure than see them playing it safe and becoming dull and boring*. Even the magic crack and Actual Car Crash were preferable to 12 hours of Buffy giving pompous speeches to a houseful of nameless interchangeable girls while Andrew walked around with a neon "Übernerd" sign flashing over his head.

* This is almost always true except in the case of the abomination perpetrated upon Cordelia in Angel Season 3, which so enraged me that if "Provider" had aired before "Waiting in the Wings" Joss would have lost me as a viewer at least until everyone told me that Angelus was coming back in "Awakening."

Buffy gagging every time she has a drink whether it's on screen or off? Hee-larious.

Yeah, that was funny. But see, I remember really liking "Life Serial" when I first saw it. Maybe I'm just in a bad mood today, but it felt so interminably long. It does have its amusing bits.

Watched "Once More, With Feeling" for the first time since it aired. Amber Benson has a fantastic voice, wow.

I really liked season six.

I really liked season six.

As do many, myself included. Among general fandom S6 is a lowpoint. Among discriminating hardcore fans S5 is the least liked. Or that's just my opinion, then I backed it with imaginary fan support while stenciling "discriminating" on my forehead.

Among discriminating hardcore fans S5 is the least liked.

Now knows how Hec has me cross-ref'd in his files...

I'm testing out a new website that has 100 MB free web space.

I've uploaded my original "chosen" screencaps to try it out. If this works, I may be able to keep more caps online at a time and reference them from my main website.

I think they look dark. And orange. It could be my monitor.

ION? I may have found a way to screencap again. Especially since I'm less insane from the uncontrolled diabetes thing.

Oh, and here they are.

[link]

As do many, myself included. Among general fandom S6 is a lowpoint. Among discriminating hardcore fans S5 is the least liked. Or that's just my opinion, then I backed it with imaginary fan support while stenciling "discriminating" on my forehead.

Even in light of Season 7, in its fullness? I'm certainly hardcore. I can approximate discriminating.

3
2
6
4
5
1
7

I know I'm a heretic putting season one so low, but I do. WTTH/TH and PG made it all worth it, though.

Even in light of Season 7, in its fullness? I'm certainly hardcore. I can approximate discriminating.

Yep.

S7 was more of a let-down, but S5 was worse.

In the end—arcs and dropped threads (of both seasons) aside—I found season 5 more entertaining to watch—more enjoyable. That said, I do think they suffered from the same sort of arc mismanagement, but in season 7, the characters were somehow lesser to me. I haven't yet watched season 7 again. That's unusual for me. Usually after season bows, I rewatch it all over the summer, and then assorted episodes again, thereafter. I like the overall story told in both seasons. I think the plot development was poor in both seasons.

I still felt like I was watching my characters in season 5. Within season five, I'll thumbs up episodes 1 through 7, 10 through 19, and 22 (I think that's 18 out of the 22). Within season seven, I can thumbs up 1 through 5, 7, 15 through 17, 19, 22 (I think that's 11 out of 22).

All in all, I'd take The Replacement, Fool for Love, Checkpoint, Crush, I Was Made to Love You, The Body, Forever, Intervention, Intervention, Intervention, and The Gift, over pretty much everything in season 7, except Beneath You, and Conversations with Dead People.

In retrospect, if Fool for Love had never freaking happened, I think Fandom would have been a much better place.

Fandom ruined that for me in a way that it never ruined Seeing Red.