I just got into watching Buffy and was going to just watch them in order as they came out on DVD but I'm wondering with the switch to UPN how does that figure in to it?

I'm thinking maybe I should watch them now because they may never be released on DVD but at the same time I'd rather not watch them because it wouldn't be as enjoyable as just watching them all in order and would probably ruin a lot of surprises.

Any thoughts?

Last I checked, UPN had nothing to do with the DVDs.

Fox owns the distiribution rights.

Buy the DVDs and watch that way. You're right in the fact you'd lose a lot of enjoyment by watching season 6 and only hearing about what happened.

Personally, I think Buffy isn't worth buying past season three though. That's all I'll be buying.

A real shame, I was a HUGE fan.

Don't listen to BizRodian ... the show has its ups and downs. Seasons 2 and 3 are clearly the best, but it has some great moments, especially the second half of Season 5 where you'll find some of their best episodes.

Anyway, you're too late for this run on FX, but you can probably catch the next wave. It won't take them too long to run through all the episodes at 2 per day.

Don't watch them on UPN. Don't. You could tape them, I guess, but you've already missed half of this season anyway. Just wait for the DVDs - they will all be on DVD, maybe not soon, but they'll all make it.

das

I started watching Buffy and Angel towards the end of last season, and was hooked like an underaged crackwhore. I've been watching new episodes this year, I just bought and watched the S1 DVD set, and I've been picking up episodes here and there in syndication, in addition to reading episode descriptions on websites.

I say immerse yourself.

Yes, you should watch & support these shows now while they are on in first-run.

I got in to many shows after-the-fact and complained there were no more new episodes, when I hould have supported them while they were on the air.

I started watching Buffy this season even though I was a newbie and it took a few episodes to get up to speed with current events, but I am certainly glad I did.

I'm a better man because of Buffy!

Wait, that didn't come out right...

Season 3 starts on FX tomorrow night, just FYI. Season 3, IMO, is where the show really hit it's stride...great stuff.

Season 3 is great stuff, but I think without the Season 2 backstory (you know what I'm talking about), some of the attachment to the characters wouldn't be there, and consequently the power of Season 3 would be diminished IMO. It's still damn_good stuff though.

das

Well if you are a patient person
S1 Buffy is out Now, but haven't bought it yet.
S2 middle this year prob
S3 around the end of the year
S4 Prob Jan
S5 Prob the Middle of the year
S6 Prob the end of the year. So if you want to wait another year to watch it go ahad and buy it on DVD. I would buy it on dvd because you have all the eps

I agree, season 2 [i]is[/] essential. I was just being info guy.

BTW correction. Season 3 starts tonight, 7:00pm ET.

Watch it now. Great show but it started slipping this season.
I have Region 2 DVDs of Buffy (first three seasons) and Angel season 1. They will all be released here eventually but why would you want to wait so long?
Season 2 and 3 are the best in my opinion.

I say don't watch the new ones. Wait. Buffy, more than any other show that I can think of, builds slowly season by season. You could catch up relatively easily, but would be missing the experience of seeing the characters develop over time.

My wife is in the same position as you. I started watching the show back in undergrad in Seaon 1. She has never seen an episode. I decided in Season 3 that she shouldn't watch the show at that time, but to wait to watch them from the beginning. There was just too much goodness I wanted her to experience for herself instead of me explaining it to her. Now with the DVD's she is going to have that chance.

Besides, your watching now will have no effect on the longevity of the show. It will likely end after season 7.

Well, Monkey, I agree that there are still great episodes.

I just don't think buying a whole season past season 3 is worth it because there are too many mediocre episodes. You're right, late season 5 has some of the best Buffy episodes ever. However, by this point in time, I didn't care as much about the characters because the first half of the season was filled with stupid moon demons and fake snakes and other forgettable plots...

By the way, there's always the option of downloading episodes... and there has been since late season 2. We're one of the first groups out there who started putting episodes up for download.

Anyways, I still say you should watch from the start, maybe tape all of season 3 and not watch it until you've seen season 2.

There is no humanly way that you're going to enjoy the show as much if you know what's going to happen. And there's no way you're going to enjoy episodes set after a big event if you haven't seen that event. At least not as much.

At least that's what I think will apply to you if you've seen Season 1....

Thanks for all of the info! I really do want to watch them in order so I think what I might do (since season 2 comes out in June) is start taping (but not watching) season 3 on FX today, that way when I get my season 2 box set I can go ahead and watch season 3 on tape and won't have to wait for the DVD's.

Well if you are going to tape season 3 starting tonight you will have missed the first episode(it aired last night) sorry for my screwup.

Anyway not to fear FX will probably start over again when season 5 ends which will be in a couple of months. Also the first episode of season 3 will air on Fox in May.

First off, I like your plan. It's what I'd do. It's too far into Season 6 to care about it, so just catch up on 2-5 in order. As for Season #3, Episode #1, you can live without it. After you see Season #2, just ask in here what happens, and we can tell you. While entertaining, it's essentially a throw-away episode, and you only need to know one or two things about it.

das

too far into the new one for sure... but I must say, the dvds will be quite a wait... the first season is lacking, after that, it gets way better, and I think, season 2-5 are all very very good... i also don't think the show has been going downhill, so it's not as good as last year, but it's still damn fine... watch, buy, do what you have to do, you can never have too much buffy...

watching the discs for season 1, man, the show really hadn't found it's legs at that point...pretty bad....

MATT

Interesting how you guys all like seasons 2-3 the best. I tried to watch this show, I wanted to like it but after about 10 minutes I lost interest (primarily because I thought it was a bit cheesy and the film quality was bad). But then for some reason I started watching Angel (probably Fred and Cordy ) and really liked it. That renewed my interest in Buffy and I bought the box set having only seen the 10 minutes of one show and hating it (I guess I have too much money and not enough to do with it). Anyway, I loved the first season and still have 2 episodes left to watch and will be really disappointed when I'm done with them. So if you guys think season 1 was nothing special and the best is yet to come then I'm really looking forward to it!

On a side note, I never found SMG attractive but she's really cute in season 1. And while she's (IMO) gotten less attractive over the years Charisma Carpenter has become equally more attractive. Interesting.

SMG's acting is superb in Buffy, she is an emotional wreck pretty much all of season 2 and 3.

Hey if you have a multi-region DVD player you could always buy the Buffy seasons from Amazon UK, I think they are on season 4 already.

Not sure, I'll have to check. Might just give me the justification I've been needing to buy a new one.