This accurately describes my feelings about the show I watched the other night. As someone else said, they just weren't having any FUN.
I never watched Buffy on TV. I bought the first season blind and eagerly waited for the rest. However, the show I saw a few nights ago gave me pause. I just could not believe what I saw. The characters I knew from the first three seasons were full of life, energy and fun. I really liked their zest for life and the way they used language. I found them fun and funny. I found it difficult to accept that those lovable kids grew into the distinctly unlikable adults I saw the other night. They were dull, wooden and joyless. I think the performances were phoned in. Well, enough of that. It appears all the fun left with season six so if I buy only up to season five I should be OK. Funny, I qut buying x-files at season five too. Maybe there is something about the five year mark... BTW, I rank the seasons I have seen 3, 2, 1. Thanks for all your opinions. I found the conversation enlightening and helpful.

Should the series still be fun after all of these years?

At the beginning, maybe, but it's just been year after year of heartbreak, loss, betrayal, and tragedy.

More than anything else, BtVS has been about -- to borrow a phrase from Warren Ellis -- people's lives being ground into ****.

Only if they want me to watch it or buy it. Buffy was pure escapism for me. Hopefully nobody sees reality in a series about a Vampire slayer...

I haven't seen any of season 7. I've seen probably half a dozen season 6 episodes. So, taking that into account, my rankings are:

3-2-1-5-4-?-?

The rankings for me are: 5-2-3-7-4-6-1
season 7 for me will probably stay the same or move up in rank depending on the final episodes. On behalf of season 6 and 7, although its true that the characters become less joyous later on, it makes sense once you see what buffy and the gangs been through. Also, theres still alotta fun and laughs left in show except, nowadays they seem to have separate shows for comedy and drama, unlike the old seasons when they could seamlessly blend the two.

Are you serious? There were a few amazing moments, in season 3 and 6 in particular, where they portrayed situations similar to my life better than any other show I've seen.

I'm a recent Buffy convert and have spent the past 8 months or so going thru the seasons from episode one. I just finished Buffy Season 5 (along with Angel Season 2) and I thought both were great.

Of the first five seasons, I feel that the fourth was the weakest. The whole initiative story line just did not agree with me. It felt like the writers were trying to create a dark conspiracy in the style of the X-Files, which did not work well.

However the strength in the series has always been the characters. I've never seen an episode of Buffy that was not entertaining in some way. Even when the "monster of the week" was lame, the dialogue was still worth an hour of my time.

I must have way to much time on my hands. I just started watching Buffy and Angel in January, and watched both shows entire run (the majority of which was on DVD) over the course of a month. I just started playing an online MMPOG that doesn't require my complete attention and have been watching Buffy over again from the begining. I just finished season 4 a few minutes ago - definately not any standout episodes that I would make a point of rewatching (aside from Hush), but as a whole it was definately worth rewatching. Unfortunately (I guess) I seem to have this bad habit - once I start watching a couple of old episodes I have this very strong urge to watch the next one, then the next one, then the next one...