I just finished Buffy season 3 and am preparing to move on to Angel season 1 and Buffy season 4. Before I do I'm hoping that someone in the know can let me know which episodes might be cross overs or if there are an instances of "you should definately see Angel episode 12 before seeing Buffy episode 12."

I haven’t seen Buffy/Angel in a while, but here’s how you’re supposed to watch them:

Start with a Buffy ep, then Angel, then Buffy, then Angel, etc. Because some eps do crossover.

I just did this last month, and there were about 2 or 3 crossovers if I remember correctly. I'm hoping I get my Buffy 5 set in the mail today so I can finally start on Angel 2 doing the same thing.

I had the same question when I started. No one could point me to any web sites that went into detail about the crossovers (which I thought was strange... you'd think fans would have documented this in detail).

The advice that Class316 gives is what everyone told me too...

The Digital Bits review of the Angel box includes a complete list of the episodes lead into (or out from) the Buffy episodes:

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/reviews2/angels1.html

I'm Netflixing these so if there are discs that I can watch all the way through without needing to have another on had it would be great to know that.

I have already watched Angel season 2 and the only "crossover"...



There is no real storyline crossover other than that.

The Buffy episode "Fool for Love" leads into the Angel episode "Darla", but it is not a traditional crossover. The two episodes show the same flashback storyline from different perspectives. You could watch either one without knowing it was supposed to be a crossover, but when watched back-to-back they build off one another nicely.

The poster was asking about BTVS 4/ATS 1. There are several crossovers in those two sets that should be seen in the correct order if possible. As stated before, check the Digital Bits ATS 1 review for an index of these.

Also, a few months back, someone either on this forum or over at Home Theater Forum devised a plan for watching those two seasons concurrently, seeing the crossovers in order, but not having to switch discs between every episode. Something on the order that you can watch the first three eps of Buffy, then the first four eps of Angel, etc.

I've tried finding it on a search at both forums, but I can't find it. Anybody remember that, and know where it is?

That sounds like exactly what I need. does anyone have this info somewhere? Thanks to everyone who as posted, it all helps.

I find that watching a certain Buffy episode after or before Angel doesn't make that much difference. Personally I watch the whole set without crossing episodes from both series. The cross overs are very minor in my opinion.

Except in one case, they are well-written enough that each ep in each series can stand on its own without viewing the crossovers in the other series. There is one scene later in Buffy that is a little confusing without knowledge of what went before on Angel.

But viewing the crossovers in order really adds depth to the episodes in question, I think.

With ep lists in hand, I'll try to reconstruct it here. Watch in this order, you'll get all the crossover matches plus avoid some unnecessary disc-switching:

Buffy 1 -- The Freshman
Angel 1 -- City of
Angel 2 -- Lonely Hearts
Buffy 2 -- Living Conditions
Buffy 3 -- The Harsh Light of Day
Angel 3 -- In the Dark
Angel 4 -- I Fall to Pieces
Angel 5 -- Rm w/a Vu
Angel 6 -- Sense and Sensitivity
Buffy 4 -- Fear Itself
Buffy 5 -- Beer Bad
Buffy 6 -- Wild at Heart
Buffy 7 -- The Initiative
Angel 7 -- The Bachelor Party
Buffy 8 -- Pangs
Angel 8 -- I Will Remember You
Angel 9 -- Hero
Angel 10 -- Parting Gifts
Angel 11 -- Somnambulist
Angel 12 -- Expecting
Angel 13 -- She
Angel 14 -- I've Got You Under My Skin
Angel 15 -- The Prodigal
Angel 16 -- The Ring
Angel 17 -- Eternity
Buffy 9 -- Something Blue
Buffy 10 -- Hush
Buffy 11 -- Doomed
Buffy 12 -- A New Man
Buffy 13 -- The I in Team
Buffy 14 -- Goodbye Iowa
Buffy 15 -- This Year's Girl
Buffy 16 -- Who Are You
Buffy 17 -- Superstar
Buffy 18 -- Where the Wild Things Are
Buffy 19 -- New Moon Rising
Angel 18 -- Five by Five
Angel 19 -- Sanctuary
Buffy 20 -- The Yoko Factor
Angel 20 -- War Zone
Buffy 21 -- Primeval
Angel 21 -- Blind Date
Angel 22 -- To Shanshu in LA
Buffy 22 -- Restless


That should cover getting every cross-reference that I know of (even a couple smaller, minor cross-references that weren't billed as crossover eps) in the correct order. Some of those at the end are debatable. What the Digital Bits says is a crossover later in the season didn't happen in consecutive Buffy/Angel eps, but there was a two- or three-week gap. So this order should work fine.

Anyone have any problems with this, or see something I might have missed?

I agree 100%. If fact, it makes much more sense to watch a block of Angel or Buff by itself, than to alternate between the two.

The "cross-overs" are written so as to be rather stand-alone-ish and they do not rely too strongly on the other series.

As others have stated, the best plan for Buffy S4/S5 and Angel S1/S2 is to watch one Buffy ep, then watch the corresponding Angel ep. So Buffy 4.1, Angel 1.1, Buffy 4.2, Angel 1.2 ... and so on.

The points of crossover are as follows:

Buffy 4.3 "Harsh Light of Day" leads into Angel 1.3 "In the Dark"

Angel 1.7 "Bachelor Party" leads into Buffy 4.8 "Pangs" which leads into Angel 1.8 "I Will Remember You."

Buffy 4.15 "This Year's Girl" and 4.16 "Who Are You" lead into Angel 1.18 "Five By Five" and Angel 1.19 "Sanctuary." Angel 1.19 also leads into Buffy 4.20 "The Yoko Factor." As long as you follow the Buffy-Angel-Buffy-Angel viewing pattern, you'll be on track.

Buffy 5.07 "Fool for Love" is sort of linked with Angel 2.07 "Darla." However, there is no direct crossover. Both episodes have extensive flashbacks that are linked, but both stand on their own.

Events that occur in Buffy 5.22 "The Gift" are referenced at the end of Angel 2.22 "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" but there isn't really any direct storyline crossover.

Buffy season 6 and Angel season 3 are totally independent with no points of crossover. This was when Buffy jumped networks and crossovers were put on hold.

Buffy season 7 and Angel season 4 get a bit more complicated. As the shows were on different networks, they had different schedules. Since this was the final season of Buffy, the two networks loosened up their no crossover policy, and the two shows become somewhat intertwined toward the ends of the seasons. But just keeping to the old Buffy-Angel-Buffy-Angel pattern from a couple of years ago doesn't work.

At any rate, these are the episodes that crossover/lead into each other:

Buffy 7.17 "Lies My Parents Told Me"
Angel 4.15 "Orpheus"
Buffy 7.18 "Dirty Girls"
Buffy 7.19 "Empty Places"
Buffy 7.20 "Touched"
Angel 4.22 "Home"
Buffy 7.21 "End of Days"
Buffy 7.22 "Chosen"

Meaning that Angel 4.16-4.22 all take place concurrently with Buffy 7.18 and 7.20. I've included all of the Buffy eps from 4.17-4.22 as a reference point.

The direct points of crossover involve a Buffy character getting a phone call from an Angel character in 7.17 "Lies My Parents Told Me." A Buffy character makes an appearance in Angel 4.15 "Orpheus." This character then brings another character over from Angel to Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 7.18 "Dirty Girls."

The final episode of Angel season 4, 4.22 "Home," carries a plot device -- and character -- over to the final two episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, 7.21 "End of Days" and 7.22 "Chosen."