Question re: order in which to watch Buffy/Angel episodes
 

Some months ago someone (I think das) posted the order in which to watch Buffy/Angel episodes. I had copied it to a word doc on my computer, but I lost all my data (long story) and need that list again.

I tried searching for it but couldn't find it. I particularly need Buffy S7/Angel S4.

Help!

Thanks.

Buffy 7.17 leads into Angel 4.15 which leads back into Buffy 7.18

Angel 4.22 should be viewed before the last 2 Buffy eps in season 7

Thanks, MrX. Any other crossovers I should be careful of?

Nothing major. They pretty much go together in the first few seasons number wise. I believe Buffy aired first so you should watch the Buffy episodes first, then Angel

Here's a couple of old threads that I think will have what you want:

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=345505

http://www.dvdtalk.com/forum/showthr...hreadid=334414

The second link also shows some other season match-ups besides 7/4.

I've just recently started watching Buffy on a local channel rather than FX so I only get one a week, but I knew I'd never be able to keep up with 1 or 2 a day from FX (and don't really want to buy the DVDs). Reading back through some of the older threads while searching for the above info, it's interesting to see how many people talk about S1 starting out slow. I guess maybe it's because I have total faith in those who say it will get even better, but so far I've enjoyed the 8-9 episodes I've watched very much!

Anyhoo, hope the threads linked above are helpful!

Steph

Thanks, Steph, that's exactly what I needed.

While there is continuity between Angel S4 and Buffy S7, I don't think it's really important that the two shows' episodes be watched in any particular order to avoid spoilers. The way the storylines are set up, the main points of crossover begin on Angel and then carry over to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, so as long as Angel Season Four is viewed in its entirety before Buffy Season Seven, everything should work out okay. (The one exception would be Buffy 7.17 "Lies My Parents Told Me" which leads into Angel 4.15 "Orpheus," but it's really minor and could even serve to spoil the "surprise" in "Orpheus.")

I have come up with an approximate viewing order for Buffy S7 and Angel S4 so that everything meshes:

Buffy 7.01 "Lessons"
Buffy 7.02 "Beneath You"
Buffy 7.03 "Same Time, Same Place"
Angel 4.01 "Deep Down"
Buffy 7.04 "Help"
Angel 4.02 "Ground State"
Buffy 7.05 "Selfless"
Angel 4.03 "The House Always Wins"
Buffy 7.06 "Him"
Angel 4.04 "Slouching Toward Bethlehem"
Buffy 7.07 "Conversations With Dead People"
Angel 4.05 "Supersymmetry"
Buffy 7.08 "Sleeper"
Angel 4.06 "Spin the Bottle"
Buffy 7.09 "Never Leave Me"
Angel 4.07 "Apocalypse Nowish"
Buffy 7.10 "Bring on the Night"
Angel 4.08 "Habeas Corpses"
Buffy 7.11 "Showtime"
Angel 4.09 "Long Day's Journey"
Buffy 7.12 "Potential"
Angel 4.10 "Awakening"
Buffy 7.13 "Killer in Me"
Angel 4.11 "Soulless"
Buffy 7.14 "First Date"
Angel 4.12 "Calvary"
Buffy 7.15 "Get it Done"
Angel 4.13 "Salvage"
Buffy 7.16 "Storyteller"
Angel 4.14 "Release"
Buffy 7.17 "Lies My Parents Told Me"
Angel 4.15 "Orpheus"
Buffy 7.18 "Dirty Girls"
Angel 4.16 "Players"
Angel 4.17 "Inside Out"
Angel 4.18 "Shiny Happy People"
Buffy 7.19 "Empty Places"
Angel 4.19 "Magic Bullet"
Angel 4.20 "Sacrifice"
Angel 4.21 "Peace Out"
Buffy 7.20 "Touched"
Angel 4.22 "Home"
Buffy 7.21 "End of Days"
Buffy 7.22 "Chosen"

What happens is that the Angel episode "Orpheus" takes place between the Buffy episodes "Lies My Parents Told Me" and "Dirty Girls." LMPTM sort of sets up something in "Orpheus" in a very minor way, but "Orpheus" leads directly into "Dirty Girls."

And the run of Angel episodes from "Orpheus" to "Home" take place inbetween the Buffy episodes "Lies My Parents Told Me" and "Touched." Sounds sort of complicated, but it's not.

In the list, I've tried to break down the last third of the Angel episodes into logical chunks to take place between the Buffy episodes, which is sort of hard to do because the way Angel season four is set up, one episode pretty much leads into the next, but there are a few breathing spaces.

(One thing I'm not terribly clear on is that a character in Angel 4.13 "Salvage" makes a telephone call to Sunnydale and has a brief converstation with one of the characters... ...I don't think that the flipside of this conversation was shown in Buffy season seven. If so, I might have to modify the order.)

Does anyone have the preferred viewing order for all the seasons? As I said, I lost my documents on my computer, and I'd love to have that list again.

Thanks in advance.

Don't even worry about the cross-overs - seriously. The shows work just fine independently of each other - and were written to do so.

I'd actually suggest watching a season of one show uninterrupted by the other show. As the flow of one show within it's own season works better on it's own than alternating episodes of the two shows together.

That's probably the best way to do it, since by Buffy's fourth season it became rather serial, as would the later seasons of Angel. Each show has its own rhythm. I've tried to alternate Buffy S4/5 and Angel S1/2 season like we're supposed to, but I find it hard to watch that way. It just seems unnatural to split the episodes up like that even when the crossover and dovetail, and I think it's best to just keep in mind when which show fits where instead of actually trying to watch them in that order.

Angel season four can safely be watched in its entirety without fear of spoiling anything major in Buffy season seven, though watching Buffy season seven before Angel would possibly spoil a few things on Angel, like

As far as all seasons go (and the only reason to watch them in "viewing order" is to avoid spoilers, though it's kind of interesting how they fit together):

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season One
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Two
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Three

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Four/Angel Season One [Swap out episodes, starting with Buffy. So you'd watch Buffy 4.01, then Angel 1.01, Buffy 4.02, Angel 1.02, and so on...]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Five/Angel Season Two [Again, follow the same pattern from BTVS 4/ATS 1: 5.01, 2.01, 5.02, 2.02, and on until 5.21, 2.21, 5.22, 2.22]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Six/Angel Season Three. And here the crossovers stopped when the networks switched. There is a "non-crossover" around the fourth/fifth episodes of each series that season, so the same pattern for the previous two years *could* still apply even though there is no direct crossover -- or even indirect crossover like "Crush" and "Disharomony" from the previous year -- and no reason to alternate episodes that year.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Seven/Angel Season Four [see above, season seven was the final season of Buffy]

Angel Season Five. And with this season ends the saga of the Slayerverse. (Hopefully, just for now.)

That's an odd thing to say, since I originally saw these episodes in alternating order, and weeks apart too, no less.

Well, if you're watching them weeks apart, it shouldn't matter at all - but with dvd, since you'll most likely be watching them a disc at a time and probably all of it within a week or two, then alternating shows could really disrupt the rhythm of a show's progression - I feel that this is more harmful to the show's enjoyment than any possibel spoiler - which there really wouldn't be any, anyways.

As someone who had never watched a Buffy or Angel episode, I picked up Buffy Season 1 blind. I enjoyed it and have since grabbed seasons 2, 3 and 6 (Costco deal I couldn't pass up). I've watched up through season 3 and plan on getting 4 and 5 before watching 6 (duh?). My question is this: Since I'm not really into the character of Angel all that much (I think he's kinda boring, IMO), can I just continue on with Buffy and skip Angel completely without getting lost at some point? Does Angel get better on his own to the point that as a Buffy "fan" I might grow to appreciate Angel?

You can watch the whole of Buffy without watching Angel and not get lost. The only major plot gap would be concerning the character of Faith. At the end of Season 3....


As for liking the Angel series, I'd say most Buffy fans would like it. The character of Angel does change a little, and the dynamic of the group on that show is interesting, as well as its continuations of some characters and themes from Buffy. It's not a carbon copy though, and does get a bit darker and more dour than Buffy ever did, which may or may not be to one'sliking. I'd say rent it or borrow it if you can.

and some would say much better. I prefer Angel the show over Buffy. It's darker and more adult. Season 2-4 of Angel are so much better than their corresponding Buffy seasons (5-7) that it's almost a joke. Of course this is just my opinion and I love both shows dearly, but when asked to rank them, I prefer Angel as a whole over Buffy as a whole......although seasons 2 and 6 of Buffy really give Seasons 2-4 of Angel a run for their money.

I'm with garmonbozia--as a whole, I much prefer Angel to BtVS, even though it's hard to beat the first 3 years of BtVS. And, as far as the characters go, by the end of BtVS, I was officially sick of every single character on that show. I can't say the same thing for the end of AtS--I still loved all of them.

I think that, as a character, Angel definitely becomes more interesting on his own series, once he's away from being Buffy's handsome broody boyfriend.

Plus, there are several characters who started out on Buffy, who end up playing larger roles on AtS, such as:


There are a couple of characters I left off that list because it's sort of a cool surprise when each of them appears onscreen.

This is true, they usually have enough exposition to keep the viewer informed what what they need to know if they haven't seen the other show yet.

However, here the main episodes to be concerned with if you still want to watch the crossovers "in order" without resorting to the Buffy, Angel, Buffy, Angel, method the whole time.

Seasons 4/1
Buffy 4.1: The Freshmen
Angel 1.1: City of
(very minor point and not that essential, but it may be missed if not seen back to back)

Buffy 4.3: The Harsh Light of Day
Angel 1.3: In the Dark

Angel 1.7: Bachelor Party
Buffy 4.8: Pangs
Angel 1.8: I Will Remember You

Buffy 4.16: Who Are You?
Angel 1.18: Five by Five
Angel 1.19: Sanctuary
Buffy 4.20: The Yoko Factor
(these don’t follow each other immediately, but the first should be seen sometime before the second and so on)

Seasons 5/2
Buffy 5.7: Fool for Love
Angel 2.7: Darla
(these two work so well together they MUST be seen together IMO)

Angel 2.11: Redefinition
Buffy 5.14: Crush
Angel 2.17: Disharmony
(these don’t follow each other immediately, but the first should be seen sometime before the second and so on)

Buffy 5.22: The Gift
Angel 2.22: There's no Place Like Plrtz Glrb
(not much of a crossover, but watch the Buffy finale first unless you want to be spoiled)

Seasons 6/3
Buffy 6.4: Flooded
Angel 3.4, 3.5: Carpe Noctem, Fredless
(the “non-crossover” event)

I've left off seasons 7/4 as those have been covered already in this thread.

ok, so just to clarify. I can watch Angel Season 4 in it's entirety without spoiling ANYTHING from Buffy Season 7, right?

I have no idea how either show ends and I want to keep it that way until I actually watch them.

That's my concern as well, JEStinson3. I get the impression from the above posts that very little, if anything, will be spoiled by watching Angel S4 first and then Buffy S7.

Right...nothing from Buffy season 7 is mentioned in Angel season 4, except really vague stuff like "oh, they need me in Sunnydale", "Buffy can handle herself", etc. There is a Buffy character who drops by the Hyperion, but nothing important from BtVS is spoiled from that appearance (not there there is anything especially exciting to spoil anyway).