Due to renewed interest in Sessa17's mysteriously deleted Buffy thread, in which he watched and reviewed every episode of Buffy as he watched the show for the very first time, I have decided to repost his reviews, which I managed to recover via a now-expire Google cache, and an archive.org copy of the archived version of the thread (more on that later).

The idea is to create a thread that current and future newcomers to the series can read along with as they watch the show. People who have already seen the show are free to read along and comment as well, however, please NO SPOILERS AT ALL ABOUT FUTURE EPISODES OR CHARACTERS. Only comment on events and characters up to the last review posted.

I plan to post Sessa17's reviews once every few days, somewhere between 2-4 episodes at a time. This will allow people time to watch or rewatch the show in time with the reviews, as well as time to discuss individual episodes before the next batch of episode reviews is posted.

I also plan on linking to any "additional reading" I am aware of, such as the AVClub reviews of the show, which were done by a similar neophyte to the show, so the reviews should be safe for new viewers as well (although the comments section on that site may not be).

Finally, I may also post what recollections I have of seeing the show as it aired. I will be posting first impressions only, as far as I can recall them, and may refrain from reviewing an episode if I can't recall my first impressions.

As I said before, I got these reviews from cached and archived versions of the thread, as it had been deleted from this site before I attempted to recover it. I found a Google cache of the first page of the archive version of the thread, which consisted of 6 pages total. I then located copies of pages 1, 2, 3, and 5 on www.archive.org , which covered all of seasons 1-4, the first half of season 5, and the later half of season 6. Pages 4 and 6 appear to be lost forever. Here's a breakdown of what to expect:


If you've already seen the entire show and want to read what's left of the old thread, the archive.org copy is available online here:

Due to the lack of bbcode formatting in the archive threads, quote and spoiler boxes don't exist, so read at your own risk.

For season 2, check this link:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/579...eason-2-a.html

Sessa17's original opening post:

Sessa's first review - "Welcome to the Hellmouth Parts 1 & 2", "The Witch", and "Teacher's Pet"

Additional Reading:

AVClub Review - "Welcome to the Hellmouth Parts 1 & 2" and "The Witch"

Excerpt:

Edit: The reviewer accidentally reveals a plot point not revealed in the show until episode 7, "Angel". So don't read the fill article until after you've watched that.

My first impressions recollection

"Welcome to the Hellmouth" - When I first heard that they were making a TV show out of the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I thought, "hmm, that's odd. They typically make shows out of successful movies." Not that TV shows based on movies, even successful movies, typically turn out that well, or are even that successful. I had suffered through one episode of Look Who's Talking the TV show, and the Ferris Beuller TV show lost out to Parker Lewis Can't Lose, a show that captured the essence of the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off far more successfully than the official TV adaptation did.

What's more, it was on the WB, which was just starting up at that time. I guess that kind of explained why they were adapting a flop as a TV show; the rights for it must of came cheap. Still, I had enjoyed the movie in a cheesy, campy way, so I gave the show a shot. I thought it could be some lighthearted, campy fun like the Hercules and Xena shows that were airing at that time.

So I watched the pilot. Wow, this was a lot better than the movie. It still had humor and quips, but the show had an edge to it. The writing was sharper and more clever than the film. I was surprised it was actually a continuation of the film, instead of just rebooting it entirely, but the show quickly found its own groove and ran with it. And with the introduction of The Master, I was sure I understood how the series would work: a monster of the week, with The Master popping up every once in a while to hatch a new plan to gain his freedom, with Buffy thwarting, but never killing him, just his minions.

"The Witch" - So the next week, Buffy's trying out for cheerleader. I liked how the show veered away from vampires instantly after the pilot. Even though the show has "vampire" in the title itself, in order to be an ongoing series, it really needed to branch out into other monsters. My mind reeled with the possibilities of what other monsters or supernatural beings the show would tackle. Werewolves? Mummies? Zombies? The possibilities were endless.

Of course, as soon as I saw the scene with the mother and daughter at home, it was obvious they had switched bodies. It took the characters a bit longer to get it. However, the final comeuppance for the villainous mother was quite creepy, if ironically fitting.

"Teacher's Pet" - Don't remember too much about my first impressions on this episode, except that I liked how they took the standard male fantasy of being "hot for teacher" and flipped it into a nightmare. It also illustrated the male teen's anxiety about virginity and how it, or specifically the lack of it, becomes a bit of a status symbol in high school. But of course, as this episode shows, those that boast the most about "getting some" are likely getting none at all.

Overall, I was enjoying the series. It wasn't my favorite show, the X-Files was still on and still good at that point, but I liked it.

Oh man....that was a terrific thread. Kudos on finding it and bringing it back.

Did you ask Sessa? Just curious.

Love this show. I'm rewatching it myself, on season 7 now.

I have now. Just sent a PM.

I assumed it'd be okay with him judging from the responses on this thread:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/448...ns-thread.html

However, they are his posts, so if he has any objections to them being reposted here, I'll remove them.

Nice. I never actually jumped in on Buffy from the first day. I came in towards the end of season 2 and was immediately hooked. I even went and bought bootlegs (taped off TV!) off of Ebay so I could catch up on S1/S2. The quality was so bad, I couldn't even tell what was happening in some of the eps but still had a blast. The first season is the weakest IMO, but still has some great moments in it. And it only gets better from there.

^^Once it's out on the internet, it's the world's.

I'm one of the folks who has just started the Buffy series. My wife and I are in the middle of Season 2 and flew through the first season last week. I'll post thoughts about the first season after I get home from work today.

^ You probably want to spoiler a lot of what you just wrote even though it's largely generic.

I remember hearing "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and thought it was probably just campy crap --- based solely on the "cover of the book".

But I kept hearing so much about it from this forum, I ended up getting Buffy S1 and 2 at Best Buy. It was during the last season of the show. I remember after I got hooked, I ended up reading about the finale, but didn't know who many of the characters mentioned in the finale even were.

First season -- very enjoyable first season. I do remember being impressed by "The Witch" and enjoyed the stand-alone eps. very much. I must have since I kept watching, but I really don't remember that much or my memory is overrun with what I was about to watch --- the best season of TV ever produced for a serialized show.

Superboy, please use spoiler tags for any discussion of Buffy events past the episodes already reviewed.

Despite the intention of this thread, chances are like 99% of people reading this and other Buffy threads have already seen the show. That leaves maybe one or two people who haven't or haven't heard enough about it in the 13 years since it started.

If people are really that interested in talking about the show on a more regular basis - those who have seen it and don't have to worry about all this spoiler nonsense to "protect" one or two people who may or may not be reading this, there should be a long-term discussion thread devoted to the show, where it can run concurrently with this thread, only spoiler-FULL, not spoiler-free. That way they could parallel each other - one thread for hindsight, this one for discovery.

Anyone interested in that?

Someone created a thread like that almost a decade ago:
http://forum.dvdtalk.com/tv-talk/110...ay-appear.html

That was then. Obviously that one didn't work since it's just "YESSSSSS.....a lot of 's' in there.

This potential new one could run as a companion to this new-old thread now - going season-by-season but for veterans, not new viewers.

Personally I've never seen the appeal of reading years-old threads for one simple reason - you read something you'd like to comment on and it's almost pointless because that discussion is not only over and done with going on years now, but also there's a chance the participants are long gone.

OK, so make a different thread.

Meanwhile, I'll keep going on with this thread. And veterans are welcome to post on this thread, just be mindful of spoilers is all.

Sessa's second review - "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date", "The Pack", "Angel", "I Robot, You Jane".

Additional Reading

AVClub Review - "Teacher's Pet", "Never Kill A Boy On The First Date", "The Pack"
http://www.avclub.com/articles/teachers-pet-etc,13024/

My first impressions recollection

"Never Kill A Boy On The First Date" - I haven't seen the Buffy movie in what's nearing 2 decades, but there's three bits I distinctly remember:

1. Paul Ruben's extended death scene (with after credits surprise).
2. "Aw man, look what she did to my [hot]dog!"
3. There's this bit at the dance where Buffy and Luke Perry's character are dancing to a slow song, holding each other close. Luke Perry says in breathless amazement,"you're not like the other girls." Buffy responds simply, quietly, "yes I am."

Now, the first two scenes are just funny (and looking it up right now, it seems I misremember how the hotdog line went), but the last line cut to the core of Buffy's character. Deep down, she's still just a girl, with all the emotional thrills and turmoil that implies.

However, with a night job like vampire Slayer, even simply dating someone, an act already fraught with drama for any teen, gets exponentially more complicated.

So I found "Never Kill a Boy" to be a continuation of that theme, but with a random guest actor filling the role of episode boyfriend. The show was obviously setting up Angel to be the romantic interest, but I was secretly rooting for Xander to get Buffy. So I wasn't too invested in her relationship with random dude, and expected him to be gone by the time the episode was over, one way or another.

More interesting was the concept of "The Annointed One," and the surprise reveal at the end that it's a kid, and not the crazy vampire on the bus.

"The Pack"
What do cliques in high school resemble, if not packs of wild animals. Monsters-as-metaphor-for-high-school in full effect here, but it still mostly works. It'd be better if there was a plausible explanation for Xander hanging out with the misfits besides possession. Instead of being hurt that their friend is hanging out with a new crowd, Buffy and Willow should've thought almost immediately that something unnatural was happening. And of course, the whiny principle gets eaten, which is played really creapy and unsettling.

"Angel"
I swear I must've missed this one when it first aired. I remember getting filled in about the whole "Angel's a vampire" from watching the next episodes, and back then there was no Tivo, cable on demand, or online streaming.

"I Robot, You Jane"
OK, this was just a bad episode. The whole "demon in the machine" was laughable to me, a huge computer nerd. I wasn't down with the whole digital wiccan concept either, although Jenny Calendar was easy on the eyes. Also felt bad that Willow was such an oblivious dupe in this episode. I had a thing for Willow, and felt she'd be smarter than that.

If not for anyone else, at least I'm glad those posts in the original Buffy thread have been resurrected. They make me laugh, I remember how much I struggled to make it through that first season, and I think that is what made the thread so popular. It would have been boring just reading someone post about how much they loved every single episode of a show. I also like reading the journal-eque comments I threw in. I broke up with that girlfriend years ago, its just funny to me seeing her mentioned.

I get that. Seeing how different your overall tone may have changed, matured or whatnot, which is only really discovered when looking back a few years.

I honestly don't remember my initial impressions of the show, which I started watching in 2001 when it hit the '5 days a week' rerun schedule.

"ANGEL" was a show I watched from day one - October 5, 1999 which was its original WB airdate. Some of it confused me because of the references and characters that were on Buffy, a show I knew nothing about.

Season 3 of ANGEL was going to begin two weeks or so after Buffy began its reruns with the pilot, which I do remember watching but I actually didn't see the second episode "The Harvest", since the "Welcome to the Hellmouth" rerun aired on Monday, September 10th of that year. Needless to say, Buffy wasn't exactly a priority the following night.

I didn't see "The Harvest" until December or so, when the first season DVD set came out. I thought, 'what the hell' and picked it up after seeing the commercials for it.

For me the show was more about discovering those moments that connected to the characters and events that were happening on ANGEL, and finally understanding their significance a little more.

In hindsight, I do regret not seeing Buffy as it originally aired the way I did with ANGEL, because watching these two shows on DVD or any other means in a time-compressed form just isn't remotely the same, and isn't remotely as special.

The trailers (The WB just made the absolute best trailers for these two shows), the excitement of the cliffhangers before holiday rerun breaks and season finales - the agony of the wait - that made these shows more of an event that DVD can't replicate very well. Season 2 of Buffy especially - I can only imagine what it was like to watch that unfold back in 1997-1998. Season 3 of ANGEL was definitely my favorite season to watch in that sense - the cliffhanger endings and disasters were immense for that season.

Cool thread, thanks Jay G.

My first exposure to Buffy was the second half of Never Kill a Boy on the First Date. I thought it was dreadful and I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. I went on to avoid the show until near the end of season three, when out of sheer boredom one evening, I decided to check it out again, found it okay, caught it the next week, and then found myself getting hooked. I wouldn't see the earlier episodes until the show went into syndication, and I still think that season one and the first half of season two are pretty terrible. However, at that point I was a rabid Buffy fan so it was worth it to me to sit through the earlier stuff just to see the back story and and to enjoy the nice character moments that were scattered throughout.

It's been a couple of years since I've watched any Buffy. This thread may inspire to dust off my dvds and give them a spin.