I like Season 6 specifically because it gets so depressing.
On season 4 of Buffy...should I be watching Angel?
- Thread starter JirinPanthosa
- Start date
I like Season 6 specifically because it gets so depressing.
Odd. Most Angel fans consider season one to be its weakest season.
Angel had the same problem as DS9 did on its first season, both shows tried too hard to emulate their parent shows (Buffy and TNG) in their first year.
When they started doing their own thing, both shows improved dramatically.
Yeah, the first couple seasons of Angel rely a little too much on their connection to Buffy. I still really like them, especially the Faith crossover, but it's not until later that the show really comes into its own.
Personally, I think you can easily watch Buffy Seasons 4 and 5 and Angel Seasons 1 and 2 independently of one another just fine without losing much in the way of core story, since the things you need to know that are relevant to one show end up being referenced on the other as far as crossover is concerned.
^Sure, you can do it that way, but it feels more organic if you watch them in release order, so that things happen in the right sequence. Oz leaves Sunnydale to take a ring to Angel in LA, and then right after that you see Oz arriving in LA to give Angel a ring. They don't happen two seasons apart with a bunch of other stuff in between. It's not a matter of knowing what you need to know, it's a matter of seeing things happen in the right order. For me, that's preferable.
Agreed. Even after the first two seasons of Angel, there are still Buffy references that crossover until the end of the show. A certain amulet comes to mind.
When I first watched Buffy and Angel, I did it on DVD, and I alternated every episode. It was a great experience.
Damn.. that took me back to the days.
Both shows awesome in their own way, both starting off weak and probably wouldn't have made in today's TV climate and both improving tremendously.
There was talk about this one unassuming character on Angel that became a fan favorite
and i just watched some of my most favorite scenes with this character again.
"Would you like me to lie to you now?"
Have fun, Angel and Buffy were some of the quintessential late 90s/early 00s TV shows.
Both shows awesome in their own way, both starting off weak and probably wouldn't have made in today's TV climate and both improving tremendously.
There was talk about this one unassuming character on Angel that became a fan favorite
Fred
and i just watched some of my most favorite scenes with this character again.
"Would you like me to lie to you now?"
Have fun, Angel and Buffy were some of the quintessential late 90s/early 00s TV shows.
DonIago's post referred to an unassuming character from Buffy who went on to become a major character on Angel, so it can't be that character.
I'm a big Angel fan, and thought that Wesley had the best character development
Not the character I had in mind, as noted.
That said, the one listed here I would characterize as not having been particularly fond of in their first several episodes, but ultimately becoming one who brought...a lot of surprises later in the series.
Eh, I'm in the middle of an Angel rewatch (which still holds up amazingly well, by the way), and didn't feel like I was really missing much as far as that storyline goes, since they kind of tell you everything you need to know. And same goes for the Faith storyline.
The only time I really felt the need to watch a corresponding Buffy episode is when Buffy herself crossed over and she talked about him previously visiting Sunnydale. And even that turned out to not be anything, as he just skulked around in the background the entire episode and never actually spoke to her!
So unless those occasional little references really bother you, I wouldn't worry too much about watching the two shows together.
Whenever I watch them, I just watch Buffy from beginning to end and then Angel. There are crossovers, but it's never as if a story begins on one show and ends on another. Many of the appearances are just things like Oz on Buffy saying,"I'll be in LA this week." And then he does a cameo on Angel. Hell, one of Angel's appearances on Buffy is just him appearing here and there and telling characters not to tell Buffy he's there. It was like they were making fun of how ineffectual the crossovers actually were.
To clarify my earlier comment AND respond to Christopher, I view the relationship between Buffy and Angel in the same way I view the relationship between the 3 24th Century Star Trek series and the relationship between Arrow and The Flash: watching both/all concurrently gives you a more complete viewing experience, but is entirely optional.
Although I've never tried it, I can imagine switching between the two shows at appropriate times would certainly be enjoyable -- it also certainly isn't necessary in order to enjoy both shows, IMO. I originally binged Buffy and then Angel and had no confusion whatsoever.
Agree. Season 5 is my favorite followed by season 3, but 6 has some great stuff, like Willow's storyline and the musical, which I think is one of the most amazing hours of television I have ever seen.
I'll jump out of turn here -- Spike, by a mile. Much more interesting relationship and another good reason to watch season 6.
As I already said, my preference has nothing to do with knowing things or missing things. I saw the episodes when they first came out, after all, so I already know this stuff. It's got nothing whatsoever to do with what you "need to know" to follow the story. I just like to experience the events in their proper sequence.
Yes. Exactly. It's not about necessity, it's about the viewing experience. Of course each individual series is structured so that you can follow it by itself, because it's a given that not everyone is going to watch the other shows. But the interconnections are there as a bonus for those people who do watch the other shows, who enjoy seeing the common connecting threads and the character arcs and plot points that cross from show to show as an added layer on top of their individual narratives. And I'm one of those people. I enjoy experiencing the whole as well as the parts.
Case in point: When I did my Doctor Who franchise rewatch, one of the things I most wanted to do was go directly from the end of Torchwood's "End of Days," where Jack hears the TARDIS sound and runs after it, to the beginning of Doctor Who's "Utopia," where the TARDIS starts to take off from Cardiff and Jack suddenly appears running after it. I didn't get to see Torchwood until the DVDs came out in the US, well after that season of Doctor Who was broadcast stateside, so I didn't get to experience those episodes in story order the first time around. I didn't need to see them in story order to understand them, but I wanted to. Because I felt I wasn't really getting the full effect until I did.
There's more to the experience of a story than knowing what's going on. You want to feel what's going on, to experience it along with the characters. Getting to see crossover characters go from one show to another in what feels like real time, or close enough, was part of the original experience that was created for viewers who watched the whole franchise in first run. It wasn't essential for enjoying each individual show, but if you choose to experience the whole franchise, why not get the full intended effect?
Similar threads
