Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers question

[James Cole]

Hey guys. I recently bought the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer off Amazon UK for 70 bucks and am starting to watch season 1. I tried looking on Wikipedia for some info on the show but wanted to avoid spoilers.

When exactly does the Angel spin off start? And how interconnected are the two series, in comparison to say SG-1 and Atlantis? Like, do they actually have a two parter that starts in one show and ends in another?

Thanks

 

[The Fatman]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Hey guys. I recently bought the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer off Amazon UK for 70 bucks and am starting to watch season 1. I tried looking on Wikipedia for some info on the show but wanted to avoid spoilers.

When exactly does the Angel spin off start? And how interconnected are the two series, in comparison to say SG-1 and Atlantis? Like, do they actually have a two parter that starts in one show and ends in another?

Thanks

Angel picks up after the 3rd year of Buffy. the two shows are fairly independent, but there are a handful of crossover episodes and occasional references to what happens in the other show.

If I'm not mistaken, the proper viewing order is to watch the Buffy episode, then the Angel episode, and then just keep alternating.

 

[Ethros]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

If I'm not mistaken, the proper viewing order is to watch the Buffy episode, then the Angel episode, and then just keep alternating.

For Season Buffy 4/Angel1 and Buffy 5/Angel 2 yes that's right. 1st ep of Buffy, 1st of Angel, 2nd of Buffy, 2nd of Angel, etc etc

After that the shows split between the WB and UPN, so it's not so clear cut.
But A. They're aren't that many crossovers then anyways,
B. It's fun to do it but not 100% vitally important. Wait and see how much you enjoy the shows or not to see if you can be bothered
C. That'll be a long way off, 144 episodes of the verse until the end of B5/A2, so don't worry about it just yet

 

[Seven of Five]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

I want to watch Buffy again for the first time. Wish there was a memory wipe!

As you're probably already gathering at this point, it isn't really essential to watch Buffy and Angel alternately to enjoy them. I had finished season 6 of Buffy before I went anywhere near Angel. They are both quite independent shows and you don't need to watch one to get the other; watching seasons 1-3 of Buffy first does enhance certain character arcs in Angel and I would highly recommend it.

However, if you do want to watch Buffy/Angel/Buffy/Angel, then watching them alternatively works from the start of season 4, until season 6, where they stopped temporarily after Buffy moved to the UPN network. Angel was still airing on the WB network, where Buffy had previously aired for five seasons. Season 7 is a tad more complicated. Here are the episodes that feature some sort of direct crossover between the shows:

Season 4 Buffy/Season 1 Angel
4x01 'The Freshman'/1x01 'City Of...'
4x03 'The Harsh Light of Day'/1x03 'In The Dark'
4x08 'Pangs'/1x08 'I Will Remember You'
4x15 and 4x16 'This Year's Girl,' and 'Who Are You'/1x18 and 1x19 'Five By Five' and 'Sanctuary'
4x20 'The Yoko Factor'

Season 5 Buffy/Season 2 Angel
2x01 'Judgment'
5x07 'Fool For Love'/2x07 'Darla'
2x09-2x11 'The Trial,' 'Reunion,' 'Redefinition'
5x17 'Forever'/2x17 'Disharmony'
2x22 'There's No Place Like Pltz Glrb'

Season 6 Buffy/Season 3 Angel
3x01 'Heartthrob'
There's an offscreen crossover between episodes 4 and 5 of both Buffy and Angel.

Season 7 Buffy/Season 4 Angel
Argh! Complicated. This season of Angel happens in a compressed space of time, yet is supposed to link up with Buffy which stretches on for a longer period. Oh well. Crossover goodness happens between 4x13 and 4x15; 'Salvage,' 'Release,' 'Orpehous.' Events in 7x17 'Lies My Parents Told Me' happen before 4x15 'Orpheous' so your viewing of alternate episodes would have to change here. 7x18 'Dirty Girls' slots in after 4x15, but then to add to the confusion, events in 4x22 'Home' happen before 7x21 and 7x22 'End of Days,' and 'Chosen.'

Season 5 of Angel has more crossover fun, after Buffy went off the air, but I'll leave that for you to find out.

 

[CommodoreKong]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

When exactly does the Angel spin off start? And how interconnected are the two series, in comparison to say SG-1 and Atlantis? Like, do they actually have a two parter that starts in one show and ends in another?

Thanks

Yeah I had this question when I was first watching the show but they make it pretty clear that Angel is leaving.

 

[Kryton]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Remember that Angel's leaving is directly tied to the earliest appearance by "The First". (That's not enough of a spoiler to spoil anything unless you've already seen it all.)

 

[James Cole]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Thanks for all your input. Have watched the first nine episodes of the series, and am enjoying it.

Just wish they were a little more realistic about the students and town residents reacting to such a high questionable death rate...

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

The high mortality rate is just a way of life (or death as it were) in Sunnydale, so everyone pretty much just goes on. That's part of the joke.

 

[Forbin]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

There's a gag about at the end of season three - that particular class of Sunnydale High having the lowest ever mortality rate thanks to Buffy.

But yeah, the residents (and Joyce Summers in particular) are made out to be VERY clueless.

 

[Kryton]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

But I truly loved Joyce...considering that most shows centered around youth/teens rarely bother to give the stars any parents at all, or they tend to be parental assholes. Joyce spent a lot of time in denial over the whole thing, but she eventually came around and was very cool I thought (again, trying to be vague to avoid spoilers).

 

[amdmiami]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Yah Joyce was a sweetheart. To bad we couldn't get to see much of Xander and Willow's parents.
There are many times throughout the series were I question: Were the hell are their parents at a time like this?
For example:

Spoiler

In season 7 during when Sunnydale was evacuating....wouldn't Willow and Xander's parents take their kids with them? As well as Amanda who was also a young resident of Sunnydale. But some suspension of disbeleif is needed just like in every other show

 

[Kryton]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Well, (and it's not really a spoiler) Xander's entire family is a bunch of ultra-dysfunctional drunks, more or less.

But his dad was played by Sgt. Wojohowicz from Barney Miller, so that was cool.

 

[OdoWanKenobi]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Yah Joyce was a sweetheart. To bad we couldn't get to see much of Xander and Willow's parents.
There are many times throughout the series were I question: Were the hell are their parents at a time like this?
For example:

Spoiler

In season 7 during when Sunnydale was evacuating....wouldn't Willow and Xander's parents take their kids with them? As well as Amanda who was also a young resident of Sunnydale. But some suspension of disbeleif is needed just like in every other show

It could also be becuase by that point their children were adults and had moved out.

 

[Star Wolf]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

There's a gag about at the end of season three - that particular class of Sunnydale High having the lowest ever mortality rate thanks to Buffy.

But yeah, the residents (and Joyce Summers in particular) are made out to be VERY clueless.

But then by the second year of Angel it seemed odd that so Angelenos were clued in.

 

[Ethros]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

There's a gag about at the end of season three - that particular class of Sunnydale High having the lowest ever mortality rate thanks to Buffy.

But yeah, the residents (and Joyce Summers in particular) are made out to be VERY clueless.

Spoiler: spoilero for Seasons 2-3

Well we find out in early Season 2 "School Hard" that the police know about the vampire problem. And in Season 3 we see Mayor Wilkens covered up a lot of what went on- "Well, yes, [Spike] was up to all sorts of shenanigans last year. We had a world of fun trying to guess what he'd do next."

 

[Forbin]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Well, (and it's not really a spoiler) Xander's entire family is a bunch of ultra-dysfunctional drunks, more or less.

But his dad was played by Sgt. Wojohowicz from Barney Miller, so that was cool.

Max Gail, really? I don't remember that.

 

[cultcross]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

Hey guys. I recently bought the entire series of Buffy the Vampire Slayer off Amazon UK for 70 bucks and am starting to watch season 1. I tried looking on Wikipedia for some info on the show but wanted to avoid spoilers.

If I may be rude, I wouldn't come back to this thread now your question's been answered
We're already sliding off into discussion of later episodes, the spoiler tagging will only get more half assed from now on

Although I will say, if you're only 9 episodes in, the best is definitely yet to come! enjoy

 

[Forbin]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

I gotta say, I really loved season one. I really don't get why people feel the need to warn others about it. Sure The Pack and Teacher's Pet were crap, but I still think The Witch is one of the best episodes of the series, and the finale was awesome.

 

[Anwar]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

I liked "The Pack", it was a nice way of showing that Xander could be an effective villain. Hyena Xander and Angelus might've actually been pals if they met.

 

[cultcross]

Re: Watching Buffy for the first time & hoping to avoid spoilers quest

I gotta say, I really loved season one. I really don't get why people feel the need to warn others about it. Sure The Pack and Teacher's Pet were crap, but I still think The Witch is one of the best episodes of the series, and the finale was awesome.

Oh I'm not 'warning' him, I too enjoy the first season, but Seasons 2 and (especially) 3 in my opinion blow it out of the water in terms of quality.