Buffy the Vampire Slayer

There is no conceivable way for me to adequately describe my experience of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the first time. Even if I could, I don't think that I would be willing to share everything I felt about it because, frankly, it is far too personal and can only be understood by others who have watched it. Just ask my friends who started giving each other confused and frustrated glances when my Buffy mentors, Will and Duffee, and I entered into discussions about vampires, Slayers, Watchers, and a world full of demons and other worlds. Once I realized that this was happening, I of course felt bad about it, but it was near impossible to stop. The intensity of my love for these characters, their story, and the art of Joss Whedon, forced me to reevaluate my perspective on other television shows. I know that I have loved many before this--Scarecrow & Mrs. King showed me my capacity to become obsessed with tv back at the young age of 12, Alias opened my eyes to how incredible and moving and beautiful tv could be (and will always be most dear to me because I grew up with the help of that show), and LOST fulfilled the need that I had for great tv when Alias left me and then exceeded all my previous standards for great tv--but how do those shows now compare to Buffy? I posed this question to Will and Duffee, and she gave the perfect response: "Buffy just matters more." That's exactly it. It's life and death, good vs. evil, in every single episode. The themes of family, redemption, and human nature, are universal, but the execution is one-of-a-kind.

Top Ten Favorite Non-Joss Episodes:
It goes without saying that the best episodes were those written and directed by Joss himself. They were epic on every level, from character development to story advancement. So I am going to put them on a separate list because it's just not fair to the many fantastic episodes over Buffy's 7 seasons:
1) "Fool for Love" (written by Doug Petrie), 5.07- Spike tells Buffy the stories of how he killed two previous Slayers.
2) "Tabula Rasa"(written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner), 6.08- Willow casts a spell that backfires and causes everyone to forget their identities. Giles and Anya think they are engaged, Spike thinks he is Giles' son Randy, and Buffy calls herself Joan.
3) "The Wish" (written by Marti Noxon), 3.09- Cordelia makes a wish that Buffy had never come to Sunnydale, transferring her into an alternate reality where the Master rules the town, Willow and Xander are his most loyal vampires, and there is no Slayer to help.
4) "Earshot" (written by Jane Espenson), 3.18- Buffy fights a demon that gives her the ability to read minds.
5) "Band Candy" (written by Jane Espenson), 3.06- All the adults in Sunnydale eat chocolate bars that turn them into teenagers.
6) "Selfless" (written by Drew Goddard), 7.05- Flashbacks show Anya's past as a vengeance demon.
7) "Pangs" (written by Jane Espenson), 4.08- A mysterious curse brings an attack from Native Americans on the Scooby Gang.
8) "Passion" (written by Ty King), 2.17- Angelus continues to torment Buffy and those around her.
9) "Intervention" (written by Jane Espenson), 5.18- Giles takes Buffy into the desert to learn more about the history of the Slayer, and Spike's Buffy-bot confuses everyone back in Sunnydale.
10) "Lover's Walk" (written by Dan Vebber), 3.08- Spike returns to Sunnydale and kidnaps Willow to do a spell that will make Drusilla come back to him.

Top Ten Favorite Joss Episodes:
1) "Once More with Feeling," 6.07- A demon comes to Sunnydale that makes everyone express their feelings through song and dance.
2) "Doppelgangland," 3.16- The vampire version of Willow from "The Wish" enters her counterpart's universe.
3) "The Gift," 5.22- Buffy and her friends fight against Glory to try to prevent her from opening a portal into other worlds and letting demons flood in.
4) "Chosen," 7.22- Buffy and the Potentials take their fight against the First down into the Hellmouth, and Willow changes the world.
5) "Amends," 3.10- Angel is being haunted by his past victims, and Buffy tries to help him understand why he was brought back from the dead.
6) "The Body," 5.16- Buffy faces the death of her mother.
7) "Becoming, Pt. 2," 2.22- Buffy has to stop Angelus from opening a gateway into hell while Willow works on the spell to get Angel's soul back.
8) "Who Are You?," 4.16- Faith and Buffy discover what it's like to live in each other's bodies.
9) "Hush," 4.10- A group of demons called the Gentlemen come to Sunnydale and steal everyone's voices.
10) "Nightmares" (also written by David Greenwalt), 1.10- People's nightmares start coming true. The episode where everything clicked for me.

Buffy + Angel forever