Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 7

2.13 Innocence

Watching the episodes in quick succession, it strikes me as a little odd that they would have 2 two-parter episodes so closely together, the other being just two episodes ago. However as two-parter episodes go, this one is pretty epic. The first half is a little slower, mostly containing Buffy and Angel's relationship which as I have said I'm not a fan off when it gets too mushy, which it did here- frequently. Still I appreciate the message they are putting across- the pair are very much in love and it is a wonderful set up for the next episode. Buffy's (shortened) birthday party is one of the highlights of this episode as is Drusilla's party which is the first time we really see Drusilla at her most mad. The changing of dynamics between Spike and Dru is of note here too with Spike being the sick one. It's interesting to see how they interact how that he's in a wheelchair. I also loved the scene where Oz asks Willow out, I personally think its one of the cutest scenes in the show. (8/10)

2.14 Surprise

A really excellent and one of my favourite episodes of the show. Buffy (and Angel more specifically) are given happiness and then it is cruelly taken away from them. Despite not being a big fan of the relationship, watching Buffy deal with Angel losing his soul is heartbreaking and Sarah Michelle Gellar really shows off what she can do. David Boreanaz also gets a chance for some proper acting and its little wonder why his turn as Angelus convinced Joss Whedon that he needed his own show.
Demon wise I love how they kill the Judge, the showdown scene produces two iconic images from the show- the Scoobies marching towards the Judge and Buffy looking over the gun. I also adored the Willow Oz scene in the van- one of my favourite scenes of the whole show- these two have such a chemistry and what Oz says is just so sweet. One scene I also wanted to highlight was when Giles realises that Buffy has had sex with Angel- its such an awkward 'dad finding out his daughter has had sex' moment and was played really well.
One thing I didn't like about this episode was how both Giles and Buffy were so hard on Jenny; yes she kept her identity secret but what happened wasn't her fault and she also suffers a loss in this episode. Giles was especially hard on Jenny, and continues to be over the next few episodes which I think is very unfair. (9.5/10)

2.15 Phases

I love this episode. It's not the shows best, but I'm a big Oz fan and I love the attention on him in this episode. The Willow/Oz moments were adorable, especially at the start and end of the episode. I like the mystery of not knowing who the werewolf is, thought admittedly that is lost on second watch. I also thought the subtle continuation of Angelus' Buffy obsession by siring Theresa, was well done and continues that particular storyline thread without it being too overt in the episode. It maybe why the Angelus arc as a whole is so good to watch. Other good bits were Giles getting excited over researching werewolves and the hunter. Even though I'm glad he didn't get Oz I think the idea of a mercenary werewolf hunter is a neat one. (8.5/10)

2.16 Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered

I think this might be one of my favourite Xander centric episodes. Most of his are quite light hearted and this is no exception with the entire female population of Sunnydale (minus Cordy) falling in love with Xander. Its lots of fun, with the female characters all playing femme fetale with Xander and watching him running around terrified. The episode has a much darker undertone with Giles pointing out the difference between love and obsession something which is paralleled with Angel's obsession with Buffy- this is something I only noticed this time round which goes to show how rich and deep this show is. (8/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 6

2.09 What's My Line Part 1

The first half of one of my favourite episodes of the show. As it's the first of a two parter, much of this episode is quite slow. We have a lot of career day stuff as well as Buffy skating and wandering the streets. The Order of Tanaka sent after Buffy is very interesting though, I loved the fake-out with Kendra being initially set up as one of the Order. The genuine fear of Giles added an element of genuine danger to the show, that isn't always there. I also loved slowly finding out what Spike and Dru are up to with the tarot cards revealing the story especially the ending, showing the picture of an Angel, (thought admittedly I didn't realise this on first watch as the picture isn't completely obvious) hinting at what will happen in the next episode. The only bit I really didn't like was the Buffy kissing Angel with the vamp face, it was quite the urgh *gag* moment especially considering we've seen vampires 'vamp' in and out quickly so there's no real reason for him to keep his bumpy-faceness. I know the moment was meant to signify that she loves him no matter what blah blah blah but I found it quite gross to be honest. (8/10)


2.10 Whats My Line Part 2

A very satisfying conclusion to the two parter. The reveal at the end of the previous episode that Kendra is in fact another Slayer was a brilliant one and adds a lot to the episode as she is basically the anti-Buffy, but in a good way. The conflict between her and Buffy set a precedent for the future Buffy/Faith conflict but I liked that eventually Kendra and Buffy find a mutual understanding. There was a lot packed into this episode, the Oz/Willow cuteness, the Xander/Cordy kisses (accompanied by that brilliant swelling music and eww another bug man!) Drusilla torturing Angel an almighty fight at the climax of the episode. Drusilla rising from the ashes was proabably the most surprising and creepy bit of the episode; definitely left a chilling feeling both the first time and this time I watched the episode. (9/10)

2.11 Ted

This episode was the first one I watched, when I started watching the show properly. (the first episodes I actually watched were from season 5) It's a bit of a creepy episode and not too dissimilar to the season 4 episode 'Living Conditions,' where once again Buffy is suspicious of someone everybody else likes. Its a decent enough episode, though I must've liked it more the first time round as it was enough to start me watching the show! John Ritter is good as the psycho boyfriend and its nice to see Joyce get her own storyline. I also really enjoyed Giles/Jenny getting back together and for once I liked the Buffy/Angel stuff, with Angel injecting some much needed perspective into Buffy's opinions. (7.5/10)

2.12 Bad Eggs

Not a fan of this episode, another gross one. Makes me never want to eat eggs (especially boiled again!!) The idea itself was good, the demon making the students of Sunnydale into her minions to dig her up. I liked the storyline of Buffy dealing with responsibility or at least in Joyce's eyes, but in a way it makes you wish Buffy would just tell Joyce about her calling- getting Giles and the rest of the Scooby's to back her up, it would make her life a lot more simple! (6.5/10)

Duh! News of the Week

Duh! News- stuff that happened this week that was really no surprise to anyone

Glee was picked up for a full season- obviously, its easily one of the most anticipated American shows in years and has easily had the most promotion. The last 9 episodes will start filming in January and air in March. :( thats a long time to wait- luckily we have the next 9 to keep us entertained in the mean time


Glee was picked up by E4 in the UK- obviously there's really no other channel for it here. ITV2 and Sky1 were the only other options but Sky1 likes big, epic programmes and ITV2 isn't really known for picking up quality programming (apart from Entourage obviously!!) There was no confirmed air date or even month which means it might be a while before its shown here.

The Beautiful Life was cancelled after 2 episodes- whilst the swiftness of the axe is a little surprising, the fact that it happened really isn't, it looked like a terrible show with a terrible premise and was plagued with problems from the start.

Neil Patrick Harris was awesome whilst presenting last week's Emmy's- I don't watch HIMYM but he's great on Dr Horrible, so he was bound to be good. Plus he had to be better than last year's awkward reality TV hosts performance.

Problems with the Dollhouse
I found this really interesting Zap2It article on one writer's take on the problems with the first season of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse. I have to say I think he's pinpointed the main issues with the show.
Now I'm a big Joss Whedon fan, Buffy, Angel and Firefly are some of my favourite TV shows and I think with Buffy and Firefly/Serenity he changed the face of TV forever (with Buffy he changed the way genre's were melded within shows and Firefly became the first cancelled TV show to become and film- therefore triggering fans of every cancelled TV show to now start campaigns for their prematurely ended TV shows to be made into a movie/comic book).

However despite these reasons meaning that he has earned his place in the TV Fame of Hall as a TV genius, his latest creation has not been as entertaining as his last 3. There are many excuses for this- network interference, too heightened expectations, Buffy's first season wasn't good either so give it time, but this article does look at many of the underlying issues for the show and I think he's pretty fair. The article is a bit spoilery for the first episode of season 2 so I'll give the main points here along with some commentary. Although if you don't mind a few spoilers the article really is very interesting as are some of the comments.

• The Dollhouse and its engagements seldom make sense.- The one that got me was the midwife- why would you spend all that money, when you can get someone much cheaper, whose probably just as qualified?? The constant escort engagements are a little dull as well, alright for the first few episodes but they need to come up with some more creative engagements

• Eliza Dushku's acting isn't up to the role.- This oneI totally agree with. She was great in Buffy and Angel but I think she's better in a supporting or ensemble role. I don't mean that in a harsh way but she's not great as a lead where she's require to take on multiple personalities. I think this show would be better as an ensemble.

• The writing isn't as good as what we should expect from Whedon's series.- There are definitely some instances where this is true, but it's always so.

• There's a fine line between sexy and sexist, and "Dollhouse" often falls on the wrong side.- Yeah I'm a little tired of all Dushku's skimpy outfits, I know they need to get ratings but as the article points out she's pretty enough to fulfill teenage boys fantasy's without needing to be half naked all the time

• "Epitaph One." The problem with this awesome episode is that it actually would have better served as a series finale. Plus the article points out that the future could and I think should be changed or its a little boring that we know what future the Dollhouse is headed for

• Hope for season two?- Personally I hope this second season can step up like Buffy did in it's second season. I want to see more of the other characters and less of Echo and Paul - who are quite frankly dull together. I think having Epitaph One factor into the show will be interesting, but it sucks that it wasn't shown meaning that the show will have to pander to those who didn't see the episode, even though the majority of the watcher's will have by now (legally or otherwise). Whatever happens, Dollhouse will need to improve or definitely face the axe this season.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 5

2.05 Reptile Boy

A gross snake like demon with a college twist. This episode and the reasons behind what boys were sacrificing girls for, is not too dissimilar to the Angel episode 'Expecting' where there men also made offerings (in a way!) to get them money, power etc. It was quite an enjoyable episode, Xander dressed as a women dancing was especially funny, but I thought this was fairly standard and predictable. (7/10)


2.06 Halloween

A fun episode; the turning into costumes thing was a good idea and they left just enough of the cast knowing who they were to keep the story flowing. Its also the first episode for Ethan Rayne, a really interesting foil for Giles, its a shame he doesn't appear more but maybe that's a good thing as he is a little annoying. The Buffy/Angel relationship is already getting a little tiresome, both a quite simpering towards each other already (luckily it doesn't last for too long!) I enjoyed the Cordy/Angel stuff, retrospectively its foreshadowing their future relationship. (8/10)


2.07 Lie To Me

I wasn't that looking forward to this episode because I've seen it a few times (more than I've seen a lot of Buffy episodes) but I actually enjoyed it. It starts of as a bit of a farcical episode but due to Ford's brain cancer and Buffy having to slay him at the end of the episode it becomes a lot more interesting and sympathetic. I enjoyed delving a bit more into Drusilla's past with Angelus and her relationship with Spike. She's such a fearsome villain, its intriguing to explore her when she isn't killing people left right and centre. (7.5/10)


2.08 The Dark Age

The first Giles centred episode- not that he has many. I'm not really sure if I like this episode, on one hand I enjoyed the role reversal, on the other they didn't really go deep enough into Giles' past to really sell the story. I would've liked to see some Giles as Ripper with Ethan and the others in 1970's London (1960's?) Its a shame as the outcome of the episode Jenny recoiling from Giles was very interesting if not a bit sad to see. I also enjoyed Giles and Buffy bonding and his determination to protect her. (7.5/10)

At the moment I've been watching...

At the moment I've been watching:

Chuck season 2- Over halfway now and whilst its not my favourite show I still really like it and its a lot of fun. I absolutely adore Casey- he only has to growl and I laugh (though my Casey love has a lot to do with the actor playing him!!) but I must admit I’m finding the constant to-ing and fro-ing between Chuck and Sarah and little tiresome, its a bit too much will they won’t they for me. I’m loving most of the BuyMore storylines though, I would like to see Chuck actually working there more, his storylines seem to be a little disconnected from the rest of the show.

Greek chapter 5- only a couple of episodes in and even though its still a fun show, they are relying way too much of the Cappie/Casey relationship which to be frank is getting very dull. Some of the other storylines are interesting but I’m reserving full judgement until I’ve seen a few more episodes.

Ugly Betty season 3- also over halfway and I’m understanding the dip in quality that most people talked about. I’m enjoying certain aspects of the show- Amanda and Betty living together was a real highlight, and there have been a few good episodes but the show has a very odd feel. It could be the move to New York and the show trying to shoe-horn in as much of the city as possible; it just doesn’t have the natural feel that Sex and the City had to it when the show was on. Also I’m really not loving the shows fashion anymore; I know being a fashion magazine they have to be a bit fashion forward, but some of the outfits look worse than many of Betty’s ensembles!

Entourage season 6- A slight dip in quality (says a lot even from me an avid fan of the show) I’m just not sure where some of the storylines are going. I’m enjoying Turtle and Eric’s storylines but Vince’s stalker storyline burned out and wasn’t nearly as exciting as I hoped. I’m glad Lloyd is standing up for himself finally. (in the last episode Security Briefs) Since he’s a fully fledge cast member I expect he’ll be back at MGA soon enough. Only a few episodes are left and I hope the storylines start to take shape soon.

Glee season 1- After a hugely successful pilot the two following episodes, whilst decent enough haven’t lived up to expectations which is hardly surprising considering all the hype meant that it was bound to disappoint a little. It’s still one of the most enjoyable shows out there and absolutely hilarious. The performances are great as well, even if some are auto-tuned a little too much. Here are a couple of my favourite performances from the 2 newest episodes (sorry for the quality of the videos):

The boys singing I Wanna Sex You Up- lets just say I’m starting to see the attraction of Puck after this performance... ;)

Rachel singing Take A Bow- amazing and perhaps even better than the Rihanna version

The Wire season 5- if a thing such as perfection actually exists, The Wire might possibly be the perfect TV show. Thought season 5 wasn’t its best season; the show from start to finish was amazing, simply incredible. The DVD’s have moved to the top of my DVD’s-to-Buy list and I can’t wait to watch the whole show again. Everything about this show- writing, acting, casting, settings- everything was sensational. I was a little worried that the show was overrated, but this is one of the rare times when the praise that is heaped on the show actually is true.

I want to do a show blog on it, but there is just so much to blog on, I’m not sure I could, maybe after my re-watch. I’ll probably do a favourite characters list at some point thought it will probably be very long!!

The final few episodes of the show left me numb, completely in tears and blown away. The final episode wasn’t perfect, it was very bittersweet, a few happy endings but not many; quality wise, it was excellent and a nice tribute the city of Baltimore.

If I give you any advice it would be to watch this show-start to finish and do your best to avoid spoilers. You won’t regret it!!

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 4 (BtVS season 2)

Start of season 2 :)

2.01 When She Was Bad

A very enjoyable start to season 2. Buffy returns to Sunnydale after a summer away, but her fight and death by the Master is still haunting her. I think the strength of the episode is that Buffy never verbalises her feelings about the Master but puts into action first by acting bitchy to her friends and then crushing the Master's bones; too often shows seem to feel that unless the character verbalises everything they are feeling, it isn't going to come across for the audience. I think Buffy's behaviour in this episode spoke volumes, especially on a re-watch.
Another bit I really liked in the episode was Willow and Xander forgiving Buffy without an apology from her. They won't always of course and they shouldn't, but here I feel like it was deserved. (8/10)


2.02 Some Assembly Required

A fairly standard monster of the week storyline this episode. Boy brought back from the dead and now they're looking for the perfect girl head for a female mate. This story had some sympathy however, Chris was obviously very troubled by his brother's death, and his mother's overwhelming grief obviously helped to fuel his fiendish plan. The plot was easily foiled, and the ending with Darryl crying over his unmade female 'bride' was a bit Romeo and Juliet I thought.
I liked the Giles/Jenny storyline; Giles stuttering to ask her out before she did it quick and easy was cute as was their first date. The Buffy Angel stuff was a tad odd, I get him being jealous of Xander but when did they start seemingly dating?? It feels like their relationship skipped a beat in between episodes and we missed it. Also liked the Angel/Cordy scenes; given their future relationship I thought it was sweet! (7.5/10)


2.03 School Hard

Spike and Drusilla's premiere episode and it does a good job of introducing them with only a few mythology discrepancies with later episodes. Seeing Buffy's world's all colliding was very enjoyable, she handled it well but I'm surprised no one really questioned what she was doing. Spike killing the Annointed One, and it being revealed that Snyder knows about vampires all added to the enjoyment of this episode. (8/10)

2.04 Inca Mummy Girl

Not the most original title, but it was a fairly decent episode. Poor Xander he again falls in love with a supernatural female predator- at least this one didn't want to kill him! Poor Willow as she again gets sidelined. However at least this episode sees the first appearance of Dingoes Ate My Baby and most importantly Oz. My favourite moment from the episode came from when Oz sees Willow for the first time- so adorable! Also with his first appearance is Jonathan who later becomes more important in the show. Buffy again struggles to have a normal life, this is still quite an early episode so its not quite grinding yet and it played well against the mummy's own tale. (7/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 3

1.09 The Puppet Show

Its funny watching this episode, despite having seen it a couple of times before, I couldn't for the life of me remember who was the true demon. I remembered it wasn't the puppet despite the it seeming that way for most of the episode; it was the magician in the end- which was a clever reveal/deception from the writers.
The infamous Snydor debuts in this episode, his quips about Flutie getting eaten are pretty ironic, retrospectively considering his own death. I liked Giles getting involved in school things and not just in his library, Cordelia was also pretty funny with her singing and diva behaviour. The best bit of the episode, was Buffy, Willows and Xander's 'performance' of Oedipus Rex. Their run through of the lines and sheer terror was just priceless. Probably the funniest scene we've had so far in the show! (7.5/10)


1.10 Nightmares

I remembered this as one of the more scary Buffy episodes, but it wasn't as creepy as I thought it would be. I thought it was an interesting look at fears and facing up to them. Some of the things people dreamed about were pretty funny to watch (Xander and the clown, Cordy and her hair/chess club) others a lot more poignant (Buffy dying for Giles, Buffy's dad telling her she was the root of her parents divorce). As I've mentioned in an earlier review, I'm not a fan of any insect like creature, and spiders are top of that list (even though yes they are arachnids as this episode taught us!) so having so many big spiders so early on in the episode definitely gave me the creeps! One thing I noticed was that the boys who played the Annointed One and Billy (the nightmare boy) were quite similar looking which was a bit confusing to begin with but maybe that was the point! (7/10)

1.11 Out of Mind Out of Sight

A sad but powerful episode about what its like to be lonely and truly ignored. It's also the first Cordelia centric episode and for the first time she actually shows a bit of humanity. Of course its not Cordelia's last encounter with a ghost, but its an interesting watch all the same! I also liked Angel's scene with Giles, it was cute to see them geeking out over ancient books!
It's hard not to sympathise a little with Marcie in this episode, she was trying so desperately hard to fit in but it just didn't take. However you do have to think if she was trying to fit in with the right people, maybe if she tried to make friends with others not just Cordy, she might not have been so ignored. The ending was really good though, having the FBI take Marcie away to train her to be a spy like other invisible kids have been. (7.5/10)


1.12 Prophecy Girl

This episode is probably the most praised episode of the season, but before this re-watch I didn't really get why. It was a lot better and more emotional than I remembered. I thoroughly enjoyed the Master vs Buffy fight, and the whole gang including, Jenny, Cordy and Angel fighting at the end. I also liked Xander taking the plunge and asking Buffy out- at least he had the stones to do that! Willow's unrequited love was also touched on in this episode. The episode was a little cheesy as season finale's go, especially the music. There were a lot of loose threads here, so I'm glad that early season 2 will touch upon some of these. Overall though this was a very good ending to the first season. (8.5/10)


Season 1 Overall

Overall considering it was a short season, this is a very good introductory season to the show. Thought there are only a few stand-out episodes, there is enough potential in all the episodes to justify a second season. This being a re-watch for me, the first season feels very naive and innocent, through the general vampire mythology is laid out effectively, background mythology for Angel and Darla especially is very sparse. Some character traits are also different early on, again especially with Angel. The characters generally are innocent, I guess by the end of the show, the frequent apocalypses makes them a little more cynical. Still I really enjoyed the teenage antics and behaviour of Buffy, Willow and Xander along with the high school issues playing out against supernatural settings. The Master was also a good first Big Bad for the show, but out of all the the Bads he's probably the least Big, causing trouble in only half of the episodes and most of the trouble, Buffy taking care of pretty easily (both mostly due to the fact that he was stuck underground until the last episode! The apocalypse in Prophecy made up for it though were the Master became the first Bad to truly overcome Buffy. (7/10)

Brothers and Sisters season 4

I love this time of year in American TV Land. There's an abundance of promo pics/videos and clips on the internet and relatively few major spoilers (being a British TV viewer). I've been itching in the last few weeks for some Brothers and Sisters stuff; they went into production late due to Rachel Griffiths maternity leave and not being a major show demand for promos is probably a lot less than say for Desperate Housewives. However 2 new sneak peaks plus a new promo is finally here!! (I'm still waiting for promo pics of the cast though)

This first one is off Kitty, Robert and Kevin:


The second is off Rebecca's and Justin's engagement party which of course has some Nora/Holly drama:



A few thoughts:

• Kitty in the first clip and Holly in the second clip are wearing the same awful coral colour dress... hmm. Nora's dress is lovely though
• Rebecca's dress is the same colour as her hair- not a good look
• Good to see Marion Ross back as Nora's mother especially as the family are looking depleted in the second- only Kevin, Scotty, Nora and Saul there for Justin; Kitty seems to be awol, Sarah apparently won't be in much of the first episode due again to Rachel Griffith's maternity leave and Tommy and Julia are of course gone. I have to say the show without almost half of the siblings will be very weird

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 2

Here's the second part of my Buffy and Angel rewatch episodes 1.05-1.08 (first part of the reviews here) Enjoy :)



1.05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date

I really enjoyed this episode. I have to say I'm not a fan of Buffy's quest to have a normal life- she gets quite whiny about it- but this first episode that touches upon it, is a gem. Lots of jealousy of Angel and Xander (hilarious from both) some cute girly time with Willow and Buffy and some fatherly advice and help from Giles are just some of the highlights from this episode.
I especially liked the Master getting the Anointed One and I love that it was the little boy. Many shows fall into the trap of have the protagonist foil the antagonists trap every time and that gets boring very quickly. Giving the evil-doer some traction definitely adds some excitement and mystery to the show. (6.5/10)


1.06 The Pack

Another Xander centric episode and this episode gave Nicholas Brendon a chance to show off his acting chops and that he can be more than a loveble goof. The storyline was again slightly ridiculous, though better than the insect one a couple of episodes back. This one contained a lot of gross-out moments as well- poor Herbet the pig and Principal Flutie, which was one of the worse Buffy deaths (in terms of ways to die!)
I loved the slow mo menacing walk of the pack and the ending where Xander pretends to forget- some rarely seen Giles/Xander bonding there! (6/10)


1.07 Angel

Apart from the pilot episodes, this is the first real mythology episode the show has and easily one of the more memorable episodes from season 1. We learn a lot more about Angel in this episode, pretty much all the basic stuff from his past- sired by Darla, killed his family, was cursed by gypsies and now lives with his human soul. Darla death, had she not been resurrected later, might have gone down as a killed too soon especially given the obvious sexual tension with Angel. (Although saying that had she not been resurrected, she would've probably just remained the slightly annoying sidekick of the Master and not the awesome vamp we've come to know and love!)
One thing I did think in this episode is why, Buffy or Giles had never questioned who Angel was- for the last few episodes he knew a lot about Buffy as the Slayer, so why didn't they try and find out who he was??A really enjoyable episode overall; the Buffy/Angel relationship is still fresh and new here, so still fun to watch, lots of fun best friend moments with Willow and Buffy and the Master's agony at losing repeated vampires to Buffy's stake. (8/10)


1.08 I Robot... You Jane

The first Willow centric episode and a cautionary tale about modern technology. Jenny Calandar was introduced in this episode and it was nice to see Giles interact with someone his own age. The demon storyline was mostly enjoyable, it was good to see Willow front and centre, but it wasn't the most exciting demon of the week. I did like all the little asides from various people around the school campus and on the radio talking about computer problems- rounded off the episode nicely.
The end scene, with Buffy, willow and Xander contemplating that they'll never have normal relationships was very funny, or maybe sad especially considering that Buffy's prediction - that they'll never have normal relationships- comes true throughout the show! (7/10)

My Buffy/Angel rewatch 2009

I bought the full series box set of Buffy nearly a year ago now, having previously bought the Angel box sets. I never really got round to watching the Buffy DVD’s only watching a few episodes here and there.

I really wanted to do a re-watch of both shows, start to finish and I’ve finally started to do so. I’m going to watch them together, meaning Buffy s1-3 first than Buffy s4-7 and Angel s1-4 alternating and finally finishing off with Angel s5. Hopefully, providing I don’t lose interest in doing so, I’ll be doing mini-reviews of each episode and then a season review once I’m done with each season.

There’ll probably be quite a few spoilers in the reviews as this is a re-watch and not my first time round but hopefully they’ll be enjoyable.

Here are my reviews for the first lot of episodes:

1.01 Welcome to The Hellmouth

More enjoyable than I remember, a great introduction to all the characters, apart from Angel (who we see very little of) and Darla, all of the characters seem pretty much the same here as they do later in the show.

Great opening teaser. Although it doesn't feature Buffy, it starts the trend of turning horror movie clichés on their head (the blond girl being the vamp not the sleazy guy).

Great cliff-hanger ending as well, (Luke about to bite Buffy). I think the episode was originally aired as a two-parter but its just as enjoyable own its own. (7.5/10)

1.02 The Harvest

Buffy's first end of the world. There was a lot from this episode than I remembered and again it was a lot more enjoyable than I thought. It’s an extremely well plotted pilot episode(s); we learnt pretty much everything we need to know about the characters, Sunnydale and vampire lore. The thing with Jesse was an especially good introduction to vampires and who they truly are. However both Angel and Darla are quite annoying compared to their later selves. (7.5/10)

1.03 Witch

The first 'monster' of the week storyline and a very good one. Considering the importance of witchcraft later on in the show, retrospectively its fitting for the first weekly story to be a witchcraft one. I liked the suspense and doubling back of the storyline (first Amy's a witch, then its her mother!) It’s also the first time the Scoobies and Giles worked together properly which is always fun. A great a really creepy ending as well. (The mother being trapped in the statue) (7.5/10)

1.04 Teacher's Pet

One of Buffy's more gross episodes; I'm really not a fan of bugs so this isn't my favourite episode. Still I liked it being Xander centric, focussing on his crush on Buffy. I also really enjoyed Buffy, Willow and Giles working together (even though the whole thing was pretty obvious from the get-go) and Angel's appearances- though given what we know about him later why couldn't he have defeated the fork vamp himself?? I guess that’s another difference in the early characterisation on Angel, which deeply changed as the show went on. (5.5/10)