Follow up RE: BtVS Evangelism

[frayadjacent]

Thanks everyone who weighed in about what episodes to show my friend to hook her on Buffy! 

The evening ended up being a lot more socializing and a lot less Buffy-watching.  Some other friends, also Buffy fans, and their 2-year old came as well.  So we were like, "oh we probably shouldn't do "Hush", cause that will scare the baby."  So we picked "Earshot".  And it turned out we only had time for one ep so that was it.

Many people offered the very sensible advice to choose based on my friend's tastes.  I'm not sure I succeeded in that, because, well partly because I don't know her tastes super well?  What I know she likes is strong, independent female characters.  So I should have gone with an ep showcasing a lot of Buffy and Willow awesomeness.  I also suspect she would love Willow in general, especially early-season Willow. 

I'm going to give her a Buffy curriculum if she wants to keep watching on her own:

S1: Watch "WttH/The Harvest", "Angel", and "Prophecy Girl".  If she's genuinely digging S1, also watch "The Witch", "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date", "Nightmares", and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind"*.
S2: Watch everything but "Some Assembly Required", "Inca Mummy Girl", "Reptile Boy", and "Bad Eggs". 
And everything after that.

If she doesn't want to keep watching on her own -- well, I'll have to have her over for a proper proselytizing.

*Cordy's Hidden Depths scene in OoSOoM was one of my first "this show is better than I thought" moments in the series.

Comments

[thirdblindmouse]

Aw, poor Inca Mummy Girl. No love for that episode at all?

And Reptile Boy, while truly awful, does have this exchange: 'I told one lie, I had one drink.' 'Yes, and you were very nearly devoured by a giant demon snake. The words "let that be a lesson" are a tad redundant at this juncture.'

[frayadjacent]

Well, my personal preference is that no episode is skipped at all. So I suppose I could add something like, "If you're kinda meh about S1, here are episodes to skip. If you're into it, watch them all!"

The IMG teaser, where the Scoobies are watching movies and literally braiding each others' hair, is adorable. And it introduces Oz!

[thirdblindmouse]

I'm trying to think of redeeming qualities in Some Assembly Required and Bad Eggs, but not coming up with anything. Still, completeness is nice!

I am fond of the entirety of Inca Mummy Girl, and have been surprised to learn it has such a bad reputation. It's not a masterpiece or anything, but it was solid and cute, I thought. And like you say, hair braiding and Oz!

[frayadjacent]

Well, "Some Assembly Required" has Giles' and Jenny's first date and cute early flirtations. Though I can't really think of anything else!

"Bad Eggs" ... huh, all I can think of offhand is the line, "as punishments go, this is fairly abstract." (When Buffy misses class and Willow gives her her egg later on.)

[timetobegin]

i definitely think that nightmare, oosoom & prophecy girl are my fave s1 eps, but i do like witch too. I hope you friend likes it!