More than once, I've gone on record saying S2 is the best season of Buffy. And I stand by that, still.
But, damn, S3 is fucking great.
What television.
Signed,
Up To Lover's Walk In Her Rewatch.
The next time you decide to stab me in the back... have the guts to do it to my face.
Mal ,'Ariel'
Buffy 4: Grr. Arrgh.
This is where we talk about Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No spoilers though?if you post one by accident, an admin will delete it. This thread is NO LONGER NAFDA. Please don't discuss current Angel events here.
§ ita § - Aug 18, 2003 10:40:51 am PDT #4817 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
tina f. - Aug 18, 2003 10:47:10 am PDT #4818 of 10001
Ditto on saying S2 is best and re-watching and loving S3.
signed,
Rewatched Dopplegangland to Graduation Day II on Friday night.
DavidS - Aug 18, 2003 10:48:52 am PDT #4819 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
On record as saying S3 is best, and feeling the validation.
§ ita § - Aug 18, 2003 10:51:34 am PDT #4820 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Is not validation. Stop it.
S2 knocks my socks off. S3 -- makes me wonder how one could keep making such good TV. And completely reminds of why I got so irritated with pod!Giles, but still kept loving the show. At its worst -- probably rewatchable. At its best, a gut punch.
erikaj - Aug 18, 2003 10:52:06 am PDT #4821 of 10001
Always Anti-fascist!
I think I agree with Hec, now. I didn't want to commit till I'd seen everything, but...a definite narrative and casting high point.
kat perez - Aug 18, 2003 10:52:18 am PDT #4822 of 10001
"We have trust issues." Mylar
See, I'm the opposite because I've always had S3 as my top BtVS season, but I've been watching S2 in reruns on tv (poor, DVD-less me) and marveling at how good it was. Dru/Spike/Angelus rocked hard.
DavidS - Aug 18, 2003 10:59:02 am PDT #4823 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
S3's virtues include: Best cast of regulars and semi-regs (including Faith, Oz, Cordy and Angel - though Angel was problematic to the narrative).
Best batting average: least amount of mediocre (much less bad shows) of any season. Surprisingly high level all season long.
Vamp Willow. Twice.
Last season it had Joss' full attention. He was peaking.
Best Villain: The Mayor.
drawbacks to S3? Really only that it's season arc is not as strong as S2, and anything after Becoming part two was going to look lesser. Also, Angel hanging around was a narrative deadweight.
Jessica - Aug 18, 2003 10:59:03 am PDT #4824 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I'm split. S2 had higher highs, but S3 was more consistently great.
Steph L. - Aug 18, 2003 10:59:45 am PDT #4825 of 10001
I look more rad than Lutheranism
I'm not quite sure how to say this -- I think S2 is the best season emotionally, but S3 is the best season in terms of sheer good television.
[edit: Or maybe Hec and Jess said it better, because that's pretty much what I mean.]
And I watched about 5 or 6 episodes of S1 yesterday, and -- having *not* watched it from the start -- I was wondering: for those of you who DID watch Buffy from S1, did you have the sense that you were watching something unprecedented?
Frankenbuddha - Aug 18, 2003 11:04:51 am PDT #4826 of 10001
"We are the Goon Squad and we're coming to town...Beep! Beep!" - David Bowie, "Fashion"
I'm with Hec on why Sesaon 3 rules. After that it's a waffle between 2 and 4 whose virtues were almost diametrically opposed (i.e. 2 - best arc / sucky stand-alones vs. 4 - sucky arc / best stand alones), and I usually end up favoring whichever one I'm rewatching at the moment.
Also, as his deathmatch proved, Riley had some pretty good moments, and almost all of them were season 4.