(If you haven’t watched, beware of spoilers ahead)
As of this writing, I am currently at season 2 episode 20, which means I just have 3 more episodes to go to finish season 2. Still trouncing Brian! (ETA: I am onto Season three now. Brian. It’s gonna be a blood bath.)
And I’m still not loving the show.
Well, more accurately, I am still not loving Buffy and Angel. I go back and forth on who I dislike the most. Sometimes I think it’s just the acting. I watched the episode “I Only Have Eyes For You” where two ghosts are haunting the school, possessing people to force them to reenact their deaths over and over again until the end of the episode where the ghosts latch on to Buffy and Angel. I have to say, that was the best few minutes of acting either of them accomplished thus far. It looked real. It sounded real. It worked. I dunno why, because they’re crying and hollering, which they do a lot of and I hate, but in that scene it was much better.
I find I am still watching the show for the other characters. When Oz and Willow finally got together, I cheered. When Cordelia realized admitting to liking Xander was worth the scorn of her loser cronies, I was happy. When Angel cornered Ms. Calendar and ended her storyline, I actually gasped out loud (though part of that gasp was due to me being surprised they actually killed her). When Giles gets all British awkward, I laugh.
But when Buffy mopes around, acts petulant, has a major mood swing, is bitchy, is whiny, WHATEVER, my eyes drift to my book, or twitter, or something.
You know, when Willow finally catches Xander and Cordelia making out and you hear her heart break, she runs off to have her embarrassing cry, but then, when she faces Xander, you realize why she’s so awesome. They’re dealing with some life threatening thing and Willow says it’s more important that her heartbreak, there are bigger things going on and she has to deal. I love that.
When Buffy gets her heart broken she takes every chance to remind people how crappy her love life is. She holds grudges. She mopes. Just. Gah. Okay? Geeze!
That’s my main problem with the show, the MCs. I’m just glad there’s a good supporting cast around her.
I wanted to talk about how angry the episode of “NED” made me, but I went off on a little tangent there. So, suffice it to say, I did not like what they did with Buffy’s mom in that episode. I’m not talking about while she’s drugged on the food, I’m talking hours later when the creep isn’t around. If your kid tells you a guy threatened to hit them, you freak the fuck out at the guy, not your kid. That episode alone, as cheesy as it was to find out he’s a robot from the 50’s, almost made me refuse to keep watching. It’s bad enough her mom lets the new principle talk to her the way he does, but the guy you’re dating? No. Not believable, not with the kind of mom she’s supposed to be.
(ETA: Thoughts after finishing season 2 and starting season 3 – a goddamn miracle is going to have to happen for me to even like her mom at this point. I don’t empathize with Buffy, but when it comes to her mom, I want to punch my screen. The writers went too far with her, IMHO.)
Anyway. I’m sticking with it. Even my mom promises me it gets better. At least Buffy doesn’t make creepy sex noises when fighting anymore, now she sounds like she’s actually fighting. But you if you made a drinking game of how often that four note piano music comes on to show us Buffy moping around and feeling all angsty for herself, you’d pass the eff out.
I know I’m leaving out a lot, but it’s still early in the show.
(DISCLAIMER: And let me be clear: I do not HATE the show. To be honest, I thought I would. I really expected that I would end up hate watching it just to win the bet. I do not hate it. I’m just not a fan of Sarah Michelle Gellar, so that’s working against it, and I’m not a fan of her Buffy. The sugary-cute pouts, the big eyes when she’s sad, the dramatics. That’s what I dislike. Also. I’ve never found David Boreanaz attractive so he doesn’t work for me as the main hotness lead.)
The Musings of an Author in Progress 
I find Buffy weirdly addictive. But I agree, the supporting cast is so much better than the main two! I especially loved Oz and Willow.
I think a lot of people do. I’m finding it easier to watch more than one episode in a sitting. And yes, Oz and Willow are my favorites.
Okay, here’s why I love Buffy: Willow,Oz, Spike, Dru, Giles, Faith, Glory, Anya…you’re right, the supporting cast is great and it does get better. Buffy’s mom gets better. Buffy stops being so annoying. I’m not a fan of Angel either but keep watching because the show is so worth it. Some of my fave episodes: Band Candy, Hush, School Hard, Halloween, The Body, Once More With Feeling (the musical), Tabula Rasa, The Graduation (part 1and 2).
At least I’m not alone in these opinions! I’ve heard a lot, A LOT, about Once More with Feeling. I hope it lives up to expectations.
Hater. 😛
I willfully submit that you’re destroying me in this contest – I think I’m on S1 episode 19 of Supernatural still.
I’ll be honest, it’s been so long since I watched Buffy, I don’t even remember some of the specifics you’re mentioning about the mom and all that and I get that it’s tough to stick with a show that you don’t like the main actress. For me, this show was mostly about the interactions between the minor characters, and not so much about Buffy and her drama. And while I didn’t find her as offensive as you, without Willow, Oz, Giles and others you haven’t met yet, there’s no way I would have stuck it out either. I think you’ll like Faith once she pops up in S3.
Also, no Spike and Dru love in this post? For shame.
Dude. You said when football was over, you’d kill it. Wth? I guess I have to say the same to you, “stick with it, it gets better!” And it really does. The first season is a little rough because the boys don’t have a lot of love for each other. But as it goes on, you’ll get a broader cast and more hunters and more “Baddies” and story arcs, not just MOWs.
I’m finding a lot of people agree with me about B&A, but they still love it, so I’m not giving up. NED almost pushed me to call a forfeit. And if they ever kill Willow for realsies, I will forfeit. As for Spike and Dru: I do really like Spike, that scene between him and Buffy’s mom at the end of S2 was hilarious. I go back and forth on Dru. I’m with Spike, I liked her the way she was before Angel came around. Hopefully she goes back to that.
Honestly, it’s more of a free time thing than a not liking it thing (though that truck episode was THE WORST). Don’t worry I’ll do a competing blog as well once I finish S1.
I think the secondary characters do make a lot of these genre shows more watchable even if you don’t like the MCs. That was the case with me and LOST – didn’t like Kate or Jack very much at all – but there were so many great supporting characters to get behind it didn’t matter.
I’ma have to rewatch the truck episode, it’s been forever since I’ve seen S1. I get most of my buffy time in on the weekends myself, so I feel ya. I think you’re gonna really love Bobby (everyone does), but I imagine you’ll really like Jo, Ellen, and Ash. Garth is pretty funny too.
I wasn’t too keen on Faith in her first episode, she was kind of campy, but I think she’s getting better. But ye gods WHY do they make these people use fake accents they can’t pull off? It. is. horrible.
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