Whedonesque : Comments on 10331 : Buffy makes The Phoenix's Top 10 Season Finales.

Most would say the show jumped the shark around then.

Not quite. I'd put the JTS moment in Tabula Rasa, at the first appearance of, fittingly enough, the guy in the shark costume. A hammy, unfunny pun on loan shark, and a total buzz-kill coming as it did right after OMWF, which is the very best episode ever. The non-shark moments in Tabula Rasa were entertaining and funny, but my God -- the shark! Horrible idea. After Tabula Rasa, the show was never as good as it was. Though obviously better than anything else on TV at the time. Except Angel.

1starbuckstown | May 12, 22:55 CET

I loved the shark. Really.

gossi | May 12, 22:57 CET

My shark hatred knows no bounds. I've never gotten over it.

1starbuckstown | May 12, 23:00 CET

I figure the show jumped the shark when he (the loan shark) showed up in Italy and enticed Buffy away from the Immortal. Things were just never the same after that.

Wait...

[ edited by Biff Turkle on 2006-05-12 22:20 ]

Biff Turkle | May 12, 23:03 CET

This will be remembered
The reason we had to leave
Elect, elect again

:P

gossi | May 12, 23:04 CET

The shark gave us the line about kittens becoming cats. I took that in context with other kitten/cat/Miss Kitty and whatnot references we had to anvil that things were going to get unpredictable in the Slayer's world. Not terribly shocking that it did. TR remains in my all time favorite episode listing, as does The Gift.

Can I tell you how much I loathe any 'jump the shark' chatter, it always seems a neat way to say that you didn't like a way a story went without having to intellectually back up your argument. To say Buffy jumped the shark in The Gift, is basically saying that in a series about growing up and coming to terms with self, it would be better if the hero didn't grow up and never got a sense of her own self strength. BTVS got dark, it also got terrifically compelling.

ramses 2 | May 12, 23:36 CET

I think all of Buffy's season finales have been great, but I dearly love the finale of season 3. It was really much more than just a season finale, it was the end of the first phase of the series, before the drastic changes that made it in some ways almost a different series. In that sense it was a perfect culmination of the first two and a half years. The fact that the Scoobies blew up the high school was so unbelievably fitting. Plus the whole school coming together to fight is such poetic justice after Buffy having been the outsider hero for 2 1/2 years, and makes a special contrast with the season 2 finale when, as Angel taunts her, she is literally fighting alone. The little moments during the big fight for the characters we'd come to know - Jonathon jumping into Cordelia's arms, Harmony getting bitten, Cordelia staking her first vampire, Wesley's pratfall, even Larry's death. Angel's departure was heart-wrenchingly perfect, that last long silent look across the battleground, then disappearing into the smoke. It rips my heart up each time I see it. There was the climax of the Willow and Oz relationship. The great interactions with Faith as Buffy fades in and out of her mind, the mysteriously prophetic pronouncements. The end of the Mayor, my absolute favorite villain. Principal Snyder being eaten!!!

Every element in that episode just comes together.

Plus - they blew up the bleepin' school. How perfect is that?

barboo | May 13, 00:04 CET

What really irritates me is the "MOST people would say the show jumped the shark."

Changing that word to SOME would not only make it less inflammatory, but less false.

Same with "some people" as opposed to "everybody" as in "everybody wants this or that or the other thing."

Some people is almost always true, most is extremely subjective without proper research, everybody is almost invariably false.

I know I am rambling but this kind of statement where one person decides to speak for many, usually including me, just really ticks me off.

Xane | May 13, 00:07 CET

The article is silent on why seasons 6 and 7 were less than the best (i.e., post shark jump). I've read plenty of interesting debates in these very discussion boards about the relative merits of each season. There doesn't seem to be a consensus among the Whedonesque crowd, but the popular press always comes down hard on seasons 6 and 7, especially 7.

1starbuckstown | May 13, 00:26 CET

Hear, hear Xane. Had the same reaction to the "most" bit. Who is this nebulous "most"? And where exactly do you research what "most" viewers want, anyway?

RambleOn623 | May 13, 00:27 CET

Well, honestly I think the final two seasons were horrid. However, jumping the shark implies, to me anyway, that the show went from good to bad. Season 6 and season 7 are both horrid compared to seasons 1-5 but when compared to other television shows, its better than 95% of the shows out there. Hence, I dont think you can jump the shark if you are still better than the majority of televion available. Maybe my conception of what "jumping the shark" is incorrect, but by the definition above, it doesnt seem like the show jumped the shark. Does that make sense?

jerryst3161 | May 13, 00:27 CET

Loved the shark. Totally carnivalesque.

MissKittysMom | May 13, 00:29 CET

"Jumping the shark" should also -- probably -- imply ratings failure, as when shows such as Happy Days jumped the shark (that show actually coined the phrase), they viewers disappeared, and they got cancelled.

Buffy still had 4 or 5 million viewers in the US, and about 4 million in the UK. By that definition, it did not jump the shark.

It really depends how you define it. I presume the article writer is presuming that everybody else thinks seasons 6 and 7 are shit. They don't. I know this because I read online.

gossi | May 13, 00:31 CET

I may prefer earlier seasons, but I agree with many of you, I don't think the show ever did jump, it stayed better than the rest throughout its run and its ratings stayed up.

(Hence my earlier somewhat lame comments about sharks).

And as for "most," I've found that that word generally means "me and the majority of the voices in my head."

Biff Turkle | May 13, 00:34 CET

Most would say the show jumped the shark around then.

Perhaps, but "most" also listen to Britney Spears (or not, but you get my point). Some people have perfectly valid reasons for not liking the last two seasons (they are, in my opinion, pretty far from perfect), but I think a lot of people just didn't get them or didn't like them because they were so dark and disturbing.

Also, those people who think that there are such a huge difference between season 1-5 and season 6 and 7, I'm wondering how many times they have rewatched the entire series.

Johan | May 13, 00:34 CET

MissKittysMom, what does Bakhtin have to say about sharks? :)

1starbuckstown | May 13, 00:35 CET

I was just listening to the commentary on Bargaining Part 1 and 2, and I suppose it made me respect the season a bit more. One key line that they (Marti and David) said was Joss said Buffy was going to die, and Buffy was going to come back, but that they (the makers of Buffy) would earn it. I mean, I guess you can't just kill off someone like the main character and just bring her back like it was nothing.

But seriously, the show was still BUFFY. It didn't need to be that depressing and dark for me to feel justified that Buffy was back.

dakoulkid | May 13, 00:36 CET

I actually hated Tabula Rasa the first time I saw it. Everytime I heard people mentioning it as one of their favourite episodes, I just couldn't believe it. I think it may have been the loanshark that actually affected my enjoyment of the episode, because after watching it again I have come to really love it.

To be honest, the loan shark is a pretty bad joke, and it does look quite cheesy, but it isn't the worst demon I've ever seen in Buffy. I mean there was the phallic "Doublemeat Palace" demon, which was much more cringe-worthy, the Ghora demon from "Forever" and the Sobek demon from "Shadow". At least the shark demon, apart from being really cheesy, was actually kind of believable, physically at least. There wasn't any obviously limited movement or silly stumpy arms.

But aside from the shark, the episode is just so funny, and manages to do what the best episodes of Buffy do- explores our characters. It isn't just an empty round of jokes. We saw Willow being attracted to Tara even though she assumed she was straight, and Willow and Xander as well as Buffy and Dawn immediately felt close relationships with one another. Plus, the ending was just... heart wrenching.

Razor | May 13, 00:37 CET

The whole shark jumping thing is way over used.

The Tabula Rasa loan shark was a very nice touch, written just a hair away from being too much, which is often when ideas really work.

herb | May 13, 00:41 CET

"written just a hair away from being too much, which is often when ideas really work. "

Like when Arrested Development had the lawyer played by Henry Winkler actually jump a shark? :)

ramses 2 | May 13, 00:51 CET

Herb, good insight about the place where ideas really work ("a hair away from being too much"). That's a nice way to describe the success of the entire series. On paper, a show about an ex-cheerleader who stakes vampires should never have lasted 7 years and spawned endless admiration and discussion. That Joss and his writers, actors, and crew made it work, spectacularly so, for 144 episodes is astonishing. Even allowing for the occasional misstep. Like the shark in Tabula Rasa.

1starbuckstown | May 13, 00:52 CET

"Most would say the show jumped the shark around then." = lazy journalism.

Simon | May 13, 00:59 CET

The Tabula Rasa loan shark was a very nice touch, written just a hair away from being too much

Even if you can get over the loan shark actually being a shark (groan), his dialogue is clunky enough to sink an episode by itself. Luckily he doesn't get too many lines...

Grounded | May 13, 01:12 CET

I loved season 6; the darkness, twistedness, the moral ambiguity and the dang "painfully literal" loan shark. "Most" is why Paris Hilton and Reality TV dominate the media. I am thankful not to be included.

Charmuse | May 13, 01:24 CET

I actually liked the shark. I'm amused by the literal.

My biggest beef with the article was the listing of "The Gift". Make no mistake, I love that episode, but in my opinion, "Becoming" was the strongest of the season finales, or possibly "Graduation Day".

dshea | May 13, 01:25 CET

Even if you can get over the loan shark actually being a shark (groan)

OK, I gotta do this. I'm immersed in my paper for Slayage, and reading a lot of analysis on Dostoevsky. I don't know if this will work into my paper, but I just have to share this:

The central character of Crime and Punishment is a man named Raskolnikov. His name derives from "raskol" which means "schism" in Russia; the Russian Orthodox church has always had to deal with schisms, and in a way it's representative of deep aspects of Russian culture. As James Billington put it, Russians are defined by what they are against, not what they are for. A "raskolnik" would be a member of a schism.

This word, in turn, derives from the Russian verb "raskalyvat" which means to split, to cleave.

Raskolnikov was an axe murderer.

Is the loan shark demon really any cheesier than that?

MissKittysMom | May 13, 01:36 CET

Trenchant comments, Xane. I thought the idea of the shark in Tabula Rasa was better than the execution - for some reason, his drawly voice irritated me. And this must the, what, fifth go-round for a jumping the shark discussion here? Not that the discussion itself isn't fun, but the idea has come to stand for a particularly lazy form of argument, as ramses 2 says.

On the plus side, I rewatched TR the other night with my kids, and it remains pretty great.

I do think The Gift is the perfect BtVS season ender - it gathers together the threads of the season so succinctly, and throws in tons of comedy, character, pathos, and triumph.

I love Belonging Pt. II, of course, but it is a little more ragged over its first 10-15 minutes. Also, I think The Gift evokes a quite wonderful contrast of emotions - we are joyful that Buffy prevailed, but miserable that she died. And, on yet another level, we take comfort in realizing that some part of her sought this end. By contrast, Belonging is all about the tragedy of fate - which is brilliant drama, but perhaps less satisfying emotionally.

And, barboo points out all the good stuff in Graduation Day Pt. II, but I don't know if I'll ever overcome my initial feeling of anticlimax that the Mayor turned into a . . . big snake, and then was blown up rather too easily. Yeah, I know there wasn't $10 million to spend, but, I don't know, that bit just never quite lived up to the build-up.

SoddingNancyTribe | May 13, 01:39 CET

Re: the shark demon, it seems to me I've heard Joss comment that as time went on the show was generally getting more and more literal with its metaphors: first it was high school being a metaphor for hell; later Buffy literally died; and in TR we have a literal loan shark. It's the natural progression of things!

I say this with tongue only partly in cheek :)

miri47 | May 13, 01:42 CET

No, the loan shark demon isn't really cheeesier than raskalyvat-raskol-raskolnik-Raskolnikov, MissKittysMom. A judicious use of the literal for funny is funny. I like the loan shark character. BtVS dipped into all kinds of humor over its seven-year run. This is an example of the literal. Fine by me.

I also don't belong in the "most" camp but then again I don't listen to Britney, either. I'd sure like to see the rigorous, double blind studies the journalist did to back up his/her case. Okay, a decent poll would do. Urgh. Lazy, lazy, lazy.

ramses2, I've also grown to loathe the "jump the shark" term, for all the reasons you outlined.

phlebotinin | May 13, 01:42 CET

Ack!

Willowy | May 13, 01:44 CET

I wonder if the shark was supposed to signal that real life had become the metaphor for the mythic?(Ouch:)) What I mean was that from 1 -5 we had the mythic being the metaphor for understanding the inner workings of Buffy's growing up issues, 6-7 had to be about 'real life' Buffy being the metaphor for what was happening to the Slayer. The fact that the Slayer was growing up and in pretty desperate need.

ramses 2 | May 13, 01:50 CET

I liked some of the choices in the article, disliked others. And "The Gift" isn't a bad poster child for the awesomeness that is Buffy, all things considered.

"Becoming, Part 2" is probably my favourite of the Buffy season finales, but only just. "The Gift," "Graduation Day, Part 2" and "Restless" are pretty much just as terrific. "Prophesy Girl" is great, but botched the ending every so slightly, and while I love "Grave" beyond all reason, it had some definite pacing and plot problems. "Chosen" was good but problematic plotwise. But of course all seven finales are great in their own way. And "Not Fade Away" and "Home" are in contension too.

The loan shark in "Tabula Rasa" worked on a few levels: as a pun, as a reference to "Restless," along with Spike in tweed ("A shark with feet...and much less fins." "And on land!"), and as a wry "jump the shark" pun, an acknowledgment of the criticisms that are inevitably leveled at a show that has been on so long. And all that said, I still think it was pretty stupid. But at least they were trying something, even if it didn't come off.

I love season six, and while I think season seven has problems, I still can connect with it. I don't think the show ever came anywhere near jumping the shark--and, back when I didn't come online all that much, I wasn't even aware that people were accusing the show of it.

ramses 2, I have thought about the idea of season six as using real life as a metaphor too. I think it's more about real life is a metaphor for how someone feels at that transition time between adolescence and adulthood. I think that's the phase I'm in right now, and after the high emotions (i.e. MYTHIC) feeling of adolescence, everything DOES feel a bit "all too real."

[ edited by WilliamTheB on 2006-05-13 00:01 ]

WilliamTheB | May 13, 01:58 CET

The other day I came across the theory that season six as a whole was an extended reference to jumping the shark. It has all the major 'jumping the shark' momemnts, ie. a wedding episode, a musical episode, a major character leaving and a death, along with the actual shark character. Personally, I love season six.

In regards to the top ten, I have to say I think 'Who shot Mr Burns ?' should have been above The Gift, the rest of the episodes on there I havent seen.

Jona | May 13, 02:19 CET

eh, you get this guy saying that BTVS jumped the shark, and then you get TIME magazine saying the latter seasons were as good or better.

BTW, I agree with Time Magazine.

spikeylover | May 13, 02:19 CET

spikeylover do you have a link to the TIME article?

Jona | May 13, 02:20 CET

I posted it here a while back, but don't ask me how to make a link. (I've tried and it NEVER works for me..)

Here's the address, you can cut and paste unless a mod wants to help me.

[ETA. Copy this form exactly, but replace the ( ) with < > :

(a href="http:whedonesque.com/comments/8859")the article(/a) ].

The most common mistake is either not to close the quotation marks, or not to include the (/a) at the end of the linked phrase. Hope that helps.]

[ edited by SoddingNancyTribe on 2006-05-13 00:49 ]

spikeylover | May 13, 02:34 CET

I do believe that The Gift is the best season finale of the series, but only because I believe that Buffy's suicide encompassed sacrifice as well. Like misskitty, I am engrossed in my paper for slayage, and one of the things I have to prove for my paper to go through is the idea that Buffy wanted to live before she jumped. Its very interesting because I see definate parallels between Amends and Becoming that play into the idea that Buffy did commit suicide (technically, she took her own life of her own accord--in that sense its like the soldier who throws himself on a grenade--its still suicide but its heroic too) but also wanted to live and made a sacrifice for Dawn and the world. In that sense, its one of the reasons that I believe The Gift is the best episode of BTVS.

The message is that life is hard, it can suck at times, but when you figure it out, when you figure out why we fight, why we live, and why life is precious, it makes death all the more tragic because you are giving up something you value. Essentially, Buffy gives up something she values, she gives up life so that others can experience that which she cannot, and thus, this conclusion creates a simply tragic episode about the true nature of a hero and life itself. I see The Gift as the ultimate questioning of God, it raises questions of the problem of evil, but more than that, its an existentialist tale about life and how what we do, why we fight, matters. To me, it cannot get better than that. I simply adore The Gift, and really, that makes it the best episode of Buffy that I ever witnessed.

jerryst3161 | May 13, 02:43 CET

The other day I came across the theory that season six as a whole was an extended reference to jumping the shark. It has all the major 'jumping the shark' momemnts, ie. a wedding episode...etc.
Jona | May 13, 00:19 CET

Actually it was a left-at-the-altar episode, which probably qualifies as even sharkier.

I thought the loan shark was a bit silly, but cute and certainly not enough to ruin TR, a great episode all-in-all. I don't think BtVS ever jumped, and though discussions about whether the show did jump may be tiresome, I think "jump the shark" is a great pop phrase of our times, really it's the cat's pajamas if you get my drift.

barboo | May 13, 02:47 CET

jerryst3161 - Joss posted in a thread on, I think last New Year's Eve, about the very subject of Buffy's jump - suicide or sacrifice, or both?

Ah, here it is - if you haven't read the thread already, you should definitely check it out.

SoddingNancyTribe | May 13, 02:55 CET

Wow, interesting. I would disagree with Joss about whether the soldier in combat is suicide, simply because I dont think suicide must have a negative aspect to it. Suicide simply means that you undertake actions that will result in your death, and thus, the soldier is committing suicide. The difference between the soldier (and Buffy) and the person who has given up on life is the motivation behind those actions and what they hope to achieve with the actions they undertake. The soldier (and again, Buffy) is a hero because he does not have malicious motives, he does what he does in order to save others, and in that sense, his suicide is noble and heroic. On the other hand, those who take their life because life is too hard seek not to save anyone else, they seek to save themselves, and in that, they are not heroic or selfless. It could just be a matter of semantics, but really, I think it boils down to a stigma about suicide itself. The notion that suicide cannot be good, that it cannot be moral, is simply incorrect in my book, the soldier and Buffy more than showing me otherwise.

Edit: Thanks for the link SNT!!

[ edited by jerryst3161 on 2006-05-13 01:04 ]

jerryst3161 | May 13, 03:01 CET

Oh how I dislike the term "jumping the shark". It's so subjective a declaration anyway. I mean it was, as has been mentioned, coined by Happy Days. The episode was in it's Season 5, but the show remained on air for a total of 11 seasons. With the greatest will in the world if the show were as bad as the term implies then there is no way it would have stayed on the air for a further 6 years. Bizarre terminology, imo.

The Gift is my personal favourite season finale of Btvs. Every character had their moment, it was beautifully written and wonderfully acted and I cried my heart out. Just wonderful. *sniffle*

lynnie | May 13, 03:32 CET

SNT, thanks for that link on how to..um..link.. I'm saving it, I might actually get it, now.. Also, thanks for the link on Whedon's views on Buffy in the GIFT.

spikeylover | May 13, 03:34 CET

I've watched the show from the very beginning and consider The Gift to be the best finale.

I also love seasons 6 and 7.

One of the strengths of BtVS is it continued to explore and evolve the characters through all seven seasons.

Reddygirl | May 13, 04:31 CET

I find it so hard to choose. The best 'Buffy' season finale is whichever one I happen to be watching at the time. I guess my favourite is probably 'Prophecy Girl' but the one that has the most emotional impact on me is 'Chosen', although I am also a huge fan of 'Grave'. I can fully understand why many fans choose 'The Gift'. It's a brilliant piece of television, although I think I would have found it a very unsatisfying end had S5 been the final season of the show.

As to the whole "jumping the shark" thing, I agree with others here who have pointed out how lazy and cliched it is to make such a pointless remark.

alien lanes | May 13, 05:42 CET

I think The Gift deserves to be on the list but I think Becoming II was equally amazing. Also loved Graduation Day which pitted slayer against slayer.

I'd have to agree with Jerry in that season 6 and especially 7 were no where near as brilliant as season 1-5 BUT still better than anything else on televsion.
Same could be said for season 4 and 5 when held up against season 1-3, imo.

If I had to pick a "jumped the shark" moment it could easily be season 4 OR midway through season 6.

cheryl | May 13, 06:14 CET

Bloody hell...Tabula Rasa, coming hot on the heels of the amazingly brilliant OMWF is itself a masterpiece...I'm one of those who adores every season, and 6 and 7 especially, given the odd constraints they operate in.

I totally concur with those who find the whole "jump the shark" idea tiresome, especially in the Whedonverse. Yes, dashboardprophet, the one I'm watching at the moment is the most resonant, most compelling. Just saw Graduation Day (1&2) recently, but show me Becoming (1&2) and watch me and my wife quiver in amazement.

Oh, yeah, Prophesy Girl was good. Restless, too. Jeez, Chosen rocked. Oh, yeah, I must have forgotten how Xander's unconditional love saved Willow...and the world.

All of the endings are stunning!

We are so silly!

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2006-05-13 06:09 ]

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2006-05-13 06:20 ]

[ edited by Chris inVirginia on 2006-05-13 17:50 ]

Chris inVirginia | May 13, 07:57 CET

Interesting how much our perspectives differ.

I thought "The Gift" was an OK season finale. I'd rank them (from best to worst): Becoming Pt. 2, Chosen, Grave, Graduation Day Pt. 2, The Gift, Prophecy Girl, Restless. The seasons, on the other hand, I'd rank 2,3,5,1,7,4,6.

Maybe it's because Buffy is only about my 8th most favorite character in the Buffyverse (Willow, Angel, Wesley, Xander, Giles, Cordy, and Oz, in that order, have her beat) that The Gift didn't really feel all that compelling to me.

On the other hand, Seasons 6 and 7 had two of the best finales even if the seasons as a whole were not my favorite. The problem with people naming Becoming Pt. 2 as a favorite ending in lists like this, was that the show had just really hit its stride in s2. I suspect The Gift was sean first-run by a lot more people than Becoming Pt. 2. The popularity factor is pretty important to the business of selling magazines, hence, The Gift is named.

jclemens | May 13, 10:35 CET

On a slightly different point, I think The Gift would have made a brilliant series finale. I'm not one of those who thinks the series should have ended at that point. I'm very glad we got another two seasons. But if the series had ended after The Gift, it would have been a beautiful way to go out.

tichtich | May 13, 13:55 CET

Whilst Buffy stayed clear of some of the more grotesque shark jumping moments which viewers have witnessed over the years, I would like to point and laugh at the season 7 episode "Him".

Definitely an episode where they, er.... straddled the catfish.

I know there was this whole, let's go back to the beginning thing - and at least they had the grace to directly reference "B,B and B". But I wish season seven could have run with some of the untold moments from seasons one and two.

Like the First coming back as Jesse. A Xander/Jesse moment should have been a part of Conversations at the very least.

Then again, along with Conversations there's Selfless and Get It Done. Definite highlights for me.

So I think it's wrong to say that there is a particular point in Buffy where it all went downhill. More uneven? Probably.

I accept that it is impossible to create 144 episodes entirely without repetition or stretch-marks in the plot, but there are ways to repeat (or rather re-mold) without being quite so obvious as with "Him" - e.g compare Halloween with Tabula Rasa.

malcolm | May 13, 19:23 CET

So I think it's wrong to say that there is a particular point in Buffy where it all went downhill. More uneven? Probably.

No, since season 2 is the most uneven season. Well... in my opinion. And I actually like "Him" more than most season 1 episodes.

Concerning season finales, Buffy's are all very good, but I actually think that Graduation Day Part 2 is the weakest. I'm glad they included The Gift on that list, even if I prefer Becoming.

Johan | May 13, 20:00 CET

From best to worst, I would rank the season finales of Buffy as

1. Becoming Part 2
2. The Gift
3. Graduation Day Part 2
4. Restless
5. Chosen
6. Prophecy Girl
7. Grave

The funny thing about Grave being in last place is that season 6, on the whole, was one of my favorite seasons. I just thought the finale was rushed and anticlimactic after "Villains" and "Two to Go"

rabid | May 13, 20:43 CET

I know I'm risking having rotten fruit thrown at me but I happen to think Him is a tad better than BBB.

This is the way I rank the finales:
The Gift
Chosen
Becoming
Restless
Grad Day
PG
Grave

I know some fans consider Primeval as the finale of 4 and Restless as the coda and in that case I would place Grave before Primeval.

But, all in all, I thougt all the finales were excellent so it's just a case for me of liking brownies more than lemon squares. But I still love lemon squares.

Reddygirl | May 13, 23:45 CET

Hey rankings are fun. And I have to join in on the Him love (thats an incredible sentence...thank you). One of the funniest moments I have ever seen is when Buffy tries to kill Wood. Oh man I laughed and laughed. Better than BBB? I dont think thats true, but still good episode.

My rankings
1. The Gift
2. Becoming P2
3. Graduation Day P2
4. Prophecy Girl
5. Chosen
6. Restless
7. Grave

Of them all, I think only Grave is disappointing, and whats worse is that Xander is my favorite character.

jerryst3161 | May 14, 00:26 CET

I noticed someone mentioned the name "Britney" earlier, and it reminded me that Britney Spears was supposed to play April the robot in "I Was Made To Love You". I am extremely glad she didn't, and I think Shonda Farr made a difficult role an extremely memorable one. I know it wasn't the most crucial role, but the fact that the episode was leading up to "The Body" made it kind of significant, and I liked that April was both funny, deadly and strangely vulnerable at the same time.

I also loved "Him". I think it was just so hilarious, with many great performances from the regulars, and it was nice to have an episode give us a break from the impending doom, just as Tabula Rasa did a season earlier. I love that Buffy still had the rocket launcher and chose then to use it (wouldn't it have been helpful against The Major, Adam and Glory?- maybe it was a different one), and that Anya would rob a bank and then try to cover it up ("Ice cream? My treat?")

Razor | May 14, 01:18 CET

Well I could never pass up a ranking myself, so here are my choices:

Becoming II
Prophecy Girl
The Gift
Graduation Day II
Chosen
The Grave
Restless

Wasn't fond of the episode "Him" but then I find that I can't find many in season 7, with the exception of Lessons, Beneath you, End of Days and Chosen that I was fond of.

For the record, Buffy is my favorite character...then Giles, Angel, Xander, Spike and Dru, Oz and Tara.

Favorite villian is Angelus, followed closely by Spike and Dru, Faith or the Mayor.

cheryl | May 14, 04:53 CET

And as for "most," I've found that that word generally means "me and the majority of the voices in my head."
Biff Turkle

Ha ha ha! That made me laugh!
Also "straddling the catfish" Malcolm, I think you've got something there.

I loved Tabula Rasa. I like the funny. Yeah the shark was insanely cheesy but if something makes me laugh, I forgive.

All the Season Finales of Buffy had something spectacular to offer. I even loved Primevil for the sheer beauty of the fight scenes. And Buffy's cool glowing eyes and eerie voice.

Him honestly creeped me out. Buffy straddling the teenager was icky to me and the Dawn on the tracks scene was horribly flawed. The rocket launcher part was funny though. And Dawn's bad cheerleading was brilliant. I have never loved Dawn more.

Conversations with Dead People was a good episode but it could have been a great episode. Xander and Jesse would have been great, Tara should have been in it, and why didn't Angelus ever appear to Spike? I know its about the actors not being available but still, it would have been awesome.

Oooh, the First could have appeared as Angelus during End of Days and Chosen both to Buffy and Spike. THAT would have been an excellent use of David Boreanaz and probably fun for him as well.

[ edited by Xane on 2006-05-14 04:19 ]

Xane | May 14, 06:09 CET

It would have been equally cool to see "Angelus" in the morphing scene at the end of Lessons and again at the end of EOD, as Buffy is having a mental war with The First. Although I loved the direction that Joss wrote for Angel in Buffy's finale, there is always room for more Angelus!
Great thought Xane.

cheryl | May 14, 09:58 CET

May 12 2006