You have to be a member of Livejournal to do this poll.

Caroline | August 04, 17:21 CET

Interestingly, Spike is, at an impressive 41.3%, the most popular character by far. What shocks me is that Riley (1 vote) is, at the moment, more popular than Dawn (0 votes).

Thanks for the heads up.

buffy_kitten | August 04, 17:28 CET

Interestingly, Spike is, at an impressive 41.3%, the most popular character by far.

Clearly this shows what a biased result LiveJournal will give regarding popular television characters. On LJ, clearly it's about the character with the most slash potential :-p

crossoverman | August 04, 17:46 CET

I can't vote but if I could, I'd vote for Buffy as my favorite character. :)

cheryl | August 04, 17:53 CET

My vote.
The show: 10/10
Favourite season: 5...no 3...no 2....blahh. I vote season 5
Favourite character: TARA by far

Rip2~~ | August 04, 18:31 CET

Buffy's currently in third place--Willow's in #2. Can't say that surprised me as much as Spike having almost as much popularity as the two of them put together--*I* voted for Willow.

The ordering of the seasons was kinda weird, in my mind. Did everyone vote for S5 just because Riley left, or because 'The Body' arc was so strong? Other than 'I Was Made to Love You', I don't see S5 having a lot of the little successes that so many of the other seasons did.

Despite its complete inconsistency, I would have expcted S2 to fare a little better. Six of the weakest episodes known to Buffydom, and 10 of the strongest--not a lot of middle ground in S2, yet I find myself unable to shake my conviction that it's the best season of all. FWIW, I'm currently re-watching *everything* with my wife, at her pace of 2-3 episodes a week, and we just watched 'Lie to Me'--the first of the 10 S2 jewels, IMHO.

jclemens | August 04, 18:34 CET

I do love Willow and Giles, and I belonged to Spike fansites for a long time, but I voted for Buffy. In my opinion Buffy's story really is continuously interesting and consistantly well done. I've been rewatching from the beginning with a friend who has never seen it before and I'm just struck again by what a brilliant show this was (but I still like 'Firefly' better).
Oh, Jclemens, I'm with you: I never cared for season 5, but I voted for season 4 (which I know few people loved as much as I did).

[ edited by embers on 2006-08-04 16:57 ]

[ edited by embers on 2006-08-04 21:51 ]

embers | August 04, 18:56 CET

Yeah, I was surprised to see S5 so far ahead of the other seasons. The most consistently satisfying season, for me, was S3. Virtually no clunkers there, and plenty of classic, quintessential Buffy episodes: Band Candy, The Wish, Doppelgangland, The Zeppo, Earshot, The Prom, Graduation Day Parts 1-2. Just edging out S3, though, is S2, despite being wildly uneven. That season delivered the most punch by far, socking us with Innocence, Passion, and Becoming Parts 1-2.

1starbuckstown | August 04, 19:22 CET

I think the choice of favorite seasons are interesting, too. I think episode wise, you wouldn't pick season five (although I love FOOL FOR LOVE, INTERVENTION and THE GIFT)but as far as the arc and the emotions, I loved it. That said, I voted for season six today. ;)

ETA: Clearly this shows what a biased result LiveJournal will give regarding popular television characters. On LJ, clearly it's about the character with the most slash potential :-p

true true.. Spike Fan fic is everywhere on LJ. He's shipped with everyone and even with characters from other shows. (Angel has lots of slash potential, too) One thing about LJ polls that I like, though--as far as I know you can't double vote unless you have two journals.

[ edited by spikeylover on 2006-08-04 19:03 ]

spikeylover | August 04, 20:25 CET

I wonder if the results would have been different had the question been "which season is the best?" as opposed to "which season was your favourite?".

Simon | August 04, 20:27 CET

I would vote for different seasons on different days, depending on my mood and which episodes I had watched recently.

2, 4, 5, 6 are all my favorites. Today I voted for six because I watched Bargaining and Afterlife this week. And I agree that 3 has some great stuff but for me it always suffers from lack of Spike and I rarely re-watch.

And one of the best fanfics I have read shipped Spike with a post-Serenity Zoe! Loved it! Someone once called Spike the "little black dress of fanfic...he goes with everything."

Xane | August 04, 22:07 CET

My favorite character is Faith.

Then Xander, Angel, Buffy.

My favorite seasons is 3,2,5,1,7,6

Donna Troy | August 04, 23:13 CET

I consider 5 to be the best season of all (it's also my favorite). Imo, 5 is the best season in the history of television. It's practically perfect with the tightest arc of any year. The epis just melt into one another seamlessly and all the main characters evolve in interesting ways.

However, 4 is the season I rewatch the most. It's just so much fun and pretty much angst free.

[ edited by Reddygirl on 2006-08-04 21:30 ]

Reddygirl | August 04, 23:23 CET

Yes, Faith absolutely. I'm surprised she hasn't been mentioned yet.

quetzal | August 04, 23:29 CET

Well, I dont think its a big surprise what season is being picked if you look at who is winning favorite character. I personally love season 5, I just cant stand Spike (which sorta disproves my point I know, but im an outlier on the statistical scale) but if I had to go with a favorite season Id go with season 3. My favorite character is Xander with Buffy right behind him.

jerryst3161 | August 05, 00:56 CET

I just cant stand Spike...My favorite character is Xander

I've noticed this a lot in fandom, that if someone really likes Xander, they usually dislike Spike. Or vice versa. I love Spike, but I find Xander one of the most annoying characters behind Dawn and Connor(though I did like him again in Season 7).

And yes, I know it's not always the case(therefore no one needs to reply that they love Spike AND Xander, unless you really just want to), but I've seen it a lot. And I've also seen people who really love Xander also didn't care much for Angel. I always wonder if it's that Everyman vs Superman type thing. And all of them vying for Buffy's affections. Hmm, I wonder if there are a lot of Xuffy erm...Bander? shippers out there...

Rogue Slayer | August 05, 01:20 CET

Yeah I mean, for one Im not really a fan of Angel either, and I have no qualms about admitting that it is the everyman vs superman conception. I dont like superman but I adore batman, and the same can be said for Xander vs Angel and Spike. I dont care who loves Buffy, thats not what its about, for me Xander is my favorite because he has no superpowers and yet fights anyway.

Its also interesting because the fandom of Buffy is alot more categorical than anyone would have you believe. Most of the time and with most fans, they fall into categories (Of course, this isnt always the case, but for the most part this is how it will go), such that if you answered one question I usually know what you like and dislike, what seasons are your favorites, and whether you will like a character or not. For instance, in the poll, most of those people are Spike fans so they like season 5, but it would be different if those were Angel fans. It all depends on that answer to the first question, and everything else can be deduced from there.

[ edited by jerryst3161 on 2006-08-04 23:34 ]

jerryst3161 | August 05, 01:31 CET

Well, I know lots and lots of Spanders, so I think many fans love both Xan and Spike.

Reddygirl | August 05, 06:46 CET

Keith G said:
Naw. I voted for him 'cause I just like him best.
But you're right, he does slash well ;)

anindoorkitty | August 05, 07:17 CET

Bogus poll. Faith isn't even an option. Puhleaze!

themayor | August 09, 03:28 CET