November 05
2006
TV Squad's Five Worst Episodes of "Buffy."
This is a follow-up to their
five favorite episodes from last year.
Jackal
| BtVS
| 14:27 CET
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133 comments total
| tags: buffy, lists, btvs, tv squad
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And I personally quite like 'Go Fish' - it's got some classic banter. Not up there with Hush and The Gift, but hey. And some of the most-hated eps are ones I enjoy, like 'Ted'.
There aren't that many eps that I skip completely past, but 'Older and Far Away' makes it, as does 'Lies my Parents Told me'.
Part of the reason I love this show is that every single Buffy ep has at least one moment of magic.
lone fashionable wolf | November 05, 15:08 CET
Xander: So, who's with me?
Spilke: I am. I know I'm not the first choice for heroics, and I've tried to kill you all at least once, and I don't care for the lot of you...actually, that sounds pretty convincing.
The rest of the list is spot on, except for The Pack...ooh, Xander. I'd replace them with Teacher's Pet and Reptile Boy.
And, uh, lone fashionable wolf, isn't the point of Hush that it doesn't have any banter?
[ edited by havok on 2006-11-05 13:19 ]
[ edited by havok on 2006-11-05 13:20 ]
havok | November 05, 15:15 CET
Go Fish - "The scene at the end of the episode, with the group of them flopping around in the ocean is pain inducing and laughable at the same time." Yep. Not going to argue that one.
I loved Doublemeat Palace! Man, it had a granny with a penis on her head - what's not to love? Seriously, though, I did actually like that one.
Unfortunately, two of my personal bad episodes are in season 5. Buffy Vs Dracula and Listening To Fear. Both have their moments, though - "Master.. Bater" (anybody think Joss wrote that line?). And Sarah Michelle Gellar's break down when washing up in Listening To Fear is performed fuckin' brilliantly. Season 5 of Buffy is interesting as they have a really well modeled writing room, and there's some really fantastic episodes in there, and a hell of a lot happens.
gossi | November 05, 15:44 CET
''The Pack'' is in my top five list, I just love the atmosphere of the original Sunnydale High School, and it isn't showcased in any episode like it is here. Principal Flutie getting eating was great, and "why can't he possessed by a puppy, or some ducks" is one of my favourite Willow quotes. Nicholas gives a great performances, as does Aly.
''Where the wild things are'' is part of an arc that I don't really like, but the one with easily the most redeeming qualities. It's actually a favourite of mine. Keith must really hate Xander, cause this also is one of the episodes he gets to play a nice heroic part. I love Spike, Anya, and Xander in this episode, they have a lot of nice scenes; 'Spike trying to scare Anya', 'the Spike and Xander both being mad that Anya brought Spike to the party moment', 'Spike talking himself out of helping', and again a favourite quote of mine:
Anya: A year and a half ago I could have eviscerated him with my thoughts. Now I can barely hurt his feelings. Things used to be so much simpler.
Spike: You know... You take the killing for granted... And then it's gone, and you're like... I wish I'd appreciated it more. Stop and smell the corpses, you know?
And I haven't even mentioned Tony singing yet. Really awesome ep.
''Inca Mummy Girl'', is also very high on my favourite list. I love the introduction of Oz, Dingoes Ate My Baby, Jonathan, and principal Snyder, and again, great lines: "One day I'm gonna live in a town where evil curses are just generally ruled out without even saying it", Xander asking Empata if she's a praying Mentis, and Willow: "Well, I didn't choose yet."
''Go Fish'' is another one I love. Again, great principal Snyder, great Jonathon, and I just love the research. Willow: Hmm. You're forgetting our high mortality rate.
So now I'm afraid I will have to make a worst list myself. I can't just critisize can I?
[ edited by the Groosalugg on 2006-11-05 14:43 ]
the Groosalugg | November 05, 16:10 CET
Ghost Spike | November 05, 16:12 CET
That said, I like--a great deal--all of the "worst" episodes, for the reasons given above and more.
Chris inVirginia | November 05, 16:14 CET
Hush - no dialogue. Made it very difficult to follow the plot.
Once More With Feeling - Buffy goes 'Oklahoma'. Need I say more?
Restless - Just a mess and people speak French in it for no apparent reason.
Simon | November 05, 16:18 CET
Also, Simon wins. But he forgot to mention how there's no music in The Body. Worst Episode Evah.
[ edited by gossi on 2006-11-05 14:20 ]
gossi | November 05, 16:19 CET
"And then we're supposed to believe Xander can take down Buffy in any capacity? Please."
When does Xander take down Buffy?...
Grounded | November 05, 16:37 CET
The Pack is still a favourite of mine, because it was the first episode I saw, channel hopping of an evening. The acting completely went against what I thought of as a 'teen vampire show'. And I think it was that last 'Shoot me, stuff me, mount me,' line that hooked me good.
I have no worst episodes. Yes, there were episodes I didn't enjoy as much as others. As a matter of fact there were whole seasons I did not care for. But to go as far as list them, nope. Buffy good.
Caroline | November 05, 16:38 CET
5# ''Bad Eggs''. Just too dumb a plot. Hated the Gorches, and not I don't think it had enough really great lines, nor enough of the great atosphere of season 2. I have to admit there are a lot nice things about it, though, like the early Xander and Cordy relation, and Willows reaction to that. Maybe it's just that timing was wrong. After ''Ted'' I told every one that we should watch Buffy, and so we watched this with a group, and it was difficult for me to pursuade them to watch ''Suprise''.
4# ''Forever'' Felt really lame after the body.
3# ''Grave'' Very little happens in this episode. What happens feels like a really bad story for young who just don't know any better children. Pointless and boring fighting, draging on without any reason. Lame power of love ending, wich in my opinion felt incredibly fake. I do kinda like Giles just laughing with Buffy though.
2# ''Wrecked'' Very little that I think is done right in this episode. A lot of things I think that are done really, really bad.
1# ''Smashed'' I think the Willow/Amy storyline was executed really badly. Worst story in the entire series. Nothing good to say about it.
ETA: btw, The Pack was my first episode too.
[ edited by the Groosalugg on 2006-11-05 14:42 ]
the Groosalugg | November 05, 16:39 CET
[ edited by gossi on 2006-11-05 14:45 ]
gossi | November 05, 16:44 CET
Chris inVirginia | November 05, 16:48 CET
Plus, 'Go Fish' rulz0rz, Cordy's boobs look gr8 in that one. That girl is teh hotz LOL !
(can't disagree too much with the list though, as mentioned, no Buffy episode is without at least one magic moment. I don't mind 'Doublemeat Palace' or 'Inca Mummy Girl' and think 'The Pack' is actually pretty good - come on, dodgeball as predatory sport/metaphor for high-school victimisation ? How can that not rock ? So actually I do kind of disagree with the list ;)
When does Xander take down Buffy?...
At one point near the end his regard for Buffy takes on a predatory nature and he's sitting astride her on the floor. It seems like she's struggling to throw him off and they tussle a bit with him not immediately getting his arse kicked, if that counts as him taking her down.
(and yep, I also like 'Grave', 'Wrecked' and 'Smashed' a great deal)
Saje | November 05, 16:49 CET
I'm no crazed S7 hater, but for me I'm afraid a lot of it blurs into faceless Potentials and First-related speechifying. Looking at the names of episodes I can't immediately remember the differences between (for example) 'Get it Done', 'Never Leave Me' and 'Bring on the Night'.
But perhaps it's a matter of personal preference. I adore a strong stand-alone and get tired (not to mention CONFUSED!) when shows become totally mythology-focused. I know others who feel the opposite. Maybe this guy is one. Or maybe he stopped watching earlier on.
Additonal thoughts--
'Where the Wild Things Are': Yes. Ew. Especially the 'orgasm wall' scene (which I seem to remember coincided with my father wandering past and me having to defend, yet again, my loyalty to 'that vampire show'). Most disappointingly: for a show that was all about clever metaphor, this epsiode was just plain unsubtle. But I'm with Havok. Giles singing -and the reaction shots of the Scoobies- definitely in my 'Top Twenty' Buffy moments. (Now, that would be a list *dreams off*...).
'Lies my Parents Told Me': I'm with lone fashionable wolf. In fact, any Buffy (or Angel) ep that subjected us to extended flashbacks, replete with nuffy wigs, mangled European accents and Ye Olde styrofoam sets, immediately drops a few rungs on my ladder.
'Gone:' is one I struggle with. Buffy gets invisible and turns into an irresponsible git. And rather than addressing the fact that no one is taking care of the deeply unhappy and neglected Dawn, the issue is mocked via the original use of a stereotype Evil!Welfare Worker character. Also, the Buffy ADR voiceover sounds really out of sync with the rest of the dialogue. Skippable.
'Him:' Contrary to my previous statement re. standalones, this one really irritates me. The girls all behave like such halfwits.
[ edited by Mythtaken on 2006-11-05 15:23 ]
Mythtaken | November 05, 17:19 CET
As usual it's interesting to see the variations among fans. 'Lies My Parents...' for instance is easily one of my latter season faves and probably in my top 10.
I do agree about some of the S7 episodes blurring together but I remember 'Bring on the Night' very distinctly because it has a battered little girl declaring war on the root of all evil. Buffy's just taken the hammering of her life, all hope seems lost, everyone's sitting around in a kind of embarrassed despair and here's what she comes up with:
Magic.
Saje | November 05, 17:32 CET
Yes, I did like that speech in Bring on the Night, Saje, I just think by that point I (as a human person) had become a little hardened and cynical, so it didn't 'work' on me the way I remember wishing it had. :-) My own personal 'magic' moments of that kind were perhaps the rather briefer speech from 'The Gift' (and Giles' droll comment to Spike that followed) and Willow, way back in S3, saying, 'It's a good fight Buffy, and I want in'. Sniff! Gets me every time!
(*Please forgive what is undoubtedly some artistic paraphrasing here!)
[ edited by Mythtaken on 2006-11-05 15:47 ]
Mythtaken | November 05, 17:45 CET
Personally, I loved "Him". After the ultra seriousness* of season 6's plots, it was a welcome fun episode.
* I still love S6, though.
gossi | November 05, 17:54 CET
marmoset | November 05, 17:55 CET
And, marmoset (trust no one!), I love Beer Bad, too.
Chris inVirginia | November 05, 18:03 CET
Still, I do love me summa that dialogue. I've been heard to declare, 'Wow! I had knowledge!' on the rare occasions that I surprise myself and get something right :D
Marmoset, a thought re. 'Beer Bad': I always loathed that episode. Then someone gave me the shooting script, and I was interested to note how much funnier it was written than on screen. Perhaps it's the difference between reading about people thundering around like cavemen, and having to watch them actually play it out. (Which was a little too drama school for my liking. Bleh.)
'Beer Bad' also has some great Scoobie banter. The whole scene at the beginning with Xander as the bartender is beautifully played by the actors ('What gives it away?' 'Looking at it.' Not to mention, 'Nothing can defeat the penis! [beat] Too loud, very unseemly.'), I also like Giles describing CaveBuffy as 'Blonde, about this high, walks with a sort of a sideways limp' and Willow's 'I'm tired of you men and your man-ness.' Something else that has been quoted in my house :D Nice ending, too:
Xander: And was there a lesson in all this huh? What did we learn
about beer?
Buffy: Foamy.
Xander: Good, just as long as that's clear.
Hrm. Upon reflection, it seems I tire of heartfelt declarations or dramatics but am easily won over by cheesy but memorable monsters and witty one-liners. Which may explain a thing or two about my relationships...
[ edited by Mythtaken on 2006-11-05 16:11 ]
Mythtaken | November 05, 18:10 CET
Bad Eggs
Where the Wild Things Are
Him
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date
Reptile Boy
I had included Beer Bad, but the moments when Willow busts Parker (figuratively) and Buffy busts him (literally) are worth the rest.
ForeverAnya | November 05, 18:16 CET
Dana5140 | November 05, 18:17 CET
I think it totally proves Caroline's point that we all start off saying we don't like episode X then go on to mention the great things about episode X ;).
As said, 'Beer Bad' has some great Xander dialogue, Willow seeing right through Parker's schtick and Giles' description (not just the words but the harried-yet-desperate-to-be-polite Englishness of it and also his own little sort of lurch as he says 'sideways limp'. Much mirth ;).
Also, crinkly hair ? Humina humina (you know I heard the 'man-ness' comment, now i've read the 'man-ness' comment but I still don't think i've really 'got' the 'man-ness' comment ;).
Saje | November 05, 18:25 CET
1. As You Were
2. Bad Eggs
3. Killed by Death (Because it comes between PASSION and IOHEFY. Why?? WHYYYY??)
4. Go Fish (Because it comes between IOHEFY and Becoming)
5. I robot, You Jane.
I LOVE season six.
spikeylover | November 05, 18:28 CET
batmarlowe | November 05, 19:15 CET
Once More With Feeling - Buffy goes 'Oklahoma'. Need I say more?
Restless - Just a mess and people speak French in it for no apparent reason.
Simon, you silly little troll.
Doublemeat Palace is up there among my favorite Buffy episodes. The Pack isn't up there, but it's more somewhere in the middle of 144 episodes - and eating Principal Flutie was worth any goffy mumbo jumbo at the zoo. Where the WIld Things Are had Giles singing and some of the best Spike scenes of any episode - so it's in the upper half of the middle. Even the bad episodes of Buffy had good stuff in them. Still, I sometimes skip these episodes (list time!) while watching the DVDs:
1. Inc Mummy Girl
2. I Robot, You Jane
3. Bad Eggs
4. Go Fish
5. Normal Again
[ edited by Nebula1400 on 2006-11-05 17:17 ]
Nebula1400 | November 05, 19:17 CET
I like Beer Bad, The Puppet Show, and I Robot, You Jane.
I love Lies My Parents Told Me, Smashed, Wrecked and Gone.
Him was not a good episode, it was ridiculous that if the jacket was powerful enough to make Dawn want to kill herself and Buffy try to kill the Principal why wasn't there a lot more trouble with it over the years since its existence. Come on. But still the episode had the rocket launcher wrestling scene, and Dawn's incredibly awkward cheerleading which is a Season highlight for me.
Also the episode where they throw Buffy out of her house. Dang I can't even think of the name. They do all run together.
But the episode I think has no redeeming qualities is As You Were. It made Buffy look really bad. She let Riley make her feel pathetic, which is ridiculous, he was not a paragon no matter what Petrie thought and the whole episode had no logic to it.
Mythtaken do you mean the "not exactly the St. Crispin's day speech is it?" After Buffy's speech in the Gift? The Gift is so moving and poignant that its easy to forget how funny it was as well.
[ edited by Xane on 2006-11-05 17:31 ]
[ edited by Xane on 2006-11-05 17:35 ]
Xane | November 05, 19:29 CET
I also sadly feel like season seven of Buffy just doesn't work in general, and collapses after Conversations with Dead People (up through then, it was going great, except for the lame Him, though that did have some funny moments).
However, my two least favorite episodes are both in season six, a season I think had a lot of good ideas, only some of which were pulled off well. The episodes I think of as my very least favorite aren't the occassional "meh" standalone ones, but the ones that stand out by being so un-Buffy, in that they harm a strong ongoing storyline, when usually the show had been so great on paying off such things.
Wrecked is my least favorite episode ever, for taking the incredibly cool/interesting idea of the dark path Willow was going down and the addiction to the feeling of power using magic gave her, and suddenly making it incredibly simplistic. That episode basically screams, "Do you get it? We're saying MAGIC = DRUGS! See, Willow has a DEALER and she needs to SCORE SOME MAGIC to GET HIGH! You get it, right? Are we hammering you in the face with what we're talking about enough?" Dealing with addiction through Willow's use of magic was a perfect Buffy idea. The show had used metaphor so well until then, but here it became so blunt and cheesy; Willow had never gotten "high" in the literal, "Woo, I'm tripping out!" sense she did in that episode. The story had been about addiction, but now it was being made directly into one about drugs, with magic replacing crack or such in a spoonfed way that the writers were above. The show was so much better then that.
Though not Wrecked bad, Hell's Bells is also terribly clunky in a lot of ways. Some of the central Xander/Anya angst is well done. But I hated how the show sacrificed a lot of its integrity for some jokes, and again for some very very obvious "metaphor" which was now becoming increasingly on the sleeve. In the past, the show had followed this basic idea that yes, some really really crazy stuff goes on in Sunnydale, and inevitably, some of the locals have seen some of it and some of the creatures involved. But now it was just, "hey, let's have a bunch of monsters in suits at a big wedding with a bunch of humans, and no one will really question any of it!" I think they said Anya's family were circus people or such? It was just lame, and there to make some really obvious, "Ah yes, these creaturs may look repulsive, and yet who are the REAL monsters?" comments as we see how ugly Xander's dad and some humans can be compared to the demons. It's another episode that took a storyline I was involved with (Xander and Anya's relationship) and unfortunately went awry in a very pivotal episode.
But Wrecked man... that episode just makes me sad.
Eric G | November 05, 19:43 CET
rbt | November 05, 19:46 CET
Reddygirl | November 05, 20:01 CET
As I have mentioned before, an almost totally unspoiled friend of mine is watching them in order. Hearing her reactions is really focusing my own opinions. As everyone has said, there are things I really like in all the episodes I am least fond of. (Two no one has mentioned in Beer Bad for instance are the conversation between Willow and Parker and the moment at the end when Parker thanks her and Buffy hits him with the club.)
Interestingly, my friend has been enjoying most of the episodes that regularly make it to numbers 134 to 144 of the best of BtVS list. She may change her mind once she sees the rest of the series, or maybe she will be like a couple of the previous posters and like the creature-feature stand alones best. Maybe she will hate the flashbacks and we will both love the series but for totally different reasons. People tell me that happens sometimes with BtVS. ;-)
I was really sorry my other friend that I already converted told her Bad Eggs and Beer Bad were bad episodes. After she saw Bad Eggs I could not get two words out of her about it. It can change the way you view something if you have already been told other people dislike it. She is half way through Surprise. So far she loved Teacher's Pet, Ted, Inca Mummy Girl and The Puppet Show, with the last one convincing her that this is a series worth watching. She hated "Some Assembly Required" and thinking about it, I realized that it is probably #144 on my list. The flashback episodes, however, way up there near the top 'cause I am just such a sucker for a well written flashback and they do give good flashback on BtVS. (Hey, everybody has a weakness, that is...one of...mine. ;-) )
newcj | November 05, 20:11 CET
Reddygirl | November 05, 20:16 CET
Aw, I didn't know "Ted" was hated! Although I did know, from the looks I've received over the years, that it doesn't make most other people's top tens. Heh, I don't know...it just works for me...
...which is odd, because my Worst Episode Ever is also robot-centric: "I Robot, You Jane," anyone? I mean, I give some season one episodes a pass - after all, half a season of semi-cheesiness could be fun - but I have a hard time making it through that one.
Also: I loved The Puppet Show - you can't not do an evil dummy episode, you know? And that bit during the credits is awesome.
ETA: I also think the "new show/early WB" production values bring down some of the early episodes. When watching an episode like "The Pack," I always find myself thinking, "This would be a lot better if they could do then what they can do, now..."
[ edited by VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt on 2006-11-05 18:35 ]
VampiresSuckLOLOLGetIt | November 05, 20:23 CET
I disagree about Doublemeat Palace, as I do think it's a lot better than most people give it credit for. It definitely wouldn't be among my favourite episodes but I do think it would avoid being among my least favourite. The old lady with the phallic demon was quite silly, and kind of detracted from the more sinister tone of the episode. I think it might have been better if it had have been some sort of Doublemeat conspiracy, another way of the writers taking a swipe at big corporations but I suspect they might have run into even more trouble with their advertisers.
Someone earlier mentioned "Forever" as a bad episode and I really agree. I remember reading someone's review a while ago and they said something like "Forever does everything badly what The Body did so well".
The originality, restraint and raw honesty from the previous episode is twisted into completely run-of-the-mill sentimentality and lazy writing. One scene I particularly hate is the actual burial, which has the typical weepy music and "ashes to ashes" voiceover which the show so expertly mocked in "Lover's Walk" when such a scene begins, leading the viewer to assume Cordelia died from her injuries, however the camera then moves to Buffy and Willow walking past who reveal she is still perfectly alive.
There are a few things I do like about the episode though- Buffy remaining at the graveside whilst it turns to night is a beautiful image, Angel's appearance was nice and I did really like the final scene between Buffy and Dawn where they fight and Dawn rips up the picture of Joyce. It manages to be creepy and poignant at the same time, whereas most of the episode was either silly (the actual setup of Dawn's spell) or completely stereotypical (the burial scene).
I actually think it would have been better for "The Body" to have been the only episode dealing with Joyce's death, and for the next episode to take up somewhere after the funeral. Perhaps seeing Buffy struggle to care about her slaying duties, which also would have been nice foreshadowing of her disconnection from life in season six.
Razor | November 05, 20:37 CET
[ edited by Dietcoke on 2006-11-05 19:00 ]
Dietcoke | November 05, 20:37 CET
Didn't much like Him but the gag shot out the window with the rocket launcher made it worthwhile.
Doublemeat Palace - nope, didn't like that one but there was Willow's and Buffy's takedown of Parker to make it worth watching again.
Where the Wild Things are - sigh. Giles singing. "Now I remember why I had such a crush on him" says Willow. The rest of the ep? Nah.
Lioness | November 05, 20:41 CET
valgal | November 05, 20:46 CET
No matter what I thought was bad about those eps, was completely overshadowed by the slices of humor in each that were brought out by positive energy that only Buffy fans can exude (there's nothing like the sound of 75 to a hundred people laughing or cheering at the same moment).
So, if there are some eps that you find you like less than others, I highly recommend a "Least Favorite Episode" Buffy party. Get together ten or fifteen of your biggest Buffy fan friends, sit, snack, and enjoy. Trust me, whatever you don't like about the ep, with be out-shined by the knowledge that there are just as many Buffy-fools out there as you.
daedreams | November 05, 20:48 CET
sungoesdark | November 05, 20:50 CET
I quite like Doublemeat Palace. I understand why people don't like it, but I enjoy the ridiculous monster-of-the-week episodes. Beer Bad and Bad Eggs are also both under appreciated.
My least favorite episode is Help.
alpha5099 | November 05, 20:56 CET
It's funny how many of the least favorite episodes for most people are from Season 1. It's the one season I don't really go back and watch from beginning to end. The people who converted me were concerned with where to start me because they thought I needed the character development from the beginning but they were afraid I would find it to hokey and wouldn't stick with it. They thought it might be better to start me with Season 2. I did start with Season 1 and I'm glad but I always have the same dilemma with folks that I try get into it.
marmoset | November 05, 21:16 CET
spikeylover | November 05, 21:19 CET
Also, add me to the list of people who love episodes like Doublemeat (is double sweet!) Palace and Him. Those are both comedy gold.
MindPieces | November 05, 21:29 CET
Caroline | November 05, 21:32 CET
gossi | November 05, 21:37 CET
Meltha | November 05, 21:38 CET
5. Reptile Boy
4. As You Were
3. Inca Mummy Girl
2. Teacher's Pet
1. Empty Places
Reptile Boy -- Some funny moments, like Giles's "tad redundant" rejoinder to Buffy at the end, but there's nothing good enough to redeem Xanderella. Nothing at all.
As You Were -- Pointless. I hated Riley's wife. I didn't much care for the actress who played Riley's wife. And nothing would make anyone think that thing was a bear.
Inca Mummy Girl -- Had Buffy just followed up on her "Weren't you supposed to be a BOY and not a GIRL?!" instinct at the beginning of the episode, this episode would have been over in about twelve minutes. The rest is padding...sort of amusing padding, but padding nonetheless.
Teacher's Pet -- Musetta Vander delivers possibly the worst guest-starring performance ever, on any television series. Plus, this in conjunction with previous episode? I feel so badly for poor Xander, always getting the demon chicks. And the ending goes NOWHERE.
Empty Places -- Actually shaping up to be mediocre until the end. But nothing makes me believe that Xander and Willow, to say nothing of Giles, would willingly stand by as Buffy had her role co-opted and was kicked out of her own home. How many times had they forgiven her transgressions and mistakes in the past? How many times had she saved them? How many times had they commented on how much pressure this particular situation had put her under? No, despite the best effort of the writers, the scene was completely unmotivated, and this egregious error of character (Buffy, after all, is about nothing so much as its characters) makes me rank it lower than some episodes that were demonstrably worse overall.
BAFfler | November 05, 21:50 CET
Dead Man's Party isn't stellar Buffy, but there are two one-liners that redeem it for me:
Giles: "Do you like my mask? Isn't it pretty? It raises the dead!" Americans!
Xander: Generally speaking? When scary things get scared? Not good.
human_loser | November 05, 21:50 CET
But, nothing can redeem an epi that treats Buffy like a runaway, instead of someone returning after a horrific incident. It had a "very special Buffy" tone to it and seemed to be more about Bad Runaway Buffy, instead of what really happened. I just hated what I saw as a real life message intruding into to story.
Reddygirl | November 05, 22:01 CET
Simon | November 05, 22:16 CET
I did't include 'Beer Bad' because I thought it did have some little bit of charm to it that others here seem to have seen as well. Also, I hated the Parker character so much that just the fact that she knocks him out alone puts the episode way out of the bottom episodes.
As for hating Xander -- no way! In fact, 'The Zeppo' was in my top five last year! I *hate* that Xander-centric episodes are cruddy. Maybe that's why I hate them so much, because I think he got undersold.
Yes, season seven as a whole was pretty bad, but I'm picking out those single episodes that I just would rather not watch again when I decide to break out the DVDs and relive the seasons again. They're the cringerific episodes that I find myself making the decision to pass on watching again now in order to keep my sanity. Though sometimes I'll think that maybe another watch will change my mind. Sadly, it doesn't.
Gudlyf | November 05, 22:21 CET
Smashed.
Doublmeat palace
I Robot
Storyteller
Lie My Parents Told me or First date
Not a fan of the late part of season six until the last three eps. But even some of those were better then alot of season 7.
I loved the Pack,because it showed different sides of Xander and he was so pretty all scary like that. And the eating the pig was just funny as hell
Go Fish had a few great scenes in it, but it was you typical filler monster of the week. Though I did love Xander in the swim trunks,Cordy's concern for him, and the Buffy/Angelus scene. I was facinated with her taking those things out of her hair and threatening him with them.
Donna Troy | November 05, 22:23 CET
I do, however, enjoy almost all the Monster-of-the-Week episodes, even Doublemeat Palace. Silly, definitely, but fun when you just want something light and funny. Bad Eggs and Some Assembly Required are probably my least favorite of this group, though.
Oh, and Giles's singing was the only redeeming part of Where the Wild Things Are for me. :-)
gilraen | November 05, 22:35 CET
Where the Wild Things Are is the worst for me. Unfortunately I can't really remember why, so I may have to rewatch it to find out.
mjwilson | November 05, 22:50 CET
But it had:
Spike: I am. I know I'm not the first choice for heroics, and I've tried to kill you all at least once, and I don't care for the lot of you...actually, that sounds pretty convincing.
and
Anya: A year and a half ago I could have eviscerated him with my thoughts. Now I can barely hurt his feelings. Things used to be so much simpler.
Spike: You know... You take the killing for granted... And then it's gone, and you're like... I wish I'd appreciated it more. Stop and smell the corpses, you know?
the Groosalugg | November 05, 23:02 CET
And, how can you not like Storyteller, Donna Troy? That's one of my absolute favorites.
If I had to pick worst episodes they would probably come mostly out of Season 7 and would include a lot of the Potentials, and the one in Season 6 that's all about making Willow a druggie - which I consider the only blemish on the otherwise best season of the show.
Septimus | November 05, 23:06 CET
However, despite my dislike of the simplistic magic=drugs premise, I loved most of season 6.
And I just rewatched "Beer Bad" because of this thread, and found it surprisingly enjoyable! I think it just goes to demonstrate what I always say: the worst episode if Buffy is still better than the best of most other TV shows...
miri47 | November 05, 23:11 CET
Reddygirl | November 05, 20:01 CET"
As much as I love agreeing with you ;-) I feel the need to point out that I think that that was the point. Although I do not enjoy the episode, except for Giles's line referenced earlier, I thought they were trying to point out the way that people, especially when they are in pain, make judgments about other people's actions without getting all the information or considering that there may be factors they don't know about. For the other characters Buffy was Bad Runaway Buffy because they did not know any better and were in to much personal pain to look deeper, especially someone like Joyce who obviously did not want to have to face her part in Buffy's departure.
The characters were all in pain and they had not had answers for a long time, so they had stopped asking the questions. They just dealt with their own pain cut off from everyone else's. When Buffy came back, they had stopped thinking about the questions except for Giles, perhaps. The fact that Buffy was traumatized should have been obvious to everyone, except that they were all traumatized too. Not an episode I'm crazy about and as difficult for me to watch as Empty Places. In both cases the Fairness Girl in me wants to stomp into the story in Buffy's defense, but based on what I've seen of human nature valid in my book.
"Bad Eggs and Some Assembly Required are probably my least favorite of this group, though."
Yea! Someone else did not like "Some Assembly Required." I really loved Lies My Parents Told Me, though.
newcj | November 05, 23:13 CET
"It hates the room Mom, it want's the room to suffer"
For me, picking the worst episode of Buffy is like trying to pick the worst Ferrari.
zz9 | November 05, 23:19 CET
Inca Mummy Girl on the other hand... Ugh.
Samantha | November 05, 23:26 CET
Jona | November 05, 23:39 CET
The absolute worst for me were:
Bad Eggs
Where the Wild Things Are
Some Assembly Required
Teacher's Pet
Doublemeat Palace
It speaks well of the show that I had to struggle to remember that last one. 144 eps and I had a hard time coming up with 5 clunkers? Eeeeeeeeeexcellent.
I also see that my list mirrors many single choices of y'all's. But these are it, all together, for me. Oh, and Giles singing in WtWTA? Needs to be yanked out of that crapfest of an ep and given its own hour! How hot was he?
Willowy | November 05, 23:49 CET
season 1: Teacher's Pet
season 2: Some Assembly Required
season 4: Wild at Heart
season 5: No Place Like Home
season 5: Tough Love
season 5: Spiral
oops, that is more than five episodes I don't like (can you guess I'm not keen on season 5?).
embers | November 06, 00:06 CET
Yes that, and Oz and Xander falling through the ceiling to rescue them when it was all over. Good stuff. Also Willow's mom.
Doublemeat Palace had some great funny moments but Cave-Buffy hitting Parker over the head is a series highlight for me.
Inca Mummy Girl I think I only disliked because it came after School Hard and I was so looking forward to see what was going to happen with Spike and Dru. It wasn't bad, just a let down.
And I liked The Pack. It was genuinely creepy.
Storyteller had some good stuff in it, but the tears gimmick was lame, and Buffy cracking jokes when some kids head exploded, just no.
Xane | November 06, 00:25 CET
Storyteller for me, was right in that bunch of eps that nothing happened and all seemed to end up with bad speeches.
Gingerbread also had one of my favorite Cordy/Giles line in it. "One of these days your going to wake up in a coma."
Donna Troy | November 06, 00:56 CET
Reddygirl | November 06, 01:02 CET
IMMORTAL | November 06, 01:05 CET
Reddygirl | November 06, 01:07 CET
We are delightfully varied in our opinions.
Xane | November 06, 01:09 CET
The only ones I think I have ever heard anyone say anything bad about are :Becomming 2, The Body, Passion, OMWF,Innocence,When She was Bad and Coversations with Dead People.
Donna Troy | November 06, 01:22 CET
newcj | November 06, 01:52 CET
Some Assembly Required
Amends
Pangs
As You Were
Him
I always used The Pack as an example of why people should watch the show back when the first season was airing ("You'd love this show! In one episode, the principal gets eaten by students who are posessed by hyenas!") I think that actually worked once or twice.
Lady Brick | November 06, 01:58 CET
newcj | November 06, 02:08 CET
And my bottom 4, in no order:
Where the Wild Things Are
Out of My Mind
Listening to Fear
Buffy Vs. Dracula
TheZeppo | November 06, 02:17 CET
And Buffy Vs Dracula is one of those eps I really enjoy...maybe it's those pink plastic trousers..
And Pangs is one of my favourite S4 eps!
[ edited by lone fashionable wolf on 2006-11-06 00:38 ]
lone fashionable wolf | November 06, 02:19 CET
Buffy vs. Dracula is one of my favorites!
Samantha | November 06, 02:23 CET
Its kind of a Dawn highlight for me.
Xane | November 06, 02:23 CET
My bottom five? Ted, Dead Man's Party, The Freshman, Doublemeat Palace, and Him. Hmm. I don't seem to like it when Buffy is manipulated or ignored. That bothers me far more than silly MOTW episodes.
jclemens | November 06, 02:28 CET
The other ones are decent choices. DMP isn't as bad as people say it is, but it's certainly far from stellar. "Where the Wild Things Are" is horribly boring when it focuses on Buffy and Riley but actually has some wonderful moments with the rest of the cast--Giles singing, the Spike/Anya bonding, Xander's flirting with the girl ("Watch me add short columns of small numbers"), etc. Probably also underrated.
Also, among the usually hated choices, "The Puppet Show" is another personal fave of mine from season one--it's silly, but it also has so many plot twists and surprises, with some very snappy dialogue, and Snyder! I really didn't know what was going to happen next there. And "Ted" has some of the best individual scenes in that season--Buffy's quiet, wistful "Vampires, yoo-hoo?" sitting outside, any and all Giles/Jenny scenes, Xander being awesome ("We have to do that...that thing." "We can do THAT THING any time. I'm tired of doing THAT THING."), and some very good drama in Buffy's reaction to what she has done. And John Ritter is very funny. Oh, yes, the drama is completely whitewashed by the discovery that Ted's a robot (and realistically, the show would have to have changed irreperably had Buffy actually killed someone at that stage), but it still has its moments. "As You Were" did, yes, have Sam being ultra-annoying, but there was some sweetness in the Riley/Buffy exchanges, and the Buffy/Spike breakup was actually beautiful.
"Dead Man's Party" always struck me as a realistic reaction of a bunch of friends to some pretty inexplicable (from their perspective) behaviour on the part of one of their best friends. But the zombies really didn't fit, and the fact that all seemed to be resolved at the end comes pretty close to ruining good will for it. But Giles' line! Too classic.
As far as "Empty Places," I hate to say this but I fully understood Willow and Xander kicking her out, on a first viewing: Xander lost his freaking eye and Buffy showed outwardly not the slightest bit of compassion. Yes, under other circumstances Willow and Xander probably would have seen through it. But hey, trauma--and it makes sense after everything that happened at the end of season six for Willow's trust in Xander to trump her trust in Buffy. My heart was literally pounding in this final scene. It wasn't until repeated viewings that I understood the scorn attached to it. In retrospect, it was still a bit simplistic--but, as with "Dead Man's Party," I think there's some truth in even a group like the Scoobies falling back on the mob mentality, and even Buffy's closest friends, being unable to step back from the situation and think critically.
The other thing, I think, is that pretty much all the core Scoobies were incapacitated. Giles has just been reminded once again of his own irrelevance in Xander has lost his eye and consequently his "vision." And Willow has been afraid to exert any kind of power all season, attempting to return to her mousy ways in order to hide the fact that she has killed people. I think after all that happened all of them were perfectly willing, at least on some level, to let someone else take charge--just not Buffy. The end result is that my biggest problem with "Empty Places" (besides some pretty big pacing issues) is with the season as a whole. For a show about empowerment, I would have preferred had the last season not beaten down the series' central characters so thoroughly, and focused more heavily on their redemption, post-season six. But for what it's worth, I think that what they did do with the characters is actually fairly internally consistent.
Oh and as for your list, Donna Troy? I have seen someone give "When She Was Bad" a 2.
My bottom 10 is probably:
1. Beer Bad: I know there are some who argue that it's funny, and I can understand where they're coming from. But I think it's more than a bit embarrassing.
2. Reptile Boy: Zzzzzzzzzzz... And the monster? So silly.
3. Go Fish: The fish monsters really were too silly to be believed. And I couldn't contain my laughter when they started going into the Commie Conspiracy. Please, no.
4. Wrecked: Most bipolar episode. Lots of great individual scenes, but the idea of the magick crackhouse is just horrible.
5. I Robot - You Jane: Giant demon robot. There's a limit.
6. Inca Mummy Girl: Some nice bits (Eskimo-Willow and Xander dressing up as an "Italian pretending to be American", mainly) but a pretty lame monster and a sloooooow one at that.
7. Doublemeat Palace: Yeah, I know I said it was underrated, but that's only because it regularly ends up the worst in polls. Still, kind of funny a lot of the time.
8. Teacher's Pet: Worth it for Xander and his guitar. But the concept of an evil praying mantis lady is very ridiculous. And the eggs hatching at the end? Oh man.
9. Older and Far Away: An episode I really want to like, because it has a great premise and focuses on a character (Dawn) who actually had every damn right to complain. The problem is that this episode managed to take Dawn, who had legitimate complaints against the Scoobies, and make her seem like just a whiny brat. And its pacing and continuity is just horrible. But hey, Tara!
10. Doomed: Buffy/Riley scenes? Dull. The "revisiting high school" angle? Unfulfilled potential. Spike trying to kill himself? Hilarious. I know 2/3 ain't bad, but I think 1/3 is.
The problem is I can't really say that these are "bad," just a bit "off"; some other episodes that are somewhere between "off" and "middling" include Ted, Dead Man's Party, As You Were, and Empty Places, as well as Some Assembly Required, Bad Eggs, Killed by Death, Gingerbread, Living Conditions, Buffy vs. Dracula, Listening to Fear, Gone, Him, Bring on the Night, Showtime and Potential; these episodes all sort of fall short of fully working for me, and yet sometimes I end up enjoying them so much more than I expected and think they're genuinely good episodes. Even if all of these were bad though (which they aren't), it's still on the order of one bad episode in six, which isn't all that bad.
WilliamTheB | November 06, 02:29 CET
gossi | November 06, 02:42 CET
I loved Teacher's pet for Buffy/Angel scenes with the jacket, but thought it was very weak in story.
I robot.. I could never get past her horrible animal print dress in that one. But it did have some very cute Giles/Jenny.
Donna Troy | November 06, 02:46 CET
OMWF and Hush are TWO OF MY FAVORITES! Ugh--blasphemy!
But I could not agree more with Double Meat Palace being at the top...that was a terrible episode and horrible waste of filler time! oh well..
buffyfanatic18 | November 06, 02:58 CET
"Come on - vampires! Grr! Nasty!"
And gotta chime in with 'The Pack' love - the teen hyena power walk is a great sexy Xander moment (one of very few), and that ep was the first time we got to see Alyson Hannigans acting chops, boy can that girl break your heart when she cries.
lone fashionable wolf | November 06, 03:03 CET
Hush, never really cared for. But I did like the Xander projecter scene.
[ edited by Donna Troy on 2006-11-06 01:16 ]
Donna Troy | November 06, 03:12 CET
As far as "bad" episodes go, for me there aren't any. There are some episodes I like less, or don't look forward to as much when re-watching, but there are no "oh, that one's coming up..." episodes.
Actually, wait a second. "As You Were". I...LOATHE...SAM.
The non-Sam parts are fine, but I find her to be the most irratating, repulsive, many other bad adjectives character that has ever graced Buffy's screen. And that includes Rona, who, as far as I'm concerned, bled to death on the bus at the end of "Chosen".
Every word out of Sam's mouth, every "Ri" (as opposed to calling Riley "Riley"), every nose scratch, every single thing she did made me angry.
Dhoffryn | November 06, 03:18 CET
No, no--I really like it too. I don't really care for the villian too much but I find her to be rather inconsequential to the overall themes of the episode. I love the training video, I love Manny and the replacement manager, I love the way they capture the utter boredom and despair, I love that the secret is vegetables, and I really like the Buffy/Willow bonding.
marmoset | November 06, 03:22 CET
batmarlowe | November 06, 03:27 CET
I am usually not a fan of musical tv shows. There are only two I can ever say I liked. One is OMWF(I love the song Through the Fire)and the other is the Xena musical, Bittersuit. Lucy Lawless has a beautiful voice and it was very well done. So I can understand how it is hit and miss.
[ edited by Donna Troy on 2006-11-06 01:36 ]
Donna Troy | November 06, 03:32 CET
Willowy | November 06, 03:37 CET
LOL, hey this may put me in rare company but Beer Bad is in my top 20. I swear I feel like Xander in Nightmares when he questions his sanity in thinking that Buffy was hot as a vampire because I too think Buffy is hot as cave Buffy. Im sick I know...
But more than that Beer Bad is awesome for just everything that occurs, the Xander and Giles dialogue as they go to see Buffy, Willow and Parker, Buffy beating up Parker, the fact that the one thing that remains in Buffy is her need to help people, and just how funny it is. It cant be that bad right? Ok, yeah im probably just sick...
My bottom five are:
1. Empty Places-Easily and hands down the only episode I cannot watch again. I dislike the way it paints the scoobies, Buffy, and even the potentials but more than that, with no follow up, the tragedy inherent to the episode is meaningless, IMO.
2. Smashed-The house falls down. No kidding...
3. Doublemeat Palace-The place where feminism goes to die...
4. I Robot, You Jane
5. Where the wild things are-whats the lesson here folks? Dont have episodes that exist purely so that SMG can do Angel, especially when the episode revolves around an orgasmic wall (which btw, Id like one of those) and Riley and Buffy in bed for the entire episode.
jerryst3161 | November 06, 03:43 CET
Lady Brick | November 06, 03:45 CET
Also I like Never Kill a Boy on the First Date. I like Owen and his Owenosity.
It is fun reading everyone's lists.
Batmarlowe -someone saying OMWF is one of their least favorite eps boggles the mind!
Passion | November 06, 04:22 CET
Gill | November 06, 04:23 CET
Most of my least favorites would probably come from the first season, and more likely because the writing is just not as strong as in later seasons. The Pack is definitely my favorite first season episode. I also quite like The Puppet Show and, of course, Prophecy Girl.
Probably my least favorite episode of Buffy would be Where The Wild Things Are. There are some good character moments, particularly with Spike and Giles, but overall the episode falls flat for me. It's the only season four episode I have no problem with skipping past.
ariana75 | November 06, 04:24 CET
Empty Places will always be number one for me. An hour of my life I will never get back. It's also the only Buffy episode that I can't watch again, or feel so strongly against.
The next 4 are just less than favorite, no great distaste involved.
2. Lies my parents told me.
3. Gone
4. Beer Bad
5. Smashed
Adding my favorites for the heck of it: Sorry had to do more than 5.
1. Becoming (Both parts)
2. Enemies
3. Amends for Quirpy Buffy alone
4. The Gift
5. Graduation Day (Both parts)
6. Checkpoint
7. Prophecy Girl
8. Passion
9. Innocence
10. I only have eyes for you
Middle ground 5: Can live with or without them.
Fool for love
Him
Where the wild things are
Spiral
Crush
cheryl | November 06, 04:31 CET
There are the ones that just don't work, whether it's in theme, or a miscalculated metaphor, or a lame villain (or both).
Then there are the ones that, as someone previously mentioned, seem "off," but I think that has more to do with how the episode is made, i.e. editing, pacing, acting, directing, etc.
It seems all of the episodes mentioned above fall into one of those categories, if not both.
I completely understand how the "penis monster" in Doublemeat Palace could cause some fans to roll their eyes, but that, as a whole, is a brilliantly constructed episode, and (in my opinion, of course) truly "Buffy."
And I would bring up Spike and Buffy fucking behind the place, but since hardly anyone's brought up "Dead Things," I'm assuming that's not something about this ep that bothers people.
TheZeppo | November 06, 04:46 CET
buffyfanatic18 | November 06, 04:50 CET
For me it was not all the sex, it was how that scene was presented in connection to Buffy's emotional state that made me turn it off. The sex was vulgur to me, but it was more what Spike was telling her that made me disgusted. IMO.
I disliked Doublemeat from start to finish. I did not find it funny. The monster and job were very juvenile. It was more about demeaning Buffy then to try and tell a story,I felt. The sex behind the place was just sad because of her complete absence from the act.
Donna Troy | November 06, 05:17 CET
Yeah, I hadda go quick read the script again to try and see what you meant, jerryst3161, but I confess, I don't see it. (Not at all meaning to get into a thing here, just sayin'...) While it always kinda bothered me that the Buff took a fast-food job (wouldn't a security guard job, or something similar have made more sense?) I see why they couldn't resist it. And on the anti-feminist question:
For one, It's a Jane Espenson episode, and that makes it unlikely, to begin with. Buffy's just a twenty-something in her first paid job, and her behavior at work (aside from the Slayer-like detection work) is fairly typical of either sex in their first crap job. And then, on the Big Bad front, her fellow-gal Willow helps her defeat the Penis-head monster, without the benefit of magic. So, not really seeing it...
Lady Brick, never worked in fast food, but had so many peeps that did, I can sympathize with the horribleness of the sitch. Plus the training video is a riot - the only TV ones I liked as well were the "Wolfram & Hart" video in Angel and the one in an episode of the Brit The Office.
I'm with a few others who have no "worst episode" list. While there are some I don't exactly look forward to when I re-watch the series (which I may have done one or two times *whistles, looks skyward innocently*), each one had something I cherish. "The Puppet Show" has that priceless "bad high school acting" bit at the end, "As You Were" seems like a parody of cuteish 50s/60's kinds of couple-y action material, "The Pack" is definitely one of my favourite early episodes, "Inca Mummy Girl" has some nice stuff (Oz, Willow), and so on. My least-liked episodes I still like because they contribute to character or arc, or my insanely-huge, obsessive collection of Buffy-quotes.
While I can usually see why people have certain episodes on a "Worst list," I would have to (if forced) go with a "Least Favourite" list, knowing that I love the whole series, and "Least Favourite Buffy" is usually better than almost anything else. With the early shows, they were just finding their feet and voice, and when I watched them on-air at the time, they were certainly compelling enough to get me good and hooked.
And I think that "Becoming 2," "The Body," "Passion," "OMWF," "Innocence," "When She was Bad," and "Conversations with Dead People" are all just top-notch.
"I wear the cheese. It does not wear me." -- Cheese Man, "Restless"
[ edited by QuoterGal on 2006-11-06 04:20 ]
QuoterGal | November 06, 05:24 CET
However, "A New Man," which this guy put on his "Best" list would show up on my "Worst" list. That one was pretty lame.
Invisible Green | November 06, 05:40 CET
As my gorram sister said in her Dear Joss letter on his b-day: Thank you for putting in all the little details in your films and television shows. That's part of what makes watching them over and over again so much fun. Each time I view a show, I notice something new. :)
Ditto.
cabri | November 06, 05:48 CET
I was going to ask about that comment too. I don't get it.
marmoset | November 06, 05:58 CET
Lady Brick | November 06, 06:03 CET
narnia | November 06, 06:05 CET
LOL, better than what Buffy thought was in the burger in the first place I guess. No I was just prattling on, its just a hiccup I have when anyone mentions the penis monster and the symbolism behind it, but its for another day trust me.
Oh and I have to echo the Pangs love as well. I adore Spike's line "Undo it, Undo it". The way he says it still, to this day, cracks me up. I think it might be the funniest line in the whole series. Ok now I have to go watch it too...cheers everyone!
jerryst3161 | November 06, 06:15 CET
[ edited by jerryst3161 on 2006-11-06 04:16 ]
jerryst3161 | November 06, 06:15 CET
impalergeneral | November 06, 06:23 CET
Xander: Ha, ha, ha, ha! Laugh now, missy, they assigned you to the booth for law enforcement professionals.
Buffy: (stunned) As in police?
Xander: As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality.
Buffy whines.
Giles: Well, now there's a thought, have you ever considered law enforcement?
Buffy stops in her tracks as Giles turns to face her. She looks at him like he's crazy.
-What's My Line? Part 1
ormaybemidgets | November 06, 06:24 CET
I find that most of the episodes that were in the 'skipped' category are ones that pressed buttons for me. "Him" I find hard to watch because, like newcj, I just cringe at extended embarrassment scenes. On the other hand, Spike & Buffy through Princiapl Wood's window is one of the funniest scenes ever!
"Ted" I find very hard to watch because of the theme. A paternal authority figure who is very controlling and abusive. Luckily I had a great stepfather who loved me, but I know people who have been in a Ted-like situation and if Buffy hadn't been the Slayer, she would not have had a way out, since neither her mother or friends believed there was anything wrong with him, which is often the case in real life.
My main problem with "The Pack" is the fact that Xander goes after Buffy and in my mind is planning - with great glee, I might add - to rape her. Yet when the spell is lifted, he not only does not acknowledge that or apologize, he lies about remembering. I know he was under a spell when he attacked her, but I always felt that he could have at least admitted what he did. Then again, he didn't take responsibility for the people who died due to his summoning of the demon in OMWF either.
Lest you think I'm Xander-bashing, I'm not. I like Xander and there are so many instances where he's the one character that "sees" (as he is supposed to) and his courage in backing up Buffy even when he knows he could be killed is certainly not in question. My all-time favourite Xander moment - and one that always makes me cry - is his speech to Dawn at the end of "The Potential".
Having just watched "Hallowe'en" with 135 other fans at the Buffy Sing-along, I agree with the Portland poster about an episode being even more enjoyable when seen in a group.
samatwitch | November 06, 06:24 CET
I hear you, jerryst3161, just want to add a brief comment on the "Penis-Monster" from Jane herself on another recent whedonesque thread. (The "Penis-Monster" was actually supposed to be more like a lamprey, and apparently most everyone was a little surprised at the penis-like-nature of the thing. If there was anything Freudian going on, it may have been in the mind of the monster-maker, rather than the writer...)
QuoterGal | November 06, 06:58 CET
You could argue that she could have gotten a job in a diner which is almost as annonymous as a fast food employee, but it's not exactly like she can use her stint in L.A. under a different name as a reference. I think Buffy also wouldn't want to go into law enforcement, with her record, and her need to keep a low profile.
In season seven, when she was healthier, she took the job at the school which was a good complement to her desire to keep an eye on the Hellmouth and actually allowed her to be helpful. Well, until Hell started a bustin' all over, anyway.
WilliamTheB | November 06, 07:32 CET
jam2 | November 06, 08:09 CET
I totally forgot. Add that to my BOTTOM 4.
TheZeppo | November 06, 08:27 CET
Hey! I was hard-pressed to find five! Then this one reared its ugly head (phoned in acting - child killing - all the parents appearing all'a sudden all freaky - burned at the stake?).
Bad. Just really bad.
Willowy | November 06, 09:32 CET
1-Gingerbread
2-When She Was Bad
3-I Robot, You Jane
4-Beer Bad
5-Ted
I wasn't a huge fan of Go Fish, but the idea of Xander going undercover cracked me up... plus he looked pretty good in that speedo!
I liked Doublemeat Palace, especially Buffy's "I was feeling like a tool" line. Funny stuff. I like that the characters have real life issues to face along with the supernatural.
I'm a huge fan of season 6, so I love just about every one of those episodes (I still can't believe 'Once More With Feeling' was anywhere near someone's bottom 5!).
greenhair00 | November 06, 09:37 CET
The only two episodes I've actively avoided, though, are "Bad Eggs" and "Him", the second because, like others above, I can't stand the embarassment of the cheerleading scene. The ending is funny, but my mind remains trapped in that public humiliation hell, especially since I've always identified with Dawn a lot...
The other I avoid because mind controlling demon eggs make me nauseous.
One I really never liked that I don't think has been mentioned here yet is "The Witch". Sometimes there are episodes that are bad concepts but well done, and sometimes there are good concepts badly done. IMO, this one was a bad concept horribly done. The only thing I liked was the statue at the end.
And one I have to admit, as I'm apparently truly alone on this: I loved "I Robot, You Jane". Don't ask me why, I can't explain it. I fully realize the horrid dialogue, the complete laughability of the writer's understanding of computers, the amazing cardboard cutout secondary characters... But it just works for me. Like watching my old favorite Godzilla movies, it doesn't have to make sense, it doesn't have to look good, because, by gum, it's a robot demon! ;p
Bayne | November 06, 09:51 CET
But am I really the only one who discovered a new found love and sympathy for Dawn during the awkward cheerleading? I just wanted to give her a big hug. The poor little incredible dorky thing. I guess we should have known right there that she wasn't a potential.
And as far as Ted goes I thought the whole stepdad experience was interesting to bring up, in the Buffy way. Someone mentioned above, but the thread is too big now and I can't find it was that they didn't like it because so many kids find themselves in that position with no powers and nowhere to turn. I think that is what makes it an important episode.
Xane | November 06, 10:16 CET
Agree with the rest though I suppose...WTWTA is my worst of all time personally, and nice to see "Beer Bad" being given a break!
safetycanary | November 06, 10:59 CET
My bottom 5
Touched - Goddammit Rebecca, a soppy romance chick flick epo 3 from the end of it all!
As You Were - Taaaacky
Where the Wild Things Are - Shagaliciously dull.
Hells Bells - I expected so much of this episode, and got so little.
Tabula Rasa - This is a lie. I liked the episode but I couldn't think of 5 and this one loses marks for that horrible shark guy costume.
Mort | November 06, 11:38 CET
1. Older and Faraway (Great premise, but the execution is lacking)
2. I Robot, You Jane (Couple of good character scenes, but overall it's the only first season episode I struggle with)
3. Some Assembly Required (Has the same quality that I love from these early episodes, but whearas I love episodes like Teacher's Pet and Inca Mummy Girl I find this one underwhelming)
4. Where the Wild Things Are (Never sure what to think when I watch this one, other than Giles singing, this doesn't do much for me, dullsville)
5. Him (while I love some of the humour in this one, particularly the stuff towards the end with the split-screen, but the attraction to the jock plot angers me)
Also a special mention for Smashed. Overall I like it quite a bit but I single it out because of the most horrid scene ever on a Joss show: Amy/Willow in the bronze.
Apologies to Drew Greenberg, I don't hate you. Entropy, The Killer in Me and Empty Places are all top notch as far as I'm concerned. Empty Places, in particular has grown on me considerably each time I've seen it.
Gingerbread, Doublemeat Palace, Beer Bad, Wrecked and Forever are favourites of mine. But to see Dead Man's Party, Lies My Parents Told Me, Spiral listed in the five worst episodes quite frankly, baffles me. Honestly, I didn't see it coming. Those would be certain inclusions in my top 20 best list.
sungoesdark | November 06, 14:12 CET
The main plot in "Inca Mummy Girl" is pretty poor, but I like the episode because it has some very touching elements: Ampata's and Xander's first love, Willow's jealousy, Buffy and Ampata both suffering from being a "chosen one". Plus Willow in an Eskimo outfit! I love this bit of dialogue:
Buffy: Ampata's only staying two weeks.
Willow: Yeah. And then Xander can find someone else who's not me to obsess about. At least with you I knew he didn't have a shot. Well, you know, I have a choice. I can spend my life waiting for Xander to go out with every other girl in the world until he notices me, or I can just get on with my life.
Buffy: Good for you.
Willow: Well, I didn't choose yet.
Similarly, some people have dissed "Doomed" because of the silly demon plot to destroy the world. But that episode has some great Spikiness. I love the look on Spike's face after he's undermined the confidence of Willow and Xander as they leave the museum. And of course there's the speech at the end when he tries to persuade them to go out for some evil-bashing.
Another controversial one seems to be "Ted". I think it's a great episode up to the point where we discover Ted's a robot. We've got Buffy suffering (always good) as everyone except her thinks Ted is wonderful. Then she abuses her power, provoking a fight with Ted, accidentally killing him and having to face the consequences. But when we discover he's a robot, he becomes just another monster to be destroyed and Buffy is absolved of any consequences for having killed a human.
[ edited by tichtich on 2006-11-06 13:19 ]
tichtich | November 06, 15:16 CET
4. Living Conditions. The whole of the fourth season was the weakest one in my view (with the obvious exemption of Hush and Restless), but Living Conditions genuinely bothered me. It was uncomfortable and strange and using Kathy from the first episode was strange.
3. Shadow. This one had a few good points, mostly the storyline with Joyce, which is heart-wrenching. It also had the giant snake and Riley getting himself bitten by vampires for kicks, and for that I can't forgive it. Terrible, terrible ideas.
2. Touched. Hey, we're literally days from the final episode of everybody's favourite show EVER. What should we do? I know, let's just show Buffy being miserable and everybody having sex a lot. Yeah. Okay. Where the Wild Things Are popped up on a lot of lists, but this one strikes me as odder - not least for the terrible Kennedy/Willow sex scene.
1. Beer Bad. I believe this one is on most people's lists as a baffling experiment in cautioning against the evil of...beer. With an awkward message about feminism to boot.
Green Queen | November 06, 15:19 CET
(and jerryst3161 you're not alone re: cave-girl Buffy, see my 'crinkly hair/humina humina' comment above ;)
As someone said above, 'Ted' was much too early an episode to have Buffy kill an actual human but I liked the way it pointed out how super-healing can be a disadvantage forensically ;) and took on serious subject matter. If Ted had just been a man, we'd have no abstraction from reality and that's an episode of 'Bones' or 'Law and Order' not Buffy.
(getting a vague tickle about a Batman arc where Bruce Wayne fell under suspicion of child abuse because Robin was always turning up to school covered in bruises. Not sure i've got the details right though)
Still, lots of 'bad' eps with good parts but i'd nominate 'Prophecy Girl' as an overall good episode with a bad part. The bit where Buffy walks through school in her dress and the music starts up very loudly makes me cringe so hard I usually have to turn over when it appears. Don't mind the other mentioned cringey bits though (Dawn's painfully bad cheerleading etc.) but then i'm a fan of 'The Office' UK and stuff like "I'm Alan Partridge" which are all about the cringing.
Saje | November 06, 16:35 CET
I also don't see Beer Bad as a cautionary tale about beer. If it's cautionary about anything it's those pompous, pampered frat boys she's hanging out with. I grew up in a college town and those characters were so dead on. I think Xander's scenes really capture having to work in the service industry, I think Buffy's continued delusions over Parker are done well, I really like the repartee between Buffy and Riley. Then, of course, there is the great stuff with Xander, Giles and Buffy and also the fabulous Willow/Parker scenes. And it still makes me crack up to think of someone coming out to his or her SUV in the morning to find a bunch of drunk college guys have trashed the inside and are still there passed out. And, lastly, I think SMG looks fabulous in that episode, both as regular Buffy and as Cave Slayer Buffy.
And, no, Xane, you are not the only one who gained affection for Dawn from the cheerleading tryout scene. I think that's one of the stronger parts of an otherwise fairly awkward episode. It gave me a lot of respect for MT as an actor because it's one thing to portray the character as having done badly but it really takes a lot to let go of your ego enough to make the audience so excruciatingly embarrassed for the character that it is barely watchable. I find that impressive.
marmoset | November 06, 17:57 CET
Rogue Slayer | November 06, 19:17 CET
Xane | November 06, 21:29 CET
I noticed Buffy vs. Dracula popped up on several Bottom 5 lists. Some of it was strained--the makeup on Dracula, for one--but it generally came off as the lighthearted sendup it seemed to be aiming at. Plus, my 3-year-old son LOVES it, and we watched it all weekend long. It's both amusing and a hair unsettling to hear him recite his favorite quote from that episode: "Check. No more butt monkey."
1starbuckstown | November 06, 21:35 CET
[And it has Buffy juggling.]
My least favourite episode is Bad Eggs – nothing else comes close.
moley75 | November 06, 22:06 CET
Frances | November 07, 01:10 CET
I Robot, You Jane and Go Fish are probably my two least favorite episodes. But ya know what? I'd watch both of these shows all day over any of the CSI shows.
Harmalicious | November 07, 04:01 CET
I'm glad Ted wasn't on the list - I might've gotten slightly hot over that. I'm not going to defend the episodes on the list because for me, all of them have aspects that I enjoyed, but I will say that Go Fish, and excuse me, I'm going to bring up the value of that episode with the naked man example (as I did with Spike when I first started posting here -- Spike and invisible Buffy). Xander in a speedo? Get out of town. I think he probably looked hotter than Fox Mulder, and that's saying something. That memory certainly takes the edge off of floppy fishboys at the end.
Tonya J | November 07, 08:35 CET
Even ignoring the logic problems of the evil-lint and mummy hand time shifting (which make absolutely no sense no matter how you look at them) I cannot get passed the fact that the dialogue and acting in that episode seems so poor. The mummy hand scene could have been hilarious but the whole thing seemed like it was tacked together using outtakes.
To be fair, I tend to think that Buffy suffers from being to damn good for it's own good. Because of the usually incredibly high standards, when one episode doesn't quite reach the quality of the rest it really stands out.
The Arcane | November 07, 19:04 CET