And I've been a fan for 11 of those years (just about half my life). Wow.

I think a rewatch is in order...

UnpluggedCrazy | March 09, 22:50 CET

Oh Buffy, dear girl, how you have changed my life. It's been so much fun looking up to you on TV and now you are hitting it with the comics. Rock on momma!!

angelsbuffy4ever | March 09, 23:24 CET

Maybe that's why I had such a strong urge to watch an episode today!

racheltng | March 09, 23:27 CET

I can't imagine what my life would have been like had I not watched the show. Hooray to everyone involved in the making of it.

Simon | March 10, 01:31 CET

Been a fan for 10 years. I saw the first episode when it premiered but I was too young to really get into the show. So glad FX and local Fox stations played the reruns cause without them I wouldn't be as hooked as I am now. I think the episode that got me hooked was Graduation Day part 1. It was playing on Fox on a saturday night and by the end of it when Buffy stabbed Faith in her gut I just knew this show was for me. They played Halloween the next night(saturdays and sundays were a different rotation of episodes) and I fell in love with Willow when she took the ghost costume off at the end. I started recording all the reruns on FX and the new episodes on UPN(I think Older and Far Away was the first season 6 episode I watched. Boy was I confused!) and I think between that and downloading I was fully caught up with the whole show by the season 6 finale. I started posting on the boards like forums4fans, buffy cross and stake, the bronze(upn's board sucked btw), and the BAPS yahoo group. The discussions were so great. And all the waiting. The waiting for new episodes felt like forever. I wish I could find another show that could get me as passionate about characters like this one did.

eddy | March 10, 06:31 CET

I've watched since the beginning and it's hard to believe it's been fifteen years. It's my favorite TV show of all time (I'm 52).

There are actually big events in life that I can connect with Buffy. I found out about 9/11 from a Buffy friend who emailed me about two minutes before the radio had the news that something more than an ordinary plane crash had happened and then I went on BC&S and posted the news. I was watching Family during the 2000 election, switching back and forth between Buffy and the news. By the end of Family I knew it was going to be a long night.

Reddygirl | March 10, 07:27 CET

I remember watching the first episode when It aired. I was six years old. Ha no idea what it was and then didn't watch it again until the very end of the 3rd season and then watches religiously. But it was good because I got to see Te second season unspoiled on dvd

RichiePalmer | March 10, 07:38 CET

"Useless bit of trivia - "Welcome to the Hellmouth" was directed by the actor who played Oscar Wallace in "The Untouchables"."

He also directed Trick or Treat.

C.S.Strowbridge | March 10, 07:50 CET

I remember you posting that. The thread just stretched on for miles. A lot of fandom became family that day.

Simon | March 10, 08:14 CET

Simon, that's very true and I cherish the friends I've made through my love of Buffy.

Reddygirl | March 10, 08:19 CET

Me too. I met my wife on the B C & S and we have a lovely two year old son.

Simon | March 10, 08:23 CET

Simon - trivia is never useless. Just sayin.

I'm currently enjoying walk though memory lane, while following "Mark Watches". So many of the episodes trigger memories of things that were going on at the time.

Happy Anniversary Buffy!

Znachki | March 10, 09:03 CET

Here in Germany it only started the following year but I still managed to randomly catch some early episodes. I was 13 then and man, had I known how important this show and all the future work of most people involved would become to me ... wow.

I would go as far as to say that this show changed my life. Or at least helped me "fight" the "darkness" in my own life.

D-e-f- | March 10, 09:18 CET

I started watching the series after the final episode had aired. After catching the Body and realizing how this was a different show and incredible this show could be, I then ended up getting the first season on DVD. Over a period of 6 months I went through all of Buffy, then Firefly then all of Angel. Angel Season 5 came out on DVD just a few weeks after finishing season 4. I hardly watched anything during that time that wasn't from Joss and it was really quite something else.

Matt_Fabb | March 10, 09:46 CET

I started watching this show from the beginning, following its many changes through Monday nights, Wednesday nights, and even Sunday nights, finally settling on Tuesday nights. I had my husband change satellite companies because one of them refused to carry the WB. I have never obsessed about a tv show before or since.

I wish I could put into words just how this show affected me, but I really don't think there's words fabulous enough to describe this show. :)

whedon is GOD | March 10, 10:55 CET

I changed my schedule to fit around Buffy. The only other show I've ever done that with is Lost. Thank god for DVRs now. But now shows just aren't as appointment tv for me anymore. Sometimes I don't watch a show until its been a month since it aired. I could've never done that when I was deeply entrenched in fandom. I took the meaning of obsessed to another level. So much so that all of my friends and family members know how much I love this show and I've converted a few down the line.

eddy | March 10, 11:29 CET

Funny there is mention of the BC&S, I was just thinking about how that site and fandom really shaped my experience of the show, since I was watching it as it aired all those years ago. Seeing a new spoiler update, new cast photos, an episode review, it was all a very exciting time. It's incredible so much time has gone by that I still feel very passionate about the show and can still not be bored watching the DVDs. Tuesdays have never been the same.

CaptainB | March 10, 11:41 CET

RichiePalmer: If you mean you were actually 6 when S-1 *first* aired, you're the same age as my daughter. Except she became an instant fan, through the first 3 seasons at least. S-4 turned her off to it though.

DaddyCatALSO | March 10, 12:00 CET

Happy Anniversary Buffy. I clearly remember the first episode I saw, it was "The Puppet Show" when it first aired in France in 1998. I was 10 and didn't know exactly what I was watching.

It's only the year after when I saw the end of season 2 and the phenomenal "Becoming" that I fell in love with the show, and my love has only kept growing since.

I can't believe the show is 15 years old. I'm finishing university next year, I'm studying the History of Cinema and planing to work in film distribution, and I have to say that Buffy and Mr Whedon have probably something to do with that.

Nico-Angel | March 10, 12:28 CET

I can't believe how long it's been for some of you. It was barely two years ago I found Buffy. It's amazing- everything the show has been through. Great memories. Happy ann'y, BtVS.

MelloMania | March 10, 13:58 CET

Suddenly I feel compelled to watch "Welcome to the Hellmouth" tonight. Indeed, I think I shall!
Can't really believe it's been only 15 years--seems like BtVS has been such an intrinsic part of the culture for so much longer.

Saiph | March 10, 18:21 CET

Gosh, 15 years. I'm 24 and I remember seeing previews for Buffy and being so excited to watch. My bedtime was extended to 10 p.m. on Mondays for season one's duration...my mom was so happy when it moved to Tuesdays at 8. For my 16th birthday, my parents took my best friend and I to a Buffy convention. Last year, my husband and I went to a con to meet Buffy and Firefly cast members. I met my first group of online friends as a kid talking about Buffy. Buffy was the only thing my dad and I could discuss without fighting throughout my tumultuous teen years. Thanks, Joss, for creating something that's been constant throughout my lifetime.

[ edited by number85 on 2012-03-11 17:17 ]

number85 | March 10, 18:36 CET

Started watching in season 2 with my older brother. I was 8. It's still my favorite show ever.

sumogrip | March 12, 14:52 CET