First Episode

[jessesopher]

So I have a friend who has this idea that Buffy is a horrible show. But I watched one of his shows and so he "owes me." He said that he would watch ONE episode and give it a chance.

My question: which episode should I give him to watch? I want one that basically describes the synopsis of the show, while at same time isn't all that cheesy. Season 1 isn't really all that great. I love it, but even I was bored when I first started watching it. So which one do you suggest?

[Whedon Fan]

Is it a male or female friend?

If it is a male start off with a good action based episode. I suggest Season 7 "Bring On The Night" orb "Dirty Girls". It has good action scenes, good effects and a nice twist.

Female then start with Becoming or Graduation Day...also you can trick them seen as it is a two part episode

I got my brother into the series with these episodes and has now finished all of Angel, Firefly and only has a few episodes to go of Buffy...now I need to find a way to convince him to read the comics, it's a long shot but I'll give it a go. Don't make a first time watcher watch all of Buffy season 1 just pick the few good ones. (Welcome To The Hellmouth, The Harvest, The Witch, The Pack and Prophecy Girl then jumps straight ito season 2.

Hope this helps.

[jessesopher]

Yeah, I was thinking about doing a two-parter because then it ends on a cliffhanger and he has to watch the other one. lol.

But I completely agree. This summer, my friend and I started watching Buffy season 1 and we ended up watching only about 4-5 of the episodes. Season one has (some of?) the worst episodes of the series.

[Skytteflickan88]

Go with Becoming. It has action, drama and romance. Just give him the cliffnotes to the Bangel-relationship and let him watch. And if he wants to see one more, go with a funny and scary episode, Hush. Then you get horror, romance, comedy, action and drama.

[jessesopher]

I was thinking about either The Becoming, Surprise/Innocence, or Graduation Day. All of these are some of my favorite episodes. I'm worried that Surprise/Innocence might be too dramatic and not enough action... but at the same time, I'm also worried that without these, he won't understand The Becoming. And then with Graduation Day, I'm worried that something will not make sense because of the whole 3 years of missing information thing. So I dunno. Any thoughts on these?

[Skytteflickan88]

Surprise and innocence need to much backstory but you might be able to give him the cliffnotes for becoming and graduation.

[Wyndam]

Earshot. I've gotten 2 friends into Buffy by showing them that episode. It has a great story, some excellent character moments, and is one of the funniest episodes of the series.

[hitnrun017]

Yes, Earshot is a very good first episode. It's how I got into the series, and I've also managed to get a couple friends into Buffy with it. It's not too spoiler-rific either. I also got another friend into both Buffy and Angel by showing them Pangs/I Will Remember You.

[Skytteflickan88]

Oh god, I Will Remember You.

I've only watched the whole episode once, because I can't watch the farewell-scene without crying.

That would be a good choice, since the Buffy/Angel love story is such a big part of the show. It has sex, jokes, tears and heroism.

[patxshand]

"What's My Line" worked really well when I introduced my mom to the series, who was really skeptical at first.

[Enisy]

I usually go for the standalone "biggies", like Hush and Once More, With Feeling. If those two don't capture people's attention, nothing will.

[jessesopher]

I think I'm going to go with The Becoming. I asked him if he wanted more action or drama. He likes both. So with a little spoilerish backstory from me, The Becoming will be an amazing first episode.

Or maybe Graduation Day.

Sheesh. This is so hard.

I'm afraid to show him OMWF or Hush-like episodes because they do seem a little cliche if you don't know the series or the history behind them. I'm afraid he'll think they're too cheesy -- which is his big complaint about Buffy from the little he's seen.

[Jsebold87]

My first episode ever was Bad Eggs. I personally love the episode, but that's not the best first one out there to start with.

I would too suggest Earshot.

I've been wanting to get my mom into Buffy & Angel, and I've been thinking about what episode to have her watch first, and I'm seriously thinking about going with Earshot.

[dane5by5]

I think the difficult thing is, with Buffy and Angel, the storytelling relies so much on the continuity. If it's a male friend, I'd go with something as "standalone" as possible, and an episode that shows the humour of the show but also has the action and drama so typical of Buffy and Angel, I'd say, Buffy Vs. Dracula, I think it would work because everyone knows Dracula, but the Buffy spin on the legend is hilarious and it has the action and drama too. It also is classic Buffy, with the gang patrolling cemeteries, some great Scooby time but because it's the beginning of a season, the seasonal arc isn't in full swing. It's also not too heavy on the Buffy/Riley relationship.

[Skytteflickan88]

I would not go with Hush or OMWF, not only because of the clihé angle but also because they don't really represent the show.