I have to say the one that hit me the hardest was Fred. That one just punched me right in the gut. 
Definitely Wash. Because Joss destroyed half of (one of?) the only realistic portrayal of marriage on TV. :mad:
I have to go with Wash for this one
Its Wash for me. The only other Whendonverse character that would have hurt me more would have been Kaylee. I always get angry when i see her get shot. It makes me want to hurtify people. On this list second would be Tara. I loved hers and Willows relationship. Third would be Fred probably. I loved her character at first but then she rejected Wesley and then teased him and was hit and miss. But i still totally dug her.
Yeah. I think he was a bit too cavalier with that.
yes, definitely–rip-your-guts-out painful. but Joyce’s death was powerful, sustained grief for the entire episode, and Wesley’s was so poignant, and Tara’s was so unexpected and heartless, and Doyle’s was so noble, and, and, and…you get the picture
I hate Joss…but only for making me care so damned much
The Body was the only episode I couldn’t watch all in 1 sitting. I have to either skip it or keep pressing pause.
It was just horrible. Not in the way Neil Patrick is.
Noooooooooooooooo!
there are so many moments in “The Body” that just kill me (sorry, bad pun): Buffy’s horror when she hears herself referring to her mom as “the body,” Willow’s distress over what to wear, Xander putting his fist through the wall. but when the purpose of Anya’s annoying questions finally becomes clear and we realize she’s grieving the only way she can, that’s it, game over, open the floodgates.
I was torn between Anya and Wash, and Buffy’s moms hit hard… But Kitty Pryde is dead? WTFrak?
Whole wide world out there for you to look forward to, sir. Angel isn’t the greatest, but Buffy is like super-super.
And, yes, the Wash marriage dynamic probably gives it the edge for me. Anya was grisly and Joyce was sad.
Yeah, I didn’t know how awesome Joss Whedon was until I watched Firefly.
And I never gravitated to Buffy because on the surface it didn’t seem like scifi to me.
So give me some advice, if I wanted to start now and get into Buffy, what should I do? Should I start from the begining, from the middle? Should I watch a few key episodes first. Is there the series episodic (like a ST:TNG) or does it have plot arcs that span serveral episodes like a Heroes or BSG?
Yup. I gave this one a couple of days thot. And Joyce’s death was the saddest, imho. I haven’t seen much Angel, so I’m unable to comment on those folks.
After watching a show for season on end that dealt with death as something that was repeatedly cheated (you’ve got the undead walking around all over the place, right?!), the death of Buffy’s mom was a reality slap. And Joss Whedon carefully crafted the episode to reflect that. No music at all, except in a flashback scene. The reactions of each character were seen as they interacted: Buffy/Dawn, Tara/Willow, Xander/Anya…
The Willow scene was heartbreaking, as she tried to pick out something to wear to the funeral with Tara. And Xander’s anger (hey, there’s a great name for a band, I hereby copyright it!), Anya’s complete loss for what to do was so touching too. Great job Joss.
Ok, back to being a manly man. Enough sniveling !!
Since I started somewhere in the third season, and had to backtrack, I’d suggest starting with season 1 and just go in order, Thot. Yes, there are story arcs, and stand alone episodes as well. I just checked Hulu and it looks like they have season 1 and 2 up for viewing. I have them all on DVD, so if you decide you like it and want more, I’d be happy too pass them off to you at our (hopefully) meetup in Oct., or mail them somewhere to you.
Wow, I’m jealous. New Buffy awaits you.
Start at the beginning. There’s no (good) way around it. If I recall right, some of the episodes are a little monster-of-the-week, but by and large, the show’s not like that. They have a way of making every episode count.
and if you can catch up with the first 4 on hulu this week Thot, our official rewatch will hit episode 5 this Friday. it would be cool to have a newbie (you in particular ;)) along for the ride.
and a bit of advice, though the first season is important for mythology and character setup, a couple of eps are not precisely stellar (but definitely worth watching). hang in there: mid-season picks up considerably and 2nd season really hits its stride
Yep, what she said, Thot !
And to show my true Buffy obsession, as soon as I got done telling you that the show was available on Hulu…i watched the first two episodes on Hulu.
If Kitty Pryde is on there, are Ripley Clone #8 and Alien Hybrid from Alien Resurrection eligible?
eligibility should require that Joss will admit in public that he had something to do with the project, don’t you think? 
ZING ! Ouch.
Thanks Lady D, dxf and Topgun. You’ve sold me! And if I can get the XO to watch Buffy with me all the better. She’s not fundamentally a sci-fi fan (although she does like BSG), but she happens to be reading a novel with a vampire theme at present, so she’s in prime condition to be persuaded to watch Buffy.
EDIT: Oh by the way, this is the FIRST time I figured out how to use Mulit-Quote. The Circle is complete. Now I will have my revenge on Poofy!