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The
25 Best Buffy Moments Ever |
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" lasted seven seasons on WB and UPN, and was a personal favorite of mine throughout it's run. Listed here are my 25 favorite moments in the history of the show (subjective, of course). Obviously there are some spoilers thrown around and honestly you'll get more of a kick out of the list if you're a fan, so if you're just waiting for season seven to come out on DVD before beginning your Buffy shipperhood, stop now. Otherwise, get to know the show from my point of view...five feet above the ground and mired deeply in slash fiction. Enjoy! 25. Scooby
Gangbang
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Anya was an experiment held onto for
too long. Emma Caulfield was an actress who got five years out of
what should have been a one-time guest spot, solely because Joss
Whedon liked her. That being said, when she was on, she was on.
The basic crux of Anya's character is that she was a wish-granting
demon for several millennia, and then got stuck in the body of an
18 year old girl. So she spent the rest of the series trying to
figure out how to properly BE a young girl, always with semi-hilarious
consequences. The arc got old after a while, but the fact remains
that, "Quiet! You'll miss the hilarious conclusion!" is
one of the funniest lines in the history of the show. 24. Don't
Cross the Boss
Why it deserves to be
on the list: I stand by the fact that there was no better character
on Buffy the Vampire Slayer than first season Angel, before Boreanaz
got chunky, and way before he learned to act. Every time Angel showed
up, all squinty and stilted, there was quality. In this, the sixth
episode of the first season, Angel's vampirism is first revealed
to us. Up to this point, he'd just kind of wandered around being
hunky mysterious guy. God, someone read that last sentence's structure,
and tell me I wasn't completed influenced by this show in high school.
And then explain to me why I should rethink being a writer. 23. The
Greatest Love of All
Why it deserves
to be on the list: For her part in the talent show, Cordelia
Chase decides to perform the Whitney Houston 80's standard "The
Greatest Love of All." Anyone born in the last twenty-five
years can tell you that the best and worst part of the American
school system is the "assembly." The assembly is a mixed
bag filled mostly, honestly, with peppy teens who refuse to smoke.
But when talent show time came around you could count on at least
one girl to sing "Greatest Love of All." It's as predictable
as the tide. I went to public school from K-12 and I swear to God
I heard it performed at least ten of those years. 22. Giles.
. . With a Chainsaw
Why it deserves
to be on the list: For an episode that was largely a retread
of Season One's "Nightmares," this is actually one of
the best from the entire season. The Scooby Gang all get dressed
up and go to a Halloween party being held in a frat house which,
unsurprisingly, has been possessed by some sort of Voodoo mojo jibba-jabba.
Once inside, the house shuts itself up and everyone inside begins
to hallucinate their worst fear. The premise is telling, if slightly
flawed. Xander becomes invisible to his friends, Oz can't control
his lycanthropy, Willow is overpowered by her magic (hint hint foreshadow
foreshadow), and Buffy. . . is attacked. . . by corpses. . . in
a basement. . . or something. 21. Xander's
watch
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Back when Xander had a crush on Buffy
things were simpler. You could get behind the uneasy, impetuous
outcast who liked himself just enough to think he was capable of
something better. In this episode he sees Buffy impressed by another
boy's fancy watch, so he checks his own, and it's a plastic Tweety
Bird watch. *snort* 20. Cave
Buffy Go Boom
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Okay, I know. This is a terrible episode.
It's a dumb premise, with a preachy, beat-you-over-the-head message.
I know I know I know. Drop the chalupa. Let me sum up the plot for
you: College guys get Buffy drunk and they all turn into cave people
because the beer was tainted by the guy who I thought played Tom
in "Office Space," but didn't. He was however in "Leprechaun
in the Hood." 19. Starring
Jonathan
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Anyone who was a fan of the show at
this point was excited by the idea of this episode. Jonathan, little
more than a glorified extra until season three, served no real purpose
other than to stand around the halls of Sunnydale High being a short
nerd. Then he started getting the occasional speaking role. Then
there was the ACK POST-COLUMBINE TOO SOON TOO SOON episode "Earshot,"
which found Jonathan at the top of a clocktower with a semiautomatic,
ready to off himself. He walked a sad street, Jonathan. Then came
this episode, about how everyone loved him. He solved all the problems,
fought all the crime, and went home to a mansion and some overly
buxom twins. 18. Cordelia's
dead. Not.
Why it deserves
to be on the list: In this episode, Spike returns to Sunnydale
after being dumped by his longtime love Druscilla. Drunk and heartbroken,
he robs the magic shop, gives Buffy and Angel a pretty fatalistic
soliloquy that ends in Angel going to spin-off heaven, kidnaps Willow
and Xander, and makes a hasty retreat. Had he just left after this
episode, the legacy of the Spike character would still be in tact,
the show might've been a little better towards the end, and people
wouldn't hate James Marsters so much now. He didn't, of course,
stay gone, and so the power of this episode, and Spike's lone appearance
in the third season, are tainted a bit. 17. Walker,
Texas Ranger
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Xander was never my favorite character.
I never hated him, he was always just sort of around. Maybe it's
because I started watching the series in the third season, but all
of my favorite characters tend to be supporting, not core Scoobies.
Despite this, there's an odd tendency that Buffy has to make really
good Xander-centric episodes. They did it in season two with, "Bewitched,
Bothered, and Bewildered." They did it in the aforementioned,
"The Replacement," and they did it here. Granted, there
were also episodes that featured Xander romantically involved with
a giant praying mantis, a mummy, and Ashanti. But when you factor
in how many bad Buffy-centric episodes there were, his average isn't
bad. 16. The
Corner in Istanbul
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Oz was my very favorite character. Bar
none. When he left the show, I was devastated. And to this day I
don't think they ever recovered the momentum of losing Oz, Angel,
and Cordy, then replacing them with Spike and fucking Tara. In this
episode Oz, after werewolf-cheating on Willow, returns to town thinking
that his condition has been cured. Much to his dismay, he finds
that his true love, his soulmate, his one and only that he forgave
for cheating on him, and traveled far across the world for. . .
has jumped off the straight wagon for a stuttering Wiccan. Also
there's the fact that Willow, the only person who could ever make
Oz feel any emotion anyway, acts as a trigger that makes him wolf-out
at any random time of the day. Which kinda sucks. 15. Death
by Fingernail
Why it deserves
to be on the list: There just aren't enough good Druscilla
moments mentioned thus far. And while murdering stupid-ass Kendra
the Vampire Slayer with her French manicure doesn't quite match
up to the time she spouted about how beautiful the stars were (while
staring at the ceiling), or the time she was just generally completely
fucking crazy, the truth of the matter is that at the end of this
episode, Kendra was dead. So Juliet Landau wins my long lasting
gratitude for that one. 14. Death
to the Annoying One
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Remember when Spike was cool? When all
he cared about was his crazy-ass girlfriend and killing people.
When he was all cheekbones and leather jacket, and didn't look like
an overly tanned middle aged surfer guy? I miss those days. I miss
when Spike wasn't righteous, when he wasn't pointlessly hanging
out with people who should've been trying to kill him, and when
he wasn't ruining the show by being constantly naked. 13. Wesley
and Cordelia Kiss
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Nobody liked Wesley when he was on this
show. Wesley was like first season Giles, done as a caricature.
He existed to be a foil to the cool, dad-like Giles character, but
the writers missed the point that Giles wasn't supposed to be cool
either. So his counter part just winds up being a pissy Dudley Do-Right
in an expensive suit. Despite this, the one thing that worked about
his character was his sorta creepy older guy crush on 18 year old
Cordelia. Despite it being pretty wrong and bothersome, both parties
managed to make the situation pretty funny. 12. Blind
Giles, Father of the Bride
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Okay, I'll admit it. Despite my constant
pot banging about how much the Spike/Buffy relationship sucked and
ruined the show, I loved/was totally in anticipation for, this episode.
Why? Because once upon a time, I too wanted Spike and Buffy to hook
up. I know, it makes no sense. And now that it's happened I've seen
how bad an idea it is for a television show to begin pandering to
what the fans want. But, as I've previously confessed, I was reading
too much fan fic back then, and it seemed like a good idea. Then
again reading fan fic made me think having sex while hanging up
side down from a tree branch was possible, so we're not yet sure
how much damage has been caused. 11. I killed
my best friend.
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Andrew is a nerd and kind of gay. He
plays Dungeons and Dragons. Nothing great. Nothing that hasn't been
tread in Xander for seven years. But what is amazing about this
episode in total is that it happened in the middle of season seven,
a season when everyone decided to blandly break character or disappear
into a caricature of themselves, and then here's an episode about
comedy relief tertiary character and...well, it's really good. It
harkens back to the days when the show was character driven and
not merely a slave to the yearly arc. Oh no, the First Evil is going
to kill us all! Even though it can't touch anybody or be touched.
And now here's an evil preacher. And girls you just met MIGHT DIE!
And it sucks. And then here's this episode about a gay nerd who
prefers the Timothy Dalton James Bond and...well, it's really good.
10. Buffy's
in Cleveland
Why it deserves to be
on the list: After having her nerdy boyfriend cheat on her, and
being impaled by a piece of rebar, Cordelia's not in the greatest
of moods. She somehow gleens that all of her recent problems could
have been avoided had Buffy never shown up in Sunnydale. When she
casually wishes such a thing, Anya (at this point still a wish-granting
genie demon thingy) makes it happen. Cordy finds herself in a Sunnydale
over run by Vampires. The Master (Season 1's major evil, played
by Neidermeyer from Animal House) has taken over, and no one is
allowed outside after dark. Xander and Willow are SEXY TEEN vampires,
Angel is chained up in Willow's basement, and Buffy is in Cleveland,
guarding a different hellmouth. 9. The
Status of Oz's Cousin
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Oz finds out he's a werewolf but isn't
sure how he got to be that way. He remembers his baby cousin biting
him, so he calls and asks if the cousin is a werewolf. And sure
enough, yup, that's how it happened. 8. The
Mayor's To-Do List
Why it deserves
to be on the list: The Mayor is probably the most brilliant,
layered, consistently quality characters that the writers ever came
up with. Originally intended (as all the good characters are, it
seems) as only a guest star, Mayor Richard Wilkins III was thrust
into the role of central villain after the writers' original choice,
a sassy black vampire named Mr. Trick, didn't go over with audiences.
So on the one hand, we got a cool bad guy. On the other hand, this
is the first time the main evil for a season was something other
than a vampire. In fact, the vampires were little more than bumbling
henchmen to the Mayor. So it's kind of his fault we had to suffer
through Adam and Glory. 7. Giles
in the kitchen
Why it deserves to be on the list: Buffy sends her boyfriend to a Hell dimension for x amount of years, so it bothers her and she runs away. When she returns her friends are all happy to see her in their own way, from Willow's stuttery hugs to Xander's COULD YOU BE ANYMORE RETURNED FROM EXILE. But the best moment comes when Giles finds out that she's back. He goes off into the kitchen and has a moment there to himself where he smiles and moves his head just a little, and it's beautiful. I really wanted Giles to be my father at one point, but I guess it would've been uncomfortable when his unexplained black booty call showed up from England for sex every twenty episodes. 6. Sunday
Why it deserves
to be on the list: B and I both have a serious love of
Katherine Towne. Not that she's ever done a thing noteworthy besides
this one episode appearance, but she's pretty. And saucy. And even
though she got killed off in the fourth season opener, she would
up being much more interesting than Adam, Riley Finn, or any other
part of The Initiative. And while we're on the subject, who thought
that was a good idea anyway, to bring the military in? The people
who made Buffy were fantasy writers, they regularly admitted to
making up demon names based on the name of someone's dog spelled
backwards. And while of course, in a genre like this, there's going
to be suspension of disbelief, you kind of got the impression they
were just winging it, throwing in the occasional "AWOL"
or "ranking officer." Of course, living with the people
I live with, I have to hear constantly about how CTU would've handled
the situation, and how Jack Bauer would've totally fucked the demons
up with a dishrag. So I'm probably biased. 5. Danse
Macabre
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Possibly the best technical episode
of Buffy ever, "Hush" was the only thing to ever wrangle
Joss Whedon the Emmy nomination he so desperately sought. The episode
circled around a very creepy, "Dark CIty"esque group of
baderosos called the Gentlemen. The Gentlemen are all very dapper chaps who float around towns
with their gimpy Dr. Moreau helpers. They enjoy silence. They enjoy
it because it makes cutting into people and harvesting organs easier
without the screaming and the pain and what have. So they decide
to set the entire city on mute. 4. Class
Protector umbrella
Why it deserves
to be on the list: Buffy's one perfect high school moment,
where her graduating class finally thanks her for saving their asses
four billion times. How many times did we get to see Buffy as a
sympathetic, happy person in seven seasons? Let's see...at the end
of the last episode she was happy...when her Mom died she was sympathetic...nope,
this might be the only time. With a speech delivered demurely by
Jonathan, Buffy receives a special award of an umbrella. An unbearably
sweet moment, made only slightly less nice by the fact that Buffy
has just been fighting evil humanoid prom dogs. And sadly, in retrospect,
it was Buffy's last great high school moment before the writers
decided to remove all the good characters and have the show focus
on college and a shirtless, hairless Riley. B demanded that a special consideration award go out to this moment for it's inclusion of Sunnydale High's "Class Clown," who only appears here in balloon hat and never again. 3. Anya
and Death Why it deserves
to be on the list: Anya, who doesn't ever seem to understand
anything, doesn't understand death. Usually when Anya doesn't understand,
say, the toaster, it's superfluous dialogue. Oh look, now Anya doesn't
understand the X-Box. "Why is it so huge?" she asks. Hilarity
ensues. 2: R.I.P.
Jenny Calendar
Why it deserves
to be on the list: The best death scene in television history,
just barely edging out Doyle in season one of Angel and George Mason
in season two of 24. Jenny Calendar was a pretty stupid character
(a "techno pagan" who was there for not much more than
Giles Love Interest status back before Giles was hip) but her death
was powerful and meaningful, coming via hardcore neck snapping from
an angry Angelus on the third floor of Sunnydale High. And the
#1 absolute best moment in the history of the series
Why it deserves to be on the list: Every single second of this episode is gold. The idea is that, after doing some big mind meld to defeat Adam in the previous episode, the core four head home for some sleep. But, in their dreams, they're visited by . . . essence? Spirit? Carrier pigeon? of the First Slayer, who wants to Giles, Willow, and Xander all dead sticking their heads into Buffy's shit. The episode centers on the dreams of all four, and some random red herring guy who keeps trying to talk about cheese. Willow's dream is about how she's still just as big a nerd as she used to be, despite thinking she's cool now that she's all gay and witchy. The dream features a bizarre production of "Death of a Salesman," which finds Buffy in a Sally Bowles wig, and Riley uttering the line, "I showed up early so I got to be cowboy guy."
I always took that to be Marc Blucas explaining how he wound up with a central role on this show to begin with. Xander's dream finds him wandering through various set pieces, but ultimately unable to escape him parents' basement. Highlights include Anya driving an ice cream truck with the power of her mind, the loudest off screen makeout in history between Willow and Tara, and long dead Principal Snyder showing up to do his best "Apocalypse Now" reenactment.
Giles' dream is when we get the Anya quote mentioned clear up at number 25. It also includes Giles singing a little ditty about how he's figured out that they're being chased by some primordial spirit, but that doesn't mean he wants Xander's seeping chest wound to get blood on his couch. The Final, Buffy-centric dream is mostly just her talking to the First Slayer, with lots of allusions to Dawn showing up that the fans analyzed endlessly after it happened. It was also the only time viewers were able to see Adam, pre-Frankenstein. There's really too much to mention, which is why the episode as a whole gets my number one vote. I feel the need to urge everyone to run out and see it right now, but if you've actually read through to the end of this cotton pickin', TLDR thing, I just applaud your tenacity and say Seacrest. . . OUT! |
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