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Rank the Buffy seasons (spoilers included)
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Posted by: Skittles

OK, here's the open spoiler thread for ranking the Buffy seasons, from best to worst.

Mine are...

5
3
2
6
7
4
1

Don't get me wrong, though. Four and One are still good (because they're Buffy). They just have a lot of the more infamously bad episodes (I Robot, You Jane) despite having their moments (Hush), their camp-ily good episodes despite toeing the line to dreadfulness (Beer Bad), and their pure genius moments (Hush).

7... well, it just felt like Joss had too much on his plate at that time. Between a whizbang Angel (which hit a peak that year), Firefly (which he focused on) and finishing Buffy, you can see that he had too much on his plate. And midway through, you can see how he was having trouble letting Buffy go. It almost felt like there was too much he wanted to introduce in the final season.

5... well, how can you deny 5? The Gift, The Body, Buffy vs. Dracula... some good, good moments. And Season Three had Faith... and who can deny Faith? Faith rocked. I don't mind admitting that Eliza Dushku was just plain hot that season. :)

Posted by: LoadStar

My ranking would be:
5
3
2
4
6
1
7

Season 5, for all the same reasons as skittles mentions... the whole season came together just perfectly. Same with season 3.

Seasons 6 and 7 - season 6 got bumped up one because of episodes like "Once More With Feeling." Overall, though, the season wasn't nearly as good as those that had come before.

And season 7 - well, as I said before, it was a series of compounding problems. They had very specific goals they had set for the season that got set by the wayside before midseason even hit -- specifically, the goal of having a return to the light, quippy Buffy as they returned to Sunnydale High, plus it was supposed to have a renewed focus on Dawn. With the end of the series being announced, then the plot arc being re-drafted multiple times throughout the season based on which guest stars would be available, it was a total mess.

Many people dislike season 4, mostly because of Riley, but I thought it was pretty good - plus, I have never thought Riley that bad of a character.

Posted by: AJRitz

5 - This season goes to the top for it's completeness. There are NO wasted episodes in this season. Every episode moves the plot forward in a critical way, even when it doesn't seem like it (I Was Made to Love You is a great example. At first, it seems like a throwaway with a couple of one-shot characters in the spotlight - Warren and Robot Girl. But Robot Girl plays a key role in the final battle and Warren sets the stage for the entire next season. Not to mention the Spike implications.). Lots of pathos - the death of Joyce and Buffy's ultimate sacrifice. Buffy takes charge and puts the Council in it's place. EVERY character is developing individually as well as a part of the group, and EVERY character has a role in the final conflict. We get a glimpse of the depth of Willow's power (LOVE her "floating in" to take on Glory). And, of course, a suitably nasty Big Bad. Oh, and in retrospect it's easy to forget how beautifully the introduction of Dawn was played.
3 - The mayor is just such a great villian. Faith, the conflicted Slayer. The wonderful intensity of Buffy and Angel's relationship, culminating in turning the tables on Season 2 (here, Buffy has to submit to Angel instead of Angel submitting to Buffy). Willow and Xander's fling throws the gang into discord. And EVERYONE comes together at the end.
2 - The two part Season finale is what makes this season. Absolutely wonderful. But overall, it's pretty uneven with far too many "throwaways" like Inca Mummy Girl, Ted, and Bad Eggs.
7 - Yes, it was uneven. And they probably waited too long to introduce Caleb. "Him" is a throwaway. But the last six episodes, from Lies My Parents Told Me through Chosen are wonderful. Each of the characters steps up and performs at their very best at the moment of truth. Willow the White was a beauteous thing to behold.
6 - I also liked this season more than most. It's dark, but it should've been dark. Definitely better the second time through. The musical is brilliant, and the final four episodes are magnificent. Gotta love Badass Willow :-)
1 - Some great moments, but only glimpses of what was to come. The individual episodes are mostly good (Teacher's Pet and The Pack are a bit silly), but this season doesn't have the building impact of the rest. Prophecy Girl is good, but may be the weakest finale.
4 - This probably belongs ahead of Season 1, but it gets downgraded because at least The Master was a good Big Bad. The whole Initiative/Adam thing was just annoying, and never seemed to really integrate in with the story going on around it. I also never warmed up to Riley. OTOH, Hush was a brilliant episode. The final conflict with Adam is very good (can you tell I really like it when everyone works together to overcome the final foe - the uber-Buffy was cool). But then there's the anti-climax episode at the end which, while a somewhat interesting "experiment", doesn't really add much to the overall story.

Posted by: DreadPirateRob

Here's the rankings I posted in the other thread, a bit more fleshed out.

Season 3 - I really think S3 was the pinnacle of the series as far as combining the best of writing, acting, and storytelling. It had a great, campy Big Bad, a cool finale, and is uniformly good from start to end, with many wonderful episodes mixed in along the way. Plus, we get a double dose of Evil Vamp-Willow. Pretty hard to beat that.

Season 2 - Almost as good as S3, but had a few weak spots that left it just shy of reaching the heights that S3 would. Still, after a strong but short S1, S2 really hit the ground running and amped up the plotlines to where you could not help but fall in love with this show. The Buffy/Angel storyline was nice and angsty, the introduction of Spike & Drusilla - just very, very strong.

Season 5 - this season was panned by fans during its first go-round, but really holds up well on a compacted viewing schedule (which DVDs allow). I'm watching it right now on DVD, and the only thing I can come up with to keep it out of the top two (or even tied for first with S3) is that I really don't like The Body and its immediate aftermath. It's a phenomenal episode, but so, so painful to watch. Given how much displeasure it brings me, it's enough to keep it out of the top of my subjective rankings.

Season 4 - I just finished watching this on DVD, and it was much better than I remembered. Sure, "Beer Bad" is one of the worst Buffy eps ever, but it's not *that* bad (and much better than the best eps of many shows). I liked the contrast of this first year in college from the previous 3 high school years, and really enjoyed the whole Initiative plotline - the idea of what would happen if the military/scientists got involved in the supernatural world is bold and inventive. "Hush" is maybe the best Buffy ep ever, and the episodes with Oz and Willow are powerful - really letting Alyson Hanagan break out her acting chops. My only problem with the whole Adam plotline is that the finale (well, the finale to the conflict, not the season itself) suffers more than a little from the deus ex machina problem. Oh yeah, I also liked Riley in this season (which I didn't in S5).

Season 1 - I will always hold a soft spot in my heart for the first season. It was a great intro to the cast and the mythology, but it was too short, had more than a few stinkers, and the writing was still spotty as the mythology developed. Still, the chemistry between the original Scoobies was awesome from the very beginning, and the Master was pretty damn cool.

Season 7 - I'm reserving judgment on this one as I am going on memory from when it originally aired, but I remember it being very up and down. I, unlike others, really liked the finale, and I thought there were some good eps sprinkled in, but overall it was very up and down for me. We'll see how it looks after a compacted viewing schedule.

Season 6 - I haven't watched this one on DVD yet either (it's up on the shelf waiting for me to finish S5), so this is based on my recollection from original airings. I really didn't like this season much, aside from "Once More With Feeling" which was a transcendent episode. I just remember wanting to smack Buffy and tell her to snap out of it. But again, after I watch it, it may resonate differently for me than I remember it doing. And "Doublemeat Palace" = ugh.

Posted by: Peter000

It's extremely hard for me to rank the seasons, because in terms of quality, they're so close together... I would grade them ALL at least an 80% or above. But I'll take a stab... from bottom to top...

4. This was hardest for me to watch, just because of the transitional nature of the season. The characters were floundering, not knowing where they were going, and so the show itself seemed to be aimless, at least at first. Still an 80% on the Peter000 grading scale. :)

6. Again, this was a kind of a transitional season, but with much funnier and tragic elements than season 4, so it made it slightly more watchable. And it had "Once More With Feeling," possibly my favorite Buffy episode of all time. Still on the whole, I wasn't too hot on Willow the Big Bad. Hot FOR is another question... The Xander saves the world ending was hokey but had me misty. :) 85%

7. Ranks virtually equal to season 6, IMO. They're pretty interchangable in this list. The First Evil big bad storyline was kinda all over the place, but watching it again in repeats now I'm enjoying it much more than I did the first time around. 85%

5. HATED Glory. But the rest of it had fantastic elements of drama, tragedy and comedy. Should have wrapped up the entire series, but didn't, which kinda cheapened the whole Buffy dying experience. I got choked up at the final tombstone shot. 87%

1. I have a hard time ranking this as low as some did. I enjoyed it more than any other season in ways, because it was my first discovery of TV Buffy, and it hooked me within minutes of watching my first episode (Hellmouth part 2). I stumbled on it while channel surfing; didn't even know a series was in the works. I lapped it up like a thirsty puppy, and introduced my sister and her family to it with a backlog of Season 1 tapes. For pure new, fresh enjoyment I give it a 92%. Maybe as much as 95%.

3. This season was almost perfect, aside from some cheesy special effects. Ya got Faith. Ya got Xander losing his virginity to Faith. Ya got the Mayor (who I hated at first, then grew to love to hate). Ya got the High School blowing up. Last season with Angel. Good story arc with entertaining diversionary episodes. 96%

2. Although almost too close to call, this season slightly beats out 3 in terms of drama, and shocking developments. Angel turning bad. Spike and Drew. Buffy going through pain... and for the first time the gang has to face the severe consequences of fighting evil. Aside from Kendra, I loved almost every moment of this season. I give it a 98%

Whew.

Posted by: balboa dave

1=2=3=4=5=6=7.

I agree with everyone's reason why they liked a season, and disagree with everyone's reasons why they didn't like a season. Even episodes I didn't like so much at first get better with each viewing.

Posted by: DreadPirateRob

Now, dave, that's cheating. We all know that choosing a season, or even an ep, of Buffy is somewhat akin to having to choose one of your children. That being said, for the artificial construct that Skittles has created, we're asking you to choose. So be nice, and play along, will ya? :D

Posted by: jennstall

I wish I could break the show up into half-seasons because I find that's how my likes and dislikes cycled. For instance, I loved the first have of season 6, hated the second half. But here goes anyway from top to bottom:

5 - my favorite season and I think the most consistent in terms of storytelling throughout the entire season.

2 - this season took awhile to pick up steam, but the second half of the season kicked butt enough to put this into my number 2 spot.

4 - I guess I'm on the outs with fandom on this one because I thought Season 4 was pretty strong up until the death of Maggie Walsh and then weakened a bit afterwards, but it still had some pretty tight episodes towards the end -- plus it has the reappearance of Faith which I much prefer to her season 3 episodes and it has HUSH which I think is one of the top 3 Buffy episodes of all time. And I never hated Riley.

6 - Six would be higher if it weren't for all of the episodes that took place after Wrecked. I thought the first half of the season was brilliant and I loved the Buffy & Spike stuff, but I think they could have done a lot of things differently with that relationship.

3 - I've never been as madly crazed about S3, The Mayor and Faith as most of my friends.

1 - A great first season with a kickass finale and definitely promises all the good things to come.

7 - Ugh.

Posted by: brahman71

Essentially copied over from other thread since I didnt see this one!

5 The best season long arc tight, focused and has the greatest ammount of powerful episodes . The Body was heart-wrenching, the finale was handled surprisingly well, the breakup with Reily had amazingly good dialogue...

3 another excellent arc, but not quite as well developed as 5 I was never a fan of Faith, but she was used very well. The mayor was just great, I was sorry to see him go.

4 Unusual choice, I know. Story arc not that good but a lot of great individual episodes I absolutely love the development of everyone, particularly Giles, in this season. I agree with other poster that this season is underated. I think the change took everyone by surprise and some never quite recovered.

2 Im splitting the difference first half is near the bottom second half near the top. The second half of season two was when I realized that this was a truly great show.

6 yes, OMWF (brilliant) and a couple other great episodes-- but the season as a whole was weaker than the others. Darkness didnt bother me and I got a kick out of the Trio, but I HATED how they couldnt come up with anything better than a drug metaphor for Willow. Great issue to explore, lousy way to explore it. SMG started to bug me here. I didnt feel she was really in it, however with what Buffy was going through thats probably exactly what she was supposed to portray, so I wont complain. But I really couldn't tell if it was because she was giving it her all or not caring as much anymore as an actress. I'll give her the benifit of the doubt :) Frankly I always liked Giles, so having him gone most of the season made the season a little empty for me.

1 lots of problems but you can see the potential

7 to me just lots of problems unfocused confused shallow still worth watching but if this was a sign of things to come it might have been right to end here (OMG did I just say that???) I don't know if they shifted gears when they found out it was coming to an end, or if they bit off more than they could chew, but it seems like they layed all this groundwork and then promptly forgot about it. Some of the developments were just to abrupt as well.

Posted by: Zevida

My post in the other thread was sans-spoilers, so I'll make this one chock full so it is different to read.

2 - the most emotional season with some of the most powerful and emotional episodes of the entire show. The relationships between all the characters were deeply explored and the drama couldn't be beat - not to mention the humor finally got going. The introduction of Spike and Dru was classic, they remain the baddest, hippest villans Buffy ever faced. I cry every time I watch Becoming Part 2. For me, this season defined Buffy. The two-part season finale alone makes it worth this ranking, not to mention the other episodes.

3 - The big bad was the best, how could you *not* love the mayor? Faith was a perfect foil for Buffy, as was Wesley for Giles. The group's difficulties dealing with relationships (Willow/Xander/Cordelia/Ox/Buffy/Angel), all having to come to terms with who they are, what they want, and if they can have what they want, was brilliant.

5 - good for all the reasons others have said. I always liked Riley and it was painful to see him go, and I never minded Dawn (well, at least in this season). Joyce's death was well handled, but for some reason several of the episodes don't sit well with me, like when Joyce came home from the hospital with the alien demon, or the long drawn out finale with Glory which lasted like four episodes or something. I thought The Gift was pretty good most of the way through, and utterly amazing in the last ten minutes.

4 - I didn't like it when it aired, but I did after watching the DVDs. The transition from high schooler to adult is difficult and was played well. Many quality episodes (Superstar is a favorite, also the Halloween episode) and a stunning finale, which I hated at first but now love after repeat viewing (I find it haunting), all of which play better the second time seen. This one is very close to season five, and could surpass season five, which I haven't seen on DVD yet. I'll agree that the big bad The Initiative/Adam was lame, but for this season, but I prefer to judge this season on the quality of the individual episodes and the development of the characters.

1 - Not as stellar as other seasons, but introduced the show and showed a ton of promise.

7 - Only gets this ranking due to an amazing first half culminating in Conversations With Dead People, one of the single best hours of television ever. I think it was the most powerful episode of the show. The second half of the season after CwDP was terrible and destroyed everything that I held dear about Buffy :0) Culminating in a muddled finale which lacked emotional and believability. Caleb was the WORST bad guy in Buffy history (even worse than the monster in Bad Eggs) and just a tired stereotype that added nothing to the story.

6 - Miserable from the first episode to the last, with only some amusing moments in a handful of episodes. Obviously Once More with Feeling was the shining standout, but it deserved a better season than this one. I also liked the episode when Buffy tried to kill her friends. Hell's Bells was just a mean episode, not to mention a tired convention. I think 75% of TV weddings involve someone leaving someone at the alter, while probably only .0001% of real weddings do. If Joss wanted to break up Xander and Anya, there were more realistic and sensitive (both to the couple and the viewer) to do it. Just a bad season overall.

Posted by: YCantAngieRead

MAN! What is the deal with so many Buffy threads? There are three of them on the front page! This is OUTRAGE!

I am, of course, totally kidding. Carry on. :D

-Angie, the thread overkill master

Posted by: Skittles

quote:
Originally posted by YCantAngieRead
MAN! What is the deal with so many Buffy threads? There are three of them on the front page! This is OUTRAGE!

I am, of course, totally kidding. Carry on. :D

-Angie, the thread overkill master

You know, Friends sucked for 9 of the years it was on the air.

*giggle... duck and run*

Posted by: YCantAngieRead

Oh yeah?! Well, Buffy...um...it sucked! Yeah, that's it! It sucked! Seriously! It sucked! A lot!

Okay, fine. I never watched a single episode. But I know through osmosis it sucked.

:D

Posted by: Peter000

quote:
Originally posted by YCantAngieRead
Oh yeah?! Well, Buffy...um...it sucked! Yeah, that's it! It sucked! Seriously! It sucked! A lot!

Okay, fine. I never watched a single episode. But I know through osmosis it sucked.

:D

'Round these parts, folks don't need to see sumptin' ferin' them to know it sucks. ;)

Posted by: edhara

Saw two episodes of Friends. Couldn't stand it, and never understood the appeal.

Now, I suppose I might actually stay on topic for once. This is from the standpoint of someone that never even once saw a first run Buffy show:

Season 2 (the first episode of Buffy I ever saw was a rerun of the S2 finale)
Season 3 (just absolutely rocked)
Season 5 ('nuff said)
Season 1 (cute start)
Season 6 (I liked it better than most people - especially enjoyed the evil Willow thing)
Season 7 (I really, really, really wanted to see Dawn turn into a kickin' Slayer - there's so much more that they could have played on that that they hinted at the tail end of S6)
Season 4 (No more Neo/Buffy, thanks)

Posted by: firerose818

Season 5 (Fool for Love is the best hour of television ever, IMHO)
Season 6 (c'mon people, there's a musical!)
Season 3 (Graduation Day was the first episode I saw and I was hooked)
Season 2 (loved the Angel story arc)
Season 1 (there were a few really good eps)
Season 7 (a little to dark and brooding for me)
Season 4 (I really, really hated Riley)

-Rose

Posted by: cheesesteak

5 - I really liked Glory
3 - Faith, The Mayor
2 - Spike was cool back then
4 - Riley was boring but Adam was the worst big bad
7 - Has Buffy finally stopped speechifying?
1 - A number of stinkers, but when it was good it was verrry good.
6 - The Trio was cool, nothing else.

the first episode I saw was Pangs. Was hooked from that point on.

Posted by: rexdart

I can't rank them, but I know which one was definitely my favorite....

the '97 - 03 season, no doubt about it.

:)

Posted by: sschwart

3
4
2
5
7
1
6

I'll edit later and put why in when I have time

Posted by: brahamt

Hmmm,

Season 3 (Faith was my favorite guest on the series)
Season 2 (Angel storyline was awesome)
Season 5 (Hated Glory, but good season, especially the end)
Season 1 (Got me hooked)
Season 7 (I liked it more than I should have)
Season 6 (Willow as the big bad was cool)
Season 4 (Like most, hated Riley and Adam)