Buffy fans...

[The Dames 0]

Most of the posters here are males.

 

When Buffy first debuted on the WB, it was mostly seen as a show aimed at girls, given the fact that the protagonist is a female and David Boreanaz was everywhere (girly lunch boxes, posters, etc..).

 

So, my question to you guys is this....

 

Have you ever felt the stigma from those who don't watch Buffy...i.e. "Why are you watching Buffy? That's a girly show"

 

And I'd like to follow it up with...what got you into the show? Was there a specific moment, was it the DVD's, what?

 

Dames

[Guest the pinjockey]

Up until about three months ago I was part of the "isn't that a corny, girly show" stigma. Then I watched the FX season 1 New Year's marathon, proceded to buy the first three season's on DVD (And watch all 56 eps in a week) and am currently finishing season 4 on FX this week and am really pissed off that I didn't start watching sooner.

 

In all honestly this board is what got me into the show. Going through the Buffy threads I figured I would give it a shot during the marathon and I found myself watching episode after episode until hooked.

[Guest Kingpk]

I never really got into the show until the tail end of season 5 or so. It was the only thing on at the time and I got hooked. I caught up with the old eps via FX.

 

I don't really think it's a "girly show". I think people got into it because of the great storylines (especially Season 2, when Angel became Super Bad-ass) and the humor. Sure, it may seem a little Dawson's Creek-ish (Season 6, especially), but I know plenty of guys that watch it.

[Guest EQ]

When the show first came out, I was into it. Then I stopped watching in the middle of season 2. I didn't watch anything until the DVDs came out, and I got into the show again.

[Guest fazzle]

I didn't get into it until the most recent offseason, between 6 and 7, then after enough convincing from other people, I downloaded the episodes off of Kazaa and got hooked.

[Guest Madmartigan21]

I was a fan of the movie. I decided to give the first episode a chance. I've been watching it ever since.

 

I never got crap for it being a "girl's" show. I got crap for it being a WB show.

[Guest Mole]

Yes, I get made fun of ALL the time because I watch the show. Hell, I made fun of my ex gf for watching the show.

 

I watched it with her sometimes during season 6, but never really got into it. Then for her birthday, I bought season 1 on DVD for her. Before I gave it to her, I watched it and fell in love with the show.

 

I then bought season 2 mid way through the summer, and watched it whenever I had a minute off from work. I bought season 3 the day it came out, and watched it in 3 days. Well, I was home all the time taking care of my mother so it wasn't like I was being a BIG loser.

 

Anyway, when people make fun of me for watching it, I just say to them "Have you actually ever WATCHED the show?" And I get the no answer. So I just tell them I used to think the same way until I actually watched the show.

 

So this is basically the first season I have watched every week. I am going to start watching Angel too after buying first season for that and getting hooked onto that show.

[Guest Steve J. Rogers]

Several responses can be made to that question:

 

1) At its core its still a sci-fi/fantasy show, so if you are a fan of that genre its still good to watch

 

2) Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ally Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Eliza Dushku, Emma Caufield, Michelle Tracthberg are all beautiful females, definatly batch material if you want to use a show like that for that sort of thing

 

3) Its a good program. Shows like 90210, Mad About You, and Friends can be considered "girly shows" yet I know plenty of guys who watch the show regularly (and not just for the hot chicks on the shows)

 

Steve

[The Dames 0]

I might as well answer my own question...

 

I got into it in '98. I don't remember what I was doing that night, but I remember going channel surfing and seeing Eliza Dushku for the first time. Of course, being the guy that I am I said to myself "Hot girl. Must watch", so I did. I didn't even realize it was Buffy til a few minutes later. Once I realized the storyline rather quickly (rogue slayer), I marked out for the end of the episode when Faith joined Mayor Wilkins and I watched ever since.

 

Yes, the first ep I ever saw was "Consequences".

 

What's funny about that is that Eliza Dushku introduced me to Buffy, which in turn made me want to see I Know What You Did Last Summer...and that's when I saw Jennifer Love Hewitt for the first time. Love at first sight I tell ya. Shiet, I even ended up getting into Party of Five cuz of her. Now THAT is some girly shit.

 

Dames

[Guest TonyJaymzReloaded]

I watched the very first episode and lvoed it. Though i dont out and out say Buffy rock! to everyone...but yeah I've bascially been a fan since the begining

[The Dames 0]

Steve, how did you get into it? Did you get hooked from the beginning?

 

Dames

[Guest Mole]

What's funny about that is that Eliza Dushku introduced me to Buffy, which in turn made me want to see I Know What You Did Last Summer...and that's when I saw Jennifer Love Hewitt for the first time. Love at first sight I tell ya. Shiet, I even ended up getting into Party of Five cuz of her. Now THAT is some girly shit.

 

Oh, I got into Party of Five also. All from Lacey Chabert, since she was around my age, I always thought I had a better chance with her. But that show went to crap at the end, but that is a completly different thread.

[The Dames 0]

Hey...I watched Time of Your Life when JLH got her own spinoff and that's when I got into Jennifer Garner.

 

Dames

[Guest Edwin MacPhisto]

I got into it at the end of season 6, actually. I'd had friends who loved it for a long time and caught the season finale with a few of them. I already knew most of the basic mythology from conversations with friends, but I was impressed with the blend of serious, snarky, and cool. I started watching season 7 this year, and when I got up to college and found that we got FX, I got into it.

 

The first old-school ep I ever saw was Becoming, Part II, and that blew me away. That I could be that moved from something that I knew very little about and hadn't seen any of the season preceding it amazed me, and so I started watching it all. I've now seen everything but season 1 and about half of the season 4 eps that my friends advised me off of, though I plan to check 'em out when the DVD drops in June.

 

I get a little heat, but mostly from girls, actually. Guys I know don't seem to think there's anything odd about it, and a lot actually watch the show. When girls who don't watch the show see the DVDs sitting on the shelf I get a bit of laughter.

 

However, when girls who DO watch the show see the DVDs sitting on the shelf...they're definitely worth major, major bonus points.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

I liked the movie, so when the show came on I watched it. SMG was really hot then, and the writing was good and funny so I kept watching. I missed a lot of the Adam-era (I found the college stuff to be a bit boring, plus I usually had Hockey on that night) but got back in full stream w/ Glory. And eventually got caught up in full through re-runs.

 

It sucks that Buffy/Angel are regarded as 'girly' shows, because they are really well-written and deserved to be talked about. I dunno if it is a self-imposed perception or a reality, but you certainly feel alienated for being a fan. My buddies used to watch it, but then stopped, so I'm basically the only one who does. Which means I keep the BTVS/Angel love to myself... But thanks to you fine folks here, there is an outlet and a forum to talk about the show and stuf - so I am not that bitter.

[Guest Youth N Asia]

At first I kinda didn't want to admit I liked the show...I caught it durring season 2...but after I found out a buddy of mine liked it then I figured there's nothing to be ashamed about.

 

I openly love the show...with video tapes I turned one friend who thought the show sucked into a die hard fan.

[Guest JMA]

I've watched since the pilot first came out. I'd never seen a show quite like it. Lots of other guys liked it as well. I've seen every single episode thus far.

[Guest TUS_02]

I was/am a huge fan of the Buffy movie (with Kristy Swanson) and I had every intention of catching the show, but I guess that there was something else on at the time that got my attention but I didn't get into it until about November of '01.

[Guest areacode212]

I saw the movie when it first came out. I didn't love it or anything, but I liked the concept, so when the show was announced, my curiosity was piqued. Unfortunately, I worked on those nights when it was on, so I never got to catch it from the beginning. Damn my manager for sticking me with that schedule! And even though the critical "buzz" for the show grew pretty steadily, I never really went out of my way to watch it. Boy, do I suck.

 

Anyway, I caught snippets of the show here & there, but it didn't really hook me. I saw "Anne" when it was first broadcast, and I think they also showed "Welcome to the Hellmouth" right before it. I had thought they were OK, but nothing special. So...it wasn't until the season 1 DVD came out in December '01 (?) when I said "eh, let me finally check out this Buffy thing so I can see what the big deal is". And of course, that's what finally turned me into someone who makes banners based on the show. Still, it sucks that I've only seen less than half of all the episodes, because I would have loved to discuss all those great episodes back when they were originally broadcast. If a spinoff does go through, I want to be all caught up, so I'll have to acquire tapes of seasons 5-7 & Angel seasons 3 & 4.

 

As for the girly stigma...I've gotten a tiny bit of heat here & there, but I've managed to turn a couple of people on to the show. My take on it is--hey, if you can't give the show a chance because you can't see past all the girly trappings and the usual stuff (the name, the movie's campy rep, all those "romance novel-esque" pictures of Buffy & Angel hugging, etc..), it's your loss. Yeah, it sucks that BtVS has never really received the kind of mainstream coverage that, other, inferior shows (no way did The Practice deserve those 1998-99 Best Drama Emmys over Buffy) have gotten, but in a way, it makes the show our own little special thing, which is good enough for me.

[Guest KingOfOldSchool]

I was flipping through the channels one night and came upon the season 6 finale, so I ended up watching it all the way through.

 

For whatever reason, I forgot about the show until 'Conversations With Dead People' aired. I promptly turned to it, and have watched it since then. I've largely caught up now, due to the FX reruns.

 

It wasn't that I saw it as a girly show way back when. I just saw it as a WB show, and WB back then = bastard child...

[Guest DawnBTVS]

Have you ever felt the stigma from those who don't watch Buffy...i.e. "Why are you watching Buffy? That's a girly show"

A few times...then again I'm not exactly all public about my Buffy love either though.

 

And I'd like to follow it up with...what got you into the show? Was there a specific moment, was it the DVD's, what?

Season 5's premiere....and LOTS of research before that After seeing Buffy vs Dracula, I immediately loved Xander and Willow. They're still my top 2 characters

[cawthon777 0]

Have you ever felt the stigma from those who don't watch Buffy...i.e. "Why are you watching Buffy? That's a girly show"

 

And I'd like to follow it up with...what got you into the show? Was there a specific moment, was it the DVD's, what?

I never saw it as a "girl" show, I saw it as a stereotypical WB teenie bopper show (ex: Dawson's Creek) with a little Xena thrown in. I knew guys that watched it during season 1, well before I got into it, so it wasn't such a big deal in that regard.

 

What got me into it? I had seen scattered episodes here and there - mostly in syndication. My dad was actually a regular watcher and that's what got me watching the FX reruns on a regular basis about a year and a half ago. Since then, I've seen every episode, have seasons 1-3 on DVD (as well as Angel season 1), have downloaded a good 30 or so Buffy / Angel eps, and have memorized a good portion of the collective history right down to random quotes.

 

"I mock you with my monkey pants."

[Guest El Satanico]

Originaly I wouldn't watch the show because of the "why would i wach that when the movie was stupid" mentality.

 

Then a friend of mine after much trying finally convinced to try the show. I believed I started watching the second season. I may have watched the reruns of season one which hooked me.

 

I'm not exactly sure when i started.

[Guest Steve J. Rogers]

Steve, how did you get into it? Did you get hooked from the beginning?

 

Dames

Tell you the truth I'm not that big of a Buffy/Angel fan per se, its more the genre that I like and if its on I'll watch. (same with pro-wrestling BTW) I'm also heavy into collecting sci-fi memorabillia so I'll pick up the DVD sets as well as BTVS and Angel trading cards (I'm trying to do that with alot of series like Star Trek, Babylon 5, MASH, Law & Order, Friends)

 

Actually if some one does ask me on why I'm watching it I'll say either I'm a fan of the genre or I'm a fan of SMG, who actually gets bonus points from me for being one hell of an actress along with the hot looks (ditto with several of the other girls on the show of course)

 

I do have a habit though of getting into things slightly after that first wave of popularity though and plus I was slightly hesitant considering the bad press the movie had gotten, which I didn't see it untill about a year ago, more so because I'm never a big fan of seeing the old "TV star tries to get their first big splash in the movies" vechicles, especially if they are marketed as "comedies" and considering Luke Perry's envolvment (never really THAT into 90210 either as well) I figured I'd pass (and I didn't like the film, but considering all I know is the TV Buffyverse so maybe that had something to do with it as well) and I figured it had to be high on the cheese factor. So I guess I didn't really start following the show untill right around 99-00.

 

Steve

[Guest Cavi]

I remember there was a bit of hype for the premiere of the show. Most of it was not exactly positive though, as I remember a few magazines like EW mocking the whole concept (funny that EW is such a fan of it now). Our cable provider had just gotten WB around that time as well. My sister, being a fairly big sci-fi fan, asked me to watch it with her. I had seen the movie, and didn't think much of it, but I decided to watch it anyway...and I thought it ruled.

 

I have been completely obsessed with it ever since. No other show has even come close to how Whedon's masterpiece has affected me (I suppose wrestling is up there though).

 

I got crap from my friends for watching it. Like Molestomp, I would ask them if they had even seen it, but they would just no sell and continue to act like asses. This got to be particularly annoying in 98 and 99 when the show broke into the mainstream and there was a good amount of hype surrounding it. Whenever something Buffy related come up, they would rant how "gay" the show was. Oh well, it was their loss.

[Guest LaParkaMarka]

I got into the show by randomly seeing an rerun one boring Saturday night. It was the ep where Spike tries to get the chip out, fails miserably, and then has that great dream about Buffy. I laughed my ass off at that and decided to try and watch the show as much as possible. So I caught some of season 5 and all of Season 6 and 7, as well as getting the first three seasons on DVD and watching most of season 4/5 via reruns. Funny how quickly you can turn into a Buffy fanatic.

 

As for the stigma: I have definately gotten that. Had plenty of people call me gay or whatever for watching the show, though lately I've begun to convert them. Muhahaha.

Nice to see others that had to deal with that stigma though.

[Guest Kingpk]

Actually, now that I think about it, the first episode I ever saw in full was the Season 4 finale. I laughed my ass off at Giles and Spike on the swings and decided to pay more attention to this program.

[Guest RandomMallChicksRule]

I started watching Buffy during its second season. There was nothing else to watch so I'd have it on for background noise. I got really interested when "Innocence" and "Surprise" aired, when Angel lost his soul.

 

I've been a steady viewer since. I find the characters appealing (Spike, Evil Angel, Faith, Cordelia...) as well as the use of dialogue on the show. Check out the "Buffy Speak" featurette on the Season 3 boxset.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

I should get the freeze ray out of here.

[The Dames 0]

You know, looking back on it, I can definitely see where the stigma could have come from, especially if you watch the first few episodes of season 1.

 

Welcome to the Hellmouth/Harvest. Valley girl comes to a new school and meets new people, including the popular bitch Cordelia, who Buffy tries to befriend immediately...but ends up being friends with the "losers".

 

The Witch: Buffy tries out for the cheerleading squad. Another girl, Amy, just sucks at it and strives to be like her mother.

 

Teacher's Pet: Potential Teenage Heartthrob Xander tries to get it on with an older woman who selected him because he's a virgin.

 

Never Kill A Boy on the First Date: Buffy goes head over heels over a boy at school and tries to go on a few dates with him, unsuccesfully.

 

Things didn't start picking up til "The Pack" IMO, but I'm sure you guys get my drift.

 

Dames

[Guest JMA]

You know, looking back on it, I can definitely see where the stigma could have come from, especially if you watch the first few episodes of season 1.

 

Welcome to the Hellmouth/Harvest. Valley girl comes to a new school and meets new people, including the popular bitch Cordelia, who Buffy tries to befriend immediately...but ends up being friends with the "losers".

 

The Witch: Buffy tries out for the cheerleading squad. Another girl, Amy, just sucks at it and strives to be like her mother.

 

Teacher's Pet: Potential Teenage Heartthrob Xander tries to get it on with an older woman who selected him because he's a virgin.

 

Never Kill A Boy on the First Date: Buffy goes head over heels over a boy at school and tries to go on a few dates with him, unsuccesfully.

 

Things didn't start picking up til "The Pack" IMO, but I'm sure you guys get my drift.

 

Dames

I disagree. I thought all of season one ruled. I always thought the potential relationship between Buffy and Xander was wasted. If you've seen the season one finale you know why.