Buffy - rank the seasons...

[Henry]

My ranking:

3: This season was to me quintessentially "Buffy" - it is also the season which changed the direction of the show for the rest of its run. From this season we get Faith and her fall from "grace", Angel leaves to start a spin-off; Buffy after leaving high school becomes totally lost and floundering from season 4 to season 7, and the cast really starts all their own "mini-arcs."

2: Probably the other "quintessentially Buffy" season, we see many twists and turns, and the best storyline - the "Fallen Angel" arc, culminating in the "Close your eyes" line in the final show that had many fans in near-tears with the emotion of the moment.

5: Good season all around, because the plot elements of the Spike-Buffy arc emerge, Clare Kramer (I think her name is) makes an awesome run as Glory, and we get to see a side of Giles that wasn't seen since season 3.

7: Many shocks and jumps in this season, culminating in some truly touching moments in the last few shows.

1: Good season, but Buffy had yet to find her place, with only 13 episodes and a fresh cast.

4: Many people forget the creepy "Gentlemen" episode, the immensely-powerful Faith story line from Buffy to Angel, as well as the "Dream Episode", and write off the whole season. It's a mistake to do this, even though the rest of the season was somewhat lackluster, this constitutes a third of the season that was some of the best shows in the series.

6: Again, although the season's theme had Buffy floundering in waters that many of us did not like, it had the Buffy Musical as well, which is a truly awesome show, one of the season's top ten.

 

[Assenpfeffer]

I got introduced to the show on DVD, so I've only seen Seasons 1-3, with the barest smattering of later seasons. But if I had to rank those three, it would be:

2
3
1

 

[Viking Bastard]

Finally! Someone else that loves the Zeppo enough to put it on a top ten list! I would've put it further up though, but it's a start.

 

[Cor Azer]

Hmm... from best to worse (or rather, in my opinion, from best to not quite as good).

3 - Most consistent season, in my opinion
2 - Very emotional Big Bad stuff with Angelus. Plus, Spike and Drusilla
5 - Very emotional 'real-life' stuff. It was cool to see the Scoobies have to deal with something they couldn't fight in Joyce's death.
1 - Great stuff, fresh ideas, new twists on older ones.
7,6,4 - Some great stand alone episodes, but certain plot points just seemed to get repeated too often.

 

[S'mon]

Hm...

3
1
2
4
5
7
6

1, 2 & 3 were all brilliant though, sometimes I feel like putting 1 first. If Angel had been killed permanently at the end of 2 I'd be inclined to put it first, since he doesn't return until 3 maybe that's unfair.

4-7 are not as good, though still excellent. 4 has lots of good stuff, and no Dawn. In 5 Dawn appears (and doesn't leave! Noooo!) and Joyce dies - very well handled, but the series feels her lack, Giles also. Buffy effectively becomes a mother (of Dawn), going from childhood adolescence in series 1 to premature middle age.

6 & 7 are a bit too angsty and somewhat lacking in dramatic impetus. Plus they still have Dawn in them (ugh).

Overall then:

1 2 3 - similarly fabulous

4 - different from 1-3, still very good (I liked Riley)

5 (Dawn)

7 6 (angst, more Dawn)

 

[Talaysen]

My perspective:

4. The Initiative is awesome. I consider Adam THE best Buffy villain EVER. I don't know if I would've gone with the season finale they chose (I still have trouble considering that the finale - the prior episode, featuring the Buffy/Willow/Giles/Xander SuperSlayer was rock solid and a great way to end the year), but the season was strong overall and stayed that way throughout. Plus the Superstar Jonathan episode was their best standalone.

3. Faith. The Mayor. Angel's back. Surprise stakings. This season's also a top contender.

2. Surprise! Anointed One is - how shall I put this - "instant soup mix" (sorry - I just SAW the Superstar Jonathan ep again tonight), and Spike and Dru are the new bloody red fall colors. Then - midseason switch! Angelus is back, and the most deliciously perverted love triangle on TV is in place. A few weak episodes, but good overall. Plus our first sign that Buffy might really be Something Special, and not just the Slayer of our times - for the first time we have two Slayers at once.

1. The show is still finding its footing, but episodes like "The Witch" - not to mention the season finale and the one with the demon in the Internet - make this a fairly solid season.

5. Buffy vs. Dracula is good, Willow and Tara are at the top of their game, and Spike's newfound lust for the Blonde One makes things interesting, but Dawn is annoying, Riley's a whiny idiot and I just don't like the whole Glory thing. Buffy's heroic sacrifice is rendered meaningless by the very next new episode three months later.

7. I wanted to like this season, and I did...I just didn't like it as much as the others. You can tell everyone's tired. Willow IS magic but hasn't learned not to be scared of herself, Buffy sort of drifts, Principal Wood is underused as the first wholly "civilian" vampire hunter on the scene. The season finale had its high points but was a letdown overall - too much deus ex machina, too easy an ending. I wanted the Hellmouth to close, I wanted Buffy to be free, and the "let's activate all the Slayers" plot thread was nice as a concept, but the execution left much to be desired.

6. "Buffy: The Musical" was pretty much the highpoint of this season - up until the very end. Willow's magic addiction wasn't played properly; rather than an addiction to POWER it was portrayed as an addiction to mystical forces. Dark Willow rocked, but the rest of the season dragged all the high points down.

THE MOVIE. Ugh. Just...ugh. It NEVER HAPPENED, ok? I'm pretty sure Joss Whedon would like to erase that from all our memories just as much as I would - if not more. Hmm...where's a Vengeance Demon when you need one? I got something for 20th Century Fox's movie division.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Rank the Seasons

Season 2 and 3 are tied for first. I especially liked the bait and switch of the big bad for season 2. It seemed to be setting up Spike & Drusilla to be the big bads and then bam! Angel goes all wonky and actually KILLS PEOPLE. I'll say this once, Angelus was the best big bad of the series. He knew them, he knew their weaknesses and I like the fact that he was determined to kill people around Buffy just to mess with her psychologically.

Season 3 had Trick (finally a semi-cool villian of color) and the Mayor ( the second best big bad). Say what you will about the Mayor but there were times that he was creepy as f**k. The Episode where he basically wallks into the library and tells the whole gang that there's nothing that they can do to stop him is great. The Gang's reaction is better, they noticably pull back when he enters the room.

Season 4 - Didnt mind Reily and the initiative. Adam was a servicable foil for Buffy and Crew. The Season finale was pretty action packed as I remember.

Season 1 - The Beginning. A lot of mediocre filler episodes but still decent.

Season 5 - Willow's first real displays of true power were here. Glory / Ben not the best big bad but definitely the most powerful. You really felt like the stakes were raised here. And THE BODY. One of the best hours of Epsodic TV EVER.

Season 6 & 7 Were just complete and utter ass. Garbage. Even with Once more with feeling in season 6. My collection of the Season Box Sets ends at season 5 for me. Buffy dies saving the world. The End.

 

[Storminator]

3 - I think this is the best single season of TV in history. The Mayor is my all time favorite villian. The pithy quotes mixed with macabre evil, "we don't knock during dark rituals?" just cracks me up. And Faith just rocked.

4 - My first season watching, so all the "it's fresh! It's new!" reasons go here for me, not in season 1. I really like Riley as well.

5 - I thought Glory was awesome, and the finale was one of the best episodes of TV ever.

2 - Lots of good work in this one, especially the history ones.

1 - The Master never did much for me, but there were a lot of fun episodes.

6 - A few great episodes, a few good ones, still my favorite show on TV, but only OMWF is a contended for best show ever.

7 - I really wanted to like this season, but it's pretty clearly not the same. The choppy schedule was a serious disservice to the show. I did like how they made fun of a lot of the things ENworlders complain of, like Andrew's documentary blowing off Buffy's speech.

Buffy was my favorite show ever, and I'll miss it. Even in season 7 I didn't miss a show, and that's the only show on TV I can say that about.

PS