30 days of Buffy - day 1

[deird1]

Day 1: Favourite Season

I'm going to be a bit unusual on this one. My favourite season is... season 4. *ducks for cover*


Why, you ask?

(Or possibly, why on earth, you ask, in horrified tones and the possibility of sniggering coming up behind the horror...)

Two reasons. One: it's fun. And two: it's all about transitions.


The Fun

Season four is the season when the writers went a bit silly. They have teeny tiny fear demons! They have Spike in a bathtub watching Passions! They have uber-Jonathan! They have Giles on guitar – repeatedly! They have the Cheese Man! And engagement spells! And caveman beer! And Anya!

I just... think it's really fun.

There are other seasons that I watch for great plots, or for deep character moments, or so forth. But I find myself watching season four way more than it probably deserves, because it's silly and it makes me laugh.


The Transitions

This is the season where every character is sitting between High School Them and Later Season Them. Buffy is suddenly an adult, in the not-having-to-ask-mom-for-permission-to-going-patrolling way, but not yet an adult, in the taking-care-of-vulnerable-little-sister way. Willow has left nerd behind, but not yet embraced homicidal dark villainy. Xander is no longer the class clown and not yet the carpenter; Giles has finished librarianship but is pre-shopkeeping; Spike is a former Big Bad and a future good guy; Faith isn't evil but can't figure out how to be good yet; Anya's no longer a demon and hasn't yet found her "place in the world"; the show itself has left behind Monster Of The Week but hasn't yet discovered Multi-Episode Saga.

It's a really interesting character moment that I always enjoy – and here, it's happening to every character at once.

---

Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 6: Favorite Male Character
Day 7: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 8: Favorite Friendship
Day 9: Favorite Romance
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Potential Slayer
Day 14: Favorite Female Villain
Day 15: Favorite Male Villain
Day 16: Episode You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Day 17: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 18: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 19: Character You Like That Everyone Else Hates
Day 20: Best Spike-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Willow-centric Episode
Day 22: Best Xander-centric Episode
Day 23: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 24: Hottest scene
Day 25: Favorite Buffyverse Saying
Day 26: Favorite Scooby Moment
Day 27: Cutest Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Everyone Else Loves
Day 30: What You Think Made Buffy So Great

Comments

[velvetwhip]

I happen to like Season 4 myself. Now if you had Season 7, I might give you the side eye...(or maybe not, because some of my dearest friends love that season.)


Gabrielle

[rebcake]

Oh, yes! You're much clearer in your reasoning than I've been. For me it's that Buffy is still having fun, there's more Spike, and I don't mind the military being the unintentional bad guys. I always enjoy institutional screw-ups in my entertainment.

[deird1]

:) I like season 7 too. Is that okay?

Actually, there's no season I actually dislike (except S4 of Angel, and even that has its moments). They're all part of my lovely show.

[deird1]

Institutional screw-ups make for fun tv, I concur.

[velvetwhip]

As I said, some of my dearest friends love Season 7, so you're fine by me.


Gabrielle

[kerkevik_2014]

Season Four.

Tara
Beer Bad
Oz!pain
Bodywapping
Olivia/Giles
(Repeat all five ad nauseum)

:-)

[deird1]

Totally. :)

[kerkevik_2014]

Of course, now that I think about it, I'm not at all sure what bodywapping is, but then I'm confused about a lot of things. Like How Far is New Zealand anyway? ;-)

[frayadjacent]

Season 4 is great! It's not my favorite, but it's definitely up there. Adam is a disappointing big bad, but I like most everything else. I totally agree re: transitions. Comparing everyone in Graduation Day to where they're at in Buffy vs Dracula shows how much they change that season, and it happens very naturally.

And so many fun and fabulous episodes!

(We're actually in the middle of S4 right now, having just watched Doomed.)

[jesuswasbatman]

One of the things I've noticed retrospectively is that both Buffy and Angel reach a point when the characters have largely dealt with their initial set of issues and are relatively functional, and then proceed to utterly crush them with new misfortune. For Buffy, that point is late S4 and early S5, until Joyce starts getting ill. (For Angel, it runs from when the others forgive Angel in late S2, until Wes starts falling apart in S3.)

[baudown]

While it's not my favorite season, it's a great season, for all the reasons you point out. Very underrated, in my opinion. Other than one fabulously awful episode, and one or two that are so-so, the vast majority of the season is not just good, but excellent. I mean, Hush, Restless, Something Blue, New Moon Rising, A New Man, This Year's Girl/Who Are You...and that's just off the top of my head!

[deird1]

Yay for season 4!

I saw someone a while ago point out that season 4 is rather essential – in that, for any other season, you could skip it and go straight from the season before to the season after, and you'd still be pretty up with events. Whereas, if you skip season 4? Willow is gay, Spike is a Scooby, and pretty much every character is doing markedly different things to what they were doing in season 3.

[deird1]

Mmm... good point...

[deird1]

Yes! It has some killer standalone eps.

[red_satin_doll]

(Repeat all five ad nauseum)

Oh yes please DO!

Season 4 is so terribly underrated.

[red_satin_doll]

I saw someone a while ago point out that season 4 is rather essential – in that, for any other season, you could skip it and go straight from the season before to the season after, and you'd still be pretty up with events. Whereas, if you skip season 4? Willow is gay, Spike is a Scooby, and pretty much every character is doing markedly different things to what they were doing in season 3.

Everything you said about S4 as the transitional season is spot-on; or at least that's how I always think of it, "the bridge season" between the two mini arcs of 1-3 and 5-7. It is essential, and if you weren't paying attention you'll miss a lot. I was surprised when I rewatched the very first ep, the Freshman, that Giles pushes Buffy away (I'm not your Watcher anymore); of course he comes running back but it started there, it didn't just happen out of the blue.

And WAY (I just left a comment on your day 2 post) foreshadows pretty much the entirety of Buffy's S6 arc, and the direction Spuffy will take. It's a funny season but I love the dark undercurrents still running beneath it.

And - TARA! CAVE BUFFY! What is not to love?