Ideas for Buffy first-timers.

BananaBuffy

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Yes, I know there have been threads made for this kind of thing before but my Dad just sat down in front of me and said that he wants me to pick an episode/season for him to watch from Buffy. Believe it or not, he enjoys the Twilight series and figured that he would finally give Buffy a try with his two daughters 🙂

So, although you've all probably voiced your opinions before...I would like suggestions as to which season or episode I should start with. I don't want to be too spoiler-y so I want to start in one of the first seasons but I don't think I want to start with the FIRST season because my Dad isn't big on cheese. In fact, it really annoys him and I don't think he would continue to watch the show if I showed him the first season.

Please tell me your thoughts, I really want him to like it 😀
 
How concerned are you about spoilers, btw? If you care about them and you want your dad to enjoy the whole series relatively unspoiled, I'd say start off with something Season 1 or Season 2 ish. Angel, School Hard, Surprise/Innocence? Not too cheesy but all great early episodes!
 
My suggestion, though maybe a bit unorthodox, is to show him something really powerful--smack in the middle of the action, so he's immediately confused and intrigued at the same time. He'll want to A) see what happens next and B) see what happened before.

I say this because the way I got into the show was by catching the end of Grad Day Part 1 when it aired. For some reason I couldn't see the next part for quite a while and it was all I could think about. I saw Angel get shot with an arrow, Buffy frantically trying to hold him up, and Faith saying "meant to." I was hooked. Not only did I NEED to see what happened next, but I so badly wanted to know who these characters were, what their relationships were, and how they got to where they were.

You said your father doesn't like cheesy, so I would really hit him with something gut-wrenching. Don't worry about spoilers too much; there are plenty of episodes that are powerful that leave plenty of suspense and don't ruin much of anything in my opinion if there's no context surrounding it. I got my fiance into the show the same way, and it worked like a charm.

In my experience people are first drawn to the rich characters, then the unusual circumstances, and finally the specifics. When they start wanting more, they'll go back to the beginning and will tolerate the "campy-ness" of season 1.

Just my 2 cents!
 
How about Lie to Me, s2? Watching with your dad, he might like the father-daughter-like interaction between Giles & Buffy. Plus, it's a great ep.
 
I really want to say "The Body," since that is anything but cheese, but it's spoilerish (Joyce's death and all).

I think "School Hard" or "Hush" would be good choices. 🙂 Or, honestly, start at the very beginning with "Welcome to the Hellmouth." I didn't find too cheesy at all. It was the first episode I ever saw and it got me instantly hooked to the series.
 
I would suggest Halloween or Lie to me from season 2, and maybe Helpless, the wish, or earshot from season 3. In those series 3 ones in particular I think theres not too many spoilers, and there's a good combination of action and also a serious and intelligent storyline
 
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