New Here, And New to Buffy!

CrypticMystic

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Joined
Nov 30, 2025
Messages
175
Age
42
Location
Virginia Beach
Hello!
I admit, that I am 41 - yes FORTY ONE and finally gave Buffy a shot. I admit I thought it was probably gonna be cheesy back when it was on, so I didn't give it the chance it deserved.

What got me to finally watch it was a HEFTY dose of nostalgia, missing my teen years, and... James Marsters lol. He does the narration for the Dresden Files audiobooks and I was very impressed with his gravitas and acting ability.

I came into Buffy thinking it was gonna be all campy and cheesy teen supernatural drama. So far I've gotten feels trips I didn't sign up for, emotionally intelligent writing, acting that's better than 99% of the stuff today in 2025 and a serious attraction to not one but TWO complex and hot vampires and I'm only midway through season three. Dang, this show is awesome and I'm kicking myself for not getting into it sooner!!!
 
burrunjor
burrunjor
Always wonderful to see a new fan.
Welcome CrypticMystic,
welcome to the land inhabited by us lovers of all things Buffy AND YES, even Xander!
Now that is over with ~ were you disappointed it wasn't all campy and cheesy, please don't kick yourself as you still have a long way to go. However if you wish you had got into Buffy much sooner, the Black Thorn dungeon may have an opening for you.
 
Welcome 🙂 Have you finished watching the series?
Would love to hear your thoughts on the show, its not often we get newbies! You're around my age, so hearing what you think of episodes from this angle, rather than growing up with the show would be super interesting! There are individual episode threads to post in, or if you have something specific to discuss, feel free to open new threads 🙂

Hope you have a fun time here.
 
ILLYRIAN
ILLYRIAN
confused, how many newbies have there been who didn't like the series?
Welcome CrypticMystic,
welcome to the land inhabited by us lovers of all things Buffy AND YES, even Xander!
Now that is over with ~ were you disappointed it wasn't all campy and cheesy, please don't kick yourself as you still have a long way to go. However if you wish you had got into Buffy much sooner, the Black Thorn dungeon may have an opening for you.
Oh no I wasn't disappointed at ALL. I just had a very wrong opinion based on seeing very little of it back in the day - I've honestly been super impressed with the show and the acting. I really love that dark tonal shift, and the fact there's still comedic moments 🙂
 
fauxindigo
fauxindigo
I love season 3 so much, it's the perfect season to me.
Welcome to the forum! The "Buffy" name has probably caused a number of people to write this off as teen angst, but the writing, particularly in Seasons 2 and 3 is among the best to appear in television. As fan forums go, this is intelligent and civil, something you can't always say about other fan forums and it is the reason I have been here since 2012.
 
ILLYRIAN
ILLYRIAN
So that is the reason you've been here!
Welcome 🙂 Have you finished watching the series?
Would love to hear your thoughts on the show, its not often we get newbies! You're around my age, so hearing what you think of episodes from this angle, rather than growing up with the show would be super interesting! There are individual episode threads to post in, or if you have something specific to discuss, feel free to open new threads 🙂

Hope you have a fun time here.
Hello! Glad to meet ya! 😀
I am currently closing in on the end of the third season right now! I've even gotten my husband to sit and watch a few with me, too. I'm very much enjoying things! There's some incredible storytelling.
My little ADHD heart leaps for joy lol!
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Have you finished the whole series? If not, be very careful here as it's hard to avoid spoilers.

Welcome to the forum! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.
Thank you for the welcome. I have not finished, but it's hard to avoid spoilers, so I don't get mad. Heck, I've had a few things spoiled just scrolling Tumblr. It happens! 🙂
 
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Hello! Glad to meet ya! 😀
I am currently closing in on the end of the third season right now! I've even gotten my husband to sit and watch a few with me, too. I'm very much enjoying things! There's some incredible storytelling.
My little ADHD heart leaps for joy lol!
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Thank you for the welcome. I have not finished, but it's hard to avoid spoilers, so I don't get mad. Heck, I've had a few things spoiled just scrolling Tumblr. It happens! 🙂
Welcome to Thunderdome--er, Buffy-Boards! (you'll get that reference later)

You should consider making a thread detailing your thoughts as you watch! I would love to hear from fresh eyes! You could post it in the "Inside Out" section, and we could interact as you watch it! It's not often we get new viewers who grew up contemporarily with the characters! I really want to see your comparison of teenage life portrayed in the show with your memories of high school. Younger viewers these days just don't get the parallels. Lol.

Where about are you from (country/state wise, you don't have to give out personally identifiable information if you don't feel led!) We have members from all over the world. I'm from Southeastern USA and am 35, so I graduated 10 years after Buffy, but watched the show as it aired. So I had way different expectations for high school life versus when I lived through it. 😅
 
Welcome to Thunderdome--er, Buffy-Boards! (you'll get that reference later)

You should consider making a thread detailing your thoughts as you watch! I would love to hear from fresh eyes! You could post it in the "Inside Out" section, and we could interact as you watch it! It's not often we get new viewers who grew up contemporarily with the characters! I really want to see your comparison of teenage life portrayed in the show with your memories of high school. Younger viewers these days just don't get the parallels. Lol.

Where about are you from (country/state wise, you don't have to give out personally identifiable information if you don't feel led!) We have members from all over the world. I'm from Southeastern USA and am 35, so I graduated 10 years after Buffy, but watched the show as it aired. So I had way different expectations for high school life versus when I lived through it. 😅
Hi! I might just do that. I watched Earshot today and that callback to Band Candy where Buffy realizes her mom and Giles... that had me laughing so hard I spit my coffee out lol.

I was a drama nerd and science fiction club VP in high school. I was also a late bloomer and didn't date. I was shy and a book nerd, and heck Willow is more of a rebel than I was at that age roflmao.

Joyce has like my mom's same hairstyle XD

I'm a little jealous of the fact the students get lockers in their school lol, mine had locker bays out in the quad.

And maaaaaaaaaan I loved the plot twist in Enemies - I was so mad with myself for not realizing they were playing Faith until I mentally replayed everything, haha. The writers don't lead you around by the nose, the realize you're smart enough to figure things out, which I love.

I'm in Virginia Beach 😀 Part of my morning ritual after seeing my eldest off to school, some cardio and putting the youngest down to nap is having breakfast and coffee while watching Buffy 🙂

It's funny, I was obsessed with Xena, but by the third season, it was already starting to go downhill, quality wise. Buffy so far has had even better writing.
 
fauxindigo
fauxindigo
the writing is amazing throughout!
Hi! I might just do that. I watched Earshot today and that callback to Band Candy where Buffy realizes her mom and Giles... that had me laughing so hard I spit my coffee out lol.
It definitely holds up in rewatches!
“You had SEX with Giles?!”
“On top of a police car???”
“TWICE?!”
Brilliant.

I was a drama nerd and science fiction club VP in high school. I was also a late bloomer and didn't date. I was shy and a book nerd, and heck Willow is more of a rebel than I was at that age roflmao.
I definitely came of age in college, so I can relate. I was posting here when I was in high school and some of those trips down memory lane… 😬
I'm a little jealous of the fact the students get lockers in their school lol, mine had locker bays out in the quad.
We didn’t even use the lockers in my school because our class changes were so short.

And maaaaaaaaaan I loved the plot twist in Enemies - I was so mad with myself for not realizing they were playing Faith until I mentally replayed everything, haha. The writers don't lead you around by the nose, the realize you're smart enough to figure things out, which I love.
The writers here definitely assumed teenagers (the demo) were intelligent. And that has kind of died off in a lot of young adult-oriented programming of the last 15 years. There are gems here and there, but I definitely agree that the writers of Buffy gave you crumbs to hook you.

I'm in Virginia Beach 😀 Part of my morning ritual after seeing my eldest off to school, some cardio and putting the youngest down to nap is having breakfast and coffee while watching Buffy 🙂
How wild to watch Buffy as an adult. I wish I could watch with fresh eyes!


It's funny, I was obsessed with Xena, but by the third season, it was already starting to go downhill, quality wise. Buffy so far has had even better writing.
I need to go back and watch Xena. It’s been so long, I actually could watch with fresh eyes!
 
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