The Buffy/Angelverse In Significantly Fewer Episodes

I'm the midst of coming up with a Stargate In Significantly Fewer Seasons. But, much like when I did Star Trek In Significantly Fewer Seasons, my unfamiliarity with the series makes creating anedited season challenging, as I have to watch every episode before I can figure out a good bar for quality. I wished there was a series that I was more of an expert in, whose entire run I had seen at least two or three times alr...Buffy!

There are 254 episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I have whittled it down to the 80 best. Buffy and Angel seasons each tended to be defined by a Big  Bad, where each season had one main enemy. I've ditched that, and tried to end each season on the series' biggest emotional beats.

Season One introduces us to "The Scoobies": Buffy and the friends who surround her and help her fight vampires and demons. 

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Season One:
Harvest

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Episode 1: The Chosen One
Buffy, Merrick, Amilyn, Lothos, Pike

Much like the Stargate continuity, we start with a movie that features none of the actors from the tv series, but a fun background to the series featuring over-the-top acting. In this case, we get Dylan from 90210 (or Archie's dad from Riverdale, if you prefer) vs. Pee-Wee Herman, and one of the most epic death scenes ever. Buffy is just your average high school cheerleader who is born to fight vampires and demons with the assistance of her watcher, Merrick.   (90 minutes)


Episode 2: Harvest
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Harmony, The Master, Darla, Collin

After the ending of the movie, Buffy Summers moves to Sunnydale, where, unfortunately, there are loads of vampires attracted to the town due to something called The Hellmouth. After meeting her new watcher, Giles, and accruing some friends, Buffy learns of a very old vampire called The Master, who intends to open a portal and unleash Hell on Earth.


Episode 3: Angel
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, The Master, Darla, Collin

Three vampire warriors are sent by The Master to take vengeance on Buffy by targeting her family and friends, and framing Angel. Giles learns that Angel is, in fact, a Very Bad Vampire.


Episode 4: Nightmares
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Hank, The Master, Collin

Each member of The Scoobies is confronted by their worst fear, as Buffy has its very own Nightmare On Elm Street episode.
 

Episode 5: Prophecy Girl
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, The Master, Collin

According to an ancient prophecy that Giles discovers, The Master's plan to open a portal and destroy Sunnydale will fail. Unfortunately, the prophecy states that the, for The Master's plan to fail, Buffy must die.


Episode 6: School Hard
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Snyder, Spike, Drusilla, Collin

The Scoobies have a big problem. Two new badass vampires have come to town to fill the void left by The Master. They, too, have big ties to Angel. Unfortunately, Principal Snyder thwarts Buffy's plans to go out slaying.


Episode 7: Halloween
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Oz, Larry, Snyder, Spike, Drusilla, Ethan Rayne

It's time for Giles's past to bite everyone's bottoms, as one of his old friends moves to town and opens a costume store just in time for Halloween. When his costumes transform the people wearing them, it's up to the non-Trick-or-Treat crowd to try and save the day.


Episode 8: What's My Line
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Kendra, Oz, Jonathan, Larry, Spike, Drusilla

When a slayer dies, a replacement is sent to carry on the legacy. So when Buffy briefly died in "Prophecy Girl", Kendra The Vampire Slayer was called to Sunnydale. While two slayers seems nice, in theory, Kendra's approach and her unfamiliarity with the way The Scoobies operate threaten to destroy the status quo.


Episode 9: Surprise/Innocence
Buffy, Angel, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Spike, Drusilla

For her 17th birthday, Spike and Drusilla have hired The Judge to dispose of her, her friends, and her family once and for all. To celebrate everything going right in the end, she and Angel decide to become intimate, which, unfortunately, makes everything Go Wrong.


Episode 10: Bewitched, Bothered, & Bewildered/Passion
Buffy, Angelus, Giles, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, Oz, Joyce, Jenny Calendar, Harmony, Spike, Drusilla

We end the season with looooooooooove, as Xander decides to get back at Cordelia by having a witch cast a spell to make Cordelia love him. It goes....awry. Then Giles and Jenny Calendar make romantic plans now that Jenny has figured out a way to restore Angelus's soul. But...uhhh...that goes awryer.