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Buffy Re-Watch, Anyone?

Are you ready to re-visit Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Or have you always meant to give the show a try, but were waiting for the right moment?

Now is the time!

Buffy is my favorite TV show, ever. When it started back in March 1997 as a mid-season replacement, I watched it, not that faithfully and missing an episode here and there. In the middle of season two, the Angel arc just blew me away and I became a huge fan. By season three, I was totally obsessed and began reviewing each episode for a small group of online friends. Eventually, my reviews were posted on several websites and boards, nearly all of which are now in Internet heaven.

All this is a roundabout way of saying that when I finally re-posted the reviews here on my own site, they'd been read quite a bit but didn't contain many comments. And yet, they rank pretty high in search engines and we get a decent number of hits, month after month. Buffy is the first show I ever reviewed. This site probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for Buffy.

People are still discovering Buffy, especially now that the show's creator, Joss Whedon, has become the hottest movie director in the freaking world. New Buffy fans are looking for a place online to talk about it. I'd love it so much if one of those places was right here on the Doux. I'm hoping that this re-watch will generate lots of comments and discussion, which will make our Buffy reviews more enjoyable for past and future fans.

So here are the details!

1. Our Buffy Re-Watch begins May 2 with "Welcome to the Hellmouth". We'll do a new episode every other day. We'll keep going as long as there's interest, hopefully until the end. (If we get to season four, we'll discuss how to handle Angel.) :)

2. There is now a box on the top left of the site labeled BUFFY RE-WATCH. A link to the episode we're currently watching and discussing will be posted there. I'll change the link on even-numbered days, early in the morning (California time).

3. Discussion will take place in the comments section of my existing episode review. Post a brief comment, a review-length comment (have you ever wanted to review Buffy? Go for it!), your rating for each episode, or just join in the conversation. Anything goes! With one exception. And that's...

4. No spoilers for future episodes! This is our standing policy on Doux Reviews, no matter how long ago the show originally aired. That way, if you're new to Buffy, you can participate in the Re-Watch without getting spoiled. And I hope you will.

5. However! If you would like to talk spoilers and foreshadowing, and wow, is there a lot of foreshadowing on Buffy, there will be a place for you to do exactly that.

I'll start us off with a comment on the review starting with the words "BUFFY RE-WATCH". (Although anyone can post a comment on any review of any show on the site at any time. Did you know we have over 4,000 reviews on Doux Reviews now?) If you don't start the Re-Watch with us on May 2, feel free to join in later. The reviews will still be here. We're not going anywhere.

At least five of our site writers have promised to participate in the Re-Watch, post comments and join in discussion. This could be a lot of fun. (It could also fizzle out. And if it does, if we can't generate interest, we'll just stop.)

So who wants to participate? Are you ready to return to Sunnydale High?

P.S. PLEASE tweet this or like it on Facebook, or both!

(Thanks so very much to Austin, who suggested this Re-Watch.)

65 comments:

  1. Yippee! What a great excuse. Just wondering, how many times have people been through the entire series? This will be my fourth.

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  2. I honestly have no idea! When I became obsessed, I started recording the episodes and watched them over and over again. They wouldn't count. But beginning to end as a re-watch? Five times, maybe?

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  3. I think I've only watched the entire series twice through. Once when it originally aired (sort of --- I didn't start watching until the end of S2, and later got caught up with the early stuff when they started doing reruns on FX), and then once through with my husband. However, I have seen many of the episodes multiple times, and I've followed along with some classic reviews for various parts of the series on other sites. So I sort of feel like I've watched it many times over now. :)

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  4. ok ok ok

    I'm (re) taking the plunge !

    I'll have to endure the 4:3 screen ratio but heck ! I'm in !

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  5. I'll definitely participate. I love Buffy. I think I've watched through it about three times all together. I know I've seen the first few seasons more than that though.

    Can't wait to get started.

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  6. I’m in! Buffy is all time favorite of mine. I first watched Buffy in a funny order: season 2 through 5, then season 1 and then 6 and 7. And then when my partner started watching I naturally watched with him. So from beginning to end only twice, but I like to come back from time to time to my favorite episodes in no particular order, so some of them like “Passion” or “Something blue” or “Fool for love” or many more I’ve seen tons of times.
    Every other day might be a bit fast pace for me but I will try to participate….

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  7. I'm so glad my suggestion has been so passionately embraced! I really can't wait to engage in some good Buffy discussion. Season 4 will be a little tough for me but I will power through :)

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  8. I"m excited and will participate! I can't wait. I've wanted a good excuse to re-watch the series but only watched it once about five years ago when I finally gave it a try because of Billie's eternal love for the show.

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  9. Woo hoo!! So excited for this. BtVS is my favorite TV show of all time. No question. Although I only started watching the show because of Angel. Yes, I watched Angel but not Buffy for a while. Weird, right?

    Chris - I've been through the whole thing at least a dozen times, but there are episodes I've seen much more than that. (Once More with Feeling comes to mind...)

    Austin - Your suggestion was fabulous. P.S. I'm not season 4's biggest fan either. Riley. Ugh.

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  10. I haven't watch a single episode from season 1 since they first aired here in the UK so I am on board for this.

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  11. "Once More With Feeling" doesn't count. I have seen that episode so many times I can sing almost the whole thing.

    This is going to be fun!

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  12. Its a shame we're spread across the globe, otherwise we could get together and have a drunken Once More with Feeling karaoke night.

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  13. Chris - you can "almost" sing the whole thing? Amateur. :P

    Mark - I used to have those with my friends. More often than I'd admit to...

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  14. I trump your knowing the whole thing and I raise.

    I made an audio tape of the entire episode and played it repeatedly until it nearly wore out. Then I bought the CD soundtrack at Tower Records the day it was released, waiting in line for hours to get it signed by Joss Whedon, Amber Benson, and Michelle Tractenberg. And I watched James Marsters perform "Rest in Peace" live at a club in Santa Monica a few weeks before the episode aired.

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  15. Billie wins!

    Just so all of you know, for the past hour, I've had "What can't we face if we're together..." stuck in my head. All together now, "there's nothing we can't face... except for bunnies."

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  16. Hooray! A Buffy re-watch!!! Of course I'm in. I actually started last week to re-watch the series for the eighth time. Guess, I have to cool myself and slow down so that I'm in tune with all you guys...

    The last three times I've seen Buffy, I've included the whole Angel series and watched it "in the way things happen". I strongly recommend this when we come to season four of Buffy. Some stories (especially Faith's) become so much heavier when you have the conclusion on the "other" show. And I love all the small comments made in each show which is a reference to the other...

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  17. Billie DEFINITELY wins! "Going through the Motions" came up on my phone last time I was at the gym and I listened to the entire soundtrack mouthing along the entire time. I love the soundtrack so much. I swear it was the only thing that got me through sophomore year of college.

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  18. I started my own marathon a few days ago and I've been using this site to debrief after each episode. Can't wait to go back and read the new comments for each review. I might even add a few of my own :)

    Thanks heaps for all the site reviews btw! I've been frequenting the site since Billie began posting her Lost reviews here instead of the very crappy tv.com. All the reviews add to the viewing experience so thanks a lot guys!

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  19. Count me in too! Foolishly, I never watched the show when it aired despite recommendations because the name didn't appeal to me and my husband. I was also turned off by the bad reviews the movie had gotten. Then we watched Firefly after a friend recommended it, and our love for all things Whedon began in earnest. I have since watched Buffy and Angel twice each (and more times for some of my favorite episodes). I love them both and Buffy is definitely my favorite show of all time. I am excited about the rewatch since I have often read your excellent Buffy reviews Billie, but I have always wished I could have read more comments after them. It will be to have that chance and to comment, too.

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  20. Just because I love the piano.....

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQEqkaIOif8

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  21. I've never actually seen the series but have wanted to since all of you love it so much, so count me in:) I'm going to be a little late to the game though because exactly one week after you start I finish grad school!!! (can you tell I'm a little excited?) Then I'll join right in...I can't wait.

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  22. At least two newbies, then, Celticmarc and a.m.! We'll give you lots of encouragement to hang in through the first season and a half. The early episodes have their points, but Buffy took awhile to rev up.

    Congrats on finishing grad school, a.m.! I remember how freaking wonderful I felt when I finished. There's nothing quite like it.

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  23. Thanks, Billie! This will be my second time "finishing" grad school and with the way the education field keeps changing, probably not my last. But I've been working and going to school part time straight through since September 2011 and I can't wait for a break! A good Buffy series binge watch is probably just what I need!

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  24. Brilliant idea, I'm in.

    I tend to rewatch Buffy once a year anyway so this fits in with that.

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  25. Noooooo!!! I had other TV plans in store for this summer!!! They're all up in smoke now, Buffy trumps them all! :p

    I think I've seen the series straight through 4-5 times (lost count), and I always segue into Angel when I hit season 4. Swapping out discs was a drag, so I'd watch a whole disc of Buffy then a whole disc of Angel.

    "I touch the fire and it freezes me..." :p

    I have a crazy idea: how about we go crazy and film ourselves singing playback on the songs from OMWF and then weave them together with the original music? We did that recently with some friends for a wedding (with a crazy French song), and the result was fabulous fun! ;o)

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  26. Your BUFFY reviews are what lead me to your site. Some may think that's a bad thing, but I believe it's a good thing, since your reviews and the reviews of your collaborators opened my eyes to things I missed on a lot of the shows I've watched along with you all.

    BUFFY is my #2 favorite TV series of all time. (The original DARK SHADOWS is #1.) I've watched the whole series at least half a dozen times. I should have kept count.

    Like DARK SHADOWS, I never tire of BUFFY. When I'm cranky, I put one or the other on, watch a favorite episode or arc and forget all my troubles and problems.

    With BUFFY (and LOST), I would re-watch the previous season(s) in August and September in anticipation of the next season stating. By the 6th and 7th seasons, I was re-watching all the previous seasons (and fast-forwarding through bits I didn't like).

    I haven't re-watched the whole series in order since I first bought all the DVDs early 2006. I've watched and re-watched them all on DVD, but I watch them in order of favorite seasons (or arcs, like I mentioned above). (I've also watched BUFFY on LOGO.) So I tend to watch them in this order: S5, S2, S7, S6, S4, S1 and S3.

    This will be my excuse to finally re-watch in order.

    I still have my VHS tapes of all the episodes, so I may watch them on VHS, since I love all the old promos that ran, particularly during season two when they shifted from Monday to Tuesday.

    I watched the summer repeat of season four (not my VHS copies) in 2000 just so I could record the series of promos that lead to BUFFY VS. DRACULA (one of my top five favorite episodes).

    I'm excited for this!!! I added "BUFFY Re-Watch" to my iCal, so I can jot down my thoughts for each episode.

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  27. I originally discovered Buffy on Billie Doux. Don't know where I was when it originally aired, I think in a mining town in Western Australia having kids, anyway have watched it all once. Am looking forward to joining in the discussions and the Re-watch. Should be fun, especially as we are coming into winter so lots of cold wet days to use as an excuse to sit inside and watch TV.

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  28. OMG ! I'm going to call you people "buffers" (a) (it's a compliment, yes) ! And I thought "I" was "intense" when love for a TV show was concerned ! Oh my ! (probably the BEST of what insanity has to offer !)

    Billie, have any idea how we'll proceed ? A show a day ? Or something else ? OF COURSE, just like Lost (although I started at the end of S1) I will watch AND take notes as well. (and yes, I will re watch the first half of the pilot; no need to botch here.....)


    (a) doux buffers ?
    billie buffers ?
    bill buffies ???
    SDDB ? super duper doux buffers ?

    (yes, we have to start a club or something)

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  29. celticmarc, I know Buffy may seem like a fluffy teenage vampire show on the outside, but it eventually becomes something special. There were zillions of Buffy sites when it was running, and huge fan clubs. Even so, it's not for everyone. Some people can't stand it. And if that's you, really, I'll understand. :)

    We're going to start with part one of the pilot on May 2. As I said in the post, I'll put a link to the review we're doing at the top left of the site. (I'm also going to tweet it and post it on Facebook.) On May 4, I'll put up the second ep, and so on. And we'll see how it goes. Although the response here has assured me that we might actually be able to do this!

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  30. Billie,

    no matter what, I'll take the plunge and endure. After all, it's a Jess Whedon baby. Who knows, I might become a specialist of what's his name victory dance ?

    Don't take this personally, but no facebook for me, or at least, on a very minute amount. And I only follow Katee Sachkoff's tweets.

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  31. Hell yeah!

    Apart from "Dead Like Me", I don't think there is any show that even comes close to BtVS!

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  32. Dead Like Me

    I've said if often, brilliant show. Only two (too short) seasons and a direct to DVD movie (shot in Montreal)

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  33. So exciting! I discovered Buffy about a year ago, and have been reading (and loving) the reviews on here for a while too. Yes. Yes yes yes! Now to get some of my stubborn friends to finally watch it...

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  34. I'm in!

    Buffy is my all time favorite show, and it helped me through a very, very sad period of my life.

    I don't know how many times I have watched it all the way through, but more than I would admit to most people. I am excited to do it again! This time, I won't even skip "Inca Mummy Girl".

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  35. I'm so glad you are doing this! Because of my Firefly adoration, I tried to watch Buffy a while back but I only got a few episodes in. I'd been toying with trying to cherry pick some of the most popular episodes to see if I could rev up my interest, but it will be even better to watch and discuss with people who are veteran viewers as well as newbies.

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  36. I actually just started re-watching! I am so excited that there are other people who are still interested in this show like I am. This is my favorite show of ALL TIME. Followed of course by Angel. I own every original box set, and every new box set. This will be probably my tenth time re-starting the series. I hope there is enough interest to continue this! Thanks for giving us Buffy fans a place to talk!

    ~Shelby

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  37. P.S. I can't wait to sing along to "Once More With Feeling" I have probably watched that episode at least 20 times!

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  38. This is going to be so much fun. But I will have trouble not skipping "Beer Bad", or "Episode Bad" which Billie originally called it.

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  39. I am so thrilled at the response to this Initiative :). As long as people keep participating, I'm committed for the long haul.

    TJ, I'm sure there are a number of fans who know the show so well that they can contribute to the discussion without actually rewatching a few of the stinkers. "I Robot, You Jane," I'm talking to you.

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  40. Billie,

    I've put 100 % of my cd's in boxes; 99.5 % of my DVD's as well. The Buffy set......is unpacked. Talk about commitment !

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  41. I'm in, too! This is going to be fun.

    I've only watched the entire show once, even if there's some episodes I've seen... er, let's just say more than once, because saying anything different could be embarrasing. It'll be cool to watch and share!

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  42. Count me in! I never watched Buffy before... mostly because I was very young when it aired and the whole vampire thing freak me out. But Billie ALWAYS talks about how great of a show is and now I´m finally curious and ready :)

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  43. So perfect that The Big Bang Theory featured Buffy the Vampire Slayer this week, right before our rewatch!

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  44. Katie, I just finished watching it a minute ago and I laughed like a loon. It was perfect. And I loved what they said about Alphas and Heroes.

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  45. It's a rare show that makes me laugh out loud quite as much as I do watching Big Bang Theory. This one had me holding my sides, probably because I have been in Leonard's shoes desperately trying to convince someone how good Buffy is. At least here, you are all already convinced. :-)

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  46. Just a note, Buffy is available within Amazon prime and Hulu Plus subscriptions.

    Vudu pay per episode ?

    Netflix unknown.

    boxed sets are also available from Amazon, used, starting at $78.42

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B0046XG48O/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used


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  47. This is such a great idea! I just stumbled over this post and it made me smile so much. I love Buffy and even though there are other shows I totally adore and sometimes go quite a while without watching a single episode of Buffy, it's still my favourite show, ever. It's a little bit like home, it all (= my passionate love for tv shows) began with Buffy. I've been through the entire series about 8? 9? 10? times but of course have watched some episodes countless times (don't want to mention the bordering on if not being perfect Once more with feeling again but...). Actually, I started a rewatch few months ago but somehow stopped in season 4 (that one is always a bit difficult to get through for me). Maybe I'll make it with you guys.

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  48. FYI -- all seven seasons are available to stream through Netflix.

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  49. Argh I am late but my DH and I are definitely IN! We'll start with the first two episodes tonight (May 8), two more tomorrow, and will be caught up by Friday!

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  50. I admit that with each re-watching (and we're still in season 2(!)), my fondness for these characters grow all the time. I am now madly in love with Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordy, Giles and even principal Snyder (not enough screen time: Armin Shimerman shines). And let's add up Buffy's mom and Jenny. Angel ? I like him. I prefer Spike; still not feeling anything for Drusilla though...

    Although it (yet, who knows?) doesn't have the same impact on me that Lost did last year, it is still a very enjoyable watching experience. OH ! And the banter, the wit, sublime !

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  51. OMG !!!

    I am re-reading some of your comments people and you are really, REALLY passionate and it shows !!! Woah !

    I am so glad that we're having this re-watch; also so glad that I'm NOT the only one who's intensely passionate. Yes, this is a GOOD thing !!

    Darn, I've been know on the Web as celticmarc since '96: too late now to change that to buffmarc.....

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  52. So glad you're liking it Marc! It only gets better. There's more Snyder in season 3. Angel is, thus far, fairly boring. Honestly, I like Angel on his own show more than Angel on BtVS. He gets to do so much more.

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  53. Ditto for Angel sunbunny.

    Angel re-watch after Buffy's ??

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  54. When Angel starts up, I suggest we interleave the Angel episodes with the Buffy episodes as they were intended. Either leave Buffy every other day and put Angel in the day in between, or do Angel and Buffy back-to-back the same day like live viewers did. (That's a lot of watching. I hope I can keep up.)

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  55. Since it looks like we have enough participants and will get to season four, we'll definitely post the corresponding Angel episode with, or after, the Buffy episode. Doing two episodes every other day might be too much, though -- that's an average of one ep a day. We might want to switch to, say, once or twice a week?

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  56. Because I am sad and slightly OCD, I looked at a calendar. Not Jenny, the one with dates.

    Anyway, we will get to the end of Season Three on the 22nd of August. If the networks do this year what they did last, some shows will premiere around that time and many of us will become caught up in the fall season. My concern is that, if we try to schedule too many, we will all fall behind.

    My thought is to keep the even dates, but alternate shows. So, the 24th of August would be Buffy, the 26th would be Angel, the 28th would be Buffy again, etc. Thoughts?

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  57. I've just talked to Jenny : she's not offended. She also said she wished she had a different name though; it was hard for her sometimes during school.

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  58. Chris and celticmarc, I think keeping it on even-numbered days but alternating Buffy and Angel sounds like the way to go. We won't lose momentum that way, even when it starts going nuts again. The two shows stay in sync for quite awhile, too, with cross-overs and two parters; they only get out of sync in Buffy 7 and Angel 4. If and when we finish the final season of Angel, we could talk about other rewatch projects, too. But that's a long way off.

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  59. Hey, guys -- if you haven't been keeping up with the rewatch, we just reached "Restless" and "To Shanshu in L.A." so we're heading into Buffy season five and Angel season two. Stop by and post a comment!

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  60. Buffy is so awesome. I rennet the promos when it originally aired. Chills! So thankful I stumbled on the show the day it premiered. So well written!

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  61. I'm considering recommencing the rewatch in June --

    http://www.douxreviews.com/2014/05/about-buffy-rewatch.html

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