ANOMALY //>

The BUFFY Top 20! Part 1
After 15 years of watching Buffy episodes over and over again, i had a fair idea as to what would make my top 10. My top 20 however took a bit more thought. I could swap a few episodes here and there with others that didn't make the list, but overall i'd say this is pretty much the definitive top 20 for me.
Naturally, fans will agree and disagree with a few of my choices. I could have easily made my list based on the biggest and most popular fan favourites that are always picked, however, my selection process was a little broader. Here's part 1, episodes 20-11...

20 Passion [Season 2]

As Jenny Calendar tries to find a solution to restoring Angels soul, Angel begins sending cryptic messages to Buffy and the gang via dead fish [Willow] and drawings during sleep time [Buffy]. Eventually Angel comes head to head with Jenny, and kills her. Well......he snaps her neck to be more precise, and i'll always remember it as the first genuine shock of the series, completely unexpected and proof for the first time that no one was safe, even if you're part of the Scooby Gang.

19 Chosen [Season 7]

I still think it should have been a feature length finale, but as a final episode it still delivers the goods. After living for 7 years with these characters, there's nothing more satisfying than seeing them finally close the Sunnydale Hellmouth for good in the last ever episode of the series.

18 Grave [Season 6]

Season 6 comes to a massive finish when an evil and heartbroken Willow tries to take down the entire planet after her girlfriend [Tara] is killed. The episodes final scene between Willow and Xander is one of the most touching moments from the series.

17 Storyteller [Season 7]

Ex-villain and geek supreme, Andrew, is held captive in the Buffy house. To pass his time, he records a day in the life of the Scooby Gang with a hand held camera. The slow motion kitchen scene is a highlight.

16 Who Are You? [Season 4]

The return of Faith in season 4 was a big one! Just when you thought she may redeem herself after the events of season 3, she comes rampaging back into Buffy's life, swaps bodies with her and causes yet another mess. It only gets worse once she makes her way to Angel in L.A for another double episode in his series where she really loses it.

15 Double Meat Palace [Season 6]

This gets hated on by a lot by fans, i'm not sure why. I've always found Buffy's attempt at an everyday dead end fast food job kinda hilarious. The weird staff, Spike ordering a meal, the constant state of depression Buffy is in ect. Sure the monster at the end is a bit silly, but it all adds to the weird vibe of the whole episode.

14 Lie To Me [Season 2]

Ever notice how the Joss directed episodes were the best ones? this was a great change of pace for the series at the time, showcasing a different perspective of why someone would actually choose to become a vampire.

13 Once More With Feeling... [Season 6]

A demon turns the entire town of Sunnydale into a singing and dancing cast from a musical. The Scooby Gang try to restore the town back to normal all while breaking out into random outbursts of song and dance.
Joss Whedon's dream to write a musical comes true with original songs and real singing from each of the cast members. There's actually some really great tracks in the episode and it's the weirdest you'll ever see the characters in the series.

12 Dopplegangland [Season 3]

Anya tries to regain her powers while accidentally bringing in a vampire version of Willow from an alternate reality into the "real" world. Willow as an evil vampire is a lot of fun to watch, especially when she's so out of place with the rest of the confused cast.
Willow's comment about her vampire alter-ego being "gay" was also a funny hint at what was to come of Willow in season 4.

11 Ted [Season 2]

Forget the awkward robot episode from season 1 [I, Robot...You, Jane], in season 2 of Buffy, the writers created a much more entertaining way for Buffy to come head to head with a robot in the evil form of Buffy's Mom's new boyfriends, Ted [played by John Ritter].
Sarah and John play opposite each other perfectly, it's very tense between their characters. John's guest appearance was the best one the series ever had.

Part 2 next week!...