Go, then. There are other worlds than these.

Day 10: Favorite Slayer

Okay, since this question has a pretty obvious answer and I already chose Buffy for favorite female character, in the interest of fairness I’ll call this one “favorite Slayer other than Buffy.” Which is obviously Faith.

Some good characters have a downward spiral into darkness, which is interesting to watch. Some evil characters have a journey of redemption, which is also interesting. Faith has both, which makes her absolutely fascinating. Plus, good or evil, she’s a great foil for Buffy and just brings a really fun energy to every scene. I wish she had become a main character on Angel. And yes, I’m still waiting for the Faith the Vampire Slayer spinoff. 

Day 09: Favorite Scene/Moment of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog

I have many favorite scenes/moments of Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, but the first one that comes to mind is the end of “A Man’s Gotta Do” when Billy, Captain Hammer, and Penny are all singing at the same time. I just love the way the lyrics line up and overlap. And it’s really fun to sing.

Day 08: Favorite Episode of Dollhouse

I haven’t watched all the way through Dollhouse in a while (a month or two; for me that’s a while) but off the top of my head I’d say The Left Hand. It was really cool to see a different Dollhouse sort of pitted against the one we know. Plus, Bennett’s first real appearance, and most importantly, Victor as Topher.

Pure gold.

Also: Echoes, Briar Rose, Epitaph One, Belonging, The Attic, Epitaph Two: Return

Day 07: Favorite Episode of Firefly

This was a really tough one (I guess I can stop saying that because it applies to every day of this thing) but in the end I had to go with Jaynestown. It’s got the Hero of Canton song, the River-fixing-the-Bible scene, and so on.

But my favorite part of the episode is that every single subplot can be tied together with the same theme: symbols. This episode explores how symbols are technically meaningless and really only have meaning because people believe they do. It’s a cool message, and all of the different ways in which the episode approaches it (Jayne’s heroism, Book’s Bible, Fess’ virginity, Simon’s manners) are all really fun to watch.

Also: Serenity, War Stories, Objects in Space

Day 06: Favorite Episode of Angel

In a nice contrast from my answer to yesterday’s question, Spin the Bottle is an episode that’s just plain fun. It’s one of the best examples of Joss’ witty dialogue, and all the actors get to show off their comedic sides. It also reminds you how much the characters have grown and changed since they started out, which is impressive all over again. Every show should have an episode like this.

Also: Hero, Guise Will Be Guise, Reunion, Lullaby, Waiting in the Wings, Sleep Tight, Orpheus, Life of the Party, You’re Welcome, Smile Time, A Hole in the World, Not Fade Away

Day 05: Favorite Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I feel a little weird choosing The Body for this because so many of the things that make Buffy Buffy are so strikingly absent from this episode. But that’s also one of the things that makes it stand out in my mind.

I went through the entire series of Buffy pretty quickly on Netflix, and I’m pretty sure The Body was the only time I watched only one episode in a single day. Usually if I was sitting down to watch some Buffy I was gonna do at least two or three. But this was the only episode that I watched on its own. I knew I needed to take a break after this one, because I was still trying to absorb it all. If I’d watched the next episode right away I wouldn’t have been able to focus on it. That’s why, even though Hush or Once More With Feeling (probably the two biggest contenders for this category) are more Buffy-esque favorite Buffy episodes, I’m choosing The Body.

Also: Innocence, Passion, Becoming, Doppelgangland, Graduation Day, Hush, Restless, The Gift, Once More With Feeling, Conversations With Dead People, Chosen 

^And that’s narrowing down the list a lot.

Day 04: Favorite Non-Human Character

Lorne is a brilliantly bizarre concept for a character. But in the brilliantly bizarre world of Buffy and Angel, it works. He’s immediately lovable and gets some of the best lines in the show. And his endless nicknames for Angel never get old.

Also: Illyria

Even though she was only on the show for seven episodes, she made an impression. She was a fascinating addition to the team (even though I’m bitter about how she was added to the team) and I wish we could have seen another season or two of her because I bet it would have been awesome. Plus Amy Acker is amazing.

Day 03: Favorite (Human) Male Character

THESE DECISIONS ARE KILLING ME.

Wesley kind of came out of nowhere as one of the best characters on Angel. This guy is the definition of character development. He goes from goofy comic relief guy to reluctant leader to confident leader to tortured betrayer to cold loner to cold team member to comfortable team member to tragic lost soul to martyr. AND HE STARTED OUT AS GOOFY COMIC RELIEF GUY.

Plus no one could dive sideways while firing dual pistols quite like him.

Also: Mal, Oz, Giles, Gunn, Topher, Book, Dr. Horrible, Andrew

Day 02: Favorite (Human) Female Character

(I’m doing the first four days today to catch up with Cory.)

Oops, same answer as Day 01. Don’t even care.

I’m not even sure how to explain/justify this one. I could talk about how she’s designed as the reversal of the blonde girl who gets killed in the dark alley trope. Or how she’s a quote strong female character unquote without sacrificing her femininity. How she’s basically just a kid who, like every great superhero, not only accepted her destiny but kicked ass at it.

She saved the world. A lot.

Also: Fred, River, Adelle, Willow, Tara, Faith

Day 01: Favorite Whedon Show

You have no idea how difficult it is for me to choose only one show here, but since I can only pick one, I think I’m gonna have to say Buffy. Which may not be entirely fair, since it’s also the longest-running Whedon show (there’s more to love) but there it is.

It just covered so many genres, so many issues. It had all those “special” episodes like Hush and Once More With Feeling that showed real creativity and ingenuity. And like with all Whedon shows the characters feel real and alive. He does that really sneaky thing where there’s really dramatic character development but you don’t even notice because it feels so natural. 

Again I’m kind of describing all of Whedon’s shows here, but if I’m choosing the one that I think is the most powerful, the most inspiring, it’s Buffy.