The Ziggurat of Doom

Given the fact that many of us are Buffy fans, and that many of us would like to share the joy, but also considering that many Buffy episodes are crap, what follows is, by request, a list of episodes to watch, and episodes to avoid. Anything not on either list is take it or leave it - you won’t miss much by skipping it, but it probably has a few good lines, or at least one good scene that makes it worthwhile.

Not all of the eps on the first list are good, but those that aren’t are at least important to the ongoing plot. All of the second-list eps are, at best, terrible.

WATCH:
Season 1:
1×01/1×02: Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest
1×04: Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (note: Lame, but important)
1×05: The Pack
1×06: Angel
1×07: I Robot, You Jane
1×12: Prophecy Girl
Season 2:
2×01: When She Was Bad
2×03: School Hard
2×06: Halloween
2×07: Lie to Me
2×08: The Dark Age
2×09: What’s My Line, Part 1
2×10: What’s My Line, Part 2
2×13: Surprise
2×14: Innocence
2×15: Phases
2×17: Passions
2×21: Becoming, Part 1
2×22: Becoming, Part 2
Season 3:
Just watch the whole damn season, with a few exceptions, see below. Season 3 is prime Buffy goodness. (Edit: You can, and probably should, skip 3×02: Dead Man’s Party. It’s pretty weak.)
Season 4:
4×01: The pet supplements

Freshman
4×03: The Harsh Light of Day
4×06: Wild at Heart
4×07: The Initiative
4×09 (Something Blue) through 4×16 (Who Are You?)
4×19: New Moon Rising
4×20: The Yoko Factor
4×21: Primeval
4×22: Restless
Season 5:
5×01: Buffy vs. Dracula (this episode is infinately better than it should be)
Frankly, the rest of this season is okay at best, but very arc-heavy. Skip 5×09 (Listening to Fear) as mediocre, but everything else is important to the plot in various ways.
Season 6:
Once again, this season is depressingly devoid of one-offs, and is mostly arc stuff, making much of it mandatory viewing. Some of the eps are so awful that they trump even the plot points, consult the avoid list for those. Special note: 6×07 (Once More With Feeling) and 6×08 (Tabula Rasa) should under no circumstances be skipped.
Season 7:
7×01: Lessons
7×02: Beneath You
7×05: Selfless
7×07: Conversations with Dead People
Just watch the rest of season 7. You’ll probably hate most of it, and hate yourself for watching it, but once again, there’s too much arc to skip. There are some worthwhile moments, too.
7×22: Chosen (Final episode. Suck it up and watch.)

AVOID:
These aren’t just mediocre - they’re truly, truly bad, and will make you suffer, and not in a hilarious way.
2×04: Inca Mummy Girl
2×11: Ted
2×20: Go Fish
4×05: Beer Bad (widely considered the worst ep in the series)
6×12: Doublemeat Palace
6×15: As You Were