Buffy the Vampire Slayer poster

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

1997-2003 7 seasons

8.3 Top 18%

(172,126 votes)

144 episodes

IMDb
This show averages 8.0, which is 0.6 points above the global average of 7.4 Top 28%
7.4 8.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 IMDb Rating
All 806,989 TV Episodes
This Show (144 episodes)
Click to pin Pinned
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S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
E1
7.9
8.0
7.8
7.6
7.6
8.1
7.6
E2
7.7
6.8
7.3
7.5
7.4
8.2
7.8
E3
7.5
8.6
8.1
7.9
8.0
7.8
7.9
E4
6.7
7.0
7.4
8.4
7.5
7.2
7.8
E5
7.2
6.9
8.0
6.3
8.1
7.8
8.6
E6
7.2
8.8
8.6
7.9
8.1
7.1
7.1
E7
8.3
8.2
8.0
7.9
9.1
9.7
8.9
E8
6.5
7.6
8.8
7.9
7.3
9.1
7.7
E9
7.5
8.1
9.1
8.9
7.0
7.9
7.8
E10
8.0
8.4
8.2
9.7
7.3
7.6
7.7
E11
7.5
7.4
7.2
7.5
7.5
7.7
8.0
E12
8.7
6.6
8.3
8.2
8.3
6.7
7.6
E13
8.5
8.6
7.3
8.2
7.4
7.2
E14
9.2
8.2
7.0
8.4
7.6
7.4
E15
7.9
8.1
8.3
7.4
6.7
7.5
E16
8.6
9.2
8.9
9.7
7.5
8.2
E17
9.3
8.6
7.2
8.0
8.4
8.7
E18
7.3
8.7
6.3
8.6
7.8
8.6
E19
8.3
8.1
8.1
8.1
8.5
7.6
E20
6.7
8.7
7.9
8.2
8.8
8.3
E21
9.0
8.9
8.2
7.9
8.7
8.5
E22
9.5
9.1
8.6
9.5
8.9
9.3
Avg
7.6
8.0
8.3
7.9
8.1
8.0
8.0
Peak
Excellent
Great
Good
Regular

The Quality Arc

Each point is an episode, plotted chronologically. The colored bands mark season boundaries. Look for upward or downward trends to see if quality improved or declined over time.

S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 5.56.47.38.29.110 Rating 15 30 45 60 75 90 105 120 135 150 Episode 10 9 8 7 6 5

Episode Engagement

Vote count shows how many people cared enough to rate. High votes + high rating = beloved classic. High votes + low rating = notorious stinker. Low votes + high rating = hidden gem.

Rating threshold:
55 Standouts
17 Infamous
57 Hidden Gems
15 Forgettable
Standouts Infamous Hidden Gems Forgettable Global: 7.5 6.37.07.78.39.09.7 Rating 3k 4k 6k 8k 12k Votes (log scale)
Top Standout: S6E7 Once More, with Feeling
Most Infamous: S4E5 Beer Bad
Best Hidden Gem: S6E22 Grave

Episodes plotted by rating vs. vote count. The vertical line marks the rating threshold (7.5). More votes = more engagement. Toggle above to compare against global or show-specific median.

Season Trajectory

A simplified view: one point per season. This smooths out episode-to-episode noise to show the overall arc of the series.

77.47.88.28.69 Rating S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 Season 7.6 8.0 8.3 7.9 8.1 8.0 8.0 10 9 8 7 6 5

Season Momentum

Did each season build momentum or fizzle out? Green arrows mean the finale rated higher than the premiere. Red means the opposite. Longer arrows = bigger swings.

5678910 Rating S1 7.9 8.7 +0.8 S2 8.0 9.5 +1.5 S3 7.8 9.1 +1.3 S4 7.6 8.6 +1.0 S5 7.6 9.5 +1.9 S6 8.1 8.9 +0.8 S7 7.6 9.3 +1.7

Season Consistency

Some seasons are reliable bangers. Others are hit-or-miss. Each dot is an episode. Tightly clustered dots mean consistent quality. Scattered dots mean a mixed bag.

5678910 Rating S1 Uneven avg 7.6 S2 Erratic avg 8.0 S3 Uneven avg 8.3 S4 Erratic avg 7.9 S5 Uneven avg 8.1 S6 Erratic avg 8.0 S7 Uneven avg 8.0 Episode Premiere/Finale

Each dot is an episode. Clustered dots = consistent quality. Scattered dots = variable season. Hover for episode details.

Episode Power Rankings

The best and worst episodes at a glance. Use this to find must-watch episodes or ones you might want to skip.

🏆 Top 10 Episodes Season 2 dominates (3/10)

  1. 1 S4E10 Hush 9.7
  2. 2 S5E16 The Body 9.7
  3. 3 S6E7 Once More, with Feeling 9.7
  4. 4 S2E22 Becoming: Part 2 9.5
  5. 5 S5E22 The Gift 9.5
  6. 6 S2E17 Passion 9.3
  7. 7 S7E22 Chosen 9.3
  8. 8 S2E14 Innocence 9.2
  9. 9 S3E16 Doppelgangland 9.2
  10. 10 S3E9 The Wish 9.1

📉 Bottom 5 Episodes Season 4 dominates (2/5)

  1. 144 S4E18 Where the Wild Things Are 6.3
  2. 143 S4E5 Beer Bad 6.3
  3. 142 S1E8 I, Robot... You, Jane 6.5
  4. 141 S2E12 Bad Eggs 6.6
  5. 140 S6E15 As You Were 6.7
144 Total Episodes
9.7 Highest Rating
6.3 Lowest Rating
3.4 Range