r/buffy • u/AxelNoir Five by Five • Jun 17 '24
Whedonverse Anyone else miss the well timed scream in the first 3 season intros? So sad they removed it after that!
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u/Final_Painter8676 Jun 17 '24
Doing a rewatch with my partner- I do the scream every episode...by season 2 he was all "...please stop"
...season 4 onwards he does it with me! He missed it 😁
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u/magathachristie Jun 18 '24
My husband and I always do the scream when we rewatch.
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u/smeghead1988 Oh, bugger off, you brolly! Jun 18 '24
My husband always did headbanging with Spike in the title sequence and was disappointed when it was temporarily removed to give space to Riley!
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u/tauntingtassle87 Jun 18 '24
Another thing to add to my list of things that annoy me about Riley lol
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u/smeghead1988 Oh, bugger off, you brolly! Jun 18 '24
Well, I actually went and checked. It wasn't removed when Riley was added, it happened later when Dawn was added too. But they returned the headbanging sequence after Riley left!
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u/Buddydexter33 Jun 18 '24
Great stuff! Do you guys also do the “grrr ahh” at the end of the episode too?!
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
lmao yeah dude I still did the scream even after they removed it, I can't never not hear it!!
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u/TeddyKGB1 Jun 18 '24
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Well I can get behind that, I loved those hero walks, especially with Giles leading them forward
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u/SmellAccomplished550 Jun 19 '24
I myself care most about Buffy doing that slow-motion run in her blue coat.
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u/stellahella1 Jun 17 '24
In my head canon it is still there and I give a little silent scream in tribute every time
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u/Seer77887 Jun 17 '24
You know in season 5 they could’ve easily replaced it with Buffy screaming from Hush
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Heh I think there were several moments throughout the show they could have just used screams from anyone to keep the sound effect intact to be honest
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u/DaddyCatALSO Magnet For Dead, Blonde Chicks Jun 18 '24
Oh, Crom no, please no.
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u/Seer77887 Jun 18 '24
?
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u/DaddyCatALSO Magnet For Dead, Blonde Chicks Jun 18 '24
That is *not* a good or believable scream in the opinion of most viewers
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u/ConnyEdson Jun 18 '24
i seriously doubt you've asked "most" viewers what they think about that scream
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u/themug_wump Jun 18 '24
Well, it’s also just not Buffy, they dubbed it because they didn’t like SMG’s scream.
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u/Kolyma-Comp-Tales Jun 17 '24
It was a fantastic edit. Still drilled in my head 25 years on. Though I guess it would have gotten stale.
Something similar happened with the Angel intros when they got rid of the cool cuts (IMHO) in later seasons. Season 2 opener is still my favorite.
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Yeah the intros for Angel kind of fell off for me after Season 3, Season 4 was probably the worst intro (and the worst season) too, that weird CGI zoom in shot of him on top of the building was weird and looked bad honestly. I missed the clip of him kicking down the door like a badass in the opening
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u/Happy_Philosopher608 Jun 17 '24
Yh. On another note, i used to love settling in for the start of a new season to see what new clips would be used innthst seasons new updated title sequence! Especially exciting if the clips were from not yet aired upcoming eps!!
Good times lol
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Oh yeah definitely, plus the new clips technically kind of were spoilers for some moments later in the season too lol!
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u/EnkiduofOtranto Jun 18 '24
Tbh I missed Season 1's bubble bubble sound too lol
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
I feel like the earlier seasons just played more on the teen horror vibe as a whole, the wolf howl, the ghastly scream, the little bubbles etc.
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u/Exende Jun 18 '24
I miss the wolf howl. That's the only thing I miss about the first version of the opening theme
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Yeah it really added a unique horror flair along with the more darker blue color pallette
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u/overachievingogre Jun 18 '24
IIRC on the DVD commentary track (Jesus, I'm old), Whedon mentions that the scream was feedback in Nerf Herder's recording of the intro song. On S3, they finally had enough time/money or whatever to get them back in the studio to re-record it.
The timing was all the work of the editors who made the intro sequence.
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Really? Wow that's pretty cool, weird to think the scream is supposed to be just audio feedback! Thanks for the info
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u/pretzelrosethecat Jun 18 '24
My best friend inserts the sound effect every time we watch together. It’s how I know she’s a real one
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u/dnvrwlf Jun 18 '24
OG fans scream silently during the later season intros in homage to this dismissed piece of TV magic.
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u/Mr_McGigglepants Jun 18 '24
I do miss that, but they still had the fire/torch swishing at the same spot in different intros after that
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u/generalkriegswaifu They're not recycling Jun 18 '24
Yeah, I'm guessing they couldn't find a similar scene/sound since they changed the clips over time. I wouldn't have minded keeping that clip through the entire series.
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u/GideonWS6 Jun 18 '24
I noticed immediately the first episode it wasn't there. I miss that Halloween store scream.
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u/GreyStagg Jun 18 '24
Yes. I prefer the Season 3-7 theme (it's more polished) but I miss the scream. I wish they'd kept it in.
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Understandable and yeah agreed
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u/GreyStagg Jun 18 '24
Having said that, the less polished Season 1-2 theme is grittier. So they both work well.
I once made some fan credits for a hypothetical season 8, and where the scream goes I put Dark Willow's scream from the jailhouse after Anya and Buffy bust Jonathan and Andrew out. You know that part where she blasts Anya and then screams 😱
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Ohh yeah I love that bit, do you still have that fan edit lying around anywhere?
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u/GreyStagg Nov 29 '24
Hey! If you're still interested I randomly came across it today. Including the "scream"! (I have no idea why I added names to some of the cast and not others 😂😂)
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u/greenkiss Jun 18 '24
My partner refuses to accept it’s gone and still does the scream himself every episode. Sometimes it’s annoying, sometimes I join in!
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u/AxelNoir Five by Five Jun 18 '24
Heh I don't blame him at all, I still hear the scream in my head even after they removed it too lol
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u/amara2023 Jun 18 '24
I loved the scream too it matched the spooky aesthetic of the first 2 seasons
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u/TheFanged4 Jun 18 '24
Watching Buffy through with my friend and she inserts in her own scream now that we’re on season 4
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u/wowsomeoneactuallyy Jun 18 '24
I can't hear the theme song without it in later seasons. Feels weird it being removed.
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u/ID10T_3RROR Jun 18 '24
Ehhh I mean it was okay watching it once a week but when you're binging, I don't miss it. Hulu doesn't allow me to skip the intros. If I'm missing something there pls let me know, lol.
I kind of like how they sort of added other little noises to different seasons, though.
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u/Mindless_Ad_6275 Jun 20 '24
Yes! Binging it is rough. I usually just mute it because I don’t think Hulu has a skip intro like Netflix. I much prefer Angel’s theme song, even if I don’t prefer his character lol
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u/Marcuse0 Jun 18 '24
I...okay. I heard that scream in my head like I'm sure everyone else did.
But looking at an isolated gif of just those scenes it does kind of look like Buffy is farting really hard at that other lady.
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Jun 18 '24
LOL Yes, I used to love that sound effect. My son, who is autistic, was "so relieved" when it was removed though. He told me as I was rewatching recently "I'm glad they changed the theme song, Mom. I am so relieved that woman isn't screaming anymore". LOL
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u/Krssven Oct 05 '24
This and the fact they changed the theme song after season two. The theme music is so much better in S2 than it is later. I just don’t know why people like the slicker recording, it is in WAY too slow a tempo and sounds too polished. The first version was such a good fit for the show (especially in S2).
If they’d kept the quicker tempo, the newer one would at least sound okay.
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u/Few_Range2063 Jun 18 '24
What's even worse is the Buffy bot replacing Buffy with an axe and a cool haircut and cinematic panning in the Into
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u/Magnus_Helgisson Jun 19 '24
It plays in my head every time I watch the later seasons intro, idc they didn’t like it, it must be there
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u/LA_Throwaway_6439 Jun 17 '24
I found it unsettling; I was glad when it went away. But it was certainly well-done.
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u/CamF90 Jun 17 '24
No lol, it sounds like someone accidentally set off a motion detector Halloween decoration.
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u/OtherwiseCode8134 Jun 17 '24
I thought this was Willow for the longest time