Video Store Guy called me Monday night after Angel (i'd already warned not to bother calling before 9pm) and invited me over. "Bring some of your Buffy tapes," he said. "I'd better find out what your obsession is all about." i took the B/A Chronicles with me. we watched some, but he didn't seem particularly impressed.

yesterday evening, he came over. after dinner, he asked "You recorded Buffy tonight, right? Let's watch it." i explained that last night's ep was actually the second part of the two part pilot. "OK, cool. We'll watch both."

after "The Harvest" ended, i looked over at him. he didn't seem too keen. i thought i should explain that, while not bad episodes, you can tell they're the kick-off for the series and that it gets progressively better. i also began having these flashbacks to Mikey, who didn't care for the supernatural aspects of the show, and thought i should tell VSG that, as the show progresses, the supernatural becomes the backdrop, not the focus of the show, and that it's considered a supernatural *drama* for a reason.

i was about to explain when he turned to me and asked "Do you have any more?"

i sat silently for a moment before i laughed "dude, i've got the first, second, and third season boxed sets, most of the fifth season, plus a scattering of downloaded episodes on the computer. You wanna watch Buffy all night, we can watch Buffy all night."

"Oh. Well, let's watch the newer ones then, the fifth season."

so we did. we watched seven episodes, stopping only when i, bleary-eyed, said that i had to get some sleep. he was still ready for more. i thought he was just humoring me (in a this-is-what-he-likes-so-i'll-say-i-like-it-too kind of way), but he was asking questions: What happened to Oz? Why's Giles not the librarian anymore? When did Buffy's mom find out? Isn't that the blue one that Willow was looking for? So why aren't Spike and Dru together? When did Buffy get a sister? and on and on and on. and on. i'm still not sure if he's getting hooked or just really perceptive, but he seemed to be genuinely interested in the answers. it looks like i may have a Buffy buddy to watch with.