Buffy hands down is the better of the two.

I have to admit I only watched the first season of VM because of Joss Whedon's recommendation. It had some of the base elements of BTVS with a little OTH meets Monk. I noticed a parallel right away between the Angel / Spike and Duncan / Logan dynamic as well as some of the same metaphors and messages. VM has potential to evolve as Buffy did into a fine show over time. But for the moment it is nowhere near the greatness of BTVS, Angel or Firefly. Those are 3 of the finest shows ever to appear on television. I hope Rob Thomas takes note and aspires to that kind of greatness. But for now he has a long way to go. As for Joss Whedon's fascination with the show? When the best things on television involve bug eating and wife swapping, 31 flavors of acronymed forensic cop shows with a Who soundtrack, Sex in the City meets Knotts Landing and Lord of the flies the grown up years. Well let's just say Joss, until you put another show on the air, I got your back on this whole VMOCD thing homey.

While I love both shows, I also have to come down on the side of Buffy. Both SMG and Kristen Bell give amazing performances. However, I cared more about Buffy's journey than Veronica's. Veronica has become rather unlikeable in Season 2 (the same thing that happened to Buffy in Season 6), and she is crossing some major moral lines. It is hard to care about the supporting cast in VM than it was in Buffy. Buffy would not have survived for as long as she did without the support and caring of her friends. Veronica's friends are tenuous at best. Duncan betrays her constantly and is dull in the process; Logan is a live wire who seems to have a death wish(though he's my favorite character in the show), Wallace has disappeared, Meg turned against VM and now Veronica only has Mac left who demands payment if she is to help. Buffy and her friends were why we cared so much. Even Buffy and her enemies are why we cared so much. I will keep watching VM this season and hope she pulls her head out of the sand. I do find the writing more layered and razor sharp than what was on Buffy so I am hoping the show will get past the "soapiness" of this season.

I came late to BtVS and was sucked in by the quick and witty writing and the masterful performances by Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters and others. When people began touting the merits of Veronica Mars, I tuned in. I must say, I didn't get it. I even sat through the entire season in one week on DVD. I can't even tell you the names of the other characters or a single plot line. It was just that boring and forgettable. It boggles my mind that Joss is so smitten with VM. Then again, all of us writers are our own worst critics. He had the far superior show. Three of them, in fact.

Comparing BtVS and Veronica Mars is a little like comparing apples and oranges, but if I had to decide which was better, I'd have to come down on the Buffy side. I like VM very much and the shows are similar in many ways. Both have young blond high school girlz fighting the bad guys where she finds them. Both have good, supportive single parents and friends who help them. That's where the biggest difference is for me. Veronica has few close friends. 2, really, right now, Mac and Wallace and Wallace is gone (for now, at least.) Buffy's friends and her Watcher, a role which has no counterpart on VM, are the reason Buffy is the longest lived Slayer ever. Add the fact that Willow and Xander and Mr. Giles are as beautifully realized as Buffy. Over the 7 years, they evolved into strong characters in their own right, well developed, with strengths and weaknesses to be explored. Buffy had good solid performances from all it's actors, with special kudos to Alyson Hannigan and Tony Head. Veronica Mars has sharp writing and good acting. I think we need to see if they can stay the course for at least a few more years before we compare.

Hmm. Hmm. Hmm. All this comparing. Much as I love VM I'm bucking the trend and coming down on the side of BtVS. I agree that Veronica is probably more accessible to a wider audience because it does not have the vampire/horror element of Buffy. Buffy on the other hand had a more epic feel to it because it was using the whole apocalypse/end of the world/monsters are everywhere thing as a metaphor how life often feels. It was more emotionally resonant and compelling in my book. VM is my favorite show of the last few years but I don't care about the characters the way I did on Buffy. Possibly that is because, except for Keith & Logan (and Wallace when he's there) VM's supporting characters don't have the weight and importance that Buffy's did. VM is a strong, layered central character who I may end up liking better than I liked Buffy herself, but a show is more than the main character. I hope I get seven years of Veronica to make me change my mind, but right now, the vote goes to Buffy.

Both shows are great. Buffy requires a much greater suspension of disbelief than VM and therefore draws a slightly different audience. I took to Buffy right away and loved it from day one ... it took me slightly longer with VM but I am a huge fan now. Comparing the two is almost impossible. 1.Suspense and involved story arc - I think VM wins. 2.Sharp dialogue strong/interesting characters - The shows are evenly matched. 3.Uniqueness of storylines - Buffy wins. Overall the shows are well matched. The true test, for VM, will be (if it lasts *crosses fingers*) if the show will be able to maintain it's integrity with the coming seasons as Buffy did and Alias didn't.

I love both and I hate comparing the two, because they're both very different. I love Veronica Mars a lot more than I did Buffy Summers but both shows have wonderful complicated and intriguing storylines. I think the acting is marginally better on VM than Buffy (although Head was consistently brilliant). They're both original shows, it's too hard to compare. But I think at the moment, Veronica Mars is more enjoyable to me. However, had I watched them both at the same time, I'd probably go with Buffy.

Actually Brad, I was the same way at first, but it grew on me. Fast. Just check some of my first reviews here on TV Squad to see how my feelings for the show changed.

Brad: I guess you think that Buffy was lame also, since it was on UPN for two seasons? I felt the same way about Buffy when I turned in to a couple of episodes early on. They would prattle on about the Gilgamesh monster or the Circle of Six or some other such vampire nonsense, and I'd turn the channel because I found it incredibly lame. Luckily I got into the show later and then caught up on old episodes via DVD. Both Buffy and VM have such complicated backstories that they can be difficult to appreciate for the casual viewer accustomed to conventional procedurals. But both shows are worth the effort in getting the season one DVDs and starting from the beginning.