I watched S7 when it was already on DVD and so by marathoning it, I was in the perfect spot to realize how much time they spent on pure exposition! I feel like it could have been better if it was a shorter season just to cut down on that factor. I love that moment in Chosen too, also where Willow touches something beyond herself and doesn't turn evil for it (one of my least favorite story lines on Buffy was magic-as-drugs-to-evilness.) I loved the First Evil as a psychological terror, both in its relation to Buffy and to Spike. Those were the more interesting themes. But yes, there was a lot less character-driven moments than usual.

Firefly is one of my favorite shows of all time. I love Mal Reynolds like no other. I find it heartbreaking that the show didn't get a chance to really stretch its legs. I've managed to snag a bunch of my friends into watching it with me. They're never very impressed until they get around episode 5 or 6 and then they're heartbroken when we get to Objects in Space and find out there's no more!!! That's how I felt! I loved the universe, the politics, the science (space ships with glowyness go fast!) and the culture: Persephone as a riot of color and culture and noise, the Buddhism and Christianity, the English and Chinese, the business, the hardships, the mix of technologies... I just like the whole universe and I miss it sorely.