When you live on a hellmouth, all hell tends to break loose. You know what they say: With the apocalypse, the key is location, location, location.

Still, being at the center of a mystical energy source does have its advantages - particularly for a show looking for a rousing season-ender. After all, how many series ever get to bring the world to the brink of destruction even once, let alone six times and counting?

Even on Buffy, however, all apocali are not created equal. And what can we do but grade them? So here are the six ways Buffy has saved the world, ranked on a "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" scale.

The Master, an age-old vampire and the show's first "Big Bad," wants to open the hellmouth and let vamps and demons run loose on Earth. And he almost gets away with it, thanks to a misinterpreted prophecy that leads Buffy, briefly, to her death. You get the essence of the series in one rapid-fire hour: She dies, she revives, she throws around a few well-chosen quips, she throws The Master through the library skylight, and then she goes to a dance with her friends. (three-and-a-half horsemen)

Having lost his soul, Angel opens a vortex that will suck Earth into a hell dimension. By the time he gets his soul back, it's too late: Buffy has to kill him to close the vortex. Featuring the most emotionally powerful apocalypse, this episode is the show at its creative height. (four horsemen)

Sunnydale's mayor — and the high school's graduation day speaker - turns into a giant serpent and begins feeding on the assembled graduates. Buffy lures him into an explosives-laden trap in the school library, blowing up the school and the mayor in the process and ending her high school career with the proverbial bang. Capping what is probably Buffy's best season, this is easily the wittiest apocalypse, as the kids realize to their horror that, even though he plans to eat them, the mayor is still determined to deliver his commencement address in full. (four horsemen)

A Frankenstein-type monster, the product of a secret government "initiative" gone wrong, plans to take over the world by creating an army of similar mutants. Alone, Buffy cannot stop him. But a spell unites her powers with those of her friends, and the newly empowered Buffy kills him. Yeah, but of course she does. Even with the mixed parts, he's only human. We expect bigger things from Buffy than monsters and the military. (two-and-a-half horsemen)

Glory, a god from another dimension, plans to destroy the world by opening a dimensional door, using Buffy's sister, Dawn, as the key. Though she needs a wrecking ball to do it, Buffy eventually subdues Glory. To close the door, however, she must swan-dive into it from a high tower - dying for the second time in the bargain. The show was back in form with this apocalypse, as Buffy willingly makes the ultimate sacrifice. Her reward? A tombstone that reads "She Saved the World. A Lot." (three-and-a-half horsemen)

Sometimes, apocali come from within. Mad with grief over the murder of her lover, Willow gives in to the dark side of her powers and decides to end the world. She's stopped, not by Buffy's power, but by Xander's love. A fine, redemptive finale, but it loses half a horseman for being attached to the least satisfying season. (three horsemen)

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