Sunnydale
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sunnydale, California, is the fictional suburban setting for the popular television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of the typical, anonymous, generic suburban city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror movies.
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[edit] Fictional Environs
[edit] Sunnydale itself
Sunnydale's size and surroundings are implausible, as it was designed largely for comic effect and narrative convenience. Moreover, the size of the town changed as the series progressed. During the first three seasons, Sunnydale was depicted as a small California town: population of 38,500,[1] very few high schools,[2] forty-three churches,[3] a small private college,[4] and one modest main street. Even so, it had twelve gothic cemeteries.[5] These cemeteries are so heavily used that services are sometimes held at night.[6]
However, in later seasons it was revealed that Sunnydale sported a campus of the University of California system, and enough witches to keep a magic supply shop profitable. (However, it is possible that a significant portion of the Magic Box' sales are done by order, not necessarily by people or witches in Sunnydale itself.) The town also was seen to include a large park containing a creek and a lake,[7] as well as a large cemetery adjacent to a lake.[8]
Sunnydale has a train station,[9] a bus station,[10] and a small airport.[11]
Sunnydale also holds some historical buildings. It contains an old "quarry" house built beside a deep lake, which is a few feet drop from a cliff edge. [12]
Sunnydale possesses many common horror-movie characteristics, such as an abundance of dark alleyways, abandoned mansions and factories, and an inexplicable divide between its demon-fighting, supernaturally aware teens and the sinister or clueless, perpetually in-denial adults.
By the year 2002, the population had fallen to 32,900.[13] In 2003 the town was almost completely evacuated before its destruction.
[edit] Sunnydale's surroundings
Sunnydale is somewhat isolated, and is not adjacent to other urban or suburban areas.[14]
Sunnydale is adjacent to several acres of woods and forest, including Miller's Woods.[15] An ocean port with several docked ships is nearby[16], and the nearby Kingman's Bluff is on a tall cliff overlooking the sea.[17] There is a nearby beach.[18]
A short drive from Sunnydale there is a desert.[19] Breaker's Woods is 45-minute drive from town.[20]
In the final episode Sunnydale is shown as being in the middle of the desert.[21] This appears to contradict the facts earlier established about Sunnydale's surroundings.
[edit] Maps of Sunnydale
Maps of Sunnydale have appeared at various times during the show:
- A large map of "Sunnydale County" hangs on the wall of Principal Snyder's office and also on the wall of Mayor Wilkins' office.[22] This is actually a map of Santa Barbara County, California with the words "Sunnydale County" pasted over it. According to this map, Sunnydale is located at a bend on the California coast. If you head south or west from Sunnydale you will reach the Pacific Ocean.
- A street map of central Sunnydale is used by the Scooby Gang twice in Season Seven.[23]
- Andrew draws a map of Sunnydale to track the First's activities.[24] The general shape of the coastline matches the map used in season three. According to Andrew's map, there are woods between Sunnydale and the ocean to the west and to the south, and directly southeast of the town, at the location where the coast bends, there is a dark forest. There are also woods to the east of Sunnydale, as well as train tracks.
[edit] Fictional Location
Sunnydale is "located" on the California coast, two hours northwest of Los Angeles. This has been indicated as follows:
- In the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy has just moved from Los Angeles to a house in Sunnydale, and she complains that she is now "two hours from Neiman Marcus". She must be referring to the Neiman Marcus store in Beverly Hills.
- The characters visit other towns on the central coast of California, including Monterey[25] and Oxnard[26].
- The characters often drive to Los Angeles[27], but rarely refer to the San Francisco Bay Area, suggesting that they are much closer to the former than to the latter. Indeed, when the characters visit the Bay Area it seems to be a substantial trip. When Giles visits Oakland, he flies by plane,[28] and Gilroy is a significant ride "up north" on a motorcycle.[29]
- In the third season, Sunnydale is shown on a TV weather map in approximately the same position as Santa Barbara.[30]
- In the fourth season, the characters are attacked by the spirits of Native Americans described as Chumash, a tribe local to Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.[31]
- In an episode of Angel, Lilah refers to Sunnydale as being "up the coast" from Los Angeles. In California, "up the coast" always means north or northwest along the Pacific Coast.[32]
If Sunnydale is to be identified with an actual college town in this region, Santa Barbara (or perhaps San Luis Obispo) would be the logical choice.
Many of the long-range outside shots of the town are actually shots of Santa Barbara. These are especially clear in the widescreen versions of seasons four to seven; some of the Spanish-style buildings are obviously in the heart of downtown Santa Barbara to anyone familiar with the city.
However, there are a few indications that associate Sunnydale with other California locations:
- The exterior shots of Sunnydale High are of Torrance High School in Torrance, California.
- The exterior shots and some interior shots of Buffy's home are of an actual home located in Torrance, California.
- Most of the University of California, Sunnydale scenes were filmed at the University of California, Los Angeles, and in a closed sound stage designed to match the UCLA architecture. Some of the later scenes were filmed at a private business park.
- UC Sunnydale also has a connection to the University of California, Santa Cruz. In several episodes of the fourth season, UC Sunnydale dormitories named Kresge and Stevenson are mentioned. Kresge and Stevenson are names of colleges on the campus of UC Santa Cruz. Note, however, that in Angel, Eve refers to UC Santa Cruz as her alma mater, so UC Santa Cruz is a distinct school in the Buffy universe.[33]
- In the seventh season, the character Cassie Newton authors a website. Rebecca Rand Kirshner created an actual website for this character, and registered it to "Cassie Newton" at a fake address. The ZIP Code she used was 94086, which is an actual ZIP Code in the city of Sunnyvale in California's Silicon Valley.[34] This is obviously a joke, however, as Sunnyvale is over six hours from Los Angeles.
[edit] Fictional History
In ancient times, before humans settled there, a magic scythe was used at the site of the Hellmouth "to kill the last pure demon that walked upon the Earth." After this, the scythe was hidden, and its last guardian remained, waiting in a pagan temple that would somehow remain unnoticed for centuries.[35]
Centuries later, Navajo and Chumash peoples lived in this area, and some monks settled briefly here as well.[36]
Richard Wilkins arrived in California in the late 1800s, looking for gold. He founded Sunnydale in a demon infested valley after a Navajo Slayer died there.[37] He made a pact with the demons to found a town atop the Hellmouth for them "to feed on", in return for the promise of immortality by becoming a pure demon himself. Wilkins became Mayor of Sunnydale. A century later, he was again elected Mayor, now under the name of "Richard Wilkins III", and served more than one term.[38]
By the 1990's, Sunnydale appeared to be a typical small city on the California coast. It had a popular mayor, a police force, and a local newspaper (the Sunnydale Press[39]). However, Mayor Wilkins had instructed the police to cover up any supernatural or mysterious violence occurring in the city, and had instructed Principal Snyder to cover up supernatural violence occurring at Sunnydale High.[40]
In the winter of 1997, Buffy Summers, the current vampire slayer, moved to 1630 Revello Drive in Sunnydale, and Buffy began attending Sunnydale High. There she met new friends, including Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Cordelia Chase, and Oz, as well as the vampire Angel and her new watcher, Rupert Giles. Besides the high school, this "Scooby Gang" often hung out at the Bronze, the Espresso Pump (a local coffee house with a retro gas station motif) and the Sun Cinema. Buffy's mother, Joyce, worked in an art gallery in Sunnydale.
Buffy and her friends fought a number of vampires, most notably the Master, Spike, Drusilla, and (when he was evil) Angel. Another slayer, Faith, lived at the Downtowner Motel[41] until she joined forces with Mayor Wilkins.
In June 1999, Sunnydale High was destroyed in a great conflict that killed Mayor Wilkins and Principal Snyder. After this point, there is no mention in the television show of the political leaders of the city. The police occasionally appear, but the police chief does not. There is no further discussion of the police covering up supernatural evidence, although one newspaper headline suggests this may have continued.[42]
In the Fall of 1999, Buffy and Willow began attending the University of California, Sunnydale. There they discovered that the United States government was operating a secret military complex, the Initiative, in a cavern beneath the UC Sunnydale campus. The Initiative was closed down in 2000 after a climactic battle with the cyborg Adam. By this time, Tara Maclay and Anya had been added to the Scooby Gang. Later this same year, Giles purchased a magic shop named the Magic Box.[43]
Sometime during the Summer of 2000, the mysterious "Key" was transformed into Buffy's younger "sister", Dawn Summers. The next year, 2001, would see the deaths of Joyce Summers and also of Buffy herself, although Buffy managed to return from the grave. After this point, Buffy and Dawn were co-owners of the house at 1630 Revello.[44]
In the Spring of 2002, the Magic Box was destroyed. In Fall 2002, Sunnydale High was rebuilt, directly over the Hellmouth.
By 2002, supernatural phenomena seem to be public knowledge throughout the town.[45] By this time the town's population had dropped from 38,500 to 32,900 between 1997 and 2002.[46]
In early 2003, supernatural manifestations at Sunnydale High reached unprecedented levels. Within less than a month, virtually the entire population of the town fled in a mass evacuation.[47] Shortly after that, the final cataclysmic showdown between the Scooby Gang and The First Evil resulted in the complete obliteration of the town, which collapsed into a giant pit, closing the entrance to the Hellmouth.[48]
[edit] Sunnydale Syndrome
In fiction fandom, Sunnydale Syndrome is a name given to the semi-common tendency of mundane characters to fail to notice, or to reject as unreal or impossible, the unusual activities taking place under their noses, even when blindingly obvious.
[edit] Origin
The name is taken from the fictional town of Sunnydale, California, the setting of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The town was intentionally designed to parody the phenomenon, and its general population is cheerfully oblivious to the ongoing conflict between the forces of good and evil. (There are a few cases where some residents of the town hint that they know that something, at least, is going on.) In one episode, a football player gushes, "This is our year . . . . if we can focus, keep discipline and not have quite as many mysterious deaths, Sunnydale is gonna rule." When the character Oz learns of the existence of vampires, he remarks, "Actually, this explains a lot." Later, Buffy's graduating high school class gives her an award as "class protector," explaining that they know she does something to save them all regularly, even if they don't know its exact nature.
[edit] Examples in other series
Even though Buffy was the series to give this phenomenon a definitive name, Sunnydale Syndrome had existed in many series preceding it.
- In Doctor Who, people come up with explanations for the presence of large alien space ships and oddly placed phone boxes, rather than accept aliens exist.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy often features humans less than impressed when confronted with aliens and alien technology. Usually they do acknowledge the situation, but go to great lengths to treat it as normal even if a normal reaction is totally inappropriate.
- The Dragon Ball universe, also known as Dragon World. With the exception of most of the notable characters in the series, most of Dragon World's inhabitants seem to suffer from Sunnydale Syndrome. Despite the obviously staggering power of the Saiyans and a select few humans, most of the popluace believes Mr. Satan (Hercule) to be the world's strongest fighter. They continue to believe this even after several pathetic losses to various foes, due in part to Mr. Satan's ability to convince them that his opponents cheated somehow. Even when directly confronted with evidence directly contradicting Mr. Satan, they continue to believe him responsible for many of the major victories in the series.
Sunnydale Syndrome also continued to thrive during and after Buffy's run.
- Moriguchi from Kanon. Phenomena include: resurrection, the existence of kitsune and demons, mysterious amnesia.
- Dexter's parents from Dexter's Laboratory never notice anything strange that happens whenever Dexter and Dee-Dee destroy their house with one of Dexter's inventions or completely transform their bodies. Dee-Dee also tends to suffer from the syndrome at points, but not as much as her parents.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ The "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign says 38,500 in several early episodes, including School Hard (2.03) and Lovers Walk (3.08).
- ^ In Some Assembly Required (2.02), the three dead cheerleaders attended Fondren High, which is "across town" from Sunnydale High. In Reptile Boy (2.05), Kent Preparatory School is mentioned. Yet in most episodes "the high school" always means Sunnydale High.
- ^ Giles is surprised at this figure in What's My Line, Part Two (2.10).
- ^ Crestwood College is featured in Reptile Boy (2.05) but never mentioned again.
- ^ According to Giles in Revelations (3.07).
- ^ Once More With Feeling (6.07).
- ^ Once More, With Feeling (6.07).
- ^ Help (7.04).
- ^ Buffy finds dead bodies in the train in Crush (5.14).
- ^ The bus station is shown in Inca Mummy Girl (2.04), What's My Line, Part One (2.09), and Showtime (7.11).
- ^ Kendra arrives by plane in What's My Line, Part One (2.09), and the airport itself is shown in Who Are You (4.16) as well as Bargaining I (6.01). The airport shown in this episode is actually Burbank Airport with "Sunnydale" photoshopped over the word Burbank. In Tabula Rasa (6.08), Giles' ticket shows an itinerary from Sunnydale Airport to Los Angeles International Airport and then to London Heathrow Airport.
- ^ Although the quarry house never appeared in any episodes, it does make an appearence in the comic book series, The Blood of Carthage. This explains the house's origins, being bulit centuries before America was settled. The house and its lake also make an appearance in one of the Buffy video games (Chaos Bleeds).
- ^ The "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign says 32,900 in Conversations with Dead People (7.07).
- ^ When Sunnydale is stricken by a town-wide epidemic -- such as the silence spell in Hush (4.10) -- no other towns seem to be nearby.
- ^ The woods in Homecoming (3.05) are named "Miller's Woods". In Bargaining, Part Two (6.02) and Villains (6.20) the woods are large enough to get lost in.
- ^ The port is seen in Surprise (2.13) and Consequences (3.15). In Consequences, Giles refers to Buffy and Faith's return from the docks as "coming back to town", indicating that the docks are not part of Sunnydale itself.
- ^ Kingman's Bluff is the location of Willow's terrible spell (Grave, 6.22).
- ^ It is not clear how close this beach is to Sunnydale. It is seen in Go Fish (2.20) and Buffy vs. Dracula (5.01).
- ^ Giles drove Buffy to the desert in Intervention (5.18), and drove with the Potentials to the desert in The Killer in Me (7.13).
- ^ Giles visited there during Lovers Walk (3.08).
- ^ At the end of Chosen (7.22) the town has sunk into a large pit, and the pit is completely surrounded by desert.
- ^ It was in the principal's office in Dead Man's Party (3.02, at 41:17 on the Region 1 DVD), and in the mayor's office in various third-season episodes. The best view of the map is in Choices (3.19), at 11:58 on the Region 1 DVD. Compare this with the map of Santa Barbara County at http://www.countyofsb.org/stats.asp.
- ^ Once early in the season, and again in Touched (7.20, at 16:27 on the Region 1 DVD).
- ^ Shown in Get it Done (7.15, at 7:56 on the Region 1 DVD).
- ^ Doppelgängland" (3.16).
- ^ The Freshman (4.01).
- ^ Visits to Angel in Los Angeles are made in I Will Remember You (Angel episode 1.08), Sanctuary (Angel episode 1.19), and Orpheus (Angel episode 4.15).
- ^ Giles mentions Oakland twice in Anne, saying that he flew there looking for Buffy (3.01).
- ^ Empty Places (7.19). Note, however, that it is impossible for Spike and Andrew to visit a "mission" in Gilroy, because there is no California mission in that city.
- ^ Amends (3.10).
- ^ Pangs (4.08).
- ^ Home (Angel episode 4.22).
- ^ Life of the Party and Destiny (Angel episodes 5.05 and 5.08).
- ^ Help (7.04).
- ^ End of Days (7.21).
- ^ Navajo (Diné) people mentioned in "The Glittering World" in Tales of the Slayers. Chumash mentioned in Pangs (4.08). Monks mentioned by the ancient guardian in End of Days (7.21).
- ^ "The Glittering World", in Tales of the Slayers.
- ^ Enemies (3.17). At 33:54 on the Region 1 DVD, a sign saying "Reelect Mayor Wilkins" is visible; since no election is currenly being held, this indicates a past reelection bid.
- ^ It can be seen in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, Reptile Boy, Becoming, Part One, Bad Girls, Consequences, Graduation Day, Part One, Hush, and Once More, With Feeling.
- ^ In Lovers Walk (3.08), Wilkins refers to having covered up Spike and Drusilla's rampages during season two. Snyder and the police chief discuss these coverups in I Only Have Eyes For You (2.19). Wilkins and Snyder discuss it in Graduation Day, Part 1 (3.21).
- ^ The sign reads "Downtowner Motel/Apt." in The Zeppo (3.12) and others.
- ^ In Once More With Feeling (6.07), the headline of the Sunnydale Press states, "MAYHEM CAUSED. MONSTERS CERTAINLY NOT INVOLVED, OFFICIALS SAY."
- ^ The Real Me (5.02). The magic shop had been seen many times previously -- for example, in Lovers Walk (3.08) -- but it had not been given a name until season five.
- ^ Joyce's will would have either left the house to Buffy or to Buffy and Dawn. In Empty Places (7.19) Dawn tells Buffy "this is my house, too."
- ^ For example, the Sunnydale Press mentions "monsters" in its headline in Once More With Feeling (6.07).
- ^ The "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign 38,500 in several early episodes, including School Hard (2.03) and Lovers Walk (3.08). It says 32,900 in Conversations with Dead People (7.07). The sign is visible for a moment at the end of Chosen (7.22) but the population number is not legible.
- ^ The evacuation is seen at the beginning of Empty Places (7.19), although the Bronze is still crowded. By the next episode, Touched (7.20), the town is virtually empty.
- ^ Chosen (7.22).
