Portal:Buffy the Vampire Slayer
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a U.S. television series loosely based on the original script for the 1992 movie of the same name. It was created by Joss Whedon, who also wrote the movie, and was produced by Mutant Enemy Productions. The show's title is often abbreviated simply to Buffy or BtVS.
Summary
The series followed the life and trials of Buffy Summers, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar (from a teenager at 16 to a young woman of 22), a girl chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural foes, usually with the help of her Watcher, Rupert Giles (portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head) and her loyal circle of misfit friends. Popular characters on the show are Willow Rosenburg (Alyson Hannigan), Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon), Spike (James Marsters), and Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg). This series is also responsible for spawning the popular spin-off series of Angel (TV Series) staring David Boreanaz.
- It is noteworthy that both shows created a large cult-following.
The series aired on The WB from 1996-2003, until the end of its fifth season when contract negotiations left the show's future in doubt. However, it was quickly picked up by arch-rival UPN, where it aired with decent ratings until it finished its run in 2003.
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.
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, very few high schools, forty-three churches, a small private college, and one modest main street. Even so, it had twelve gothic cemeteries.
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.
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.
Sunnydale is somewhat isolated, and is not adjacent to other urban or suburban areas. It has a train station, a bus station, and a small airport.
Sunnydale is adjacent to several acres of woods, and has an ocean port as well as tall cliffs overlooking the sea. There is a nearby beach, and the desert is a short drive away. In the final episode Sunnydale is shown as being in the middle of the desert; however, this is a continuity error, since Sunnydale was shown to be adjacent or near to the sea in several episodes.
By the final season, the population had fallen to 32,900...
A few of examples of articles relating to Buffy follow:
- Fray - An eight-issue comic book miniseries about Melaka Fray, a Slayer in the future, written by Joss Whedon, and published by Dark Horse Comics beginning in 2001, with delays between the first six and the final two issues caused by Whedon's TV commitments
- Slayer - A young female bestowed with mystical powers that originate from the heart of a pure-demon, which gives her superhuman senses, strength, speed, endurance, agility, healing and stamina in the fight against forces of darkness. She also receives prophetic dreams in the few hours that she sleeps.
- Daniel "Oz" Osbourne - Born in 1980 in Sunnydale, California), Oz is a fictional character portrayed by Seth Green. A taciturn, guitar-playing teen, and eventually Willow's boyfriend, Oz first appears in Inca Mummy Girl, becoming a recurring character throughout the second and third seasons.
- Spike movie - A possible proposed movie based upon the character of Spike from Buffy & Angel. The existence of such a project is currectly in question. Originally, the show was hoped to be made as a TV movie. However it is possible that if the project is greenlit, it may be a DVD-movie.
For recent news on all things Buffyverse-related, see Whedonesque.com
... that series star Sarah Michelle Gellar initially auditioned for the role of Cordelia Chase, and Charisma Carpenter, who plays Cordelia, auditioned for the role of Buffy.
Episodes: Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 | Season 4 | Season 5 | Season 6 | Season 7
Characters: Buffy Summers | Willow Rosenberg | Xander Harris | Rupert Giles | Dawn Summers | Anya Jenkins | Tara Maclay | Spike | Joyce Summers | Cordelia Chase | Daniel "Oz" Osborne | Faith Lehane | Angel | Other major characters... | Minor Characters...
Other Information: Bestiary | Chronology | Canon | Index | Music | Mythology
Academic works
The show is notable for attracting the interest of scholars of popular culture. [1] It has inspired several academic books and essays, including Reading the Vampire Slayer, edited by Roz Kaveney, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy edited by James B. South. There is also an online refereed journal, Slayage, dedicated to critical studies of the show. An academic discipline known as Buffy Studies developed during the late 1990s which encouraged the development of scholarship and courses exploring Girl Power in popular culture. Fans of both Buffy and Angel often use the term "Buffyverse" to describe the detailed fictional universe the shows share.
