A television program (television programme in the United Kingdom, Ireland and many Commonwealth countries), also called television show (in the United States), is a segment of content, which is intended to be broadcast on television. It is the product of a television production—or the filmmaking process. It may be a one-time broadcast or part of a periodically recurring series.

A television series that is predetermined to be broadcast as a set number of programs is usually called a miniseries or serial (although the latter term also has other meanings). A short-run of a series lasting less than a year is known as a ''season''—though in the United Kingdom and (some of) the rest of the PAL countries, the term ''series'' is used. This season, or series, usually consists of 12 to 26 installments in the United States, but in the UK there is no defined length. The US-industry practice tends to favor longer seasons than those of some other countries.

A single program of a series is called an episode. A one-time broadcast may be called a "special", or particularly in the UK a "special episode". A television movie ("made-for-TV movie"), or in the UK a television film, is a film that is initially broadcast on television rather than released in cinemas or direct-to-video, although many successful TV movies are later released on DVD.

A program can be either recorded—as on video tape or other various electronic media forms—or considered live television.

Program content

The content of television programs may be factual—as in documentary, news, and reality television, or fictional—as in comedies and dramas. It may be topical—as in the case of a local newscast and some made-for-television movies, or historical—as in the case of many documentaries and fictional series. They could be primarily instructional or educational, or entertaining as is the case in situation comedy and game shows.

A drama program usually features a set of actors in a somewhat familiar setting. The program follows their lives and their adventures. With the exception of soap operas, many shows especially before the 1980s, remained static without story arcs, the main characters and the premise changed little. If some change happened to the characters lives during the episode, it was usually undone by the end. (Because of this, the episodes could be broadcast in any order.) Since the 1980s, there are many series that feature progressive change to the plot, the characters, or both.

Common television program periods include regular broadcasts (like news), series (usually seasonal and ongoing with a duration of only a few episodes to many seasons), or miniseries, which is an extended film, usually with a small predetermined number of episodes and a set plot and timeline. Miniseries usually range from about 3 to 10 hours in length. In the UK, the term "miniseries" is only usually used in reference to imported programmes, and such short-run series are usually called "serials".

Older American television shows began with a title sequence showing opening credits at the bottom lower third of the screen during the beginning, and included closing credits at the end of the show. However, beginning in the 1990s some shows began with a "cold open", followed by a title sequence and a commercial break. Many serial-type shows begin with a "Previously on..." (such as the series ''24'') introduction before the new episode. And, to save time, some shows omit the title sequence altogether, folding the names normally featured there into the opening credits. The title sequence has not been completely eliminated, however, as many major television series still use them.

While television series appearing on TV networks are usually commissioned by the networks themselves, their producers earn greater revenue when the program is sold into syndication. With the rise of the DVD home video format, box sets containing entire seasons or the complete run of a program have become a significant revenue source as well. Many of the prime-time comedy shows and Saturday morning cartoons were digitally remastered for United States television around mid-May 2008, as there will be more original and reissued DVD sets of television programs containing either entire seasons or complete series to come.

Television has changed throughout the years, from wholesome family sitcoms and dramas of years ago, to the reality shows of today. When watching television became popular in the mid-20th century, the whole family watched one set together. Also, many channels have deviated from their original programming focus throughout the years because of channel drift.

Most television networks throughout the world are 'commercial', dependent on selling advertising time or acquiring sponsors, broadcasting executives' main concern over their programming is on audience size or ''eyeballs''. Once the number of 'free to air' stations was restricted by the availability of channel frequencies, but cable TV (outside the USA, satellite television) technology has allowed an expansion in the number of channels available to viewers (sometimes at premium rates) in a much more competitive environment.

Genres

Scripted entertainment

Animated

Award shows (partially scripted)

Drama—which includes:

* Action-adventure or Thriller

* Comedy-drama

* Family drama

* Legal drama

* Medical drama

* Police procedural

* Political drama

* Science-fiction / Fantasy / Horror / Supernatural drama

* Serial drama

* Soap opera

* Teen drama

Miniseries and Television movies

Comedy

* Mockumentary

* Satire

* Situation comedy

* Sketch comedy

Unscripted entertainment

Game shows

Reality

Talk shows

Informational

Infomercials—paid advertising which are up to an hour long

News programs

documentaries

news magazine shows—dealing with current affairs

Development

United States

A person decides to create a new television ''series''. The show's creator develops the show's elements, consisting of the concept, the characters, the crew, and various actors (in some cases, "big-name" actors). They will then offer ("pitch") it to the various networks in an attempt to find one that is interested in the series and order a prototype first episode of the series, known as a ''pilot''.

To create the pilot, the structure and team of the whole series needs to be put together. If the network likes the pilot, they will "pick up" the show for their next ''season'' (UK: ''series''). Sometimes they will save it for "midseason" or request rewrites and further review (known in the industry as "Development hell"). And other times they will ''pass'' entirely, leaving the show's creator forced to "shop it around" to other networks. Many shows never make it past the pilot stage.

If the show is picked up, a "run" of episodes is ordered. Usually only 13 episodes are ordered at first, although a series will typically last for at least 22 episodes (the last nine episodes sometimes being known as the "back nine", borrowing the colloquial golf term).

The show hires a "stable" of writers, who usually work in parallel: the first writer works on the first episode, the second on the second episode, and so forth. When all of the writers have been used, the assignment of episodes continues starting with the first writer again. On other shows, however, the writers work as a team. Sometimes they will develop story ideas individually, and pitch them to the show's creator, who then folds them together into a script and rewrites them.

United Kingdom

In contrast to the US model illustrated above, the UK procedure is operated on a sometimes similar, but much smaller scale.

The method of "team writing" is employed on some longer dramatic series (usually running up to a maximum of around 13 episodes). The idea for such a programme may be generated "in-house" by one of the networks; it could originate from an independent production company; it will sometimes be a product of both. For example, the BBC's long-running soap opera ''EastEnders'' is wholly a BBC production, whereas its popular drama ''Life on Mars'' was developed by Kudos in association with the broadcaster.

However, there are still a significant number of programmes (usually sitcoms) that are built around just one or two writers and a small, close-knit production team. These are "pitched" in the traditional way, but since the creator(s) will handle all the writing requirements, there will be a run of six or seven episodes per series once approval has been given. Many of the most popular British comedies have been made this way, including ''Monty Python's Flying Circus'' (albeit with an exclusive team of six writer-performers), ''Fawlty Towers'', ''Blackadder'' and ''The Office''.

Production

The executive producer, often the show's creator, is in charge of running the show. They pick the crew and help cast the actors, approve and sometimes write series plots (some even write or direct major episodes). Various other producers help to ensure that the show runs smoothly.

As with filmmaking or other electronic media production, production of an individual episode can be divided into three parts. These are:

Pre-production

Pre-production begins when a script is approved. A director is chosen to plan the episode's final look.

Pre-production tasks include storyboarding, construction of sets, props, and costumes, casting guest stars, budgeting, acquiring resources like lighting, special effects, stunts, etc. Once the show is planned, it must then be scheduled; scenes are often filmed out of sequence, guest actors or even regulars may only be available at certain times. Sometimes the principal photography of different episodes must be done at the same time, complicating the schedule (a guest star might shoot scenes from two episodes on the same afternoon). Complex scenes are translated from storyboard to animatics to further clarify the action. Scripts are adjusted to meet altering requirements.

Some shows have a small stable of directors, but also usually rely on outside directors. Given the time constraints of broadcasting, a single show might have two or three episodes in pre-production, one or two episodes in principal photography, and a few more in various stages of post-production. The task of directing is complex enough that a single director can usually not work on more than one episode or show at a time, hence the need for multiple directors.

Principal photography

Principal photography is the actual filming of the episode. Director, actors and crew will gather at a television studio or on location for filming or videoing a scene. A scene is further divided into shots, which should be planned during pre-production. Depending on scheduling, a scene may be shot in non-sequential order of the story. Conversations may be filmed twice from different camera angles, often using stand-ins, so one actor might perform all their lines in one set of shots, and then the other side of the conversation will be filmed from the opposite perspective. To complete a production on time, a second unit may be filming a different scene on another set or location at the same time, using a different set of actors, an assistant director, and a second unit crew. A director of photography supervises the lighting of each shot to ensure consistency.

Post production

Once principal photography is complete, producers coordinate tasks to begin the video editing. Visual and digital video effects are added to the film; this is often outsourced to companies specializing in these areas. Often music is performed with the conductor using the film as a time reference (other musical elements may be previously recorded). An editor cuts the various pieces of film together, adds the musical score and effects, determines scene transitions, and assembles the completed show.

Distribution

After production, the show is turned over to the television network, which sends it out to its affiliate stations, which broadcast it in the specified broadcast programming time slot. If the Nielsen ratings are good, the show is kept alive as long as possible. If not, the show is usually canceled. The show's creators are then left to shop around remaining episodes, and the possibility of future episodes, to other networks. On especially successful series, the producers sometimes call a halt to a series on their own like ''Seinfeld'', ''The Cosby Show'', ''Corner Gas'', and ''M*A*S*H'' and end it with a concluding episode, which sometimes is a big series finale.

On rare occasions, a series that has not attracted particularly high ratings and has been canceled can be given a reprieve if DVD sales have been particularly strong. This has happened in the cases of ''Family Guy'' in the US and ''Peep Show'' in the UK.

If the show is popular or lucrative, and a number of episodes (usually 100 episodes or more) are made, it goes into broadcast syndication (in the USA) where broadcast to the program rights are then resold.

== == The terminology used to define a set of episodes produced by a television series varies from country to country.

North American usage

The term "series", in North American usage, refers to a connected set of television program episodes that run under the same title, possibly spanning many seasons. A new series is often ordered (funded) for just the first 10 to 13 episodes, to gauge the audience interest. If it is "picked up", the season is completed to the regular 20 to 26 episodes. The term "midseason replacement" usually refers to an inexpensive short-run (10–13 episode) show designed to take the place of an original series which failed to garner an audience and has not been picked up. The term "series finale" can lead to confusion outside of North America. A series finale means that the show will no longer be produced, and thus will be the final episode for that series (in the UK, it would mean the end of a season).

In North America the term "television season" is used inconsistently. A "full season" typically runs from September through May, with a hiatus between December and February. This broadcast programming schedule typically includes 20 to 26 episodes. A full season is sometimes split into two separate units (confusingly also termed seasons) with one before and one after the hiatus. These smaller "seasons" usually contain half the number of episodes (10–13).

More recently these shorter seasons have been referred to as ".5" or half seasons, where the run of shows between September and December is labeled "Season N", and the second run between February and May labeled "Season N.5". This is typically done to increase DVD sales of the show. The distributor will release the first half of the season in stores just before the second half first airs, in order to increase interest in the season's second half. Examples of this would be the science fiction remake ''Battlestar Galactica'', its prequel ''Caprica'', ABC's ''FlashForward'', and NBC's ''Heroes''.

UK and Australia usage

In the United Kingdom, on the ABC in Australia and in other countries, these sets of episodes are referred to as a series.

Australian television does not follow ''seasons'' in the way that US television does. So there is no "Fall Season" or "Fall schedule", for example. In Australia, a batch of episodes will still sometimes be called a "season" as per American terminology, although the UK term "series" is also used. For many years popular night time dramas in Australia would run much of the year, and would only go into recess over the summer period (December–February) where ratings are not taken. Therefore popular dramas would usually run February–November each year. This schedule was used in the 1970s for popular dramas including ''Number 96''. ''Neighbours'' and other dramas continue this routine as at 2010. Australian situation comedy series usually have seasons of about 13 episodes, and might premiere at any month between February and November.

British shows have tended toward shorter series in recent years. For example, the first series of long-running science fiction show ''Doctor Who'' in 1963 featured forty-two 25-minute episodes, which had been reduced gradually to fourteen 25-minute episodes in 1989. The revival of ''Doctor Who'' has comprised thirteen 45-minute installments. However, there are some series in the UK that have a larger number of episodes, for example ''Waterloo Road'' started with 8–12 episodes but from series three onward, it increased to 20 episodes, and season seven will contain 30 episodes. Recently, American non-cable networks have also begun to experiment with shorter seasons for some programs, particularly reality shows such as ''Survivor''. However, they often air two seasons per year, resulting in roughly the same number of episodes per year as a drama.

This is a reduction from the 1950s, in which many American shows (e.g., ''The Twilight Zone'') had between 29 and 39 episodes per season. Actual storytelling time within a commercial television hour has also gradually reduced over the years, from 50 minutes out of every 60 to the current 44 (and even less on some networks), beginning in the early 21st century.

Japanese usage

The Japanese have sometimes subdivided television series and dramas into , from the French term "cours" for "course", which is a three-month period usually of 13 episodes. Each ''kūru'' generally has its own opening and ending image sequence and song, recordings of which are often sold. The number of episodes permitted per season ranges from three to 65. (See also Japanese television programs.)

In the United States, in general, dramas usually last 44 minutes (an hour with advertisements), while sitcoms last 22 (30 with advertisements). However, with the rise of cable networks, especially pay ones, series and episode lengths have been changing, with 55–60 minutes per episode, and shorter seasons overall.

See also

:Category:Television schedules (by country and year)

List of animated television series

List of television programs by name in alphabetical order

Lists of television programs

Network programming (television)

Radio programming

Television advertisement

External links

FCC

Category:History of television

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{{infobox television |show name

Buffy the Vampire Slayer |image |genre Supernatural dramaComedy-dramaActionHorror |runtime 43 minutes |creator Joss Whedon |starring Sarah Michelle GellarNicholas BrendonAlyson HanniganAnthony Stewart HeadCharisma CarpenterDavid BoreanazSeth GreenJames MarstersMarc BlucasEmma CaulfieldMichelle TrachtenbergAmber Benson |executive_producer Joss WhedonDavid GreenwaltMarti Noxon |country United States |language English |network The WB (1997–2001)UPN (2001–2003) |picture_format NTSC 480i 4:3PAL 576i 16:9 (Seasons 4–7) |first_aired |last_aired |theme_music_composer Nerf Herder |composer Christophe BeckThomas WankerRobert Duncan |num_seasons 7 |num_episodes 144 |list_episodes List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes |related ''Angel'' |preceded_by ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 film) |followed_by ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'' (comic book) }}

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American television series that aired from March 10, 1997, until May 20, 2003. The series was created in 1997 by writer-director Joss Whedon under his production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions with later co-executive producers being Jane Espenson, David Fury, David Greenwalt, Doug Petrie, Marti Noxon, and David Solomon. The series narrative follows Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar), the latest in a line of young women known as "Vampire Slayers" or simply "Slayers". In the story, Slayers are "called" (chosen by fate) to battle against vampires, demons, and other forces of darkness. Like previous Slayers, Buffy is aided by a Watcher, who guides, teaches, and trains her. Unlike her predecessors, Buffy surrounds herself with a circle of loyal friends who become known as the "Scooby Gang".

The series usually reached between four and six million viewers on original airings. Although such ratings are lower than successful shows on the "big four" networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox), they were a success for the relatively new and smaller WB Television Network. Reviews for the show were positive; it has been included in many "best of" lists, including being ranked #41 on the list of TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, #2 on ''Empire'''s 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, voted #3 in 2004 and 2007 on ''TV Guide''s Top Cult Shows Ever and listed in ''Time'' magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-''TIME''." It was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe awards, winning a total of 3 Emmys. However, snubs in lead Emmy categories resulted in outrage among TV critics and the decision by the academy to hold a tribute event in honor of the series after it had gone off the air in 2003.

The WB network ceased operation on September 17, 2006, after airing a homage to its "most memorable series", including the premiere episodes of ''Buffy'' and its spin-off ''Angel''. ''Buffy'''s success has led to hundreds of tie-in products, including novels, comics, and video games. The series has received attention in fandom (including fan films), parody, and academia, and has influenced the direction of other television series.

Production

Origins

Writer Joss Whedon says that "Rhonda the Immortal Waitress" was really the first incarnation of the ''Buffy'' concept, "just the idea of some woman who seems to be completely insignificant who turns out to be extraordinary". This early, unproduced idea evolved into ''Buffy'', which Whedon developed to invert the Hollywood formula of "the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie". Whedon wanted "to subvert that idea and create someone who was a hero". He explained, "The very first mission statement of the show was the joy of female power: having it, using it, sharing it".

The idea was first visited through Whedon's script for the 1992 movie ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', which featured Kristy Swanson in the title role. The director, Fran Rubel Kuzui, saw it as a "pop culture comedy about what people think about vampires". Whedon disagreed: "I had written this scary film about an empowered woman, and they turned it into a broad comedy. It was crushing." The script was praised within the industry, but the movie was not.

Several years later, Gail Berman, a Fox executive, approached Whedon to develop his ''Buffy'' concept into a television series. Whedon explained that "They said, 'Do you want to do a show?' And I thought, 'High school as a horror movie'. And so the metaphor became the central concept behind ''Buffy'', and that's how I sold it." The supernatural elements in the series stood as metaphors for personal anxieties associated with adolescence and young adulthood. Whedon went on to write and partly fund a 25-minute non-broadcast pilot that was shown to networks and eventually sold to the WB Network. The latter promoted the premiere with a series of ''History of the Slayer'' clips, and the first episode aired on March 10, 1997.

Executive producers

Joss Whedon was credited as executive producer throughout the run of the series, and for the first five seasons (1997–2001) he was also the show runner, a role that involves serving as head writer and being responsible for every aspect of production. Marti Noxon took on the role for seasons six and seven (2001–2003), but Whedon continued to be involved with writing and directing ''Buffy'' alongside projects such as ''Angel'', ''Fray'', and ''Firefly''. Fran Rubel Kuzui and her husband, Kaz Kuzui, were credited as executive producers but were not involved in the show. Their credit, rights, and royalties over the franchise relate to their funding, producing, and directing of the original movie version of ''Buffy''.

Writing

Script-writing was done by Mutant Enemy, a production company created by Whedon in 1997. The writers with the most writing credits include: Joss Whedon, Steven S. DeKnight, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Drew Goddard, Drew Greenberg, David Greenwalt, Rebecca Rand Kirshner, Marti Noxon and Doug Petrie. Other authors with writing credits include: Dean Batali, Carl Ellsworth, Tracey Forbes, Ashley Gable, Howard Gordon, Diego Gutierrez, Elin Hampton, Rob Des Hotel, Matt Kiene, Ty King, Thomas A. Swyden, Joe Reinkemeyer, Dana Reston and Dan Vebber.

Jane Espenson has explained how scripts came together. First, the writers talked about the emotional issues facing Buffy Summers and how she would confront them through her battle against evil supernatural forces. Then the episode's story was "broken" into acts and scenes. Act breaks were designed as key moments to intrigue viewers so that they would stay with the episode following the commercial break. The writers collectively filled in scenes surrounding these act breaks for a more fleshed-out story. A whiteboard marked their progress by mapping brief descriptions of each scene. Once "breaking" was done, the credited author wrote an outline for the episode, which was checked by Whedon or Noxon. The writer then wrote a full script, which went through a series of drafts, and finally a quick rewrite from the show runner. The final article was used as the shooting script.

Casting

Actresses who auditioned for Buffy Summers and got other roles include Julie Benz (Darla), Elizabeth Anne Allen (Amy Madison), Julia Lee (Chanterelle/Lily Houston/Anne Steele), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), and Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall). Bianca Lawson, who played vampire slayer Kendra Young in season 2 of the show, originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia Chase before actress Charisma Carpenter was cast in the role.

The title role went to Sarah Michelle Gellar, who had appeared as Sydney Rutledge on ''Swans Crossing'' and Kendall Hart on ''All My Children''. At age eighteen in 1995, Gellar had already won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Leading Actress in a Drama Series. In 1996, she was initially cast as Cordelia Chase during a week of auditioning. She decided to keep trying for the role of Buffy, and after several more auditions, she landed the lead.

Nathan Fillion auditioned for the role of Angel back in early 1996. David Boreanaz had already been cast at the time of the unaired ''Buffy'' pilot, but did not appear.

Anthony Stewart Head had already led a prolific acting and singing career, but remained best known in the United States for a series of twelve coffee commercials with Sharon Maughan for Nescafé. He accepted the role of Rupert Giles. Unlike other ''Buffy'' regulars, Nicholas Brendon had little acting experience, instead working various jobs – including production assistant, plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, food delivery, script delivery, day care counselor, and waiter – before breaking into acting and overcoming his stutter. He landed his Xander Harris role following only four days of auditioning. Ryan Reynolds and Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson) also auditioned for the part.

Alyson Hannigan was the last of the original six to be cast. Following her role in ''My Stepmother Is an Alien'', she appeared in commercials and supporting roles on television shows throughout the early 1990s. In 1996, the role of Willow Rosenberg was initially played by Riff Regan for the unaired ''Buffy'' pilot, but Hannigan auditioned when the role was being recast for the series proper. Hannigan described her approach to the character through Willow's reaction to a particular moment: Willow sadly tells Buffy that her Barbie doll was taken from her as a child. Buffy asks her if she ever got it back. Willow's line was to reply "most of it". Hannigan decided on an upbeat and happy delivery of the line "most of it", as opposed to a sad, depressed delivery. Hannigan figured Willow would be happy and proud that she got "most of it" back. That indicated how she was going to play the rest of the scene, and the role, for that matter, and defined the character. Her approach subsequently got her the role.

Broadcast history and syndication

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' first aired on March 10, 1997, (as a mid season replacement for the show ''Savannah'') on the WB network, and played a key role in the growth of the Warner Bros. television network in its early years. After five seasons, it transferred to the United Paramount Network (UPN) for its final two seasons. In 2001, the show went into syndication in the United States on local stations and on cable channel FX; the local airings ended in 2005, and the FX airings lasted until 2008. Beginning in January 2010, it began to air in syndication in the United States on Logo. Reruns also briefly aired on MTV. In March 2010, it began to air in Canada on MuchMusic and MuchMore. On November 7, 2010, it began airing on Chiller with a 24-hour marathon; the series airs weekdays. Chiller has also aired a 14-hour Thanksgiving Day marathon on November 25, 2010. In 2011, it began airing on Oxygen and TeenNick.

While the seventh season was still being broadcast, Sarah Michelle Gellar told ''Entertainment Weekly'' she was not going to sign on for an eighth year; "When we started to have such a strong year this year, I thought: 'This is how I want to go out, on top, at our best". Whedon and UPN gave some considerations to production of a spin-off series that would not require Gellar, including a rumored Faith series, but nothing came of those plans. The ''Buffy'' canon is continuing outside the television medium in the Dark Horse Comics series, ''Buffy'' Season Eight. This has been produced since March 2007 by Whedon, who also wrote the first story arc, "The Long Way Home".

As of July 15, 2008, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' episodes are available to download for PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable video game consoles via the PlayStation Network.

In the United Kingdom, the entire series aired on Sky1 and BBC2. After protests from fans about early episodes being edited for their pre-watershed time-slot, from the second run (mid-second season onwards), the BBC gave the show two time slots: the early-evening slot (typically Thursday at 6:45 pm) for a family-friendly version with violence, objectionable language and other stronger material cut out, and a late-night uncut version (initially late-night Sundays, but for most of the run, late-night Fridays; exact times varied). Sky1 aired the show typically at 8:00 pm on Thursdays. From the fourth season onwards, the BBC aired the show in anamorphic 16:9 widescreen format. Whedon later said that ''Buffy'' was never intended to be viewed this way. Despite his claims, Sky1 and FX UK now air repeat showings in the widescreen format.

Opening sequence

The ''Buffy'' opening sequence provides credits early in each show. The music was performed by the rock band Nerf Herder. The melody is similar to that of an Austrian pop song from the 1980s called "Codo" by DÖF, but Nerf Herder have said that they had "never heard of DÖF" and the similarity was coincidental. In the DVD commentary for the first ''Buffy'' episode, Whedon said his decision to go with Nerf Herder's theme was influenced by cast member Alyson Hannigan, who had made him listen to the band's music. Janet Halfyard, in her essay "Music, Gender, and Identity in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ''Angel''", describes the opening:

But the theme changes: "The opening sequence removes itself from the sphere of 1960s and '70s horror by replaying the same motif, the organ now supplanted by an aggressively strummed electric guitar, relocating itself in modern youth culture". This music is heard over images of a young cast involved in the action and turbulence of adolescence. The sequence provides a post-modern twist on the horror genre.

The brief clips of characters and events which compose the opening sequence are updated from season to season. The only shots that persist across all seven seasons are those of a book titled ''Vampyr'' and of the cross given to Buffy by Angel in the first episode. Each sequence ends with a lingering shot of Buffy, which changes between seasons. In seasons six and seven, the final shots of Gellar are respectively as Buffybot in "The Gift" (season five finale) and the First Evil posing as Buffy in "Lessons" (season seven premiere). The only exception was in the season four episode "Superstar", which featured a long shot of Jonathan Levinson.

Four episodes feature an opening sequence that is unique to that specific episode. The fourth season episode "Superstar" is the same as the season four credits except numerous clips of Jonathan are added in. The fifth season premiere "Buffy vs. Dracula" has the regular season five credits with the omission of the Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn) scenes from the title sequence. She is instead credited as a guest star. The season six episode "Once More, with Feeling" has a different opening theme song and credits. The season six episode "Seeing Red" added Amber Benson (Tara) into the regular season six opening credits for her final episode.

Music

''Buffy'' features a mix of original, indie, rock and pop music. The composers spent around seven days scoring between fourteen to thirty minutes of music for each episode. Christophe Beck revealed that the ''Buffy'' composers used computers and synthesizers and were limited to recording one or two "real" samples. Despite this, their goal was to produce "dramatic" orchestration that would stand up to film scores.

Alongside the score, most episodes featured indie rock music, usually at the characters' venue of choice, The Bronze. ''Buffy'' music supervisor John King explained that "we like to use unsigned bands" that "you would believe would play in this place". For example, the fictional group Dingoes Ate My Baby were portrayed on screen by front group Four Star Mary. Pop songs by famous artists were rarely featured prominently, but several episodes spotlighted the sounds of more famous artists such as Sarah McLachlan, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Blink-182, Third Eye Blind, Aimee Mann (who also had a line of dialogue), The Dandy Warhols, Cibo Matto, Coldplay, Lisa Loeb, and Michelle Branch. The popularity of music used in ''Buffy'' has led to the release of four soundtrack albums: ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album'', ''Radio Sunnydale'', the ''"Once More, with Feeling" Soundtrack'', and ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Score''.

Setting and storylines

Setting and filming locations

:''Main articles: Sunnydale, Hellmouth and Filming locations''

Most of ''Buffy'' was shot on location in Los Angeles, California. The main exterior set of the town of Sunnydale, including the infamous "sun sign", was located in Santa Monica, California in a lot on Olympic Boulevard. The show is set in the fictional California town of Sunnydale, whose suburban Sunnydale High School sits on top of a "Hellmouth", a gateway to demon realms. The Hellmouth, located beneath the school library, is a source of mystical energies as well as a nexus for a wide variety of evil creatures and supernatural phenomena. In addition to being an open-ended plot device, Joss Whedon has cited the Hellmouth and "High school as Hell" as one of the primary metaphors in creating the series.

The high school used in the first three seasons is actually Torrance High School, in Torrance, California. This school was used until the residents of Torrance complained about loud sounds at night. The school exterior has been used in other television shows and movies, most notably ''Beverly Hills, 90210'', ''Bring It On'', ''She's All That'' and the spoof ''Not Another Teen Movie''. In addition to the high school and its library, scenes take place in the town's cemeteries, a local nightclub (The Bronze), and Buffy's home (located in Torrance), where many of the characters live at various points in the series.

Some of the exterior shots of the college Buffy attends, UC Sunnydale, were filmed at UCLA. Several episodes include shots from the Oviatt Library at CSUN.

Format

''Buffy'' is told in a serialized format, with each episode involving a self-contained story while contributing to a larger storyline, which is broken down into season-long narratives marked by the rise and defeat of a powerful antagonist, commonly referred to as the "Big Bad". While the show is mainly a drama with frequent comic relief, most episodes blend different genres, including horror, martial arts, romance, melodrama, farce, science fiction, comedy, and even, in one episode, musical comedy.

The series' narrative revolves around Buffy and her friends, collectively dubbed the "Scooby Gang", who struggle to balance the fight against supernatural evils with their complex social lives. The show mixes complex, season-long storylines with a villain-of-the-week format; a typical episode contains one or more villains, or supernatural phenomena, that are thwarted or defeated by the end of the episode. Though elements and relationships are explored and ongoing subplots are included, the show focuses primarily on Buffy and her role as an archetypal heroine.

In the first few seasons, the most prominent monsters in the ''Buffy'' bestiary are vampires, which are based on traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions. As the series continues, Buffy and her companions fight an increasing variety of demons, as well as ghosts, werewolves, zombies, and unscrupulous humans. They frequently save the world from annihilation by a combination of physical combat, magic, and detective-style investigation, and are guided by an extensive collection of ancient and mystical reference books. Hand-to-hand combat is chiefly undertaken by Buffy and Angel, later by Spike, and to a far lesser degree by Giles and Xander. Willow eventually becomes an adept witch, while Giles contributes his extensive knowledge of demonology and supernatural lore.

Inspirations and metaphors

During the first year of the series, Whedon described the show as "''My So-Called Life'' meets ''The X-Files''". ''My So-Called Life'' gave a sympathetic portrayal of teen anxieties; in contrast, ''The X-Files'' delivered a supernatural "monster of the week" storyline. Alongside these series, Whedon has cited cult film ''Night of the Comet'' as a "big influence", and credited the ''X-Men'' character Kitty Pryde as a significant influence on the character of Buffy. The authors of the unofficial guidebook ''Dusted'' point out that the series was often a pastiche, borrowing elements from previous horror novels, movies, and short stories and from such common literary stock as folklore and mythology. Nevitt and Smith describe ''Buffy'''s use of pastiche as "post modern Gothic". For example, the Adam character parallels the ''Frankenstein'' monster, the episode "Bad Eggs" parallels ''Invasion of the Body Snatchers'', and so on.

''Buffy'' episodes often include a deeper meaning or metaphor as well. Whedon explained, "We think very carefully about what we're trying to say emotionally, politically, and even philosophically while we're writing it... it really is, apart from being a pop-culture phenomenon, something that is deeply layered textually episode by episode". Academics Wilcox and Lavery provide examples of how a few episodes deal with real life issues turned into supernatural metaphors:

The love affair between the vampire Angel and Buffy was fraught with metaphors. For example, their night of passion cost the vampire his soul. Sarah Michelle Gellar said: "That's the ultimate metaphor. You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you."

Buffy struggles throughout the series with her calling as Slayer and the loss of freedom this entails, frequently sacrificing teenage experiences for her Slayer duties. Her difficulties and eventual empowering realizations are reflections of several dichotomies faced by modern women and echo feminist issues within society.

In the episode "Becoming (Part 2)", when Joyce learns that Buffy is the Slayer, her reaction has strong echoes of a parent discovering their child is gay, including denial, suggesting that she try "not being a Slayer", and ultimately kicking Buffy out of the house.

Episode lists

Plot summary

Season one exemplifies the "high school as hell" concept. Buffy Summers has just moved to Sunnydale after burning down her old school's gym and hopes to escape her Slayer duties. Her plans are complicated by Rupert Giles, her new Watcher, who reminds her of the inescapable presence of evil. Sunnydale High is built atop a Hellmouth, a portal to demon dimensions that attracts supernatural phenomena to the area. Buffy meets two schoolmates, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, who help her fight evil through the series, but they must first prevent The Master, an ancient and especially threatening vampire, from opening the Hellmouth and taking over Sunnydale.

The emotional stakes are raised in season two. New vampires Spike and Drusilla (weakened from a mob in Prague, which presumably caused her debilitating injury), come to town along with the new slayer, Kendra Young, who was activated as a result of Buffy's brief death in the season one finale. Xander becomes involved with Cordelia, while Willow becomes involved with witchcraft and Daniel "Oz" Osbourne, who becomes a werewolf after being bitten by his young cousin Jordy who happens to be a werewolf. Buffy and the vampire Angel develop a relationship over the course of the season, but after they sleep together, Angel's soul, given to him by a curse, is lost and he once more becomes Angelus, a sadistic killer. He torments much of the "Scooby Gang" throughout the rest of the season and murders multiple innocents and Giles' new girlfriend Jenny Calendar, a gypsy who had been sent to make sure that the curse that gave Angel his soul was never broken. Buffy is forced to kill him (right after Willow restores his soul) and leaves Sunnydale, emotionally shattered.

After attempting to start a new life in Los Angeles, Buffy returns to town in season three. Angel is resurrected, but after he and Buffy realize that a relationship between them can never happen, he leaves Sunnydale at the end of the season. Giles is fired from the Watcher's Council because he had developed a "father's love" for Buffy, and towards the end of the season Buffy announces that she will also no longer be working for the council. Early in the season she is confronted with an unstable Slayer, Faith, who was called up after Kendra's death near the end of season two, as well as affable Sunnydale Mayor Richard Wilkins, who has plans to "ascend" (become a giant snake demon) on Sunnydale High's Graduation Day. Although she works with Buffy at first, after accidentally killing a human, Faith becomes irrational and sides with Mayor Wilkins, eventually landing in a coma after a fight with Buffy. At the end of the season, Buffy and the entire graduation class defeat Mayor Wilkins by blowing up Sunnydale High, killing him in the process.

Season four sees Buffy and Willow enroll at UC Sunnydale while Xander joins the workforce and begins dating Anya, a former vengeance demon. Spike returns as a series regular and is abducted by The Initiative, a top-secret military installation based beneath the UC Sunnydale campus. They implant a microchip in his head which prevents him from harming humans. He reluctantly helps the Scooby Gang throughout the season and eventually begins to fight on their side after learning that he can harm other demons. Oz leaves town after realizing that he is too dangerous as a werewolf, and Willow falls in love with Tara Maclay, another witch. Buffy begins dating Riley Finn, a grad student whom she later realizes is a member of The Initiative. Although appearing to be a well-meaning anti-demon operation, The Initiative's sinister plans are revealed when Adam, a demon/human/computer hybrid secret project, escapes and begins to wreak havoc on the town.

During season five, a younger sister to Buffy, Dawn, suddenly appears in Buffy's life, and although she is new to the series, to the characters it is as if she has always been there. Buffy is confronted with Glory, an exiled hell-God that is searching for a "Key" that will allow her to return to her Hell dimension and in the process would blur the lines between dimensions and unleash Hell on Earth. It is later discovered that the Key's protectors had turned the Key into human form as Buffy's sister Dawn, concurrently implanting everybody with lifelong memories of her. The Watcher's Council aids in Buffy's research of Glory, and she and Giles are both reinstated by the Council. Riley leaves early in the season after deducing that Buffy does not love him and joins a military demon-hunting operation, while Spike, still implanted with the Initiative chip, realizes he is in love with Buffy and continually helps the Scoobies in their fight. Buffy's mother, Joyce, dies of a brain aneurysm, while at the end of the season, Xander proposes to Anya. Glory later discovers that Dawn is the key and kidnaps her. Buffy sacrifices her own life to save Dawn's and prevent the portal to the Hell dimensions from opening.

At the beginning of season six, Buffy's friends resurrect her through a powerful spell, believing that they have rescued her from Hell. Buffy reveals she was in Heaven during her death and she falls into a deep depression for most of the season. Giles returns to England after deciding that Buffy has become too reliant on him, while Buffy takes up a fast-food job for money and develops a secret, mutually abusive relationship with Spike. Dawn suffers from kleptomania and feelings of alienation, Xander leaves Anya at the altar, after which Anya once again becomes a vengeance demon, and Willow becomes addicted to magic, causing Tara to temporarily leave her. They also begin to deal with The Trio, a group of nerds led by Warren Mears who use their technological proficiency to attempt to kill Buffy and take over Sunnydale. Warren is shown to be the only competent villain of the group and, after Buffy thwarts his plans multiple times and the Trio breaks apart, he comes unhinged and attacks Buffy with a gun, killing Tara in the process. This causes Willow to descend into darkness and unleash all of her dark magical powers, killing Warren. Giles returns to face her in battle and infuses her with light magic, tapping into her remaining humanity. This causes Willow to attempt to destroy the world to end everyone's suffering, although it eventually allows Xander to reach through her pain and end her rampage. At the end of the season, after attacking Buffy, Spike leaves Sunnydale and travels to see a demon and asks him to "return him to what he used to be" so that he can "give Buffy what she deserves". After passing a series of tests, the demon restores his soul.

During season seven, it is revealed that Buffy's resurrection caused an instability which allows the First Evil to begin tipping the balance between good and evil. It begins hunting down and killing the inactive Potential Slayers, and raises an army of ancient, powerful Turok-Han vampires. After the Watchers' Council is destroyed, a number of the Potential Slayers (some brought by Giles) take refuge in Buffy's house. Faith returns to help fight the First Evil, and the new Sunnydale High School's principal, Robin Wood, also joins the cause. The Turok-Han vampires and a sinister preacher known as Caleb begin causing havoc for the Scoobies. As the Hellmouth becomes more active, nearly all humans and demons flee Sunnydale. In the series finale, the Scoobies descend into the Hellmouth while Willow casts a spell that activates all of the Potential Slayers, granting them Slayer powers. Angel comes to Sunnydale with an amulet, which Buffy gives to Spike. Anya, now human again, dies in the fight, as do some of the new Slayers. Spike's amulet channels the power of the sun and kills all of the vampires in the Hellmouth, incinerating Spike in the process. This causes the Hellmouth to collapse, and the entirety of Sunnydale collapses into the resulting crater, while the survivors of the battle escape in a school bus.

Characters

Main characters

Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is "the Slayer", one in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle evil forces. This mystic calling endows her with dramatically increased physical strength, as well as endurance, agility, accelerated healing, intuition, and a limited degree of clairvoyance, usually in the form of prophetic dreams.

Buffy receives guidance from her Watcher, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). Giles, rarely referred to by his first name, is a member of the Watchers' Council, whose job is to train and assist the Slayers. Giles researches the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offering insights into their origins and advice on how to kill them.

Buffy is also helped by friends she meets at Sunnydale High: Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon). Willow is originally a bookish wallflower; she provides a contrast to Buffy's outgoing personality, but shares the social isolation Buffy suffers after becoming a Slayer. As the series progresses, Willow becomes a more assertive character, a powerful witch, and comes out as a lesbian. In contrast, Xander, with no supernatural skills, provides comic relief and a grounded perspective. It is Xander who often provides the heart to the series, and in season six, becomes the hero in place of Buffy who defeats the "Big Bad". Buffy and Willow are the only characters who appear in all 144 episodes; Xander is missing in only one.

Supporting characters

:''Main articles: List of ''Buffy'' characters, ''Buffy'' minor characters, and List of ''Buffy'' villains. The cast of characters grew over the course of the series. Buffy first arrives in Sunnydale with her mother, Joyce Summers (portrayed by Kristine Sutherland), who functions as an anchor of normality in the Scoobies' lives even after she learns of Buffy's role in the supernatural world ("Becoming, Part Two"). Buffy's teenage sister Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg) does not appear until season five.

A vampire with a soul, Angel (portrayed by David Boreanaz), is Buffy's love interest throughout the first three seasons. He leaves Buffy to make amends for his sins and search for redemption in his own spin-off, ''Angel''.

At Sunnydale High, Buffy meets several other students willing to join her fight for good (alongside her friends Willow and Xander). Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), the archetypal shallow cheerleader, reluctantly becomes involved, and Daniel "Oz" Osbourne (Seth Green), a fellow student, rock guitarist and werewolf, joins the Scooby Gang through his relationship with Willow. Anya (Emma Caulfield), a former vengeance demon (Anyanka) who specialized in avenging scorned women, becomes Xander's lover after losing her powers, and joins the Scooby Gang in season four.

In Buffy's senior year at high school, she meets Faith (Eliza Dushku), the second current-Slayer who was brought forth when Slayer Kendra Young (Bianca Lawson) was killed by vampire Drusilla (Juliet Landau), in season two. Although she initially fights on the side of good with Buffy and the rest of the Scooby Gang, she comes to stand against them and sides with Mayor Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener) after accidentally killing a human in season three. She reappears briefly in the fourth season, looking for vengeance, and moves to ''Angel'' where she voluntarily goes to jail for her murders. Faith reappears in season seven of ''Buffy'', having helped Angel and crew, and fights with Buffy against The First Evil.

Buffy gathers other allies: Spike (James Marsters), a vampire, is an old companion of Angelus and one of Buffy's major enemies in early seasons, although they later become allies and lovers. At the end of season six, Spike regains his soul. Spike is known for his Billy Idol-style peroxide blond hair and his black leather coat, stolen from a previous Slayer, Nikki Wood; her son, Robin Wood (D. B. Woodside), joined the Scoobies in the final season. Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) is a fellow member of Willow's Wicca group during season four, and their friendship eventually turns into a romantic relationship. Buffy became involved personally and professionally with Riley Finn (Marc Blucas), a military operative in "the Initiative", which hunts demons using science and technology. The final season sees geeky wannabe-villain Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk) come to side with the Scoobies, who regard him more as a nuisance than an ally.

''Buffy'' featured dozens of recurring characters, both major and minor. For example the "Big Bad" (villain) characters were featured for at least one season (e.g. Glorificus was a character that appeared in 13 episodes, spanning much of season five). Similarly, characters that allied themselves to the Scooby Gang and characters which attended the same institutions were sometimes featured in multiple episodes.

Spin-offs

''Buffy'' has inspired a range of official and unofficial works, including television shows, books, comics and games. This expansion of the series encouraged use of the term "Buffyverse" to describe the fictional universe in which ''Buffy'' and related stories take place.

The franchise has inspired ''Buffy'' action figures and merchandise such as official ''Buffy/Angel'' magazines and ''Buffy'' companion books. Eden Studios has published a ''Buffy'' role-playing game, while Score Entertainment has released a ''Buffy'' Collectible Card Game.

Possible film or series continuation

Joss Whedon was interested in a film continuation in 1998, but such a film has yet to materialize.

''Angel''

The spin-off ''Angel'' was introduced in October 1999, at the start of ''Buffy'' season four. The series was created by ''Buffy'''s creator Joss Whedon in collaboration with David Greenwalt. Like ''Buffy'', it was produced by the production company Mutant Enemy. At times, it performed better in the Nielsen ratings than its parent series did.

The series was given a darker tone focusing on the ongoing trials of Angel in Los Angeles. His character is tormented by guilt following the return of his soul, punishment for more than a century of murder and torture. During the first four seasons of the show, he works as a private detective in a fictionalized version of Los Angeles, California, where he and his associates work to "help the helpless" and to restore the faith and "save the souls" of those who have lost their way. Typically, this mission involves doing battle with evil demons or demonically allied humans (primarily the law firm Wolfram & Hart), while Angel must also contend with his own violent nature. In season five, the Senior Partners of Wolfram and Hart take a bold gamble in their campaign to corrupt Angel, giving him control of their Los Angeles office. Angel accepts the deal as an opportunity to fight evil from the inside.

In addition to Boreanaz, ''Angel'' inherited ''Buffy'' regular Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase). When Glenn Quinn (Doyle) left the series during its first season, Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), who had been a recurring character in the last nine episodes of season three of ''Buffy'', took his place. Carpenter and Denisof were followed later by Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall) and James Marsters (Spike). Several actors and actresses who played ''Buffy'' characters made guest appearances on ''Angel'', including Seth Green (Daniel "Oz" Osbourne), Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Eliza Dushku (Faith), Tom Lenk (Andrew Wells), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Julie Benz (Darla), and Juliet Landau (Drusilla). Angel also continued to appear occasionally on ''Buffy''.

Expanded universe

Outside of the TV series, the Buffyverse has been officially expanded and elaborated on by authors and artists in the so-called "Buffyverse Expanded Universe". The creators of these works may or may not keep to established continuity. Similarly, writers for the TV series were under no obligation to use information which had been established by the Expanded Universe, and sometimes contradicted such continuity.

Dark Horse has published the ''Buffy'' comics since 1998. In 2003, Whedon wrote an eight-issue miniseries for Dark Horse Comics titled ''Fray'', about a Slayer in the future. Following the publication of ''Tales of the Vampires'' in 2004, ''Dark Horse Comics'' halted publication on Buffyverse-related comics and graphic novels. The company is currently producing Whedon's ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'' with forty issues beginning in March 2007, to pick up where the television show left off – taking the place of an eighth canonical season. The first story arc is also written by Whedon, and is called "The Long Way Home" which has been widely well-received, with circulation rivalling industry leaders DC and Marvel's top-selling titles. Also after "The Long Way Home" came other story arcs like Faith's return in "No Future for You" and a ''Fray'' cross-over in "Time of Your Life".

Pocket Books hold the license to produce ''Buffy'' novels, of which they have published more than sixty since 1998. These sometimes flesh out background information on characters; for example, ''Go Ask Malice'' details the events that lead up to Faith arriving in Sunnydale. The most recent novels include ''Carnival of Souls'', ''Blackout'', ''Portal Through Time'', ''Bad Bargain'', and ''The Deathless''.

Five official ''Buffy'' video games have been released on portable and home consoles. Most notably, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' for Xbox in 2002 and ''Chaos Bleeds'' for GameCube, Xbox and PlayStation 2 in 2003.

Undeveloped spinoffs

The popularity of ''Buffy'' and ''Angel'' has led to attempts to develop more on-screen ventures in the fictional 'Buffyverse'. These projects remain undeveloped and may never be greenlit. In 2002, two potential spinoffs were in discussion: ''Buffy the Animated Series'' and ''Ripper''. ''Buffy the Animated Series'' was a proposed animated TV show based on ''Buffy''; Whedon and Jeph Loeb were to be executive producers for the show, and most of the cast from ''Buffy'' were to return to voice their characters. 20th Century Fox showed an interest in developing and selling the show to another network. A three-minute pilot was completed in 2004, but was never picked up. Whedon revealed to ''The Hollywood Reporter'': "We just could not find a home for it. We had six or seven hilarious scripts from our own staff – and nobody wanted it." Neither the pilot nor the scripts have been seen outside of the entertainment industry, though writer Jane Espenson has teasingly revealed small extracts from some of her scripts for the show.

''Ripper'' was originally a proposed television show based upon the character of Rupert Giles portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. More recent information has suggested that if ''Ripper'' were ever made, it would be a TV movie or a DVD movie. There was little heard about the series until 2007 when Joss Whedon confirmed that talks were almost completed for a 90 minute ''Ripper'' special on the BBC with both Head and the BBC completely on board.

In 2003, a year after the first public discussions on ''Buffy the Animated Series'' and ''Ripper'', ''Buffy'' was nearing its end. Espenson has said that during this time spinoffs were discussed, "I think Marti talked with Joss about ''Slayer School'' and Tim Minear talked with him about Faith on a motorcycle. I assume there was some back-and-forth pitching." Espenson has revealed that ''Slayer School'' might have used new slayers and potentially included Willow Rosenberg, but Whedon did not think that such a spinoff felt right.

Dushku declined the pitch for a Buffyverse TV series based on Faith and instead agreed to a deal to produce ''Tru Calling''. Dushku explained to IGN: "It would have been a really hard thing to do, and not that I would not have been up for a challenge, but with it coming on immediately following ''Buffy'', I think that those would have been really big boots to fill". Tim Minear explained some of the ideas behind the aborted series: "The show was basically going to be Faith meets Kung Fu. It would have been Faith, probably on a motorcycle, crossing the earth, trying to find her place in the world."

Finally, during the summer of 2004 after the end of ''Angel'', a movie about Spike was proposed. The movie would have been directed by Tim Minear and starred Marsters and Amy Acker and featured Alyson Hannigan. Outside the 2006 Saturn Awards, Whedon announced that he had pitched the concept to various bodies but had yet to receive any feedback.

New sparks to the ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' movie have been lit by an interview Sarah Michelle Gellar gave to Sci-Fi Wire in which she says she would not rule out returning to her most iconic role: "Never say never," she said. "One of the reasons the original ''Buffy'' movie did not really work on the big screen–and people blamed Kristy, but that's not what it was–the story was better told over a long arc," Gellar said. "And I worry about Buffy as a 'beginning, middle and end' so quickly. ... You show me a script; you show me that it works, and you show me that [the] audience can accept that, [and] I'd probably be there. Those are what my hesitations are."

Cultural impact

''Buffy'' has had a cultural impact on a number of media. It has impacted television studies and inspired fan-made films, it has been parodied and referenced, and has influenced other television series.

Academia

''Buffy'' is notable for attracting the interest of scholars of popular culture as a subset of popular culture studies. Academic settings increasingly include the show as a topic of literary study and analysis. National Public Radio describes ''Buffy'' as having a "special following among academics, some of whom have staked a claim in what they call 'Buffy Studies.'" Though not widely recognized as a distinct discipline, the term "Buffy studies" is commonly used amongst the peer-reviewed academic ''Buffy''-related writings. The response to this attention has had its critics. For example, Jes Battis, who authored ''Blood Relations in Buffy and Angel'', admits that study of the Buffyverse "invokes an uneasy combination of enthusiasm and ire", and meets "a certain amount of disdain from within the halls of the academy". Nonetheless ''Buffy'' eventually led to the publication of around twenty books and hundreds of articles examining the themes of the show from a wide range of disciplinary perspectives including sociology, Speech Communication, psychology, philosophy, and women's studies. The Whedon Studies Association produces the online academic journal ''Slayage'' and sponsors a biennial academic conference on the works of Joss Whedon.

Fandom and fan films

The popularity of ''Buffy'' has led to websites, online discussion forums, works of ''Buffy'' fan fiction and several unofficial fan-made productions.

''Buffy'' in popular culture

The series, which employed pop culture references as a frequent humorous device, has itself become a frequent pop culture reference in video games, comics and television shows, and has been frequently parodied and spoofed. Sarah Michelle Gellar has participated in several parody sketches, including a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch in which the Slayer is relocated to the ''Seinfeld'' universe, and adding her voice to an episode of ''Robot Chicken'' that parodied a would-be eighth season of ''Buffy''.

U.S. ratings

{|class="wikitable" |- !colspan="2"|Season !!Timeslot (ET) !!U.S. ratings !!Network !!Rank !!Network rank |- | 1 || 1997 || Monday 9:00 pm ||3.7 million ||rowspan="5"|The WB ||#144 ||#6 |- | 2 || 1997–1998 || Monday 9:00 pm (September 15, 1997 – January 19, 1998)Tuesday 8:00 pm (January 20 – May 19, 1998) ||5.2 million ||#133 ||#3 |- | 3 || 1998–1999 ||rowspan="5"| Tuesday 8:00 pm ||5.3 million ||#133 ||#2 (tied) |- | 4 || 1999–2000 ||4.7 million ||#122 ||#2 (tied) |- | 5 || 2000–2001 ||4.4 million ||#120 ||#3 |- | 6 || 2001–2002 ||4.6 million ||rowspan="2"|UPN ||#124 ||#3 |- | 7 || 2002–2003 ||3.6 million ||#140 ||#4 |}

''Buffy'' helped put The WB on the ratings map, but by the time the series landed at UPN in 2001, viewing figures had fallen. ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' had a series high during the third season with 5.3 million viewers, this probably due to the fact that both Gellar and Hannigan had hit movies out during the season (''Cruel Intentions'' and ''American Pie'' respectively), and a series low with 3.6 million during the seventh season. The show's series finale "Chosen" pulled in a season high of 4.9 million viewers on the UPN network.

''Buffy'' did not compete with shows on the big four networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox), but The WB was impressed with the young audience that the show was bringing in. Because of this, The WB ordered a full season of 22 episodes for the series' second season. After the episode "Surprise", which was watched by 8.2 million people, ''Buffy'' was moved from Monday at 9 pm to launch The WB's new night of programming on Tuesday. Due to its large success in that time slot, it remained on Tuesdays at 8 pm for the remainder of its original run. With its new timeslot on The WB, the show quickly climbed to the top of The WB ratings and became one of their highest-rated shows for the remainder of its time on the network. The show always placed in the top 3, usually only coming in behind ''7th Heaven''. Between seasons three and five, ''Buffy'' flip-flopped with ''Dawson's Creek'' and ''Charmed'' as the network's second highest-rated show.

In the 2001–2002 season, the show had moved to UPN after a negotiation dispute with The WB. While it was still one of their highest rated shows on their network, The WB felt that the show had already peaked and was not worth giving a salary increase to the cast and crew. UPN on the other hand, had strong faith in the series and quickly grabbed it along with ''Roswell''. UPN dedicated a two-hour premiere to the series to help re-launch it.

Impact on television

Commentators of the entertainment industry including ''Allmovie'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'' and ''The Washington Post'' have cited ''Buffy'' as "influential". Autumn 2003 saw several new shows going into production in the U.S. that featured strong females who are forced to come to terms with supernatural power or destiny while trying to maintain a normal life. These post-''Buffy'' shows include ''Dead Like Me'' and ''Joan of Arcadia''. Bryan Fuller, the creator of ''Dead Like Me'', said that "''Buffy'' showed that young women could be in situations that were both fantastic and relatable, and instead of shunting women off to the side, it puts them at the center". In the United Kingdom, ''Buffy'' became a blueprint for the revived ''Doctor Who'' series (2005–present), and executive producer Russell T Davies has said:

As well as influencing ''Doctor Who'', ''Buffy'' influenced its spinoff series ''Torchwood''.

Several ''Buffy'' alumni have gone on to write for or create other shows. Such endeavors include ''Tru Calling'' (Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson and lead actress Eliza Dushku), ''Wonderfalls'' (Tim Minear), ''Point Pleasant'' (Marti Noxon), ''Jake 2.0'' (David Greenwalt), ''The Inside'' (Tim Minear), ''Smallville'' (Steven S. DeKnight), and ''Lost'' (Drew Goddard and David Fury).

Meanwhile, the Parents Television Council complained of efforts to "deluge their young viewing audiences with adult themes". The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), however, rejected the Council's indecency complaint concerning the violent sex scene between Buffy and Spike in "Smashed" The BBC, however, chose to censor some of the more controversial sexual content when it was shown on the pre-watershed 6:45 pm slot.

Series information

The first season was introduced as a mid-season replacement for the short-lived night-time soap opera ''Savannah'', and therefore was made up of only 12 episodes. Each subsequent season was built up of 22 episodes. Discounting the unaired ''Buffy'' pilot, the seven seasons make up a total of 144 ''Buffy'' episodes aired between 1997 and 2003.

Awards and nominations

''Buffy'' has gathered a number of awards and nominations which include an Emmy Award nomination for the 1999 episode "Hush", which featured an extended sequence with no character dialogue. The 2001 episode "The Body" revolved around the death of Buffy's mother. It was filmed with no musical score, only diegetic music; it was nominated for a Nebula Award in 2002. The fall 2001 musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" received plaudits, but was omitted from Emmy nomination ballots by "accident". It has since been featured on ''Channel 4's "100 Greatest Musicals".'' In 2001, Sarah Michelle Gellar received a Golden Globe-nomination for Best Actress in a TV Series-Drama. Recently, the series was both nominated and won in the Drama Category for Television's Most Memorable Moment at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards for "The Gift" beating ''The X Files'', ''Grey's Anatomy'', ''Brian's Song'' and ''Dallas'' although the sequence for this award was not aired.

DVD releases

June 11, 2002 January 7, 2003 June 10, 2003 December 9, 2003 May 25, 2004 November 16, 2004 November 15, 2005 style="text-align:center;"

rowspan="2"	DVD	Release date
! United States/Canada!! United Kingdom!! Australia
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 1	The Complete First Season	January 15, 2002	November 27, 2000
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 2	The Complete Second Season	|	May 21, 2001	June 15, 2001
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 3	The Complete Third Season	|	October 29, 2001	November 22, 2001
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 4	The Complete Fourth Season	|	May 13, 2002	May 20, 2002
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 5	The Complete Fifth Season	|	October 28, 2002	November 29, 2002
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 6	The Complete Sixth Season	|	May 12, 2003	April 20, 2003
Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs#Season 7	The Complete Seventh Season	|	April 5, 2004	May 15, 2004
The Chosen Collection (Seasons 1–7)	|	–	—
The Complete DVD Collection (Seasons 1–7)	– ||	October 30, 2005	November 23, 2005

See also

Woman warrior

List of women warriors in folklore

References

Further reading

James B. South and William Irwin: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale". Open Court Books, Chicago 2003, ISBN 0-8126-9531-3

Gregory Stevenson: ''Televised Morality. The Case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Hamilton Books, Dallas 2003, ISBN 0-7618-2833-8

Rhonda Wilcox und David Lavery (Hrsg.): ''Fighting the Forces. What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Rowman and Littlefield Publ., Lanham 2002, ISBN 0-7425-1681-4

Lorna Jowett: ''Sex and the Slayer. A Gender Studies Primer for the Buffy Fan''. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown 2005, ISBN 0-8195-6758-2

Michael Adams: ''Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon'', Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-516033-9

External links

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' at The WB

Buffyverse Wiki

Category:1997 American television series debuts Category:2003 American television series endings Category:1990s American television series Category:2000s American television series Category:Action television series Category:American comedy-drama television series Category:American LGBT-related television programs Category:Apocalyptic fiction Category:College television series Category:English-language television series Category:Fantasy television series Category:High school television series Category:Serial drama television series Category:Teen dramas Category:Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Television series by Fox Television Studios Category:Television shows set in California Category:Vampires in film and television Category:UPN network shows Category:WB network shows Category:Werewolves in film and television Category:Witches in film and television

ar:بافي قاتلة مصاصي الدماء bs:Buffy, ubica vampira bg:Бъфи, убийцата на вампири ca:Buffy the Vampire Slayer cs:Buffy, přemožitelka upírů da:Buffy - Vampyrernes Skræk de:Buffy – Im Bann der Dämonen et:Vampiiritapja Buffy el:Μπάφφυ η Βαμπιροφόνισσα es:Buffy the Vampire Slayer eo:Buffy the Vampire Slayer fa:بافی قاتل خون‌آشام‌ها (مجموعه تلویزیونی) fr:Buffy contre les vampires gl:Buffy the Vampire Slayer id:Buffy the Vampire Slayer is:Vampírubaninn Buffy it:Buffy l'ammazzavampiri (serie televisiva) he:באפי ציידת הערפדים lt:Bafi, vampyrų žudikė hu:Buffy, a vámpírok réme nl:Buffy the Vampire Slayer (televisieserie) ja:バフィー 〜恋する十字架〜 no:Buffy, vampyrenes skrekk nn:Buffy the Vampire Slayer pl:Buffy: Postrach wampirów pt:Buffy the Vampire Slayer ro:Buffy, spaima vampirilor ru:Баффи — истребительница вампиров (телесериал) simple:Buffy the Vampire Slayer sk:Buffy, premožiteľka upírov ckb:بافى بکوژى خوێنمژەکان ( زنجیرەى تەلەڤزێۆنى) fi:Buffy, vampyyrintappaja sv:Buffy och vampyrerna th:มือใหม่ปราบผี tr:Buffy the Vampire Slayer uk:Баффі — переможниця вампірів (телесеріал) zh:捉鬼者巴菲

name	Kristy Swanson
birth date	December 19, 1969
birth place	Mission Viejo, California,United States
birth name	Kristen Nöel Swanson
occupation	Actress
years active	1982–present
spouse	Lloyd Eisler (1 child) }}

Kristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson (born December 19, 1969) is an American actress best known for playing Buffy in the 1992 film ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', she also played Catherine "Cathy" Dollanganger in the movie version of the V.C. Andrews book ''Flowers in the Attic''.

Early life

Swanson was born in Mission Viejo, California, the daughter of physical education teachers Rosemary and Robert Swanson. She has Swedish ancestry as the ancestral surname of her family was Svensson.

Career

Swanson started her career at The Actors Workshop with R.J. Adams and promptly moved into TV advertising roles and several one-off appearances in TV series such as ''Cagney and Lacey'' and ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents''. In 1986, she debuted on the big screen in two John Hughes films: ''Pretty In Pink'', in a non-speaking role, and ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' as a character who announces a convoluted excuse for Ferris' absence in class. Her first starring role was later in 1986, in Wes Craven's ''Deadly Friend'' as Samantha - "the girl next door." The next year she played Cathy in the adaptation of V. C. Andrews' best-seller ''Flowers in the Attic''.

By 1990, Swanson had made many television appearances, including multiple appearances in ''Knots Landing'' (1987–1988), ''Nightingales'' (1989), her first starring role in a TV series, although it only lasted a season, and a short-lived Burt Reynolds television series called ''B.L. Stryker'' (1989).

Throughout the 1990s, she centered mostly in films. She played the title role in the 1992 movie ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'', which was a box office bomb but had a profitable rental life. She appeared in both starring and supporting roles in movies such as ''Hot Shots!'', ''The Program'', ''The Chase'', or her most critically acclaimed role as Kristen Connor, a student discovering her sexuality, in John Singleton's ''Higher Learning''. She also appeared in the film adaptation of the comic-book ''The Phantom'' and the dark comedy ''8 Heads in a Duffel Bag'' with Joe Pesci. Most of these films failed at the box office, and she reverted to TV work in the late 1990s.

In the 1998-9 season of ''Early Edition'', Swanson played Erica Paget, a love interest of the main character, Gary Hobson. In 1999 Swanson played Vanessa, the girlfriend of Adam Sandler in the movie ''Big Daddy''. In 2000, she returned to a television series, as the star of ''Grapevine'', a revamp of a 1992 TV series that was cancelled after 5 episodes.

Swanson posed nude for ''Playboy'' magazine in November 2002 in a cover-featured pictorial. She appeared in and won the 2006 Fox television program ''Skating with Celebrities'', partnered with Lloyd Eisler.

On May 8, 2007, Swanson appeared in the ''Law and Order: Criminal Intent'' episode "Bombshell", playing a fictionalized variation on Anna Nicole Smith.

In 2007, she became a spokesperson of the Medifast diet. In the following year, she guest-starred in 3 episodes of the lesbian web series ''3Way''.

In July 2009 she filmed ''What If...'', co-starring Kevin Sorbo and Debby Ryan, released on August 20, 2010. It was her first theatrical film in 10 years.

Swanson made a cameo appearance in the "Don't You Forget About Me" episode of ''One Tree Hill,'' which aired on February 1, 2010. The episode was a homage to John Hughes which Swanson appeared in two films produced by him in the 1980s.

Personal life

Swanson began a relationship with her then married Skating with Celebrities partner Lloyd Eisler during the show's run. Swanson gave birth to a son named Magnus Hart Swanson Eisler on February 16, 2007, just one month after Lloyd's divorce from Marcia O'Brien was finalized. Swanson married Eisler on February 7, 2009 in San Luis Obispo. They currently live in Santa Clarita, California.

Filmography

Films ''What If... (film) ''The Closer (film) ''Living Death (2006 film) ''Black Hole (2006 film) ''Six Months Later'' ''Forbidden Secrets (film) ''Bound by Lies'' ''The Silence (2003 film) ''Red Water'' ''Zebra Lounge'' ''Soul Assassin'' ''Dude, Where's My Car?'' ''Meeting Daddy'' ''Big Daddy (film) ''Supreme Sanction'' ''Pleasantville (film) ''Ground Control (film) ''Bad to the Bone (film) ''Tinseltown (film) ''Lover Girl (film) ''8 Heads in a Duffel Bag'' ''Marshal Law (film) ''The Phantom (1996 film) ''Higher Learning (film) ''Getting In'' ''The Chase (1994 film) ''The Program'' ''The Chili Con Carne Club'' ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film) ''Highway to Hell (film) ''Hot Shots!'' ''Mannequin: On the Move'' ''Diving In'' ''Dream Trap'' ''Flowers in the Attic (film) ''Not Quite Human (film) ''Juarez (1987 film) ''Deadly Friend'' ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' ''Mr. Boogedy'' ''Miracle of the Heart: A Boy's Town Story'' ''Pretty in Pink''

Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes
rowspan="1"	2010	''A Root Beer Christmas''	Martha Evans
rowspan="1"	2010	What If...'' ||	Wendy Walker
rowspan="1"	2009	The Closer'' ||	Kaitlyn	Short film
rowspan="1"	2006	Living Death'' ||	Elizabeth Harris
rowspan="1"	2006	The Black Hole'' ||	Shannon Muir	TV movie
rowspan="1"	2005	|	Linda	Short film
rowspan="1"	2005	Forbidden Secrets'' ||	Alexandra Kent Lambeth	TV movie
rowspan="1"	2005	|	Laura Cross
rowspan="1"	2003	Silence'' ||	Julia Craig
rowspan="1"	2003	|	Kelli Raymond	TV movie
rowspan="1"	2001	|	Louise Bauer
rowspan="1"	2001	|	Tessa Jansen
rowspan="1"	2000	|	Christie Boner
rowspan="1"	2000	|	Laurel Lee
rowspan="1"	1999	Big Daddy'' ||	Vanessa
rowspan="1"	1999	|	Jenna	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1998	Pleasantville ||	Concerned "Colored" Girl	Uncredited
rowspan="1"	1998	Ground Control'' ||	Julie Albrecht
rowspan="1"	1997	Bad to the Bone'' ||	Francesca Wells	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1997	Tinseltown'' ||	Nikki Randall
rowspan="1"	1997	Lover Girl'' ||	Darlene Ferrari
rowspan="1"	1997	|	Laurie Bennett
rowspan="1"	1996	Marshal Law'' ||	Lilly Nelson	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1996	The Phantom'' ||	Diana Palmer
rowspan="1"	1995	Higher Learning'' ||	Kristen Connor
rowspan="1"	1994	|	Kirby Watts
rowspan="1"	1994	The Chase'' ||	Natalie Voss
rowspan="1"	1993	|	Camille Shafer
rowspan="1"	1993	|	Julie	Short film
rowspan="1"	1992	Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' ||	Buffy Summers
rowspan="1"	1992	Highway to Hell'' ||	Rachel Clark
rowspan="1"	1991	|	Kowalski
rowspan="1"	1991	|	Jessie
rowspan="1"	1990	|	Terry Hopkins
rowspan="1"	1990	|	Sue Halloran
rowspan="1"	1987	Flowers in the Attic'' ||	Cathy Dollanganger
rowspan="1"	1987	Not Quite Human'' ||	Erin Jeffries	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1987	Juarez'' ||	Cathy Dodge	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1986	|	Samantha Pringle
rowspan="1"	1986	|	Simone Adamley
rowspan="1"	1986	|	Jennifer Davis	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1986	|	Stephanie Gamble	TV movie
rowspan="1"	1986	|	Duckette

Television series

! Year !! Series !! Role !! Episodes
2011	''Psych'' ("This Episode Sucks")	Marlowe Viccellio	1
2010		Woman in car	1
2008		Leslie Lapdalulu	3
2007	''Law & Order: Criminal Intent''	Lorelei Mailer	1
2004	''CSI: Miami''	Roxanne Price	1
2003	''Just Shoot Me!''	Allison Cavanaugh	1
2000		Susan Crawford	5
1998-99	''Early Edition''	Erica Paget	20
1989	''B.L. Stryker''	Lynn Ellingsworth	2
1989		Becky Granger	13
1987-88	''Knots Landing''	Jody Campbell	5
1987	''Growing Pains''	Rhonda	1
1986		Linda Perkins	1
1986		Female Student #2	1
1985	''Cagney & Lacey''	Stephanie Brandon	1
1985	''Call to Glory''		2
1984	''It's Your Move''	Laura	1

Awards and nominations

Wins

1989: Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress in a Horror or Mystery Motion Picture - ''Flowers In The Attic''

Nominations

1988: Young Artist Award for Best Young Female Superstar in Motion Pictures - ''Deadly Friend''

1987: Young Artist Award for Exceptional Young Actress Starring in a Television Special or Movie of the Week - ''Mr. Boogedy''

1986: Young Artist Award for Best Young Actress - Guest in a Television Series - ''Cagney & Lacey episode "On The Street"''

References

External links

Kristy Swanson Interview on Fox News Radio

Category:1969 births Category:Actors from California Category:American film actors Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Orange County, California Category:American people of Swedish descent

de:Kristy Swanson es:Kristy Swanson fr:Kristy Swanson it:Kristy Swanson nl:Kristy Swanson ja:クリスティ・スワンソン pl:Kristy Swanson pt:Kristy Swanson ru:Свэнсон, Кристи simple:Kristy Swanson sr:Кристи Свонсон fi:Kristy Swanson

name	Rupert Giles
first	"Welcome to the Hellmouth"
creator	Joss Whedon
portrayer	Anthony Stewart Head
groups	Watchers' CouncilScooby Gang
role	Watcher }}

Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with fans, and since 2003, Joss Whedon has attempted to continue Giles' story through a spin-off, ''Ripper''; as of 2009, Whedon has submitted a 90-minute script to the BBC, but rights issues have so far prevented the series moving into development. The character of Giles also appears substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.

Giles's primary role in the series is Watcher to Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) in her capacity as vampire Slayer; he is in the employ of the Watchers' Council, a British organization that attempts to oversee the actions of the Slayer. From youth, Giles was expected to follow the family tradition and become a Watcher, though as a teenager and young adult he rebelled, dropping out of Oxford University to experiment in dark magic and the rock music scene, until a bereavement brought him to his senses. In adulthood, his loyalty to Buffy and her group of friends costs him his job for a time. As the series progresses, Giles increasingly becomes a father figure to Buffy and her friends Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon). His encyclopedic knowledge, affinity for magic, moderate fighting skills and willingness to kill make him an asset to Buffy in her fight against the supernatural evils that plague Sunnydale, California. Canonically, the character's story is continued in the comic book ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'', in which Giles has ascended to the highest position of authority in the Watcher's Council.

Biography

Character history

Rupert Edmund Giles (most frequently called ''Giles'') was born circa 1955 in England. His family has worked within the Council of Watchers for at least three generations; both his father and grandmother, Edna Giles, were also Watchers. As a child, Giles dreamed of being either "a fighter pilot or possibly a grocer", but he soon learned that being a Watcher is a calling, much as being a Slayer is, and Rupert's father explained his destiny to him when he was ten years old (revealed in "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date").

Although the Scooby Gang later joked that he wore tweed diapers as a child, Giles was in fact a rebellious youth, rejecting his responsibility as a Watcher and dropping out of Oxford University, where he was studying history, when he was twenty-one. During this time, Giles claimed to be a founding member of Pink Floyd in order to impress girls (although since Pink Floyd was founded in 1965, when Giles would have been around ten years old, it was not a particularly credible claim), and may have delved into criminal activity (he remarks that hot-wiring a car is "like riding a bloody bicycle", and a psychologically younger Giles has no qualms about breaking into a clothing store and attacking a police officer). He is a talented singer and guitar player (as Head is in real life) which the gang discovered, to their horror, when they saw him singing "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who in "Where the Wild Things Are". Spike also saw him singing "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd in "The Yoko Factor".

He began to explore dark magic and befriended a group of young people who delved into the dark arts for fun or money: Ethan Rayne, Philip Henry, Dierdre Page, Thomas Sutcliff, and Randall. Giles gained the nickname "Ripper" during this time. Together, the group summoned a particularly grotesque demon called Eyghon, who would eventually murder Randall. Following Randall's death, Ethan and the others failed to exorcise Eyghon, and Giles accepted his destiny of becoming a Watcher. Before becoming a fully-fledged Watcher, he also worked as "the curator of a British museum, maybe ''the'' British Museum" as Willow says ("Welcome to the Hellmouth").

Sunnydale

At the behest of the Watchers' Council, Giles travels to Sunnydale, California, and works as the librarian at the local high school. There he meets the current Slayer, Buffy Summers, whom he begins training. The library, a sort of command center for Buffy's demon-hunting gang, sits right above the Hellmouth.

As the Watcher, librarian, and general authority figure, Giles often delivers exposition. He is a father figure to Buffy and an advisor to her friends Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, together forming the "core four" of the Scooby Gang. Giles is often portrayed as somewhat of a "straight man" and his "stuffy" Oxford sensibility serves as counterpoint to the stereotypical Southern Californian characters and setting. He makes a "weird cluck-cluck sound with his tongue" when he is angry but is "too English to say anything" ("Faith, Hope & Trick"). He admits to being technophobic, a fact which often brings him into conflict with technopagan and computer science teacher, Jenny Calendar. However, after Jenny aids him in casting the demon Moloch out of the Internet, the pair reach an understanding and begin a romantic relationship.

In Season Two, Giles' dark side is revealed and his relationship with Jenny deepens. In "The Dark Age", Ethan Rayne comes to Sunnydale to flee the demon Eyghon. Giles ashamedly admits to Buffy that he was responsible for summoning the demon in his youth, and is horrified when Jenny becomes possessed by Eyghon. Although Eyghon is defeated, Jenny takes time to cope with her ordeal, retaining distance from Giles in the process. When new Slayer Kendra Young arrives in Sunnydale, Giles shares with her an appreciation for obscure texts, resulting in Buffy nicknaming her the "She-Giles." Giles feels betrayed when Jenny reveals she is actually a member of the Kalderash gypsy clan, sent to keep an eye on Buffy's relationship with the vampire Angel. When Angel loses his soul and murders Jenny, leaving her corpse for Giles to find in his apartment ("Passion"), Giles seeks revenge by burning down Angelus' home. Angelus later kidnaps and tortures him, and Drusilla hypnotizes him into thinking she is Jenny, so he will reveal how to awake Acathla. Buffy is forced to kill Angel, despite Willow restoring his soul, and subsequently leaves Sunnydale.

In Season Three, Giles' paternal feelings for Buffy are strengthened significantly. He spends the summer desperately following up any clues of Buffy's whereabouts, and is overjoyed when she finally returns months later. Giles briefly serves as Watcher for Kendra's replacement Slayer, Faith Lehane. The Scoobies are given another disturbing glimpse in Giles' past when, along with every other adult in Sunnydale, he is reverted to a teenager by enchanted band candy supplied by Ethan Rayne. During this time, he indulges in theft and vandalism, and makes out with and has sex with Buffy's mother, Joyce Summers. When Buffy keeps Angel's return from hell a secret from the other Scoobies, Giles feels betrayed by her affection for the man who tortured him and murdered Jenny, but later agrees to help Angel in "Amends".

As Buffy's Cruciamentum, a brutal tradition of the Watchers' Council in which a depowered Slayer is forced to battle a particularly dangerous vampire using only her wits, approaches, Giles struggles to cope with the guilt of betraying Buffy's trust. Despite describing the test as "an archaic exercise in cruelty", he secretly injects Buffy with muscle relaxants and adrenaline suppressors, which weaken her significantly, before eventually coming clean when the vampire she is meant to fight escapes. Buffy is disgusted, but is later moved when Giles interferes to save her life and is subsequently dismissed for having a father's love for her. Giles is fired, and replaced with Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, but continues to act as Buffy's unofficial Watcher, proving especially helpful when Wesley turns out to be an incompetent coward. When Buffy briefly finds herself endowed with telepathic powers, she 'hears' her mother remembering that Giles was "like a stevedore" during sex. In a battle with the demonic Mayor of Sunnydale, Giles presses the trigger which destroys the Mayor and Sunnydale High, putting himself out of a job.

In Season Four, Giles must cope with unemployment and a growing awareness that Buffy no longer needs him. He continues a sexual relationship with his old friend Olivia. Lacking a sense of purpose, he spends most of his time lounging around his apartment, watching ''Passions'' with Spike. He begins to suffer from depression, especially when the Scoobies fail to keep him in the loop regarding Buffy's new boyfriend Riley Finn and his membership in the Initiative. In the episode "Something Blue", Giles becomes blind as a result of a faulty spell cast by Willow Rosenberg. When Ethan Rayne casts a spell on Giles which turns him into a Fyarl demon ("A New Man"), he must enlist Spike's help to escape the Initiative and Buffy, who believe him to be a demon who murdered Giles. Buffy, about to kill him, at the last moment recognizes his eyes and "annoyed" expression, and Ethan is taken into custody by the Initiative. In order to defeat the cyber-demonoid Adam, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles cast a spell to combine their strength. Giles provides the "mind", and Buffy is able to defeat Adam.

At the beginning of Season Five, Giles finally no longer sees his place in Sunnydale and decides to go back to England, telling no one except Willow, whom he needs to organize the research documents for the Scoobies. He quickly abandons this decision when Buffy asks him to be her Watcher again, confessing that she needs him, both emotionally and in order to discover more about what being a Slayer means.

When the owner of The Magic Box is killed by vampires, Giles is convinced by the shop's high profit margins to buy it, hiring Anya as his overtly enthusiastic assistant. Buffy learns her sister, Dawn Summers, is actually the Key: mystical energy disguised in human form to conceal it from the hell-god Glory. Buffy initially confides only in Giles about Dawn's true nature, and he decides to contact the Watchers' Council for more information about Glory. In "Checkpoint", Quentin Travers blackmails Buffy into obeying the Council's demands, threatening to have Giles deported if she does not comply. Buffy stands up to the Council, instructing them to release all information concerning Glory to her and to reinstate Giles (with back pay) as her official Watcher. Travers reluctantly agrees, and leaves.

As the Scoobies labor to find a way to defeat Glory, Giles brings up the difficult idea of killing Dawn to end her plans. Buffy refuses to listen, and vows to protect Dawn at all costs; Giles is the only member of the "Scooby Gang" to suggest the idea in order to save the world. Glory shares her body with an innocent human male called Ben, and can be killed if Ben dies. In the final battle against Glory, Buffy abandons the fight when Glory turns back into Ben, so that she can save Dawn, but Giles is less merciful. Explaining that Buffy is a hero and therefore different from the rest of humanity, he suffocates Ben with his bare hands ("The Gift"). Buffy later sacrifices her own life to save Dawn's, saving the world in the process.

Season Six sees Giles reluctantly stepping back to allow Buffy to gain independence. One hundred and forty-seven days after her death, Giles decides to return to England. On the very day he leaves, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara resurrect Buffy, and he comes back as soon as he hears of this. Despite being overjoyed to have Buffy back, he is furious at Willow for invoking such dark magic, and angrily dismisses her as "a rank, arrogant amateur"; while the other Scoobies believe Buffy was in Hell, Giles is not convinced, and his suspicions prove true when a demon's musical spell causes Buffy to reveal to them all that she was indeed in Heaven. As Buffy begins to rely excessively on Giles for financial and emotional support, he decides his presence is preventing her assuming responsibility for her life. He leaves again for his native England, moving to a place near Bath, where he works with a powerful local coven.

A few months later, Tara is killed by a stray bullet as Warren Mears attacks Buffy. Willow, still recovering from an addiction to magic, suffers a relapse, kills Warren and attempts to kill his former partners in crime, before resolving to end humanity's pain (and her own) by destroying the world. Hearing about a dark power rising in Sunnydale, Giles teleports back there, wielding great magical power borrowed from the Devon Coven. As Dark Willow boasts of her indestructibility, Giles knocks her to the floor with a blast of magic energy, stating "I'd like to test that theory" ("Two to Go"). Upon being filled in on everything that has occurred to the Scoobies in his absence, Giles apologizes to Buffy, insisting that he never should have left them, but Buffy assures him that he did the right thing. Knowing Willow is too strong, he tricks her into draining him of his white magics, which brings him near death. It also allows Xander to reason with Willow as the good magic brings out her natural love and compassion, eating away at the evil within her. Giles returns to England with Willow for her rehabilitation. A few months later, he brings Potential Slayers to Sunnydale to protect them from the First Evil and its Bringers. Giles had removed a few volumes from the headquarters of the Watchers' Council, which is soon afterward destroyed by Caleb, an agent of the First. An injured Watcher named Robson witnessed Giles about to be decapitated by a Bringer, before blacking out. When the Scoobies hear about this, they worry that Giles may have been killed and the First is merely impersonating him. They are relieved when Anya, Dawn, Xander and Andrew tackle him to the ground, proving he is corporeal and therefore not the First. Giles later loses Buffy's trust somewhat when he takes part in a scheme with Robin Wood to kill Spike ("Lies My Parents Told Me"), with Buffy telling him, "I think you've taught me everything I need to know." Giles believes that Buffy kept Spike around for personal reasons rather than tactical ones; this is confirmed when she talks to Spike the night before the final battle under the Hellmouth. In the series finale, he participates in the battle of the Hellmouth, and survives.

Shortly after Buffy ended its seven year televised run, there was talk of a Giles-based spin-off series for the BBC entitled ''Ripper''. At Comicon in 2007, Joss Whedon confirmed that Ripper was still planned and in the pipeline.

In season five of ''Angel'', Angel contacts Giles via phone twice. It is established that, after the events of "Chosen", Giles travels to Europe with Buffy to train new Slayers. He also takes Andrew Wells under his wing, training him to be a Watcher. In "Damage", Andrew claims to be "faster, stronger and 82% more manly" as a result of Giles' mentoring. Later in "A Hole in the World", after Fred dies, Angel phones Giles, desperate to get in contact with Willow, who cannot be located. After Angel confirms that he still works for Wolfram & Hart, Giles coldly hangs up on him. Originally, Giles was to appear in "A Hole in the World" as the one whom Angel and Spike approached in an attempt to save Fred, because Whedon needed a character who would be instantly believed (by the characters and by the audience) when he said there was no way to save Fred. As it was too expensive for Anthony Stewart Head to fly out to Los Angeles to guest-star, Whedon created Drogyn the Battlebrand, who was mystically compelled to tell the truth no matter what.

Literature

In the canonical comic book continuation of the series, ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight'', the Scooby Gang has expanded into a global organization, training approximately five hundred Slayers spread over ten squads. Giles is head of the Slayer operations in England, parallel with Andrew's operations in Italy and Buffy and Xander's in Scotland, and he keeps in close contact with Xander and Andrew, discussing issues. In the Season Eight arc, "No Future For You", he comes to Faith to request her assistance assassinating another Slayer, who will bring around the Apocalypse if left unchecked. After they are both forced to make the difficult decisions to kill the rogue Slayer Gigi and her mentor Roden, they decide to work together in the future as equal partners, keeping Slayers from turning down the dark path both Faith and Gigi walked. As a result of their covert operation, Buffy and Giles are no longer on speaking terms.

In the story "Safe," Giles and Faith hear of a "Slayer Sanctuary" in a town called Hanselstadt from a young Slayer named Courtney. There, Giles encounters Duncan Fillworthe, a former Watcher, who claims vampires do not dare to enter the town because they know the town contains an army of Slayers. Later, as Giles argues a stalemate is not a solution to the vampire problem, Duncan reveals that in fact the town is feeding the Slayers who come seeking sanctuary to an ancient demon. The fear of the demon is what really keeps the vampires from entering. Giles goes to warn Faith as Duncan states this is the fate that Slayers deserve for rejecting the Watchers Council, especially Buffy, reminding Giles that Buffy's relationship with Angel resulted in Jenny Calendar's death. Giles finds Faith already in combat with the demon, which feeds on beings who feel regret and fear. While trying to free Courtney from the demon, Duncan intercepts Giles. During their skirmish, the demon devours Duncan and Giles saves Courtney while Faith kills the demon. The stalemate ended, Giles and Faith rally the reluctant townspeople against the coming vampires, telling them if they want to live, they'll have to fight. After Harmony Kendall's reality show establishes a new pro-vampire, anti-Slayer world order, Faith and Giles are in hiding in the Führerbunker in the "Retreat" storyline. Once their underground hideout is compromised by demons, they retreat to Scotland to reunite with Buffy. Giles and Buffy are driven to reconcile by Twilight's attacks. The entire group are later transported to Oz in Tibet to learn how to suppress magic to stop Twilight tracking them.

In the penultimate issue of ''Season Eight'', Angel is possessed by a powerful mystical entity known as Twilight, and while under its influence, murders Giles, after Giles deliberately put himself in harm's way to provoke Buffy to action. Angel does so by snapping Giles' neck, homaging Angelus' murder of Jenny Calendar. While Angelus killed Jenny in vampiric face — a result of Joss not wanting the audience to truly hate Angel's face — Giles is murdered while Angel's face is in human form.

In a 2011 interview, Whedon stated that his decision to kill off Giles could not be discussed in detail "because ripples from that event" will also be a large part of both ''Buffy Season Nine'' and ''Angel and Faith''. However, he was able to explain other motivations; he felt that from a writing perspective, Giles' did not work in the comic book medium where he had flourished on the television show. His primary roles — provider of narrative exposition, and paternal figure — didn't make place well in the comic book format. Whedon killed off Giles where he did so that it might have a greater effect on the coming season, "because [he] wanted to make all this matter"..

Powers and abilities

Giles has extensive knowledge of demonology and Slayer combat (including at least a theoretical knowledge of jujutsu and aikido, but excelling at the art of fencing), mainly due to his training as a Watcher. His youthful interest in witchcraft and sorcery has endured into his adult life; though his natural aptitude for it is only moderate (much less than that of Willow), he does have a high amount of magical knowledge. Giles is proficient in several languages, including Latin, ancient Greek, Sumerian ("Primeval"), Japanese ("Checkpoint"), and possibly Gaelic ("Fear, Itself"), but weak in German ("Gingerbread"), Mandarin and Cantonese ("First Date"). While he has no prominent supernatural powers of his own, his extensive experience with dealing with vampires, demons, and other creatures makes him capable of handling them effectively.

Giles has moderate skill in hand-to-hand combat, as well as various melee weapons. While his demeanor is typically mild and polite, Giles is not above using raw violence to solve a problem, such as physically threatening Principal Snyder into readmitting Buffy to school after her expulsion ("Dead Man's Party"), pummeling Angelus senseless with a flaming baseball bat and burning down his hideout upon discovering that he had killed Jenny Calendar ("Passion"), manhandling Spike while ordering him to get over his feelings for Buffy ("I Was Made to Love You"), forcing Glory's minion Slook to talk by inflicting a painful-sounding injury offscreen ("Tough Love"), severely beating up Ethan Rayne for information ("Halloween"), and suffocating a critically injured Ben with his bare hands to keep Glory from awakening in his body. ("The Gift"). Typically however, Giles' calm demeanor and professionalism offer him a detached state of authority even in the face of fearsome monsters, as demonstrated during his confrontation with a violent demon in "The Long Way Home". He is also shown to be able to quickly hotwire a car in the episode "Dead Man's Party".

In the season six finale, Giles was temporarily endowed with powers of the Devon Coven in an attempt to stop Willow. During this time, he demonstrated powers such as teleportation, telekinesis, and energy projection. He lost all of these powers when Willow drained him and left him on the brink of death, but he recovered immediately after Xander calmed her down from her rampage. His moderate proficiency in magic combined with his natural acumen and intelligence still make him quite formidable; in ''Season Eight'''s "No Future for You", he kills the warlock Roden, who could fly and conjure easily, through using a spell inventively.

Despite his vast intelligence, Giles is not what one would call technology-savvy and is, by his own admission, somewhat technophobic.

Reception

Head's portrayal of Giles was largely well-received by television critics. An article for The Wrap summarised, "For more than five seasons, the British actor added depth and charm to Joss Whedon's groundbreaking 1997-2003 series as mild-mannered librarian Rupert Giles." Head was nominated in for the 2001 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, but lost out to co-star James Marsters.

References

External links

Rupert Giles at Buffyverse Wiki

A collection of quotes by Giles

Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters Category:Dark Horse Comics characters Category:Fictional English people Category:Fictional school personnel Category:Fictional shopkeepers Category:Fictional librarians Category:Fictional singers Category:Fictional vampire hunters Category:Fictional characters introduced in 1997

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