Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV Series)

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American television series which 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 received critical and popular acclaim and 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. The show has frequently been cited by critics as being one of the finest shows of all time, being ranked 41st on TV Guide's list of 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time, second on Empires "50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time", voted third in 2004 and 2007 on TV Guides "Top Cult Shows Ever" and listed in Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All-Time". In 2013 TV Guide also included it in its list of The 60 Greatest Dramas of All Time. Buffy was also named the third Best School Show of All Time by AOL TV. It was nominated for Emmy and Golden Globe awards, winning a total of three 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.

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.

[edit] Premise

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, [[List of Minor Buffy the Vampire Slayer Characters|List of minor Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters, List of Buffyverse villains and supernatural beings, and Scooby Gang (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

[edit] Setting and filming locations

Main article: Sunnydale, Hellmouth (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Buffy the Vampire Slayer filming locations

[edit] Format

[edit] Storylines

[edit] Production

[edit] 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 (later a Fox executive, but at that time President and CEO of the production company Sandollar Television, who owned the TV rights to the movie) 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. Early in its development, the series was going to be simply titled Slayer. 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.

[edit] 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 showrunner, supervising the writing and all aspects 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.

[edit] Writing

[edit] Broadcast history and syndication

[edit] Music

Main article: Music in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

[edit] Episode list

Main article: List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes

[edit] Inspirations and metaphors

[edit] Casting

[edit] Opening sequence

[edit] Spin-offs

[edit] Series continuation

[edit] Angel

Main article: Angel (TV series)

[edit] Expanded universe

[edit] Undeveloped spinoffs

Main article: Undeveloped Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoffs

[edit] Cultural impact

[edit] Academia

Main article: Buffy studies

[edit] Fandom and fan films

See also: Unofficial Buffy the Vampire Slayer productions

[edit] Buffy in popular culture

Main article: Buffy the Vampire Slayer in popular culture

[edit] U.S. television ratings

[edit] Impact on television

[edit] Series information

[edit] Awards and nominations

Main article: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel awards and nominations

[edit] "Best of" lists

[edit] DVD releases

Main article: Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs

[edit] See also

• List of vampire television series

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links