Buffy, a Vampire Slayer was the U.S. television series based on the original script for the 1992 movie of the same name.

It foremost aired inside March 1997 on The WB network; after 5 seasons it transferred to the United Paramount Network (UPN) for its final two seasons. A survive episode aired inside May 2003. A series was created by Joss Whedon, who as well wrote a flick, & was by Mutant Enemy Productions. A indicate's title is typically abbreviated just to Buffy or even BtVS.

A series follows a life & lawsuits of Buffy Summers, a teenage girl chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, & more supernatural foes, unremarkably by using a support of her Watcher and her loyal circle of misfit friends.

Additionally to its critical profits & "cult" appeal, the indicate functions as a contemporary parable, using supernatural elements when metaphors for household anxieties, particularly people associated using adolescence and young adulthood.

A indicate is notable for attracting a interest of scholars of popular culture. It has been a subject of many conferences & articles around academic journals [http://www.madinkbeard.com/buffyology/buffybibliog.html]. There are at least quaternion books of Buffy criticism around print, & there exists an on the internet refereed journal, [http://www.slayage.tv/ Slayage], dedicated to critical studies of the indicate.

Around 1999 it inspired a spin-off, Angel, which aired on the WB through 2004. An alive series according to Buffy's 1st season around Sunnydale has been inside development since 2001, & the iv-microscopic pilot was completed around 2004. Still, and so far the series has non been picked higher by a network.

Buffy is credited (alongside a adolescent drama ''Dawson's Creek) with playing a key role in the success of the Warner Bros. television network in its early years. Fallowing Buffy's fifth year, UPN outbid The WB for the rights to air Buffy. Presently, Buffy'' airs weekday mornings at Septenary AM E/P in FX in the U.S.

Genesis, plot and format
Writer Joss Whedon originally imagine a indicate as an designed reversal of horror film formula, by placing the perennial vacuous, blond girl around charge. Like than shrieking & running into dark alleys to become flushed, flyspeck valley-girl Buffy will require weapons around her have paws & actively track down likely enemies herself. When Whedon himself has declared: "I wanted her to be a cultural phenomenon. I wanted there to be dolls, Barbie with kung-fu grip." To an extent, he succeeded, when numerous own embraced this guide paradigm as an emblem of female power, an issue that has been examined by both critics & faculty member.

Second, a indicate aimed to establish a basic analogy of high when hell, by quite literally putting the indicate's independent characters, including Buffy herself, across each - Sunnydale High international relations and security network't only a regular school, by owning a lawsuits such a place involves, however the location of an actual infernal nexus, drawing just about numerous of the enemies the class action come forced to face & permeating their accept wizard occurences which ilustrate victims lawsuits. (A indicate's metaphoric content when to high particularly is farther explored in that article's divisiin on its Metaphoric nature and severity)

This combination of playfully handled feminist tendencies & the depiction of a uniform core of teen characters inside an exaggerated version of Senior high school life is precisely what seems to use at times garnered Buffy the passionate & comparatively varied fan as a consequence.

Main characters
Buffy (portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is "The Slayer", one around an extended line of (typically short-ephemeral) jeune fille chosen by fate to battle a forces of darkness. This vocation besides mystically endows her sustaining dramatically increased physical nature & severity, endurance, lightness, intuition, accelerated healing, and the limited degree of clairvoyance, usually in the form of prophetical dreams. Buffy fights under a counsel of her "Watcher", Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), who begins a series when a high school's bibliothec.

She is as well assisted by many friends, world health organization late in a series come nicknamed the "Scooby Gang" because of their distant resemblance to the teens in the cartoon Scooby Doo. Virtually all large among which are actually awkward semi-geek Xander Harris (Nicholas Brendon) and shy computer-nerd Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan).

More significant members of a gang throughout the series include: on the face of it vapid "alpha-girl" cheerleader Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter); the ensouled lamia & Buffy's number one love Angel (David Boreanaz); the taciturn werewolf and guitar player Oz (Seth Green); eccentric ex-vengeance demon Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield); shy witch Tara Maclay (Amber Benson); reluctantly reformed vampire Spike; and Buffy's immature teen-aged sister, Dawn Summers, created by magical means inside year 5. Buffy too swallow her recently divorced mother Joyce.

A close interpersonal relationships between these characters is at least when significant in the series when their on-going battle against evil.

Coincidentally, Gellar late played one of a actual "Scooby Gang", Daphne Blake, in the movies Scooby Doo & Scooby Doo 2

Foes and supernatural elements
James Marsters as the vampire Spike A virtually all large monsters in the Buffy bestiary are vampires, who come presented inside the indicate in the kind of ways, by selection ensuing traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions. Buffy & her companions as well fight the wide kind of demons, shape-shifters, ghosts, gods, zombies, witches, and every more. It is and so often required to save a world from either annihilation that it quickly buy themselves, when the character Riley Finn puts it, "needing to know the plural of apocalypse". A mythology of the show is typically inspired by traditional supernatural tales & more ethnical, made-up, and religious sources. Inside its sevener-season start, a series likewise developed an extensive contemporary mythology of its own. A supernatural elements of the indicate just about universally have a clear metaphoric or even emblematic aspect (look at Metaphorical nature and moral connotations for more on this).

Buffy & her "scooby gang" battle hellish forces applying the combination of physical combat, detecting, various forms of magic and sorcery, & a extensive search of ancient and occult texts. H& to hand combat is normally undertaken by Buffy, Angel and, late, Spike when it entirely got preternaturally enhanced nature and severity, sustaining Buffy slightly above a more deuce (when declared by Angel within "Sanctuary" ). Willow one of these days becomes an expert witch, & Giles is relied upon for his extensive cognition of demonology and supernatural information. Xander, whose primary responsibility every now and again appears to become experiencing donuts for the gang, is an Everyman character who will bring perspective & grounding for the others.

Setting
A indicate is placed in the made-up California town of Sunnydale, whose suburban Sunnydale High School rests on the site of the "Hellmouth", a gateway between my globe & a realm of demons. A Hellmouth serves as a nexus for a wide kind of evil animals & supernatural phenomena. A Hellmouth lies directly below a school library (later, within a reconstructed school, below the Principal's office).

Additionally to existence an open-ended plot device, Joss Whedon hwhen cited the Hellmouth as one of his primary metaphors inside creating a series, suggesting that a big total of contemporary teen sense that their have senior high occurs as sinister, threatening place.

A high utilized in the foremost 3 seasons is actually Torrance High School, in Torrance, California. A school exterior is oftentimes utilized inside more tv show & moving-picture show, virtually all notably Beverly Hills 90210, Bring It On, and a takeoff, Not Another Teen Movie.

Additionally to the highschool & its library, action oft will require place inside numbers of of the town's burial site, local nightspot A Bronze, & Buffy & her mother's personal, in which numbers of of the characters as well survive at various points in the series.

Format and content
A indicate is noteworthy within a portion for its blending of genres, including horror, martial arts, romance, melodrama, farce, and risible give-and-take. Unlike a pic, which, mostly, was ill received (& practically disowned by its writer, Whedon), a TV series achieved swell popular & critical profits, appreciated equally by middle-aged TV critics & its primarily teen/twenty something audience. Fans of the indicate attribute its profits to smartly written, continuity-caring scripts & its owner's vision. A indicate & characters inspire an outstandingly hard emotional connection using fans.

Buffy has besides been noted for ingesting risks sustaining each its format & content. A 1999 episode "Hush" included 26 transactions while forgoing any spoken dialog, & received an Emmy Award nomination for best teleplay. A 2001 episode "The Body", which revolved around a dying of Buffy's mother, Joyce Summers, and which utilized there are no non-diegetic music, was included inside assibilate Hundred major critics' Ten Right lists that month. A fall 2001 musical episode "Once More, with Feeling" also received several acclamation. Tons triplet episodes come ofttimes cited when fan favorites.

Continuity
Whedon has stated that he occurs as fan of serialized fiction, &, to this prevent, every year, like than existence strictly episodic, tends to watch the largely self-contained story arc, using its have unique villain. This "Big Bad" is typically preceded by a "Little Bad", the minor villain introduced to throw viewers off-track. A series is when well characterized per close attention it pays to the continuity & consistency of its universe; information to cases that occurred around earliest seasons occur two when major plot points & as throwaway jokes. Nevertheless, inside terms of analysis of what occurs in screen, items come far further variable. Joss himself admits to knowing additional all about a emotional arcs than anything else, now and agaaround resultant in inconsistencies (IE: a nature and severity of the Turok-Han decreasing dramatically in the last episode), stating that science makes his 'head injured'.

Metaphorical nature and moral connotations
Numbers of Buffy stories come thinly veiled metaphors for the anxieties and ordeals of adolescence or young adulthood. Within "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" invisibility is used as a metaphor for existence ignored. In "The Pack", Xander and more teens turn into possessed by hyaena, which allegorizes the pack mentality that typically resolutions from either blackball peer pressure. A tragical romance between a lamia Angel & Buffy was fraught with metaphoric elements, the virtually all noteworthy of which occurred whenever their number 1 intimate consummation resulted in the lamia losing his soul and becoming a homicidal villain. When Sarah Michelle Gellar puts it:

"That's the ultimate metaphor. You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you."
— [http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/20/entertainment/main554813.shtml Bye-Bye Buffy] in 2003-05-20 at CBS News

A indicate has too garnered criticism for this & more seemingly "puritanical" subtexts. Notwithstanding, Whedon argues that like than endorsing a particular moral stance, the indicate is very much extra caring by having symptoms & a role it play inside gratifying a audience's emotional investment in the story — though this gratification is rarely the elementary matter of wish fulfilment:

[ I ] Don't give humans what it need, [ I ] give the babies what it want.

He continues:

What it desire is for Sam and Diane to get together. [...]'' Don't give it to the children. Trust maine. [...] There are no 1's attend last look at a story of Othello going to get the peaceful divorcement. Population desire a tragedy. [...] Items keep close at hand to last wrong, bad items stand to happen.''
—[http://avclub.com/content/node/24238 Interview] for The Onion AV Club

When fans can joke just about characters existence punished for sex, Whedon has insisted that the indicate must "earn" its emotional moments, & that he & his writers come other caring sustaining looking for a results of actions than making wide moral statements. Buffy's resurrection in season half the dozen is non a elementary plot device; it sends ripples through the endure ii seasons of the indicate. These include each supernatural repercussions (a killer demon follows her back from either either the hereafter) & emotional fallout (Buffy suffers from severe depression & isolation). A on-going exploration of options & symptoms inside life, depicted each literally & metaphorically, is what Joss Whedon refers to when one of a indicate's numerous "mission statements".

Too, on top a course of its heptad seasons, Buffy has engaged by owning a total of social issues, virtually all notably (& polemically) the wonder of sexuality, & has standard much of critical attention — from either fans, critics and a academic community — for its professional assistance. View a independent article on this topic, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Social Issues for a to the full account.

Influences
Whedon has typically noted a impact that comic books have had on his function. He is presently writing for the Astonishing X-Men series and has credited Kitty Pryde, who he is presently treating therein series, when a important influence on the character of Buffy, besides as a bit of of his more female characters. Additionally, comedian like Superman and Spider-Man explore similar themes, particularly those on to a tension between the duties of a superhero & the further mundane concerns of their "ordinary" vary ego.

More influences include My So-Called Life, whose sympathetic portrayal of teen anxieties served as an acknowledged guide for Buffy ("I'm basically trying to write My So-Called Life with vampires" [http://www.tvshows.nu/article.php3?id_article=4984]), & a "monster of the week" plot line of X-Files. Whedon has likewise cited cult film Night of the Comet as a "big influence" in Buffy. [http://filmforce.ign.com/articles/425/425492p6.html]

Related Works
"Buffyverse" expansions
Buffy's perpetually tragical, doomed love for the vampire-by owning-the-soul, Angel, played by David Boreanaz, was a repeated theme in the number 1 3 seasons of the indicate. Angelus, as he was originally known, got his man soul restored by the gypsy curse, plaguing him with guilt over the c & forty-5 years of slaying & mayhem he got inflicted in the deal of guiltless hikers. the Angel character was and then popular that a series featuring him, Angel, was spun off from Buffy; there were occasional "crossovers" between them shows & these continued into a final year of Angel potentially though Buffy was there is no yearn on the air.

Angel & Buffy use two inspired many comic book adaptations, magazines, companion books, novelizations, video games, and the card game, when well as many spinoff proposals (including the cartoon series & the BBC drama), & myriad websites, low discussion forums, and works of fan fiction. Around 2001, Joss Whedon wrote an eight-issue miniseries for Dark Horse Comics called Fray, about the futurist lamia killer. Its final issue come call at August 2003. There use at times too been deuce soundtrack albums (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale - Music from the TV Series), as well as a Video (&, inside Europe, DVD only) of the "Once More, with Feeling" musical episode.

Academic works
A indicate has inspired many academic books & essays, including Reading a Vampire Slayer, edited by Roz Kaveney, & Buffy a Vampire Slayer & Philosophy edited by James B. South. An academic discipline called Buffy Studies developed during a late 1990s which encouraged the development of scholarship & courses looking for Girl Power in popular culture. Fans of each Buffy & Angel typically have a term "Buffyverse" to describe a elaborated fancied universe the shows part.

Parodies and references
There use likewise been the total of parody of the indicate, including the Hobbit themed rewriting of "Once More, with Feeling" entitled "[http://www.omwh.com/ Once More With Hobbits]", & the Saturday Night Live sketch which relocated the Killer, played by guest carrier Sarah Michelle Gellar, to the Seinfeld universe. MadTV featured a sketch known as "Buffy the Umpire Slayer" where Buffy (played by series regular Nicole Sullivan) slew umpires in high school baseball games. the series, which listed pop-culture information as a frequent humourous device, has itself turn into a frequent pop-culture information within more works. The Friends episode featured Ursula, Phoebe's twin sister, in the smut moving-picture show entitled Phoebe Buffay inside: Buffay a Vampire Layer; & a Sluggy Freelance webcomic featured a plot line known as "[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=990510 Muffin the Vampire Baker]". There was too the pass information to the play "Buffus: The Bacchae Slayer" in an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess and at least three episodes of Will & Grace which mention Buffy or star Sarah Michelle Gellar.

Similar works
Too when these extracurricular offspring, Buffy has exerted the marked influence in TV & film, using shows like Smallville and Roswell, when well as moving-picture show like The Faculty and Bring It On owing something in their themes, devices, & verbal style to the indicate. A mythology of the series has likewise influenced more series, notably Cartoon Network's The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, and Sky's Hex.

Additionally, several Buffy alumni st& never again in to write for even or produce more shows, the select few of which bear a notable resemblance to the style and conception of Buffy. Such Whedonesque tries include Tru Calling (Doug Petrie), Wonderfalls (Tim Minear), Still Life (Marti Noxon) and Jake 2.0 (David Greenwalt).

Furthermore, fall 2003 saw the total of fresh shows running into production in the United states that featured hard girls/young women forced to are to terms by using a select few supernatural power or even destiny when trying to maintain a normal life. These "post-Buffy" shows include a said Tru Calling & Wonderfalls, besides when Dead Like Me and Joan of Arcadia. In the words of Bryan Fuller, the developer of Dead Prefer Us & Wonderfalls:

Series information
Watch as well - List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes.

Year 1 (1997) Year Both (1997-1998) Year 3 (1998-1999) Year 4 (1999-2000) Year 5 (2000-2001) Year Six (2001-2002) Year Seven (2002-2003)

Characters
Main characters

Featured in the opening credits

Buffy Anne Summers: Sarah Michelle Gellar Willow Rosenberg: Alyson Hannigan Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris: Nicholas Brendon Cordelia Chase: Charisma Carpenter (S1E1 - S3E22) Angel (a.k.a. Angelus, a.k.the. Liam): David Boreanaz (S2E1 - S3E22, recurring previously & thenceforth) Daniel 'Oz' Osborne: Seth Green (S3E1 - S4E6, recurring previously, appearing twice afterwards) Riley Finn: Marc Blucas (S4E11 - S5E10, recurring previously, appearing when afterward) Anya Jenkins (a.k.the. Anyankthe a.k.the. Anythe Emerson a.k.the. Aud): Emma Caulfield (S5E1 - S7E22, recurring previously) Dawn Summers: Michelle Trachtenberg (S5E2 - S7E22, appearing once antecedently) Tara Maclay: Amber Benson (S6E19, recurring previously) Spike (a.k.a. William the Bloody, a.k.the. Hostile 17): James Marsters (S4E7 - S7E22, recurring previously) Rupert Giles (a.k.the. Ripper): Anthony Stewart Head (S1E1 - S5E22, recurring thereafter)

Recurring guest stars

Joyce Summers: Kristine Sutherland (1997-2001, 2002) Principal Snyder: Armin Shimerman (1997-1999, 2000) Faith: Eliza Dushku (1998-1999, 2000, 2003) (In late works, "Faith Lehane") Jenny Calendar: Robia La Morte (1997-1998, 1999) Drusilla: Juliet Landau (1997-1998, 2001, 2002)

Important villains

(normally referred to inside a indicate when a "Big Bads")

Season One - The Master (Darla, Luke, The Anointed One) Season Two - Angelus, Spike & Drusilla (The Anointed One) Season Ternary - Mayor Richard Wilkins III and Faith (Mr. Trick) Season Four - Adam (The Initiative) Season Five - Glory (The Knights of Byzantium) Season 6 - "Dark Willow", Warren Mears, (Jonathan Levinson, Andrew Wells) Season 7 - The First Evil (Caleb, The Turok-Han)

(Orignally there was to become Octad seasons instead of Seven. A 1st evil & Caleb were to be in season 8 along with every other monster that was in season 7 were to be moved to season 8. A plot for even a would exist as year Septet was for the hellmouth to completly open & release All about the scoobies gang use at times ever flushed, defeated or destroyed. Including Mr. Trick, Glory, Adam, Lamia Willow & Every thing else ever slayed by Just the scoobies gang or a fried of the scoobies gang. Each monster that was within the thousand mile radius of the Sunny Dale hell mouth was to become as if by magic inclined to head perfect to Sunny Dale.)

Recurring characters
Jesse McNally, played by Eric Balfour The Master, played by Mark Metcalf Darla, played by Julie Benz Principal Flutie, played by Ken Lerner Harmony Kendall, played by Mercedes McNab Amy Madison, played by Elizabeth Anne Allen The Anointed One, played by Andrew J. Ferchland Hank Summers, played by Dean Butler Jonathan Levinson, played by Danny Strong Devon MacLeish, played by Jason Hall Larry Blaisdell, played by Larry Bagby Ethan Rayne, played by Robin Sachs Chantarelle/Lily/Anne, played by Julia Lee Kendra Young [http://www.pngbd.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-13195], played by Bianca Lawson Willy the Snitch, played by Saverio Guerra Mr. Trick, played by K. Todd Freeman Scott Hope, played by Fab Filippo Mayor Richard Wilkins III, played by Harry Groener Quentin Travers, played by Harris Yulin Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, played by Alexis Denisof D'Hoffryn, played by Andy Umberger Percy West, played by Ethan Erickson Olivia, played by Phina Oruche Parker Abrams, played by Adam Kaufman Veruca, played by Paige Moss Maggie Walsh: played by Lindsay Crouse Forrest Gates, played by Leonard Roberts Graham Miller, played by Bailey Chase Adam, played by George Hertzberg Ben, played by Charlie Weber Glory, played by Clare Kramer Jinx, played by Troy Blendell Warren Mears, played by Adam Busch Katrina Silber, played by Amelinda Embry Murk, played by Todd Duffey Doc, played by Joel Grey Buffybot, a automaton Buffy played by Sarah Michelle Gellar Andrew Wells, played by Thomas Lenk Clem, played by James Charles Leary Janice, played by Amber Tamblyn (she is only seen another time, however mentioned many days) Halfrek/Cecily, played by Kali Rocha Principal Robin Wood, played by D.B. Woodside Cassie Newton, played by Azura Skye Kennedy, played by Iyari Limon Molly, played by Clara Bryant Rona, played by Alyssa Ashley Nichols Vi, played by Felicia Day Amanda, played by Sarah Hagan Chao-Ahn, played by Kristy Wu Caridad, played by Dania Ramirez Whistler, played by Max Perlich

Other languages
(Watch episode entries for details in translation)

Croatian: Buffy, ubojica vampira ("Buffy, killer of vampires"); "Slayer" is ubojica vampira ("killer of vampires"), "Watcher" is ÄŒuvar ("guardian, keeper"). Estonian: Vampiiritapja Buffy (as "Vampirekiller Buffy"). Finnish: Buffy, vampyyrintappaja ("Buffy, killer of vampires"); "Slayer" is Tappaja ("Killer"), & "Watcher" is Valvoja ("Watcher", "Overseer"). French: Buffy Contre les Vampires ("Buffy versus the vampires"); "slayer" is la Tueuse ("the Killer"), & "Watcher" is ''fifty'Observateur ("the Watcher") Hebrew: ב×?פי ציידת הערפדי×? ("Buffy the vampires hunter"); "Slayer" is קוטלת ("Slayer"), & "Watcher" is צופה ("Watcher"). Hungarian: Buffy a vámpírok réme (About, "Buffy: The bogey of the Vampires"); killer is Vadász ("Hunter") & "Watcher" is Å?rzÅ‘ (Keeper, Watcher) German: Buffy - Im Bann der Dämonen (Meaning someplace between "Buffy - in the thrall of demons", and "Buffy - in the shadow of demons"); "Slayer" is translated when die Jägerin ("Huntress"), "Watcher" when 500 Wächter ("Watchman"/"Warden"). Icelandic: Vampírubaninn Buffy (Roughly, "The Vampireslayer Buffy"); "Slayer" is translated when bani ("killer"). Italian: Buffy l'Ammazza Vampiri ("Buffy The Vampires Killer"); "Slayer" is Cacciatrice ("huntress"), & "Watcher" is Osservatore ("Watchman"). Japanese: ãƒ?フィー～æ?‹ã?™ã‚‹å??字架 (Bafii koi suru juujika: "Buffy the Loving Cross" or even "The Cross that Loves"); ãƒ?フィー (Bafii) is "Buffy", ～æ?‹ã?™ã‚‹ (koi suru) is "to love", & å??字架 (juujika) is "the Cross". Polish: Buffy postrach wampirów Portuguese: in Brazil, Buffy, the Caça-Vampiros ("Buffy the Vampire-huntress"); "Slayer" is a Caçadora ("the Huntress"), & "Watcher" is o Vigia ("the Watchman"); around Portugal, Buffy, the Caçadora delaware Vampiros ("Buffy the Vampire Huntress)"; "Slayer" is a Caçadora ("the Huntress"), & "Wacther" is o Observador ("the Observer", "the Watcher"). Spanish: Buffy, la Cazavampiros ("Buffy, vampire hunter"); "Slayer" is Cazadora ("huntress"), & "Watcher" is Vigilance man ("Watchman"). Swedish: Buffy & vampyrerna ("Buffy & The Vampires"); "Slayer" is DrÃ¥pare ("Slayer"), and "Watcher" is Väktare'' ("Watchman").