Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)

After the traumatizing ordeal in the movie with the same name, Buffy Summers and her mother move to Sunnydale, only to discover that L.A. was just a walk in the park...

Creator:

Joss Whedon

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 41 wins & 99 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers (145 episodes, 1996-2003)
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris (145 episodes, 1996-2003)
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg (144 episodes, 1997-2003)
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (123 episodes, 1996-2003)
James Marsters	...	Spike (97 episodes, 1997-2003)
Emma Caulfield	...	Anya (85 episodes, 1998-2003)
Michelle Trachtenberg	...	Dawn Summers (66 episodes, 2000-2003)

Storyline

At the young age of 15, Buffy Summers was chosen to hunt vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. Joined by friends Willow and Xander and her watcher Giles, Buffy fights the challenges of High School and saves the world...a lot.

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Plot Keywords:

demon | vampire | friend | high school | apocalypse | 

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Taglines:

Get home before dark.

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-14

Details

Official Sites:

Fox [de] (German) (Flash req'd) Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Also Known As:

BtVS

Filming Locations:

1313 Cota Drive, Torrance, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,300,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min 44 min (144 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Tom Lenk, who plays Andrew Wells, originally appeared in the 5th season's Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Real Me as Harmony's minion, Cyrus.

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Quotes

Rupert Giles: In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.

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Crazy Credits

During seasons 6 and 7, the ones that took place on the UPN network, the final shot of the opening credits shows Sarah Michelle Gellar, as in all the previous seasons. The difference is that rather than those images being that of Buffy, they were of facsimiles of the Buffy character. For the majority of Season 6 the final image of the opening credits was of the Buffy Bot shortly before Glory ripped its head off and Season 7's image was of the First Evil, pretending to be Buffy while manipulating Spike. For some fans this plays to the idea that Buffy was somehow not the same after having been resurrected at the beginning of Season 6 through the end of the series run.

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Connections

Referenced in Saving 'Star Wars' (2004)

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Soundtracks

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer Theme"
by Nerf Herder

User Reviews

Overview of BtVS

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of the most inventive and exciting shows on T.V. today. With a wonderful cast of regulars and a weird, scary, and often hilarious cast of monsters, this is the most original product I have seen in a long time.

Sarah Michelle Gellar does wonders with her role as Buffy Summers. She has an amazing range of emotions and she is able to portray each realistically and convincingly. She takes the role with Buffy and runs with it.

Alyson Hannigan is one of the best actresses on the show with her portrayal of Willow Rosenberg. Willow is smart, intelligent, a little awkward, and a great counterpart to Buffy. Her storyline has also been the most intriguing from season 1 to 5. She has grown and developed more than the other characters and the writers have done a supreme job exploring her spirituality, sexuality, and show that it is possible to go from a book worm to a confident woman who can look the world in the face and laugh.

Nick Brendon is a breath of fresh, and comic, air as Xander Harris. Though Xander is a geek by nature, he is always there for his friends and he stands by their side in the face of vampires, wicked mayors, slayers-gone-bad, and Hell Gods.

Anthony Stewart Head had taken the stuffy British character of Giles and turned him into a full, complex, and wonderful character. Giles is not nearly as play-by-the-book as he once was. He's not only Buffy's watcher, but he is also her friend and her confidant.

Among the supporting cast over the years Charisma Carpentar put a spin on the snobby bitch from high school with Cordelia Chase by actually giving "Cordy" a heart. Emma Caulfield is a hilarious delight as 1,000 year old ex-demon Anya, who is trying to find her place in the human world. James Marsters as vampire Spike is always a treat. And his current infatuation with Buffy has made for some great storylines. David Boreanaz gave the show a darker tone with Angel, the vampire with a soul and love of Buffy's life. Eliza Dushku always gives the show a bit a spice with as Faith, a slayer who turned to the dark side. And Kristine Sutherland is wonderful as Buffy's flakey mother who is trying to come to terms with her daughter's destiny.

The shows original concept of a high school student fighting vampires by night has expanded into this amazing portrayal of life and how things rarely go the way you expect. Buffy has to face all the things every teenage girl faces, but she has the extra burden of being the slayer. After 5 seasons the show remains fresh and upbeat. It's impossible to know where creator Joss Whedon will take our favorite slayer and her friends next.

Excellent show! Don't let the title fool you!