Unaired Pilot (Jun. 2003)

Buffy Summers arrives for her first day at a new school, and already weird things are happening. She investigates a dead body that is found in the girls' locker room, and, with the help of ... See full summary »

Director:

Joss Whedon

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Joss Whedon

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Riff Regan

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Riff Regan	...	Willow
Charisma Carpenter	...	Cordelia Chase
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Mercedes McNab	...	Harmony Kendall
Danny Strong	...	Jonathan Levinson
Julie Benz	...	Darla
Stephen Tobolowsky	...	Principal Flutie
Amy Chance	...	Aphrodesia
Persia White	...	Aura
Nicole Bilderback	...	Girl
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Boreanaz	...	Vampire 'Luke'

Storyline

Buffy Summers arrives for her first day at a new school, and already weird things are happening. She investigates a dead body that is found in the girls' locker room, and, with the help of her new friends Willow and Xander, she fights a gang of vampires. Also, she meets Cordelia and her friends, and Giles, her new Watcher, tells her more about her destiny.

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Plot Keywords:

reference to martha stewart | unaired tv series pilot | library | heroine | reference to home depot | 

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

June 2003 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1800 Stewart St., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

This pilot was directed by Joss Whedon and financed out of his own pocket to sell the show to the networks. The plot is fairly similar to "Welcome to the Hellmouth", though Angel, Jesse and the Master don't appear. Also, it's only half an hour long. The main differences from the show as aired are the sets and casting. While most of the principals are in place, Riff Regan plays Willow and Stephen Tobolowsky plays Principal Flutie. They were replaced by Alyson Hannigan and Ken Lerner, respectively in the actual show. The library that appears is not the set from the show, rather it is the actual library from Torrance High School where much of the Sunnydale High material was filmed.

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Quotes

Buffy Summers: I'm Buffy. I'm new
[Buffy walks away]
Xander Harris: [to himself] you're new and improved!

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Connections

References The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984)

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Soundtracks

"See A Little Light"
(uncredited)
by Bob Mould

User Reviews

An underrated first attempt

This version of the pilot was written and directed by Joss Whedon himself (as opposed to the aired pilot, which was written by Whedon and directed by others). Many fans don't much like this version of the pilot, as it's lacking in some casting, a few important characters, and music. But it was never intended to be the finished product anyway, only a glimpse of what's to come to sell the networks on the idea. As such, it does a perfect job of distilling the main elements of the show, the most important characters and their relationship to one another, and the incredible balance of humor, horror and metaphor that would become the show's trademark. It does all that in under 30 minutes. That, I say, is quite an achievement.