I swear, one of these days you’re going to wake up in a coma- Cordilia to Giles; Buffy the Vampire Slayer
12 January 1999 (Season 3, Episode 11
Gingerbread (1999)
Gingerbread
Amy: Oh my God!
Oz: Kids?
Xander: Why was your mom there?
Buffy: More bad, she picked last night, of all nights, for a surprise bonding visit.
Willow: God, your mom would actually take the time to do that with you? [Buffy looks at her] That really wasn't the point of the story, was it?
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Buffy: What is this?
Willow: A doodle. I do doodle. You too -- you do doodle, too.
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Giles: They're confiscating my books.
Buffy: Giles, we need those books.
Giles: Believe me, I tried to tell that to the nice man with the big gun.
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Xander: Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm still spinning on this whole fairy tales are real thing.
Oz: So what do we do?
Xander: I don't know about you, but I'm gonna go trade my cow in for some beans... [silence] No one else is seeing the funny here.
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Cordelia: I came by to tell Buffy to stop all of this craziness and found you all unconcious... again. How many times have you been knocked out anyway? I swear, one of these times, you're gonna wake up in a coma.
Giles: Wake up in a c-- oh never mind. We need to save Buffy from Hansel and Gretel.
Cordelia: Now, let's be clear. The brain damage happened before I hit you.
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Cordelia: Okay, I think I liked the two little ones more than the one big one.
For the original film of the same name, see Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film).
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre drama/comedy/fantasy
Running time 42 minutes
Creator(s) Joss Whedon
Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar
Alyson Hannigan
Nicholas Brendon
Anthony Stewart Head
James Marsters
Emma Caulfield
Amber Benson
Michelle Trachtenberg
Charisma Carpenter
David Boreanaz
Seth Green
Marc Blucas
Country of origin United States
Original network/channel The WB (1997-2001), UPN (2001-2003)
Original run March 10, 1997 – May 20, 2003
No. of episodes 144
IMDb profile
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Portal
Buffy the Vampire Slayer was an American television series inspired by the 1992 movie of the same name. The original concept, screenplay, and TV series were created by writer/director Joss Whedon under his personal production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions. The show's title is often abbreviated simply to Buffy or BtVS.
The series follows the day-to-day life of Buffy Summers, a teenage girl chosen by fate to battle against vampires, demons, and other supernatural foes. She is "chosen", someone called a Slayer. She is often aided by her Watcher and her loyal circle of misfit friends.
The first five Seasons of the series aired on The WB; after a network change, the final two seasons aired on UPN. The series now airs daily in worldwide syndication. The series finale aired in May 2003.
Contents [hide]
1 Origins
2 Format and themes
2.1 Monsters and dark forces
2.2 Setting
2.3 Metaphorical nature
3 Legacy
3.1 Academic studies
4 Spinoffs
4.1 Angel
4.2 Comics
4.3 Novels
4.4 Others
4.5 Undeveloped spinoffs
4.6 Parodies and references
5 Influences and influence
5.1 Inspirations for Buffy
5.2 Works influenced by Buffy
6 Characters
6.1 Main characters
6.2 Recurring characters
6.3 Other characters
7 Series information
7.1 Episodes
7.2 DVD releases
7.3 Awards and nominations
8 References
8.1 Articles
8.2 Books
8.2.1 Popular
8.2.2 Academic
9 External links
[edit]
Origins
The very first mission statement of the show, the whole original idea ...is the joy of female power; having it, using it, sharing it.
— Joss Whedon, at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, August 2002
Writer Joss Whedon developed Buffy as an intentional reversal of the pervasive horror film formula, in which young girls are typically depicted as helpless, hysterical victims of violence. Whedon's vision featured a young woman who was not only an exceptional fighter but also a powerful leader, without sacrificing her femininity. By reversing the cliché of the helpless female victim, Buffy presented an alternative paradigm embraced by many as an emblem of female power - in Whedon's narrative, Buffy's male friend Xander is more likely to need rescuing [1], while Buffy is more than capable of looking after herself and those around her. However, her personal life is as painful and confusing as any teenage girl's. This combination of empowerment and empathy has earned Buffy a passionate following among fans, giving the show a cult status.
Whedon's other "mission statement" was to employ supernatural elements as metaphors for personal anxieties, particularly those associated with adolescence and young adulthood. Throughout its run, the show developed a substantial contemporary mythology, and addressed a large number of common emotional and cultural themes.
On the basis of a 30-minute presentation sometimes called the unaired Buffy pilot, the WB Network bought the show. The WB advertised the show with a History of the Slayer promotional video clip. Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired on March 10, 1997 on the WB network; after five seasons it transferred to the United Paramount Network (UPN) for its final two seasons. The last episode aired on May 20, 2003. Buffy is credited with playing a key role in the growth of the Warner Bros. television network in its early years. The show maintained relatively low ratings (typically lower than 90th place per week), but attracted a great deal of attention and performed well in key youth demographics.
[edit]
Format and themes
Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The series tells the story of Buffy and her friends as they battle demons and other supernatural evils while negotiating their own complicated social and romantic lives. Buffy is told in a dual arc serialized format, with each episode both telling a single story and contributing to a larger overall storyline, which on Buffy is broken down into distinct season-long narratives marked by the rise and defeat of a powerful antagonist (commonly referred to as the "Big Bad"). Individual episodes usually contain one or more villains, monsters, or supernatural phenomena which are defeated, or merely survived, by the episode's end. Though many elements and relationships are explored and many ongoing subplots are included, the show's primary focus throughout is on Buffy and her role as an archetypal hero.
The show is noteworthy in part for its blending of genres, including horror, martial arts, romance, melodrama, farce, screwball comedy, and even (in one memorable episode) musical comedy. Unlike the marginally successful movie, of which Whedon himself is somewhat critical, the TV series achieved popular and critical success, appreciated equally by mainstream TV critics and its target audience of young viewers. Fans of the show attribute its success to clever and unusual writing, a strong sense of ongoing story, and a sense of deeper meaning and metaphor.[2] Whedon has said "I designed Buffy to be an icon" and "the shows are intentionally designed to create cults"
The series was, at times, pastiche, borrowing heavily from previous horror novels, movies, and short stories and from authors as diverse as H. P. Lovecraft and Stephen King and from such common literary stock as folklore and myths. Some of the borrowings that fuel Buffy plots, characters, and themes are:
Adam (character) - parallels the Frankenstein monster and the Terminator cyborg
“Amends” (episode) - similar to Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”
“Bad Eggs” (episode) - parallels Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Alien
"Beauty and the Beasts” (episode) - parallels Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde
"Beneath You" (episode) - influenced by the movie Tremors
“Buffy vs. Dracula” (episode) - features Bram Stoker’s Dracula
“Dead Man’s Party” (episode) - parallels W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw", Stephen King’s Pet Semetary, George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, and the Greek myth concerning Medusa, the Gorgon who was able to turn men into stone with but a gaze.
"The Wish" (episode) and Doppelgangland” (episode) - parallels It’s a Wonderful Life
“Gingerbread” (episode) - features a boy and a girl named Hansel and Gretel
“Go Fish” (episode) - parallels The Creature from the Black Lagoon
"I Was Made To Love You" - similar to Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives
Olaf the troll’s hammer (object) - Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir
“Out of Sight, Out of Mind” (episode) - parallels H. G. Wells’ The Invisible Man
“Some Assembly Required” (episode) - parallels Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
The show received an Emmy Award nomination for the 2000 episode Hush, which featured an extended sequence with no character dialog. The 2001 episode "The Body" revolved around the death of Buffy's mother, and was filmed in a stark Dogme inspired style and with no musical score, only diegetic music; it was included in over 100 major critics' "Ten Best" lists that year. The fall 2001 musical episode "Once More, with Feeling", also received many plaudits, but was omitted from Emmy nomination ballots for unknown reasons. [3] All three episodes were written and directed by Joss Whedon, and are frequently cited as fan favorites.
[edit]
Monsters and dark forces
"I find myself suddenly needing to know the plural of 'apocalypse'."
— character Riley Finn, in episode A New Man
James Marsters as the vampire SpikeThe most prominent monsters in the Buffy bestiary are vampires, who are presented in the show in a variety of ways, selectively following traditional myths, lore, and literary conventions. Buffy and her companions also fight a wide variety of demons, as well as ghosts, gods, zombies, and evil humans, and are frequently called upon to save the world from complete destruction. The mythology of the show is often inspired by classical supernatural tales and other cultural, fictional, and religious sources. The supernatural elements of the show often have a clear metaphorical or symbolic aspect.
Buffy and her friends battle dark forces using a combination of physical combat, magic, and detective-style investigation, guided by the extensive research of ancient and mystical reference books. Hand-to-hand combat is chiefly undertaken by Buffy, Angel and later, Spike. Willow eventually becomes an adept witch, while Giles contributes his extensive knowledge of demonology and supernatural lore.
[edit]
Setting
The show is set in the fictional California town of Sunnydale (roughly analogous to Santa Barbara), whose suburban Sunnydale High School rests on the site of a "Hellmouth", a gateway between our world and the realm of demons. The Hellmouth serves as a nexus for a wide variety of evil creatures and supernatural phenomena, and lies directly beneath the school library (later, in a reconstructed school, beneath the Principal's office).
In addition to being an open-ended plot device, Joss Whedon has cited the Hellmouth as one of his primary metaphors in creating the series, suggesting that a large number of contemporary teenagers feel that their own high school is a sinister, threatening place.
The high school used in the first three seasons is actually Torrance High School, in Torrance, California. The school exterior is frequently used in other television shows and movies, most notably Beverly Hills 90210, Bring It On, and the spoof, Not Another Teen Movie.
In addition to the high school and its library, action frequently takes place in many of the town's cemeteries, local nightclub The Bronze, and Buffy and her mother's home, where many of the characters also live at various points in the series.
[edit]
Metaphorical nature
Many Buffy stories are metaphors for the emotional challenges of adolescence or young adulthood. In "Out of Mind, Out of Sight" invisibility is used as a metaphor for being ignored. In "The Pack", Xander and other teens become possessed by hyenas, which allegorizes the pack mentality that often results from negative peer pressure. Willow's increasing reliance on magic in season six is used as a metaphor for drug addiction. The tragic love affair between the vampire Angel and Buffy was fraught with metaphorical elements, the most noteworthy of which occurred when their first time having sex resulted in the vampire losing his soul and becoming a murderous villain. As Sarah Michelle Gellar puts it:
"That's the ultimate metaphor. You sleep with a guy and he turns bad on you."
— Bye-Bye Buffy on 2003-05-20 at CBS News
[edit]
Legacy
[edit]
Academic studies
The show is notable for attracting the interest of scholars of popular culture. [4] The show is being increasingly included in academic settings as a topic of literary study and analysis. It has inspired several books and essays, including Reading the Vampire Slayer, edited by Roz Kaveney, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Philosophy, edited by James B. South. There is also an online refereed journal, Slayage, dedicated to critical studies of the show, which has an expansive list of essays and articles from professors, critics, and students. The creators of Slayage coined the now commonly accepted term Buffy Studies.
The overall analysis of Buffy usually focuses on its relevance to contemporary feminism [5] The show is sometimes used a textual example of third wave feminism, a field which encourages the development of scholarship and courses exploring Girl Power in popular culture. Others have referred to Buffy as post feminist [6], while some take issue with Buffy being identified as a feminist work [7].
Other topics associated with Buffy are issues of sexuality (particularly lesbianism) and its representation [8], [9], and issues of race, class, and otherness metaphorically represented through supernatural creatures [10].
[edit]
Spinoffs
Buffy has inspired a wide range of official and unofficial works, including television shows, books, comics and games. A timeline listing when these stories take place in relation to each other can be traced in Buffyverse chronology. The franchise has also inspired a number of action figures and other merchandise.
[edit]
Angel
Main article: Angel (TV series)
Buffy's perpetually tragic, doomed love for the vampire-with-a-soul, Angel, played by David Boreanaz, was a recurrent theme in the first three seasons of the show. Angelus, as he was originally known, had his human soul restored by a gypsy curse, plaguing him with guilt over the one hundred and forty-five years of murder and mayhem he had inflicted on a slew of innocent victims. The Angel character was so popular that a series featuring him, Angel, was spun off from Buffy. In addition to Boreanaz, Angel inherited Buffy regulars Charisma Carpenter and Alexis Denisof, followed later by Mercedes McNab and James Marsters. Angel continued to appear occasionally on Buffy and several Buffy characters made guest appearances on Angel. The spin off ran for five seasons on The WB, and was ultimately more successful in the ratings than its parent series.
[edit]
Comics
Main articles: Buffyverse comics and Buffy comics
There are a number of Buffyverse comics, many of which are set at precise times within the Buffyverse chronology. For example, the Buffy comic, Ring of Fire, written by Doug Petrie, is specifically placed in Buffy's second season, after Angel has reverted to Angelus and killed Jenny Calendar, but before his grand plans for apocalypse. Joss Whedon wrote an eight-issue miniseries for Dark Horse Comics entitled Fray, about a futuristic vampire slayer. Its final issue came out in August 2003.
[edit]
Novels
Main articles: Buffyverse novels and Buffy novels
After Buffy started to gain popularity in its second season, Pocket Books bought the rights to license novels based on the show. While these are not considered Buffyverse canon, they are usually approved by Whedon, and are edited to conform to the known rules of Buffy's world. Since the final episode of Buffy, the novels continue to thrive, covering events that take place both within the series timeline and after the final episode.
[edit]
Others
Buffy has inspired several magazines and companion books, as well as countless websites, online discussion forums, and works of fan fiction. Eden Studios have published a Buffy role-playing game. There have now been four Buffy video games released on a number of different platforms. There have also been two soundtrack albums (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album and Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Radio Sunnydale - Music from the TV Series), as well as a CD (and, in Europe, DVD single) of the "Once More, with Feeling" musical episode.
[edit]
Undeveloped spinoffs
"Spike" TV Movie featuring James Marster's popular vampire character. [11]
"Ripper" miniseries, a proposed BBC production featuring Anthony Stewart Head's character Rupert ("Ripper") Giles.
"Buffy the Animated Series", a four-minute sample produced by Mutant Enemy has never been sold for development. [12]
[edit]
Parodies and references
There have been a number of spoofs of the show, including a Saturday Night Live sketch, which relocated the Slayer to the Seinfeld universe. MADtv featured a "Buffy the Umpire Slayer" sketch, in which Buffy slew umpires in high school baseball games. Other parodies include Muffin the Vampire Baker on the Sluggy Freelance webcomic, Fluffy the English Vampire Slayer an amateur fan film from 2001, and Once More With Hobbits, which rewrites the lyrics of Buffy's musical episode Once More, with Feeling.
The series, which employed pop-culture references as a frequent humorous device, has itself become a frequent pop-culture reference in other works. For example, a Friends episode included a pornographic movie entitled Buffay the Vampire Layer. In the Smallville episode "Thirst", a vampire appears named Buffy Saunders, and, at the end of the episode, another character mentions "slaying Buffy the vampire."
Webcomic The Wotch [13] frequently references Buffy; the main characters are fans of the show and reference it, Angel, and Firefly often.
In 2005, a Trans-Neptunian object 2004 XR190 was unofficially named "Buffy", after the main character of the series.
References to the show also appear in video games, including a decorative statue in the MMORPG Anarchy Online called the "Marble Statue of the Goddess Buffy Summers". Buffy was also referenced in the 2004 video game The X-Files: Resist or Serve.[14] There are also several unofficial MUDs and MUSHes based on the series, including BuffyMUD.
Sarah Michelle Gellar lent her voice to an episode of Robot Chicken, co-created by Seth Green (who played Oz on "Buffy"), for a parody version of what the 8th season of "Buffy" might have been like.
Buffy has also been the topic of filk songs, such as Angel's Lament by the Brobdingnagian Bards.
At least two references have also been made in Farscape, once in season 2's story arc "Look at the Princess", and again in a season 4 episode called "Promises".
[edit]
Influences and influence
[edit]
Inspirations for Buffy
Whedon has often noted the impact of comic books on his work. He is writing for the Astonishing X-Men series and has credited Kitty Pryde, whom he handles in that series, as a significant influence on the character of Buffy and some of his other female characters. In addition, comics such as Superman and Spider-Man explore similar themes, particularly those relating to the tension between the duties of a superhero and the more mundane concerns of their "ordinary" alter ego.
Other influences include My So-Called Life, whose sympathetic portrayal of teen anxieties served as an acknowledged template for Buffy ("I'm basically trying to write My So-Called Life with vampires" [15]), and the "monster of the week" storylines of The X-Files. Whedon has also cited cult film Night of the Comet as a "big influence" on Buffy. [16]
[edit]
Works influenced by Buffy
Buffy has exerted a marked influence on TV and film, with shows such as Smallville, Roswell, and Ghost Whisperer, as well as movies such as The Faculty and Bring It On owing something in their themes, devices, and verbal style to the show. Other shows reflective of Buffy's influence are, notably Cartoon Network's The Life and Times of Juniper Lee, Sky's Hex and UPN's Veronica Mars [17].
In addition, many Buffy alumni have gone on to write for or create other shows, some of which bear a notable resemblance to the style and concepts of Buffy. Such Whedonesque endeavors include Tru Calling (Douglas Petrie, Jane Espenson), Wonderfalls (Tim Minear), Point Pleasant (Marti Noxon), Jake 2.0 (David Greenwalt) and The Inside (Tim Minear).
Moreover, Autumn 2003 saw a number of new shows going into production in the US that featured strong girls/young women forced to come to terms with some supernatural power or destiny while trying to maintain a normal life.[18] These "post-Buffy" shows include the aforementioned Tru Calling and Wonderfalls as well as Dead Like Me and Joan of Arcadia. In the words of Bryan Fuller, the creator of Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls:
[Buffy] really turned a corner for series storytelling. It showed that young women could be in situations that were both fantastic and relatable, and instead of shunting women off to the side, it put them at the center.
[edit]
Characters
The core cast of Buffy in season one, 1997. From left to right: Xander, Buffy, Willow, Giles.Main articles: Main Characters and Minor Characters
[edit]
Main characters
Buffy, Willow, and Xander are the only characters who appeared in every episode of all seven seasons.
Buffy Anne Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)
Buffy is "The Slayer", one in a long line of young girls chosen by fate to battle evil forces. This calling also mystically endows her with dramatically increased physical strength, endurance, agility, intuition, accelerated healing, and a limited degree of clairvoyance, usually in the form of prophetic dreams.
Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head)
Giles (rarely referred to by his first name) is a Watcher, a member of an academic council whose job has been to train the Slayers. Giles researches the supernatural creatures that Buffy must face, offering insights into their origins and advice on how to kill them.
Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan)
Willow was originally a nerdy girl who countered Buffy's beautiful blonde cheerleader popularity but also reflected the social isolation Buffy suffered as a Slayer. As the seasons progressed, Willow became a more aggressive, active, and even sensual character, becoming a powerful Wiccan and a lesbian.
Alexander "Xander" Lavelle Harris (Nicholas Brendon)
Xander primarily functions as comic relief, but also provides a grounded, level-headed perspective in the supernatural Buffyverse. He is the most "normal" character in the group, an average individual without any supernatural abilities or special skills to give him an edge in demon hunting.
[edit]
Recurring characters
Spike (James Marsters) (seasons 2, 4-7; appears in one episode of season 3)
Spike is a vampire character whose role varies dramatically through the course of the series. Initially introduced as a major villain, Spike soon becomes a morally ambiguous figure, alternately helping and threatening the Slayer, with whom he develops a romantic obsession. After being rendered unable to harm humans, Spike becomes increasingly drawn toward the desire to do good; he develops a strong protective bond with Buffy's sister Dawn, has an intense sexual affair with Buffy, and finally has his human soul returned and (with some difficulty) becomes a self-sacrificing hero. The character's style and attitude are modeled after British punk, especially Billy Idol (Spike claims Idol actually stole his look from him). Spike went on to appear as a series regular on the spin-off Angel.
Anya Jenkins (Emma Caulfield) (seasons 3-7)
Anya is a former vengeance demon (Anyanka) who specialized in aiding scorned women. After being forcibly stripped of her demonic powers, the character is forced to re-learn how to be an ordinary human, a journey which is portrayed as both comical and poignant. Her story is largely focused on her romantic relationship with Xander and, like many characters on the show, she is portrayed as morally ambivalent. Anya also has a persistent fear of bunnies.
Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) (seasons 4-6)
Tara is introduced first as a fellow member of a Wicca group during Willow's first year of college, their friendship eventually turning into an ongoing love affair. Tara as a character is shy and maternal compared to the more outgoing and sometimes childish Buffy, Cordelia, and Willow. When Tara is killed by Warren Mears, it sends Willow on a murderous rampage.
Dawn Summers (Michelle Trachtenberg) (seasons 5-7)
Sent to Buffy for protection from Glorificus as a sister, Dawn was originally a ball of green energy known as the "Key" to other dimensions given human form. Dawn is a typical teenage girl, self-absorbed and boy crazy, maturing as the show progresses. Although the gang soon discovers that Dawn has been magically implanted into their lives and memories, they continue to accept and even love her as Buffy's sister.
Angel (David Boreanaz) (seasons 1-3; guest stars occasionally in seasons 4, 5 and 7)
Angelus was the most evil vampire in history before being cursed with a soul after murdering a Gypsy girl. He went into hiding for nearly a century, before emerging – now calling himself Angel – to help Buffy in her mission. However, Angel's curse had a flaw: should he ever achieve a moment of complete happiness, he would lose his humanity again. When he and Buffy have sex, Angel turns back into his evil Angelus character and becomes Buffy's main antagonist in the second season. At the conclusion of the second season, Willow restores his soul with the same Gypsy Curse that ensouled him 100 years earlier. But, Buffy had to kill Angel in order to save the world from getting sucked into Hell. Angel then was brought back from Hell in season 3 by the First Evil. After season 3, he leaves Sunnydale for Los Angeles, where his own series is set.
Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) (seasons 1-3)
Cordelia is the anti-Buffy, a beautiful rich brunette who was the most popular girl at Sunnydale High. She is tactless, but her directness is also funny and, at times, a necessary corrective. Cordelia acts both as Buffy's competition and her ally. Though she and Xander are at first antagonistic to one another, they end up dating in season 2. After graduating from high school, she leaves for LA where she joins Angel in his own series.
Daniel "Oz" Osbourne (Seth Green) (seasons 2-4)
Oz is Willow's first boyfriend, caught in a love triangle with Xander over Willow. Oz is a werewolf, and his curse often puts Willow in the position of caretaker for her boyfriend. Oz as a boyfriend is pensive yet supportive. Because he cannot fully control his werewolf side, he eventually leaves Willow and the series, making room for Willow's relationship with Tara.
Joyce Summers (Kristine Sutherland) (seasons 1-5, appears in one episode of season 6 and two of season 7)
Buffy's mother is an anchor of normality in the Scoobies' lives, even after she learns of Buffy's role in the supernatural world ("Becoming, Part Two"). In "Lover's Walk", she lends a sympathetic ear to Spike's heartbreak, a gesture that he will never forget. In season 5, she dies of an aneurysm after a tumor is removed from her brain ("The Body"). In the first episode of season 4 The Freshman Buffy jokes "Can't wait till mom gets the bill for these books, I hope it's a funny aneurysm." The character of Joyce reappears in later seasons, but without the character truly returning from the dead.
Faith Lehane (Eliza Dushku) (seasons 3,4 and 7)
Faith is the slayer who was brought forth when Kendra was killed by the vampire Drusilla. To begin with, she fought on the side of good with Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang, but she was soon drawn to the dark side and joined forces with The Mayor. Faith was put in to a coma by Buffy; nine months later she woke and swapped bodies with Buffy. After being defeated she fled to Los Angeles and went to prison. Three years later she broke out of prison, aided by Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, to help fight evil once again (the Beast and the First Evil).
Riley Finn (Marc Blucas) (seasons 4-5; guest stars in one episode of season 6)
Riley is Buffy's first serious boyfriend after Angel. He is the commander of a military organisation called "The Initiative" that uses science and military technology to hunt down HST's or "hostile sub-terrestrials" (demons). Riley is Angel's opposite, an Iowa-born-and-raised man whose strength lies in his Captain America-style military secret identity. Buffy's superior physical strength was the cause of some insecurity.
[edit]
Other characters
Drusilla (Juliet Landau): Spike's vampire "girlfriend". Has a history with Angel.
Jenny Calendar (Robia La Morte): High school computer teacher, and member of the gypsy tribe who placed the curse on Angel.
Kendra Young (Bianca Lawson): A second vampire slayer who assists Buffy.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (Alexis Denisof): A second Watcher originally sent to oversee Faith.
Samantha Finn (Ivana Milicevic): The wife of Riley Finn.
Kennedy (Iyari Limon): A potential slayer who fights alongside Buffy in the final season.
Andrew Wells (Tom Lenk): A nerd who becomes a foe of Buffy, mainly through peer pressure and bad judgement.
Glory (Clare Kramer): An evil goddess seeking to her regain power in the demon realm.
Harmony Kendall (Mercedes McNab): Runner-up to Cordelia for most-popular girl in high school. Becomes a vampire, and becomes a recurring character on Angel.
Graham Miller (Bailey Chase): One of Riley's peers in the Initiative.
Forrest Gates (Leonard Roberts): Another peer of Riley's in the Initiative.
Jonathan Levinson (Danny Strong): A hapless high school nobody who makes short appearances whenever the script calls for someone to be put down. Mysteriously becomes the lead character in one episode.
Warren Mears (Adam Busch): The leader of "the Trio", the main villains in the 6th season. He first appears to be a fairly normal nerd, but becomes a violent, power-driven timebomb. He is killed by Evil Willow in the episode "Seeing Red"