Geek 501 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

I decided that it could be fun to write a post doing a basic run down of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The idea is to give a basic run down for someone who has not watched the show to partly explain why we who did watch it loved it so much and where it started, as well as where it is now. The thing is Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not just the tv show. It started out as a movie, moved to a tv show, and currently is a comic book. These three versions each have their own distinctive flavor and story being told.

The movie came out in 1992 starring Kristy Swanson and Donald Sutherland. The movie was written by Joss Whedon, but Directed by Fran Kuzui. The movie ended up terrible. They took Joss’ vision and ended up with everything playing all wrong. I personally think they ended up taking themselves way to seriously instead of having fun with it like they should. In 1995 Joss decided to bring the story to tv because the movie did not do his vision justice. The tv show was so successful that it lasted seven seasons and a rabid fan base. Even after the show ended this fan base has kept up the passion for the story that had been told. This has then led to continuing the story in a comic book form, which is now up to season 9 and still going. The story has grown and changed, but some of the basics have stayed the same.

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Created Families: Buffy, Angel, and Firefly

I have wanted to write this post for a while and with Joss Whedon’s new show Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. it seemed like a perfect time. I have loved all Joss Whedon’s shows before now. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Firefly have all had a special something that makes the viewer want to watch more. All a little bit different, but the theme that seems to be repeated between all the shows is the created family.

The created family is the concept of people from different backgrounds, social spaces, beliefs, cultures, etc, coming together to become a bonded unit. They all start from different places, but end up on the same journey together. Either through a common purpose or a common journey. Then over time they begin to know each other, defend each other, and this makes the bonds tighter. I think it feeds in to our sense of family and belonging because who would not want to be a part of something more than ourselves.

The Hat Trick or You Look Familiar

This post is really combining two different tv tropes. One is the Hat Trick, which I know mostly due to Joss Whedon. It originally started out as actors that have appeared in all three of Joss’ shows (Buffy, Angel, Firefly), but with his every growing list of accomplishments that number of hat tricks keeps growing and at some point you might be able to go beyond just three appearances.

This then could be compared to the TV Trope “You Look Familiar” where a guest actor who maybe had a bit part returns to then play a full time character. On TV Tropes they note that this is often the case with Star Trek, a show where being able to wear a mask or makeup you could really have anyone behind there, so why not reuse an actor who worked well.

I really love it when you do not quite realize they have been reused until you come back and watch older episodes and are surprised to find this actor that you have seen playing one character suddenly playing someone completely different on the same show. Now the Hat Tricks for Joss Whedon have become a game amongst the fans to see who can spot them. So here are some of my favorite Hat Tricks / You Look Familiar actors and moments.