Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Elana LevineJason Middleton - 2007
    Yet the show has lived on through syndication, global distribution, DVD release, and merchandising, as well as in the memories of its devoted viewers. Buffy stands out from much entertainment television by offering sharp, provocative commentaries on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and youth. Yet it has also been central to changing trends in television production and reception. As a flagship show for two U.S. “netlets”—the WB and UPN—Buffy helped usher in the “post-network” era, and as the inspiration for an active fan base, it helped drive the proliferation of Web-based fan engagement.In Undead TV, media studies scholars tackle the Buffy phenomenon and its many afterlives in popular culture, the television industry, the Internet, and academic criticism. Contributors engage with critical issues such as stardom, gender identity, spectatorship, fandom, and intertextuality. Collectively, they reveal how a vampire television series set in a sunny California suburb managed to provide some of the most biting social commentaries on the air while exposing the darker side of American life. By offering detailed engagements with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s celebrity image, science-fiction fanzines, international and “youth” audiences, Buffy tie-in books, and Angel’s body, Undead TV shows how this prime-time drama became a prominent marker of industrial, social, and cultural change.Contributors. Ian Calcutt, Cynthia Fuchs, Amelie Hastie, Annette Hill, Mary Celeste Kearney, Elana Levine, Allison McCracken, Jason Middleton, Susan Murray, Lisa Parks

Angel: the Casefiles, Volume 1


Nancy Holder - 2002
    It's a city like no other....People are drawn here. People, and other things. They come for all kinds of reasons. My reason? It started with a girl."-- Angel, "City of"For a hundred years, Angel offered an ugly death to everyone he met. And he did it with a song in his heart. A gypsy curse put a stop to his rampage, but his doomed love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer drove him from Sunnydale on his own quest for redemption.Fortunately, he's not alone. His support system includes Cordelia Chase, ex-May Queen (just until her inevitable stardom takes effect); Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, Rogue Demon Hunter; and Gunn (Charles Gunn, his name, not his street tag). Their rates are low, and their logo is indecipherable -- but they save people, and stuff.

The Complete Slayer: An unoffical and unauthorised guide to every episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Keith Topping - 2000
    Whether you're a seasoned Slayerette or a novice, this bumper guide to the complete seven series is your indispensable companion to Buffy's universe.

Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly


Jane EspensonMichelle Sagara West - 2005
    From what was wrong with the pilot to what was right with the Reavers, from the use of Chinese to how correspondence between Joss and network executives might have gone, from a philosopher’s perspective on “Objects in Space” to a sex therapist’s analysis of Inara, Finding Serenity is filled with writing as exciting, funny and enthralling as the show itself.

The Quotable Slayer


Micol Ostow - 2003
    'Writing as good as that for Hill Street Blues, The Simpsons or...Alan Bleasdale at his best' said the Guardian as far back as season one. 'The only show outside Larry Sanders where you rewind to confirm that the wit was that dark' said the style gurus on Uncut four seasons later. 'Wittier than The West Wing' affirmed Time magazine. On the internet, fan sites abound with choice quotes painstakingly culled from favourite episodes, and no episode review is complete without a 'best dialogue' postcript. THE QUOTABLE SLAYER collects of hundreds of quotes from all seven seasons of the show, categorised by character and by subject and illustrated in both black and white and colour. Whether pithy or moving, funny or profound: the complete range of this remarkable drama is here for fans to refer to again and again.

Why Buffy Matters: The Art of Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Rhonda V. Wilcox - 2005
    Wilcox argues that Buffy is enduring as art by exploring its excellence in both long-term story arc construction and in producing individual episodes that are powerful on their own. She examines the larger patterns that extend through all seven seasons: the hero myth, imagery of light, naming symbolism, Buffy's relationship with Spike, sex, and redemption. Wilcox also focuses on acclaimed and noteworthy episodes, including the musical "Once More, with Feeling," the largely silent and wordless "Hush," and the dream episode "Restless." She examines Buffy's literary narrative, symbolism, visual imagery, and sound. Combining great intelligence and wit, written for fans, this is the worthy companion to the show that has claimed and kept the minds and hearts of watchers worldwide.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Script Book Season Two, Vol. 1


Gertrude Pocket - 2001
    These scripts are the shooting drafts, and contain production notes, cut dialogue and different scenes.

Buffy Chronicles : The Unofficial Companion to Buffy the Vampire Slayer


Ngaire E. Genge - 1998
    From body snatchers and poltergeists to werewolves and mummies, it provides the inside track on the show's strange yet seductive characters and topics. The Buffy Chronicles includes a retrospective of the film that started it all, a history of vampire legends, cast information, plot synopses, and behind-the-scenes trivia. From "The Death Toll, " a roster of who's been killed by whom in each episode, to "I Fall to Pieces, " a guide to the alternative music and bands that add so much atmosphere, this book has everything Buffy's fans could want.

Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy


Candace Havens - 2003
    It’s easy to see why. Whedon, who got his start writing for Roseanne, dreamed of writing movie screenplays. He got his shot when he sold his script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but the movie fell far short of his hopes for it. After a few years of working as a script doctor, Whedon got the chance to doBuffy again, this time as a TV show.Few expected it to succeed, but Whedon’s humor and intelligence shone through in the scripts, and viewers quickly became attached to the engaging, witty characters. Buffy kept getting better: each season of the show featured a complex story arc possessed of a real sense of danger and further developed the characters. The last few years have brought the Buffy spin-off Angel, the lamentably canceled Firefly (a space western), and the comic book Fray. Engaging and filled with fun quotes, this is a must-read for Whedon’s many fans.

Spike: After the Fall


Brian Lynch - 2008
    But, by the time this fight is over, he'll have one more name: Lord! Or "dust"... maybe we'll just call him dust, considering how it seems things are going in his immediate future. But after enjoying this collection of the four-issue Spike: After the Fall series you'll be looking at the events of Angel: After the Fall in a whole new light, courtesy of Brian Lynch and Franco Urru!

These Our Actors


Ashley McConnell - 2002
    Willow decides to stick with the class on her own, however, and this once-shy wallflower is pleased to find herself way bitten with the acting bug.It's no surprise to Buffy and the Scoobs, then, when Willow decides to pitch in with the drama club's latest production. Of course, Sunnydale being Hellmouth Central, Willow soon discovers a link between drama and magick; in fact, many ancient Greek performances were actually invocations to the Gods. Spike, who in his pre-vamp days had been a great patron of the arts, confirms this fact. He "also" takes an unusual level of interest in Willow's extracurricular activities. When strange paranormal occurrences -- and the appearance of a ghost or two -- threaten Willow's safety, the witch starts to wonder if it isn't time to exit, stage left....

Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 1


Doranna Durgin - 2001
    One girl in all the world, to find the vampires where they gather, and to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. In our time, that girl is Buffy Summers. But Buffy is merely one Slayer in an eternal continuum of warriors for the Powers That Be.We've known of others; The Primal Slayer, who stalked the earth and the forces of darkness in fierce solitude... Nikki, the funky hipster whose demise at Spike's hands lent an urban edge to his wardrobe and a bigger bounce to his swagger. Slayers by nature have a limited life expectancy; for each one who falls, another rises to take her place.Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 1, chronicles Slayers past who have influenced -- and are influenced by -- the traditions and mythologies of yore. From ancient Greece, to aristocratic Slayers holding court in revolution-era France, to the legend of the Bloody Countess Elizabeth Bathory, to 1920's Munich, each girl has a personal history, a shared moral code, and a commitment to conquer evil, regardless of the cost...Contents:A Good Run, Greece, 490 B.C.E. / Greg RuckaThe White Doe, London, 1586 / Christie GoldenDie Blutgrafin [The Blood Countess], Hungary, 1609 / Yvonne NavarroUnholy Madness, France, 1789 / Nancy HolderMornglom Dreaming, Kentucky, 1886 / Doranna Durgin>Silent Screams, Germany, 1923 / Mel OdomAnd White Splits the Night, Florida, 1956 / Yvonne Navarro

The Physics of Star Trek


Lawrence M. Krauss - 1995
    Now Lawrence M. Krauss, an internationally known theoretical physicist and educator, has written the quintessential physics book for Trekkers and non-Trekkers alike.Anyone who has ever wondered, "Could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the "Star Trek" universe (and, incidentally, the real universe) in this charming and accessible volume. Krauss boldly goes where "Star Trek" has gone -- and beyond. He uses the "Star Trek" future as a launching pad to discuss the forefront of modern physics. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Janeway, Krauss leads the reader on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be.Featuring the Top 10 biggest physics bloopers in "Star Trek," as selected by Nobel Prize-winning physicists and other dedicated Trekkers!"This book is fun, and Mr. Krauss has a nice touch with a tough subject...Readers drawn by frivolity will be treated to substance." "--New York Times Book Review""Today's science fiction is often tomorrow's science fact. The physics that underlies "Star Trek" is surely worth investigating. To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit."--Stephen Hawking (in the foreword)A

Wicked Willow I: The Darkening


Yvonne Navarro - 2004
    Buffy and Xander arrive too late to stop Willow from taking revenge on Warren for the murder of Tara, and now they stand helpless as Willow determines to use whatever magick it takes to bring her lover back from the grave.

Inside Joss' Dollhouse: From Alpha to Rossum


Jane Espenson - 2010
    The anthology’s 18 sometimes funny, always insightful pieces cover Dollhouse from anticipated start to explosive finish. Drawn from an international contest judged by fan favorite Whedon screenwriter Jane Espenson, its essays get right to heart of what Dollhouse viewers loved most about the show.Espenson also acts as the book’s editor, offering context and extra insight on its topics and the show—a role she played in previous anthologies Finding Serenity and Serenity Found, also on Joss Whedon creations.From programmer Topher’s amorality to the accuracy of the show’s neurobiology, Inside Joss' Dollhouse brings Dollhouse back to life with a depth sure to satisfy its many still-mourning fans.