One of the most distinguishing features of the show is the innovative way its writers play with language--fabricating new words, morphing existing ones, and throwing usage on its head. The result has been a strikingly resonant lexicon that reflects the power of both youth culture and television in the evolution of American slang. Using the show to illustrate how new slang is formed, transformed, and transmitted, Slayer Slang is one of those rare books that combines a serious explanation of a pop culture phenomenon with an engrossing read for Buffy fans, language mavens, and pop culture critics. Noted linguist Michael Adams offers a synopsis of the program's history, an essay on the nature and evolution of the show's language, and a detailed glossary of slayer slang, annotated with actual dialogue. Introduced by Jane Espenson, one of the show's most inventive writers (and herself a linguist), Slayer Slang offers a quintessential example of contemporary youth culture serving as a vehicle for slang.

    Bad television--predictable, commercial, exploitative--simply yields to the forces. Good television, like the character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, fights them. Fighting the Forces explores the struggle to create meaning in an impressive example of popular culture, the television series phenomenon Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the essays collected here, contributors examine the series using a variety of techniques and viewpoints. They analyze the social and cultural issues implicit in the series and place it in its literary context, not only by examining its literary influences (from German liebestod to Huckleberry Finn) but also by exploring the series' purposeful literary allusions. Furthermore, the book explores the extratextual, such as fanfiction and online discussion groups. The book is additionally supplemented by an online journal Slayage (www.slayage.tv), created by the book editors in acknowledgement of the ongoing nature of television art. Rhonda V. Wilcox and David Lavery have written and edited several books and articles exploring the social, literary, and artistic merit of quality television. In addition to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, their work has covered a variety of programs including Twin Peaks, Northern Exposure, The X-Files, and The Sopranos.

    Contributors include bestselling legend David Brin, critically acclaimed novelist Scott Westerfeld, cult-favorite vampire author Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, and award-winner Sarah Zettel. The show and its cast are the topics of such critical pieces as Lawrence Watt-Evans's “Matchmaking in Hellmouth” and Sherrilyn Kenyon's “The Search for Spike's Balls.” An informed introduction for those not well acquainted with the show, and a source of further research for Buffy buffs, this book raises interesting questions concerning a much-loved program and future cult classic.

    A superbly enjoyable pastiche of old Hollywood musicals and Broadway shows, it finds an all-singing, all-dancing demon descending on Sunnydale intent on making the town's inhabitants free their innermost secrets through song. As a pivotal episode it proves a turning point for many of the characters, and as a unique piece of TV it's quite clearly unrivalled. There isn't a bad song among them and it's hard not to turn demon-green with envy that show creator Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed this episode, can be so sickeningly talented. It doesn't matter that some of the cast are less then blessed vocally, but stand-out performances from James Marsters (Spike) and Amber Benson (Tara) help carry along the weaker voices. This book is fan's dream with a detailed behind-the-scenes look at how the episode came about, the complete script, photographs and even the music sheets should you wish to try the songs from the comfort of your Steinway. This is a worthy and essential companion to perhaps Buffy's finest hour (and eight minutes) yet. --Jonathan Weir

    One girl in all the world, to find them where they gather and to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their members. She is the Slayer.

    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.

    Its groundbreaking stylistic and thematic devices, boldness and wit earned it an intensely devoted fan base-and as it approached its zenith, attention from media watchdog groups and the Federal Communications Commission. The grim and provocative evolution of the show over its final two seasons polarized its audience, while also breaking new ground for critical and philosophical analysis. The thirteen essays in this collection, divided into the perspectives of feminist, cultural, auteur and fan studies, explore the popular series' conclusion, providing a multifaceted examination of Buffy's most controversial two seasons.

    Recast in L.A., Angel developed its own preoccupations, exploring a darker vision of alienation, atonement and the fight for redemption. The series ended in 2004, but its legion of loyal fans continues to petition the WB network for a new spin-off or motion picture on the "Save Angel" website and other online fansites. This book covers all five seasons, discussing the cinematic aesthetics of Angel, its music, shifting portrayals of masculinity, the noir Los Angeles setting, the superhero, and horror. A complete episode guide is included.

    This second edition is hugely revised and expanded to cover the sixth and seventh seasons of Buffy and the third and fourth seasons of Angel. It contains chapters on the relationship between Buffy and the lovelorn vampire Spike and on the thematic structure of Angel, as well as interviews on the writing of Buffy with scriptwriters Jane Espenson and Steven DeKnight. Individual chapters have been updated and the useful episode guide is expanded to cover all seven seasons of Buffy and the four seasons of Angel, as is Roz Kaveney's general introduction to the scenes and structures of each season.

    The star of the show, Sarah Michelle Gellar is only 24, but she already has to her credit five films, two soap operas and a global hit-TV show. Buffy fans up and down the country thirst for details about Gellar's life, and this biography will undoubtedly quench that thirst. It's filled with dozens of exclusive photos and original information on every aspect of her career. BITE ME! spotlights Sarah's role in the show and features entertaining commentary on each episode, as well as background information about the stories in them.

    Sex and the Slayer explores one of the most talked-about topics in relation to this pioneering TV series--gender. As fantasy, Buffy potentially opens up a space for alternative representations of gender. But how alternative can popular television be? Taking a feminist cultural studies approach, Jowett explores the ways in which the series represents femininity, masculinity, and gendered relations, including sexuality and sexual orientation. Written for undergraduates, Sex and the Slayer provides an introduction to the most important theoretical and historical underpinnings of contemporary gender criticism as it examines a range of thought-provoking issues: role reversal, the tension between feminism and femininity, the "crisis" of masculinity, gender hybridity, the appeal of bad girls, romance, and changing family structures. Through this introductory analysis, Jowett shows that Buffy presents a contradictory mixture of "subversive" and "conservative" images of gender roles and as such is a key example of the complexity of gender representation in contemporary television.

    The weird and wonderful world of the Buffyversewhere the melding of magic and science is an everyday occurrenceprovides a fantastical jumping-off point for looking at complex theories of biology, chemistry, and theoretical physics. From surreal vampires, demons, and interdimensional portals to energy conservation, black holes, and string theory, The Physics of the Buffyverse is serious (and palatable) science for the rest of us. "

    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.

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

    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.