"The Monster Book" looks at how vampires are created on the show. There are interviews with the series creator, Joss Whedon, as well as the writers, make-up and costume artists, stunt men and actors. It explores the mythology surrounding vampires and other ghouls, in other forms of popular culture. Meet the vampires and other Sunnydale hellmouth creatures, safely, in this monster book.

    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.

    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

    In this thoughtful, witty look at the acclaimed "Buffy" spin-off, five science fiction and fantasy writers discuss their favorite vampire.

    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

    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.

    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....

    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.

    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

    Now all those stories, plus selected stories from Season Eight, are collected in one deluxe collection with a new cover by Jo Chen.Joss writes multiple tales: a somber vamp tale, drawn by Cameron Stewart; the story of the first Slayer, drawn by Leinil Yu; and more.Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales also reprints for the first time new Season Eight stories written by novelist Jackie Kessler (Hell's Belles) and awardwinning cartoonist Becky Cloonan (Demo), featuring vampires living in the public eye, killing Slayers and killing each other.* This book collects stories from MySpace Dark Horse Presents #31 and #32; Tales of the Vampires: Carpe Noctem parts 1 and 2; Buffy: Tales of the Vampires oneshot; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Vampires #1#5; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers #1"Broken Bottle of Djinn"; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tales of the Slayers TPB.Before Season Eight . . .

    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.

    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.

    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.

    '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.

    . . .New York City in 1977 is vampire heaven. Serial killer Son of Sam is often blamed for their hits, and a citywide blackout gives them free reign of the streets, allowing them to get away with murder. Spike and his beloved Drusilla are in the Big Apple taking advantage of the situation, as is Vampire Slayer Nikki Wood, who has hunkered down with her son, Robin, in a Times Square apartment where she thinks they'll be safe.But no matter where she goes, Nikki has to watch her back. Spike has only one thing on his mind: to slay a slayer. Adding to Spike's list of challenges is a corrupt local vampire community that catches wind of his presence, and when they start messing with him, things get bloody interesting.