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.

    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

    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....

    You're nice, and you're funny and you don't smoke, and okay, werewolf, but that's not all the time. I mean, three days out of the month I'm not much fun to he around, either." -- Willow" When Buffy the Vampire Slayer arrived in Sunnydale, she befriended a bookish, insecure girl named Willow. As a Slayerette, Will uses her computer prowess for good, hacking into electronic government files and researching obscure rituals on the Web. But Willow's love life is severely lacking, consisting of an unfulfilled crush on her friend Xander and a short-lived fling with a deadly demon she met over the Internet.Through her often life-threatening experiences with the Slayer, Willow gains the confidence to just be herself in the peer pressure-filled world of high school. And when her first real boyfriend, Oz, turns out to be a bit..."unusual..".in his own right, Willow is just the girl to prove that love really is blind...and a little scary.

    Anything's better than his moping around. But Spike -- as usual -- has his own agenda, and it involves something the demon is carrying: a vial of pure magickal power. Spike knows plenty of people and demons who will pay top dollar for this vial: Doc, Rack...and an ancient evil known as The First.Spike has encountered The First before. In the good old days in Victorian London, when Spike, Drusilla, Angelus, and Darla ran through the night in pursuit of dark fun, another evil being was stalking the streets, dispatching young women with brutal efficiency. But when the so-called "Jack the Ripper" struck too close to their twisted "family," the vampires found themselves on the same side as the Slayer of that time. Working to bring down Jack, and running afoul of The First, Spike and the Slayer formed an uneasy alliance, which followed Spike all through the twentieth century to present day Sunnydale, now blanketed in a mysterious fog....

    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.

    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.

    . . .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.

    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.

    SPIKE Sulking around the Slayer in Sunnydale, the vampire Spike has often run into demons intent on punishing him for throwing in with the White Hats. But when there are hints of a more organized campaign dedicated to vanquishing the vampire with a chip in his head, Spike sets off on the trail of whoever's put a hit out on him. Meanwhile, in the City of Angels, the vampire with a soul finds that the search for a mystical object is tied to his days as the vicious Angelus. Then Spike -- his former partner in carnage -- arrives in L.A. Each nursing a grudge, and with the specter of Buffy in both of their (cold, dead) hearts, the two vampires reluctantly work together...until their torturous past catches up with them!

    Surprisingly the call for reinforcements is answered by Buffy Summers and the atoning vampire Angel.Now tempers are flaring in the heat of the day -- and night -- as people are dying and locals are turning a blind eye to the deadly events. Bodies are turning up in the surrounding desert, some drained of blood, some having succumbed to another, fast-moving death. Riley Finn is noticing the arrival of more and more crows to this area, ominous portents of the events ahead. But even Mr. Secret Agent Man is distracted from his job when his wife goes undercover with Angel....

    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.

    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.

    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.

    Following the tragedy, their father, John, set out to teach his boys everything about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America . . . and how to kill it.Fans of the blockbuster television phenomenon can rejoice! A one-of-a-kind compilation of all of Sam and Dean's demon-busting knowledge, The Supernatural Book of Monsters, Spirits, Demons, and Ghouls contains illustrations and detailed descriptions that catalogue the more than two dozen otherworldly enemies that most people believe exist only in folklore, superstition, and nightmares: vampires, ghosts, revenants, reapers, and even bloody clowns. You'll find within these pages Sam and Dean's notes, observations, and memories interwoven with sections of John Winchester's invaluable journal, making this book the perfect companion to every thrilling episode — and an essential weapon in the secret war against the hidden creatures of the darkness!