Angel is an American television series, a spin-off from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffy's creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt. It aired on The WB from October 5, 1999, to May 19, 2004, consisting of five seasons and 110 episodes. Like Buffy, it was produced by Whedon's production company, Mutant Enemy.
The Buffyverse or Slayerverse is a media franchise created by Joss Whedon. The term also refers to the shared fictional universe in which the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel are set. This term, originally coined by fans of the TV series, has since been used in the titles of published works, and adopted by Joss Whedon, the creator of the fictional universe. The Buffyverse is a place in which supernatural phenomena exist, and supernatural evil can be challenged by people willing to fight against such forces. Plenty of the licensed Buffyverse merchandise and media, while being official, isn't considered to be canon within the universe.
Hellmouth, or the jaws of Hell, is the entrance to Hell envisaged as the gaping mouth of a huge monster, an image which first appears in Anglo-Saxon art, and then spread all over Europe. It remained very common in depictions of the Last Judgment and Harrowing of Hell until the end of the Middle Ages, and is still sometimes used during the Renaissance and after. It enjoyed something of a revival in polemical popular prints after the Protestant Reformation, when figures from the opposite side would be shown disappearing into the mouth. A notable late appearance is in the two versions of a painting by El Greco of about 1578. Political cartoons still showed Napoleon leading his troops into one.
Hellmouths are places of increased supernatural energy. According to the mythology of the "Buffyverse", this is the area in which the barriers between dimensions are weak. The Hellmouth has a focal point, which serves as a portal between earth and Hell. For these reasons, the Hellmouth attracts demons and other supernatural creatures, becoming a "hot spot" for supernatural activity. The television series has confirmed that there are Hellmouths under Sunnydale, California and Cleveland, Ohio, as well as other unspecified cities around the world (cf. "Chosen").
The term "energy" is used by writers and practitioners of various esoteric forms of spirituality and alternative medicine to refer to a variety of claimed experiences and phenomena that defy measurement and thus can be distinguished from the scientific form of energy. There is no scientific evidence for the existence of such energy.
A demon is a supernatural and often malevolent being prevalent historically in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, videogames, movies and television series.
Sunnydale is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003). Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror films.
The Hellmouth is first mentioned by name in "The Harvest", the second episode of Buffy, when Rupert Giles claims that the original Spanish settlers of Sunnydale called the area "Boca del Infierno", which Giles then translates to "Hellmouth" in English.
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure. The character proved popular with viewers, and Head's performance in the role was well received. Following Buffy's run, Whedon intended to launch a television spin-off focused on the character, but rights issues prevented the project from developing. Outside of the television series, the character has appeared substantially in Expanded Universe material such as novels, comic books, and short stories.
The energies emitted by the Hellmouth can have strange effects. Sunnydale High, positioned over the focal point, bore most of this supernatural phenomena. Buffy described the effects thus; "where the way a thing feels kind of starts being that way for real". For example, an eight-year-old boy inadvertently brought the realm of nightmare to reality during his coma. A boy suffering from stress literally explodes. The ghosts of dead high-school lovers haunt the school. In Season 7, when the Hellmouth becomes more active than during any other time in the series, competition between social cliques escalates into full-blown war. Inexplicable feats of science become possible. People (mostly teachers and students as well as police) become drawn to do evil things.
Buffy Anne Summers is the title character of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous non-canon expanded universe material, such as novels, comics, and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film, and later by Sarah Michelle Gellar in the television series. Giselle Loren has lent her voice to the character in both the Buffy video games and an unproduced animated series, while Kelly Albanese lent her voice to the character in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight motion comics.
A clique, in the social sciences, is a group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence and middle childhood development, they exist in all age groups. They are often bound together by shared social characteristics such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Examples of common or stereotypical adolescent cliques include athletes, nerds, and "outsiders".
In both "Prophecy Girl" and "The Zeppo", large, multi-tentacled demons seem to be immediately inside the Hellmouth, until Buffy and her friends slew them in the latter episode. In the episode "Doomed", Buffy entered the Hellmouth where it was revealed to be a large, empty cavern. Three years later, the First Evil bred thousands of Turok-Hans inside the Hellmouth, preparing to unleash a worldwide assault.
"Prophecy Girl" is the season finale of the WB Television Network's first season of the drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the 12th episode of the series. It first aired on June 2, 1997. Series creator Joss Whedon wrote and directed the episode.
"The Zeppo" is episode thirteen of season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by Dan Vebber, directed by James Whitmore, Jr., and first broadcast on January 26, 1999. Feeling left out by the gang, Xander ends up accompanying a student named Jack O'Toole. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang are trying to stop an apocalypse.
The Scooby Gang, or the "Scoobies", are a group of characters in the cult television series and comic book Buffy the Vampire Slayer who battle the supernatural forces of evil. The team consists of Buffy Summers and her friends and colleagues who assist her in her duties as the Slayer. First forming in the Season One episode "The Harvest" to prevent The Master from opening a portal to hell, the line-up of the group varied from year to year, but the core that remained intact throughout the series' run was Buffy herself and her best friends, Xander Harris and Willow Rosenberg, as well as her Watcher, Rupert Giles. This group was also called the "slayerettes".
Sunnydale Hellmouth
The Sunnydale Hellmouth lies underneath the library of Sunnydale High school during the first three seasons of the show, until the School's destruction at the end of Season 3. In the Season 4 episode "Doomed" the Hellmouth is seen as a narrow but incredibly deep pit in the ruins of the school. When Sunnydale High is re-built at the beginning of the 7th Season, Xander Harris says that the new principal's office is now located directly over the Hellmouth.
Alexander Lavelle Harris is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the television series by Nicholas Brendon and in two episodes by his twin brother, Kelly Donovan. He was conceived as an everyman and a male character for series heroine Buffy Summers to interact with, and to provide comic relief in the series. Xander is one of several friends of Buffy who assist her in saving the world against numerous supernatural events that plague Sunnydale, California, a town built over a doorway to hell.
In the 7th Season episode "Conversations with Dead People", a never-before-seen artifact, the Seal of Danzalthar, located in the school's basement below the principal's office, covers the opening of the Hellmouth.
There have been many attempts to use or open the Sunnydale Hellmouth, such as in the episodes "The Harvest", "The Zeppo" and "Doomed".
The Seal of Danzalthar is a fictional device resembling a demonic symbol, featuring an inverted pentagram and a goat's head. It is located over the Hellmouth and was discovered in the basement of the rebuilt Sunnydale High School.
The Seal is first seen in Season 7 of the series, in the episode "Conversations With Dead People". Andrew Wells is seduced by First Evil in the form of Andrew's dead friend Warren Mears into opening the Seal. The Seal can only be opened by a blood sacrifice, so Andrew murders his friend Jonathan Levinson who, because he is anemic, doesn't have enough blood to open the Seal. Jonathan's body and the Seal are found by Principal Robin Wood and buried.
The First Evil sends its minions, The Bringers, to capture Spike. They bind him over the Seal and bleed him. The Seal opens sufficiently to allow one Turok-Han (a.k.a. "Ubervamp") to slip through. The first Turok-Han is killed shortly thereafter by Buffy.
In "First Date" Lissa, a minor demon, tries to open the Seal using the blood of Xander Harris but is unsuccessful.
In the episode "Storyteller", the Seal is wreaking havoc on the Sunnydale student body, inspiring all-out warring amongst cliques, the spontaneous combustion of one student, and the invisibility of another. Five students perform a ritual over the Seal which causes it to emit white light. The students are transformed into Bringers. Buffy, stating that Andrew may be able to communicate with the Seal, takes him to it. Actually, Buffy and Willow have deduced that while blood opens the Seal, tears of remorse close it. Buffy forces Andrew to face up to his actions in murdering Jonathan and his tears fall upon the Seal, closing it and temporarily stopping its deleterious effects. By the time of "Touched", the Hellmouth has grown so powerful that Spike is able to freely enter and exit human residences without being invited, something vampires are usually unable to do, indicating that all of Sunnydale's residences now "belong" to the Hellmouth rather than to their human owners.
In the series finale, "Chosen", Buffy, Faith and several Potential Slayers cut their hands and bleed on the Seal, opening it. They enter the Hellmouth itself and engage the forces of The First Evil on its own ground. After a pitched battle, an amulet worn by Spike begins to glow. A beam of sunlight shines down into the Hellmouth, focused and amplified by the amulet. The forces of The First Evil are destroyed, the Seal and the Hellmouth are collapsed and the entire town of Sunnydale is consumed in the destruction. As of the events of "Chosen", the Sunnydale Hellmouth is permanently closed and inactive.
The Seal was referenced by Blizzard Entertainment as an epic ring in the game World of Warcraft.
The location of the second Hellmouth is first suggested in the episode "The Wish". In an alternative timeline, Giles mentions that "there is a lot of demonic activity in Cleveland", where Buffy is located due to the effects of Cordelia's wish.
After the final battle in "Chosen", and the characters express relief that their struggle is finally over, Giles adds that "there's another one in Cleveland". In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight comic "No Future For You", Giles refers to Cleveland, where Faith is stationed, as a "second-rate Hellmouth". In Angel: After the Fall, the Senior Partners express interest in purchasing property in Cleveland, following the destruction of the Sunnydale Hellmouth.
In episode 10 season 2 of Eureka, one of the characters suspects that "GD was built over a Hellmouth."
Hellmouth is the name of Oliver Morris' science fiction shop in Coupling.
In the play Zombie Town, by Tim Bauer, one of the theories given for the zombie uprising in Hayward, TX, is that the town is built over a Hellmouth. A character notes that both Cleveland and Sunnydale are built over Hellmouths, the latter being "well documented."
In the Shibuya, Tokyo-set SquareEnix game "The World Ends With You", the player has the ability to read the minds of the city's citizens. One citizens thoughts are: "I sense something...otherworldly. I had no idea Shibuya was so close to the Hellmouth."
In American Horror Story: Apocalypse, Supreme Witch Cordelia Goode refers to the Hotel Cortez, a haunted hotel with massive amounts of supernatural activity, as a Hellmouth. She refers to hearing the spirits "screaming in the walls for a way out."
Also in the same season, an acolyte of Anton LaVey refers to the Murder House as "being built over the portal to hell".
Other locations in the American Horror Story universe can be considered Hellmouths such as the Roanoke House built by Edward Phillipe Mott, and Camp Redwood.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series based on the 1992 film of the same name. It was created by Joss Whedon under his production tag, Mutant Enemy Productions, with later co-executive producers being Jane Espenson, David Fury, David Greenwalt, Doug Petrie, Marti Noxon, and David Solomon.
Spike, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Spike is a vampire and played various roles on the shows, including villain, anti-hero, trickster and romantic interest. For Marsters, the role as Spike began a career in science fiction television, becoming "the obvious go-to guy for US cult [television]." For creator Whedon, Spike is the "most fully developed" of his characters. The character was intended to be a brief villain, with Whedon originally adamant to not have another major "romantic vampire" character like Angel. Marsters says "Spike was supposed to be dirty and evil, punk rock, and then dead." However, the character ended up staying for the second season, and then returning in the fourth to replace Cordelia as "the character who told Buffy she was stupid and about to die."
Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series.
Warren Mears is a fictional character that is portrayed by Adam Busch in the American television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character also appears in canonical comic book series continuation of that series. He is the main antagonist in season six, until Willow turns to her dark side.
The First Evil is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The First Evil first appeared in the third season episode "Amends", and became the main antagonist of the seventh and final season.
In the fictional Buffyverse established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, a Watcher is a member of a secret organization, the Watchers' Council, which seeks to prepare the Slayer to fight demonic forces. A notable example of a Watcher is Buffy main character Rupert Giles.
Robin M. Wood is a recurring character on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character, present for most of Season Seven, is played by D. B. Woodside.
"Chosen" is the series finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the 22nd episode of season 7 and the 144th episode of the series. It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on UPN on May 20, 2003. The Buffy story would not be continued beyond this point until "The Long Way Home", a comic book, in 2007.
"Showtime" is the eleventh episode of the seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The Turok-Han vampires are fictional characters from Joss Whedon's TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. They appear in the 7th and final season of the series, making their first on screen appearance in the episode "Never Leave Me", when the Seal of Danzalthar is opened under the basement of Sunnydale High, over the Hellmouth. The concept was influenced by the stronger breed of Orcs, in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, known as the Uruk-hai.
In the fictional world of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series Angel, a vampire is a unique variety of demon that can only exist on the earthly plane by inhabiting and animating a human corpse. In Fray, a Buffy comic book spin-off set about a century in the future, vampires are also called lurks.
"The Harvest" is the second episode of season one of the WB Television Network television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by John T. Kretchmer. The episode originally aired in feature-length format alongside part one, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", on March 10, 1997, and attracted 3.4 million viewers. As such, and even though it is typically shown as two separate episodes in reruns, the action continues directly from the cliffhanger ending of "Welcome to the Hellmouth", as Buffy Summers struggles to save Jesse McNally's life.
The Trio is a group of three fictional characters in the sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who serve as the villains of the season. They continually strive to neutralize Buffy, the Slayer, and thus the primary obstacle to their ultimate goal of taking over Sunnydale. Though initially comic relief and little more than a nuisance to the Scooby Gang, they take a darker turn by the episode "Dead Things". Most of their schemes combine science and mysticism, and they are able to avoid detection by the Scoobies until halfway through the season.
This is an alphabetical list of all articles relating to the fictional "Buffyverse", including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, the comics, and other media. Names of actors and other personnel are bolded to distinguish them from characters and other in-universe articles.
The seventh and final season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 24, 2002 on UPN and concluded its 22-episode run on May 20, 2003. It maintained its previous timeslot, airing Tuesdays at 8:00 pm ET.
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