Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Film industry |
Genre | Production company |
Founded | Los Angeles, California, U.S. (1996 ) |
Founder | Joss Whedon |
Headquarters | Los Angeles, California , U.S. |
Key people | Joss Whedon |
Products | Films Television series Web series |
Mutant Enemy Productions is an American production company founded in 1996 [1] by Joss Whedon to produce Buffy the Vampire Slayer . The company also produced the Buffy spin-off, Angel , and his two short-lived science fiction series, the space Western Firefly and his high-concept Dollhouse , produced by 20th Century Fox Television. [2] Mutant Enemy also produced the internet series, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog [3] the film The Cabin in the Woods and the superhero series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. , along with ABC Studios and Marvel Television. [4] Most recently, Mutant Enemy produced the supernatural fiction series The Nevers for HBO.
Its offices (made out of glass bricks) were on the lot of 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles, previously the home of Chris Carter's Ten Thirteen Productions. According to March 2006's issue of UK magazine The Word, the offices were closed not long after Angel was cancelled.
The following table lists the production credits of Mutant Enemy: [5]
Title | Format | Year |
---|---|---|
Buffy the Vampire Slayer | Television series | 1997–2003 |
Angel | Television series | 1999–2004 |
Firefly | Television series | 2002 |
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog | Web series | 2008 |
Dollhouse | Television series | 2009–2010 |
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 Motion Comic | Animated series | 2010–2011 |
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope | Documentary | 2012 |
The Cabin in the Woods | Film | 2012 |
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. | Television series | 2013–2020 |
The Nevers | Television series | 2021–2023 |
The name "Mutant Enemy" is taken from the song "And You and I" by progressive rock band Yes, of whom Whedon is a professed fan: "There'll be no mutant enemy/we shall certify/political ends/as sad remains will die." (On the special features of the Buffy DVDs, Whedon also says in an interview that he called his typewriter "mutant enemy".)
The company's end-of-credits logo and mascot is an intentionally poorly animated vampire monster cartoon figure crossing the screen from right to left and saying, "Grr. Argh." It was drawn and voiced by Whedon himself. In certain episodes of Buffy the animation was changed:
The episode "Bargaining, Part One" references the end-of-credits logo. Tara gives Giles a small rubber monster and says "And a monster. Sort of a Sunnydale souvenir, we thought. Grr. Argh." In season seven of Buffy, there is a species of ancient Vampires called "Turok-Han" or Ubervamps. They look like more detailed versions of the Mutant Enemy.
In the canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 comic books, issue 22 "Swell", on page 10, the slogan for an in-comic fictional product is "Vampy Cat! Grr! Argh! He'll love you to <obscured> the Santorio Corporation!"
At the end of the credits of the animated sketch comedy parody show Robot Chicken , a parody of the Mutant Enemy, Inc. logo appeared with Joss Whedon (guest starring as himself) providing the "Grr... Argh..." As the enemy mutant rips apart the city, the scene cuts to an office where Joss Whedon is playing with dolls and an executive says to him, "Come on Joss, that's why you got kicked off Wonder Woman ."
With The Nevers , the Mutant Enemy vampire end-credits logo was replaced. The new end-of-credits card features a typewriter, upon which the company's name is affixed as an embossed label maker label.
Staff members of Mutant Enemy, all of whom have writing and/or production credits on at least one of the above shows, have included, in alphabetical order:
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 WB/UPN 1997–2003 television series and subsequent 1998–2018 Dark Horse and 2019–present Boom! Studios comic series of the same name. The character has also appeared in the spin-off series Angel, as well as numerous expanded universe materials such as novels and video games. Buffy was portrayed by Kristy Swanson in the film and 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.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the 1992 film, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner of the series under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions. It premiered on March 10, 1997, on The WB and concluded on May 20, 2003, on UPN.
William "Spike" Pratt, played by James Marsters, is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt 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 through 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."
Angel is an American supernatural television series, a spinoff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffy's creator, writer and director 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.
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is best known as the creator of several television series: the supernatural drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003) and its spinoff Angel (1999–2004), the short-lived space Western Firefly (2002), the Internet musical miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008), the science fiction drama Dollhouse (2009–2010), the Marvel Cinematic Universe film The Avengers (2012) and series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), and the science fiction drama The Nevers (2021).
Thomas Avery Whedon was an American screenwriter and producer from New York known for his work on television programs such as The Golden Girls, Benson, Alice, It's a Living, and The Dick Cavett Show. Whedon began his career as one of the original writers on the 1955 television series Captain Kangaroo. He also collaborated with Jon Stone to produce the 1969 TV film Hey, Cinderella! featuring the Muppets.
Faith Lehane is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Played by actress Eliza Dushku, Faith was introduced in the third season of Buffy and was a focus of that season's overarching plot. She returned for shorter story arcs on Buffy and its spin-off, Angel. The character's story is continued in the comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, and she also appears in apocryphal material such as other comic books and novels. Faith was set to receive her own spin-off television series after the final season of Buffy, but Eliza Dushku declined the offer, and the series was never made. The character later co-stars in the 25-issue comic book Angel & Faith beginning in August 2011 under the banner of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine, the story taking place mostly in London and the surrounding area. Seven years after the character's creation, Whedon granted her the surname Lehane for a role-playing game and subsequent material. The last issue of Season Eight was the first source officially confirmed to be canon that referred to Faith by her full name.
"Once More, with Feeling" is the seventh episode of the sixth season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003), and the only one in the series that is a musical. It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on UPN in the United States on November 6, 2001.
Jane Espenson is an American television writer and producer.
"Who Are You?" is the sixteenth episode of the fourth season of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on The WB on February 29, 2000.
The Buffyverse canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The Buffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the same fictional continuity as the Buffy episodes and Angel episodes. Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.
Douglas Petrie is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Best known as a writer, director, and co-executive producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He co-wrote the screenplays for the Fantastic Four film and Harriet the Spy. He has also written for the television shows Angel, The 4400, Tru Calling and American Horror Story: Coven. He served as a co-executive producer and writer for two seasons on CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and as a consulting producer and writer on the second season of Pushing Daisies. He made a cameo on Joss Whedon's web-based film, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, as "Professor Normal". He served as co-executive producer on the first season of the Netflix show Daredevil, and took over as showrunner for its second season alongside Marco Ramirez. In April 2016 Petrie and Ramirez were announced as showrunners of The Defenders, a miniseries that crosses over Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, and Iron Fist.
Whedonesque.com was a collaborative weblog devoted to the works of Joss Whedon. Submissions of new content ended on August 21, 2017, following the publication of an open letter by Whedon's ex-wife Kai Cole. The site was taken offline in 2021. At its inception in 2002, Whedonesque covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but expanded to follow Whedon's professional output, as well as the careers of cast and crew associated with Whedon projects. Since 2004, the site has been recognized in other media outlets by awards and citations of Whedon's writings originally posted to Whedonesque.
The popular fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel has led to attempts to develop more commercially viable programs set in the fictional 'Buffyverse'. However some of these projects remain undeveloped for various reasons: sometimes, vital cast members may be unavailable; alternatively, studios and networks which would provide capital for the spinoffs might remain unconvinced that such projects are financially viable.
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It originally aired on The WB on March 10, 1997 in a two-hour premiere along with the following episode, "The Harvest". The episode was written by the series creator and executive producer Joss Whedon and directed by Charles Martin Smith. "Welcome to the Hellmouth" received a Nielsen rating of 3.4 upon its original airing and received largely positive reviews from critics.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog is a 2008 musical comedy-drama miniseries in three acts, produced exclusively for Internet distribution. Filmed and set in Los Angeles, the show tells the story of Dr. Horrible, an aspiring supervillain; Captain Hammer, his superheroic nemesis; and Penny, a charity worker and their shared love interest.
Jed Tucker Whedon is an American screenwriter and musician, and the son of screenwriter Tom Whedon, grandson of screenwriter John Whedon, and the brother of screenwriter Zack Whedon and of filmmaker Joss Whedon.
The first season of the American supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer originally aired between March 10 and June 2, 1997, on The WB. Conceived as a mid-season replacement, the season consists of twelve episodes, each running approximately 45 minutes in length, and originally aired on Mondays at 9:00 pm ET.
The following is a list of unproduced Joss Whedon projects in roughly chronological order. During his career, American filmmaker Joss Whedon worked on a number of projects that never progressed beyond the pre-production stage.