 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(March 2024) |
| Editor | Roz Kaveney |
|---|---|
| Author | Various |
| Subject | Buffyverse |
| Genre | academic publication, Media Study |
| Publisher | Tauris Parke Paperbacks |
Publication date | March 18, 2004 (second updated edition) |
| Pages | 288 |
| ISBN | 1-86064-984-X |
| OCLC | 54899596 |
Reading the Vampire Slayer is a 2004 academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.
Covers both Buffy (up to its final season) and Angel (up to Season 4). The book gives in depth analysis highlighting show titles, quotes, key comments that foreshadow something else. The book progresses season by season discussing character growth, and many hidden metaphors.
These are the contents for the first edition (published 2001):
| Chapter | Title | Author |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "She Saved the World. A Lot: An Introduction to the Themes and Structure of Buffy and Angel" | Roz Kaveney |
| 02 | "Entropy as Demon: Buffy in Southern California" | Boyd Tonkin |
| 03 | "Vampire Dialectics: Knowledge, Institutions and Labour" | Brian Wall & Michael Zryd |
| 04 | "Laugh, Spawn of Hell, Laugh" | Steve Wilson |
| 05 | "'It Wasn't Our World Anymore--They Made It Theirs': Reading Space and Place" | Karen Sayer |
| 06 | "'What You Are, What's to Come': Feminism, citizenship, and the divine" | Zoe-Jane Playden |
| 07 | "'Just a Girl': Buffy as Icon" | Anne Millard Daugherty |
| 08 | "'Concentrate on the kicking movie': "Buffy" and East Asian Cinema" | Dave West |
| 09 | "Staking a Claim: The Series and Its Slash Fan-Fiction" | Esther Saxey |
| 10 | "'They always mistake me for the character I play!': Transformation, identity and role-playing in the Buffyverse (and a defence of fine acting)" | Ian Shuttleworth |
The book was reviewed by Pyramid , [1] Nicholas Birns in Science Fiction Studies , [2] Fiona Kelleghan in the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts , [3] Deborah Netburn in The New York Observer , [4] David V. Barrett in The Independent , [5] and David Beard in Popular Communication. [6]
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan.
Tara Maclay is a fictional character created for the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed by Amber Benson. Tara is a shy young woman with magical talents who falls in love with Willow Rosenberg, one of the core characters. Together, they help Buffy Summers, who has been given superhuman powers to defeat evil forces in the fictional town of Sunnydale.
Jenny Calendar is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Played by Robia LaMorte, Jenny is the computer teacher at Sunnydale High School. Unbeknownst to Buffy or anyone else, Jenny Calendar has been sent to Sunnydale to keep an eye on Angel.
Harmony Kendall is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab. Originally cast as a minor character, McNab's credited status elevated to guest star and ultimately series regular over the course of her tenure in Buffy and Angel.
The Master is a fictional character on the action-horror/fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). He is a centuries-old vampire portrayed by Mark Metcalf, determined to open the portal to hell below Sunnydale High School in the fictional town of Sunnydale where the main character Buffy Summers lives. The premise of the series is that Buffy is a Slayer, a teenage girl endowed with superhuman strength and other powers, which she uses to kill vampires and other evil beings. Each season of the series Buffy and the small group of family and friends who work with her, nicknamed the Scooby Gang, must defeat an evil force referred to as the Big Bad; the villain is usually trying to bring on an apocalypse. The Master is the first season's Big Bad.
Adam is a fictional character in the fourth season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Portrayed by George Hertzberg, he is a monster created from a man and the collected parts of demons, vampires, and technology: the product of a perverse experiment carried out by military scientists. The series' main character, Buffy Summers, encounters and ultimately defeats him in the fourth season. Adam is the creation of Dr. Maggie Walsh, the head of a military-like organization called The Initiative that studies how to alter the harmful behavior inherent to demons. Adam and the Initiative are the fourth season's primary antagonists, or Big Bad.
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.
Richard Wilkins III is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Portrayed by Harry Groener, he is the mayor of Sunnydale, a fictional town rife with vampires and demons in which the main character, Buffy Summers lives. The premise of the series is that Buffy is a Slayer, a young girl endowed with superhuman powers to fight evil, which she accomplishes with the help of a small group of friends and family, called the Scooby Gang. During the show's second season, it becomes apparent that local authorities are aware of the endemic evil in the town, and either ignore it or are complicit in making it worse. The third season reveals that the Mayor is behind this conspiracy to hide and worsen Sunnydale's supernatural phenomena, as part of his century-long plot to take over the world, making him the season's primary villain, or Big Bad. His genial demeanor, promotion of family values, casual phobia of germs, and dislike of swearing belie his evil nature. The series regularly employs monsters and elements of horror to symbolize real problems, and the abuse of power in relation to the forces of darkness is a repeated theme throughout the series, as well as in its spin-off Angel.
"Doppelgangland" is the sixteenth episode of the third season of the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). It was written and directed by the show's creator, Joss Whedon, and originally aired on The WB in the United States on February 23, 1999. The episode's title is derived from the term "Doppelgänger", a German word for a lookalike or double of a living person.
"Hush" is the tenth episode in the fourth season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired in the United States on December 14, 1999, on The WB. After reading critical response to the series in which the dialogue was praised as the most successful aspect of the show, Whedon set out to write an episode almost completely devoid of speech. Only about 17 minutes of dialogue is presented in the entire 44 minutes of "Hush".
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the action-horror television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers, and appears in 58 of the 144 episodes.
"The Body" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on The WB in the United States on February 27, 2001. In the series, Buffy Summers is a teenager chosen by mystical forces and endowed with superhuman powers to defeat vampires, demons, and other evils in the fictional town of Sunnydale. She is supported in her struggles by a close circle of friends and family, nicknamed the "Scooby Gang". In "The Body", Buffy is powerless as she comes upon her lifeless mother, who has died of a brain aneurysm.
"Not Fade Away" is the 22nd and final episode of season 5, and the series finale of the television show Angel. Written by series creator Joss Whedon and directed and co-written by Jeffrey Bell, it was originally broadcast on May 19, 2004 on the WB network. In "Not Fade Away", Angel convinces his team that they must take out every member of the Circle of the Black Thorn in a defiant and probably futile stand against the Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart. He tells his team to make the most of what may be their last day on Earth: Gunn visits his old neighborhood; Wesley tends to the wounded Illyria; Lorne spends some time onstage; Spike performs poetry at an open mic, and Angel visits his son. When night falls, the team divides and sets out to eliminate the members of the Black Thorn, incurring the wrath of the armies of hell.
"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.
Keith Andrew Topping is an author, journalist and broadcaster. He is most well known for his work relating to the BBC Television series Doctor Who and for writing numerous official and unofficial guide books to a wide variety of television and film series, particularly Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Roz Kaveney is a British writer, critic, and poet, best known for her critical works about pop culture and for being a core member of the Midnight Rose collective. Kaveney's works include fiction and non-fiction, poetry, reviewing, and editing. Kaveney is also a civil liberties and transgender rights activist. She has contributed to several newspapers such as The Independent and The Guardian. She is also a founding member of Feminists Against Censorship and a former deputy chair of Liberty. She was an editor of the transgender-related magazine META.
Fighting the Forces: What's at Stake in Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 2002 academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.
Terence Ian Shuttleworth is a retired Northern Irish theatre critic and author. He was one of the senior theatre critics for the Financial Times May 2007- March 2019, and editor and publisher of Theatre Record magazine from 2004 until 2016. In March 2019 he left the UK for Germany.