Unofficial Buffy the Vampire Slayer productions

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The fictional universe established by television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and the film Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been parodied or paid tribute to by a number of unofficial productions, most notably fan films and adult films.

Contents

Fan films

Several notable fan films have been inspired by the Buffyverse. Although 20th Century Fox and its licensees are the only organizations legally allowed to create any commercial products with the name and trademark Buffy and Angel, related fan films have become more common, as computer and digital technology has advanced, to allow films to be produced for less money. Furthermore, the growth of the internet has allowed such films a way be distributed amongst a potentially wide audience. This has led to several productions which have received hundreds of thousands of downloads, an entry on Internet Movie Database, and at least some attention from external media. In 2006, the periodical technology magazine, Wired featured a two-page article about several of these films. [1] These films include Cherub, an internet series that parodies Angel; [2] a machinima series produced by Foiled Productions; Fluffy the English Vampire Slayer, [3] [4] a short film described as "one of the first widely watched Whedonverse fan films"; [1] and Forgotten Memories, [5] an Australian production, written by Emma Paige Langley and directed by indie actor and director Darren K Hawkins. Buffy – The alliance, a French fan film by Lmpp Production was planned for shooting in May 2010. [6]

Erotic parodies

The huge success of the Buffy franchise led to a number of erotic parodies in comic and film formats. None of these stories were licensed by 20th Century Fox as official Buffy merchandise, and none would be considered Buffyverse canon. These parodies have included:

The 2000 Friends episode The One Where Chandler Can't Cry shows a brief scene from the fictional Buffay the Vampire Layer. [14]

Books

In 2007, French author Chloé Delaume wrote the gamebook La nuit je suis Buffy Summers (published by Éditions è®e), [15] which is only loosely associated to the Buffyverse, and stems from the alternate reality shown in the episode "Normal Again". The reader/player takes on the role of an unnamed amnesiac psychiatric hospital patient, who escapes from her cell, is confronted with supernatural surroundings, and is involved in a plot to raise the ghost of Nietzsche's Zarathustra in order to enslave humanity. The characters encountered during the adventure are avatars of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series characters. The author has claimed this is a work of fanfiction. [16] The themes explored are those of the relative nature of reality, psychosis, and the morbid fascination for power of the French literary establishment.

Podcasts

There are a number of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan podcasts that discuss and analyze the show, including: Buffering the Vampire Slayer (recognized as one of the top podcasts in production by Time and Esquire magazines [17] [18] ), Still Pretty [19] , Dusted [20] , The Art of Slaying [21] , Unspoiled!, [22] Buffy Between the Lines [23] , Potential Cast [24] , The Buffy Rewatch [25] ,The Rewatcher, and Get Slayed. [26]

Joss Whedon has implied that materials associated with him are considered "official" and "canon". [27] [28] 20th Century Fox also grants licenses for companies to produce official Buffy and Angel merchandise, these include books, comics, novels, toys and so on.

Buffyverse fan films such as these are not licensed by Fox, and they are not closely associated with any of the crew from Buffy/Angel.

Related Research Articles

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> (film) 1992 film by Fran Rubel Kuzui

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a 1992 American comedy vampire film directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui and starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Hilary Swank, and David Arquette. It follows a Valley Girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. It was a moderate success at the box office, but received mixed reception from critics. The film took a different direction from that which its writer, Joss Whedon, intended. Five years later, he created the darker, and critically acclaimed, television series of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buffy Summers</span> Lead character of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> American supernatural TV series (1997–2003)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the 1992 film of the same name, also written by Whedon, although they are separate and otherwise unrelated productions. Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner under his production tag Mutant Enemy Productions.

<i>Angel</i> (1999 TV series) American television series (1999–2004)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joss Whedon</span> American filmmaker and writer

Joseph Hill Whedon is an American screenwriter, director, producer, comic book writer, and composer. He is the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions, co-founder of Bellwether Pictures, and 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 series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2013–2020), and the science fiction drama The Nevers (2021).

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. Much of the licensed Buffyverse merchandise and media, while being official, is not considered to be canon within the universe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mutant Enemy Productions</span> Television production company

Mutant Enemy Productions is a production company that was created in 1996 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. Mutant Enemy also produced the internet series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and the film The Cabin in the Woods. Mutant Enemy produced the superhero series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. along with ABC Studios and Marvel Television. Most recently, Mutant Enemy produced the supernatural fiction series The Nevers for HBO.

Buffy studies, also called Buffyology, is the study of Joss Whedon's popular television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and, to a lesser extent, its spin-off program Angel. It explores issues related to gender, family, ethics and other philosophical issues as expressed through the content of these shows in the fictional Buffyverse.

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.

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.

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"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.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight</i> Comic book series

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics from 2007 to 2011. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote or co-wrote three of the series arcs and several one-shot stories. The series was followed by Season Nine in 2011.

<i>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</i> (season 1) Season of television series

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.

Whedonverse is a collection of American comic books published by Boom! Studios and based on television series created by Joss Whedon.

"Hellmouth" is a 2019–2020 comic book event published by Boom! Studios. The event is a crossover between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, with both comics being overseen by Joss Whedon.

References

  1. 1 2 Newitz, Annalee (June 8, 2006). "Fan Films Reclaim the Whedonverse". Wired .
  2. ↑ "Caution Zero: About Caution Zero Network". Archived from the original on December 18, 2006. Retrieved December 18, 2006.
  3. ↑ "Fluffy the English Vampire Slayer". Internet Movie Database .
  4. ↑ "Buffy gets Fluffy". BBC Cult TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. September 17, 2001.
  5. ↑ Langley, Emma Paige (May 27, 2006). "About". Official Forgotten Memories site.[ dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Buffy – The alliance". Lmpp Production. Archived from the original on 10 July 2010. Retrieved 13 April 2010.
  7. ↑ "Muffy The Vampire Layer". Internet Movie Database .
  8. ↑ "Buffy The Vampire Layer". Internet Movie Database .
  9. ↑ "Boffy the Vampire Layer". Comic Book DB.
  10. ↑ Gordon, Joe (February 23, 2003). "Boffy the Vampire Layer by Bruce McCorkindale". The Alien Online. Archived from the original on February 7, 2006.
  11. ↑ Allen, Chris (December 5, 2002). "Breakdowns – Don't Eat Strangers". Movie Poop Shoot . Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  12. ↑ "Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Evil Willow Cartoons". whedon.info.
  13. ↑ "Buffy The Vampire Slayer: A XXX Parody DVD". Adam & Eve. Archived from the original on 2012-05-13. Retrieved 2012-05-06.
  14. ↑ "The 7 Best Instances of Doppelganger Sex - Page 4 of 4". 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 8 August 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "La nuit je suis Buffy Summers". chloedelaume.net (in French). 12 December 2012.
  16. ↑ Delaume, Chloé. S'écrire mode d'emploi (PDF). Cerisy autofiction symposium, July 25, 2008 (in French). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 13, 2008.
  17. ↑ "The 50 Best Podcasts to Listen to Right Now". Time. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  18. ↑ "The 15 Best Podcasts of 2018 (So Far)". Esquire. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  19. ↑ "Still Pretty". chipperish.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  20. ↑ "Dusted | StoryWonk". storywonk.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  21. ↑ "The Art of Slaying – A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Retrospective". www.theartofslaying.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  22. ↑ "Unspoiled! Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Spreaker. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  23. ↑ "Buffy Between the Lines". www.buffybetweenthelines.com. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  24. ↑ "PotentialCast" . Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  25. ↑ "The Buffy Rewatch". The Buffy Rewatch. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  26. ↑ Stoetzel, Katey. "Get Slayed: A Buffy Podcast Podcast". ShoutEngine. Archived from the original on 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  27. ↑ Rudolph, Ileane (December 7, 2006). "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Is Back: The Complete Joss Whedon Q&A". TV Guide . Archived from the original on June 15, 2011.
  28. ↑ Whedon, Joss (November 9, 2005). "Joss to never learn how to work site! Man is complete Melvin! Mock him!". Whedonesque.com . Retrieved May 26, 2008.

See also

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