51 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” 

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1. Katie Holmes and Ryan Reynolds were almost cast as Buffy Summers and Xander Harris. Holmes declined because she wanted to attend high school, while Reynolds didn’t want to be “the guy from high school.”

2. Sarah Michelle Gellar originally auditioned for the role of Cordelia, while Charisma Carpenter auditioned for the title role of Buffy. Nathan Fillion auditioned for the role of Angel and Danny Strong auditioned for the role of Xander.

3. Several other actresses auditioned for the role of Buffy but were later cast in different roles, including Julie Benz, Elizabeth Anne Allen, Mercedes Mcnab, and Julie Lee.

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch before accepting the role of Buffy.

5. The intricate story arcs, underlying themes, and well-developed characters resulted in a number of college courses that focus on the cult show. They are dubbed “Buffy Studies.”

6. Anthony Stewart Head, who played Rupert Giles for the entire series run, was the first actor cast in the series. Producers felt that he was perfect for the role of the Slayer’s mentor right from the first day.

7. Many of the cast members including Sarah Michelle Gellar had some trouble understanding creator Joss Whedon’s dialogue.

8. There’s even a book that explains the slang and unique terms used in the Buffyverse.

9. Whedon originally approached various networks with the original script for Buffy, one of which was Fox. But the network turned down the show, and it eventually appeared on The WB as a midseason replacement.

10. Mercedes McNab, who played Harmony Kendall, is the only actress to appear in the very first episode (the unaired pilot) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as the very last episode of its spin-off Angel. David Boreanaz’s scenes were edited from the unaired pilot, or he too would hold this distinction.

Joss Whedon stated in an interview that his original script for the film on which the TV show was based was supposed to be humorous but also dark and scary, much like the show.

12. Alyson Hannigan is the only member of the core four (Buffy, Xander, Willow, Giles) that did not appear in the unaired pilot. Willow was played by Riff Regan, who was recast at the request of the studio.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the concept of The Gentlemen, from the episode “Hush,” came to Joss Whedon in a dream. He imagined them as guys who would remind people of monsters that scared them as kids.

14. Much of the early positive acclaim received by the show was due to the writing and creative dialogue. To challenge this notion, Whedon wrote the critically acclaimed episode “Hush,” which contained just 14 minutes of dialogue.

15. Joss Whedon wrote the character of Buffy Summers as a deviation from the normal damsel in distress that was common in horror films at the time. He based the character on Kitty Pryde of the X-Men.

16. David Boreanaz was cast as the vampire with a soul Angel after he was spotted walking his dog by his now-manager.

17. The character of Angel was supposed to stay dead after he was killed by Buffy in Season 2. But the WB felt that because of Boreanaz’s performance and strong fan reaction to Angel, there was a future for the character. This led to his resurrection in Season 3, and eventual departure to star in his own show, Angel.

18. It was Boreanaz’s powerful acting in the Season 2 episode “I Only Have Eyes For You” that convinced Whedon to bring the character back for his own series.

19. Buffy’s birthday is always celebrated during the 13th or 14th episode of a season, with particularly nasty results. Except for Season 1, as it had only 12 episodes, and in Season 7, where Spike suggests Buffy not celebrate her birthday anymore.

20. After the end of Buffy The Vampire Slayer there were talks of several spin-offs surrounding Faith, Spike, and Giles, and an animated version of the show. Unfortunately, none of them panned out.

21. Almost every main cast member has been a demon at some point, whether in reality or in alternate universes. Buffy was a vampire in Season 1’s “Nightmares”; Xander and Willow were vampires in the alternate reality created in Season 3’s “The Wish”; Giles was turned into a Fyarl demon in Season 4’s “A New Man”; Oz becomes a werewolf in Season 2; Anya first appeared as a vengeance demon in Season 3 and becomes one again in Season 6. Tara, Dawn, and Riley are the only characters who were never demons.

22. James Marsters is not actually British, he’s American. He originally auditioned with a Cajun-Texas kind of accent, before it was decided that it would be better if Spike had a London accent.

23. Buffy’s family was originally never supposed to appear on the show, but Whedon felt that it might difficult to not include Buffy’s family, especially with the trouble Buffy would get into at school. So the character of Joyce Summers was created in a recurring capacity.

24. David Boreanaz was offered the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy before Christian Bale was eventually cast.

25. The producers at one point asked Nicholas Brendon to stop working out, as Xander was supposed to be the nerdy sidekick to the Slayer.

26. David Boreanaz often just pulled down his pants while other cast members were filming their scenes to see if they could hold a straight face.

27. Angel’s real name is Liam and Spike’s is William. Liam is actually the Irish equivalent of William.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sandy Gallin, an EP of Buffy and Angel, managed Parton’s career and extended his production partnership with her.

29. Many of the actors who appear in Whedon’s works overlap. Nathan Fillion played Caleb in Buffy as well as Captain Mal Reynolds in Firefly; Eliza Dushku and Alexis Denisof both appeared in Buffy, Angel and Dollhouse; Adam Baldwin also appeared in Angel and Firefly, while Alan Tudyk appeared in Firefly and Dollhouse.

30. Before deciding to make Willow gay in Season 4, Whedon toyed with the idea of making Xander gay instead.

31. After Buffy ended, Nicholas Brendon offered to make the jump to Angel. But Joss Whedon felt that Xander would have no place in Angel’s world.

32. The prosthetics that were used to get characters into vamp mode took about an hour and 20 minutes to apply.

33. The budget was tight for the first season of the show, so the same high school corridor was filmed in different ways and from different angles. Many of the scenes were also shot in the same warehouse, including the ones at The Bronze.

34. The Season 4 story arc of a love triangle between Willow-Oz-Veruca was supposed to continue through Season 4, before Seth Green announced his departure. Whedon expressed that this was heartbreaking, and so he decided to use that emotion and break Willow’s heart with Oz’s departure.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a retrospective book was published by author Nancy Holder titled Buffy: The Making of a Slayer.

36. Brendon had a stutter when he first joined the show and found it difficult to keep up with the fast-paced dialogue.

37. Emma Caulfield was added to the cast to act as a foil to the Scooby Gang, filling in the void that Cordelia left. She was the person who stood in the back and said, “You’re stupid, this would never work.” Spike was also added for this reason.

38. In Season 3 when Angel breaks up with Buffy, the scene was so emotional for Gellar that she could not stop crying. Production had to be halted for 25 minutes.

39. All four lead actors of Whedon’s shows appear in the Season 7 episode End of Days — Sarah Michelle Gellar from Buffy, David Boreanaz from Angel, Nathan Fillion from Firefly and Eliza Dushku from Dollhouse.

40. Several main characters were supposed to be killed off early on, but were kept on because of their popularity, including the likes of Spike, Oz, Faith, Wesley, and Drusilla; while Jenny and Joyce were supposed to be killed off sooner than they actually were.

41. Seth Green is the only actor to have acted in the original 1992 film as well as the TV show, both titled Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

42. The character Tara was supposed to come back from the dead at the end of Season 7, in an episode centered around Buffy receiving one wish from the Powers That Be.

43. Whedon and several crew members used to call Gellar by a special nickname because of the pain she would endure while filming. Whedon said, “We used to call her Jimmy Stewart, because he was greatest American in pain in the history of film.”

44. Despite being on several critics’ lists as one of the best shows of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was never recognized in major categories at the Emmys.

45. Buffy, Xander, and Willow have all had relationships with Vampire Slayers. Willow dated Kennedy Season 7, Xander slept with Faith in Season 3 and dated a Slayer named Renee in the Season 8 comic book continuation, and Buffy had a one-night stand with Satsu, a Japanese Slayer in Season 8.

46. Buffy’s death, Dawn’s arrival, and several other key storylines were actually foreshadowed seasons in advance. For instance in Season 3 “Graduation Day,” in Buffy and Faith’s shared dream, Faith cryptically says: “Little Miss Muffet, counting down to 730.” At this time, Buffy had approximately 730 days left to live. The line cleverly also foreshadows the arrival of Dawn, who is likened to Little Miss Muffet several times during Season 5.

47. Michelle Trachtenberg had wanted to be on the show long before the role of Dawn appeared. In fact, she gave Whedon a pitch of how she’d fit into the show. Gellar pushed for her audition before Trachtenberg won the role.

48. Britney Spears was originally slated to play the robot April in Season 5’s “I Was Made To Love You,” but scheduling conflicts led to Shonda Farr being cast instead.

49. Before the beginning of Season 7, Brendon and Gellar pitched the idea of a Buffy-Xander romance to Whedon. The idea wasn’t approved, as Whedon felt they worked better as best friends. The idea was later revisited in the Season 8 comic books.

50. The deaths of Joyce Summers and Cassie Newton are the only ones in the show’s massive body count that were due to natural causes.

51. The “Grrr. Arrgh.” that is played at the end of every episode of

Buffy is actually voiced by Whedon. Mutant Enemy, the name of his production company was also the name he gave to his first typewriter when he was 15.

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51 Things You Probably Didn\'t Know About "Buffy The Vampire Slayer"

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buffy the vampire slayer, alyson hannigan, angel, buffy summers, david boreanaz, james marsters, joss whedon, rupert giles, sarah michelle gellar, spike, willow, xander harris

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