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Forward
Over the
past eight years Joss Whedon has transformed Buffy the Vampire Slayer
from her original one-note movie incarnation of horror and comedy into a
young woman any Watcher would be proud of to be associated with. Since
the television show first aired in 1997, Buffy Summers and her circle of
family and friends have been shaped by fantastic expressions of the
horrors every adolescent encounters in the growing process. Their demons
manifest in the fresh, but the fears they bring with them are universal.
Fear of isolation, of being an outsider. Fear of making the wrong
choices in romance. Fear of losing a loved one.
In the time
it has been on the air, Buffy has truly reached the status of
"cultural phenomenon." This means more than appearing on
refrigerator magnets and door hangers (although this edition of The
Watcher's Guide covers that aspect as well). It means that Buffy
and the other residents of Sunnydale have become a part of the world's
vernacular. People who don't watch the show are at least acquainted
with the premise. And people who do watch, embrace the characters and
feel their trials and triumphs along with them.
In addition
to fans' fascination with the characters, Buffy also has a
strong element of metafiction. Viewers are both aware and appreciative
that the situations and dialog they view each week come from the minds
of Joss and his fellow writers.
This book
contains more information on both levels of the Buffyverse. It contains
a complete episode guide from Seasons Three and Four, with
cross-referenced continuity and in-depth character descriptions. It also
contains more behind-the-scenes information--including a day-by-day
look at the making of Season Four's pivotal episode, "The I in Team,"--than has ever been available before. We documented the
process of turning ideas, words, photographs, and sketches into a
televised episode in two weeks.
Our goal in
assembling this material was to include everything we believe a true fan
desires to know. We hope we have met the goal for you.
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