Episode 75: Enter the Buffyverse Part 1 (Seasons 1-3)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) was originally conceived as “My So-Called Life meets The X-Files” and seasons one through three keep that formulation at its bloody and beating heart, although the soapiness kicks up into overdrive as the show goes on.
My guest for this episode is Monia, the Exiled Fan, and you can read her substack here!
It’s worth going back to look at Buffy not just because it’s a wonderful show but also because so much of the way pop culture is today can be traced back to Buffy and to the fandom that built up around it on places like OG posting board “The Bronze” (and check out the documentary on “The Bronze,” which is like looking at the present in the past) where extremely online fans interacted with both the cast and the writing staff of the show. There is also the academic fandom that built up around the show—including a conference called Slayage that is still being held as of this year. This has led to a lot of dubious academic papers of dubious academic quality with titles like, “‘I said I didn’t remember anything about that’: Toxic Masculinity in the Buffyverse” a trend that has continued through various other fandoms, including K-Pop. And, unfortunately, this stuff has come to overshadow the actual show in popular imagination.
Another complicating factor is that Joss Whedon was finally cancelled a few years ago, although allegations that he could be a terrible person to work with had been around for decades. This cancellation has also contributed to a retrospective trashing of Buffy, which I think is unfair.
One other thing we mention in the episode is that Nicholas Brendan, who played Xander, has had some… troubles. You can dig into the dirt if you want to but it’s grim.
The songs played are:
“Pain” by Dingoes Ate My Baby (aka Four Star Mary)
“Strong” by Velvet Chain (from S1E5, “Never Kill A Boy On the First Date”)
[“On line for what?”] from S1E8, “I Robot, You Jane”
[“I’m sixteen years old. I don’t want to die.”] from S1E12, “Prophecy Girl”
[“Roman Toga Party”] from Animal House
“1000 Nights” by Nickel (from S2E3, “School Hard”)
“Sugar Water” by Cibo Matto (from S2E1, “When She Was Bad”)
[“Spank the inner moppet”] from S2E1, “When She Was Bad”
[“How can you say that to me?”] from S2E14, “Innocence”
“Transylvanian Concubine” by Rasputina (from S2E13, “Surprise”)
[“Happymeals on legs”] from S2E22, “Becoming (Part 2)”
“I Only Have Eyes For You” by the Flamingos (from S2E19, “I Only Have Eyes For You”)
[“Maybe the dingo ate your baby.”] from Seinfeld, S3E10, “The Stranded”
[“Only like fruity jazz bands.”] from S3E16, “Dopplegangland”
“Got the Love” by the Average White Band (from S2E16, “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered”)
[“The Lonely Ones”] from S2E7, “Lie To Me”
[“I don’t see a lot of Sunday picnics in the offing.”] from S3E18, “Choices”
“Chinese Burn” by Curve (from S3E14, “Bad Girls”)
[“…like a girl?”] from S3E12, “Helpless”
“G-Song” by Supergrass (from S3E13, “The Zeppo”)
[“I did it my way!”] from S3E8, “Lovers Walk”
[“I said I didn’t remember anything about that.”] from S2E15, “Phases”
“Buffy Theme” by Nerf Herder