Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy (15 page)

When I tried to get Ali’s (singing) range, she threw herself on the ground in my office and went, ‘No!’ It was actually kind of adorable.—Joss

I’m not a singer, and I hated every moment of it.

—Sarah Michelle Gellar

Sídebar: My set vísít to
Buffy

 

In the middle of Santa Monica you’ll find a grouping of tin buildings that make up the set of
Buffy
. When Joss says they built the whole thing out of a bunch of tin huts, he means it. This isn’t your typical television lot. Within the humble exterior lies what looks like a street in any small town. There’s a cinema on the corner and a Mexican restaurant across the street. If it weren’t for the “Magic Box” sign on one of the storefronts, you would never know that it’s Sunnydale.

A great many of the scenes for
Buffy
are shot inside this huge fauxcinema; it holds the entire downstairs of the house where Buffy lives. The front of the house has been built to look just like the original home located in Torrance, California—this is called a second face. It’s used so that the show doesn’t have to shoot exteriors on location. The crew of
Buffy
started doing exterior shots on this lot after wearing out their welcome in Torrance while shooting the season three finale. That final explosion scene set off half the car alarms in town!

It’s a little eerie to cross the threshold into the home of Buffy Summers. I’d never imagined how striking an experience it would be to witness the place where the magic of
Buffy
occurs. Being an entertainment reporter has its perks; I was afforded the opportunity to touch the worn chairs on the front porch, examine the books stacked in mission-style cases and sit in the dining room where the Scoobies spend so much time hanging out.

I stepped into Buffy’s living room. There stood the very couch where Joyce died in “The Body.” I took a few steps deeper into the house and found myself in the hallway where Buffy vomited after she found her mother dead, and hurried on into the homey kitchen which leads to the dining room. I peeked around the right corner to find the front entryway and the staircase that should lead up to Buffy’s bedroom—but the upstairs of the house is actually a part of a different set, in the back of the huge soundstage.

I made another round about the downstairs set, taking in little details that comprise Buffy’s living space—knickknacks, pictures and furniture that I’ve seen via a cathode ray tube for years and could now actually touch and see. I then left the first story of the house for the other side of the soundstage, where I got to examine the upstairs section of the Summers’ home.

I was immediately drawn to Dawn’s bedroom, a pink, purple and green teen haven. Teen magazines litter the floor and furniture, and there’s a stuffed Scooby Doo tucked away in the closet. (Wonder where that came from?) Puzzles and books fill the bookcase, along with a groovy lava lamp. Photos of a much younger Dawn—a Dawn the audience never saw—grace the walls, and notebooks are stacked on the desk next to a wizard snow globe and a large framed picture of Joyce.

There are more pictures of Joyce in the hallway leading to Willow and Tara’s room. The walls are loaded with family photos, pictures of the Summers’ women smiling as if there were no danger lurking in Sunnydale, no Hellmouth just down the road.

The comfortable sparse decor of Willow and Tara’s bedroom is violently interrupted by the still-broken pane of glass and the bloodstain on the carpet. Though I knovv it’s fake blood, the room still gives me chills. The walls seem to contain a deep sadness, and I think I can now understand a bit better what drove Willow over the edge at the end of season six.

The upstairs bathroom is in need of a good cleaning. Evidently someone’s too busy fighting demons to scrub the white and black vinyl floor. I took a second to remember Spike attempting the rape of Buffy in this room just before his soul was restored. I then made my way to Buffy’s room.

There’s so much to see in this bedroom, where many of the props were taken from the sets of other shows. There’s a small little case that has been taken from the show
Space Above and Beyond
and a sticker on her mirror that says
Professional Murder
. I couldn’t resist sitting on her bed and looking at all the pictures of Buffy with other characters in the show. It just felt amazing to be sitting right in the middle of one of the only sets to survive since season one (the Bronze set is also still used)—for six years fans have watched Buffy grow up in this very room, in this very house.

I wanted the chance to see more, and got a distant view of the cemetery where Buffy does so much slaying. I saw a set in the process of being built across the soundstage—it looks like they’re rebuilding the high school. I also got to venture into Spike’s crypt. The sturdy-looking room appears to be solid concrete, but mostly consists of plastic, Styrofoam and plywood. Spike’s TV (for daily episodes of
Passions
) is missing, but his chair sits by the door next to some filthy cobwebs. The melted candles in elaborate stands finish off the Goth dwelling that Spike calls home.

I also took a peek into Xander’s apartment. Everything in his cozy abode screams kitsch, from the Tiki bar (complete with hula girls) to the
Star Trek
figurines. A large basket of laundry and an ironing board take up a corner of his bedroom and there’s clutter everywhere:
Fantastic Four
comics, hockey magazines, hockey sticks and surf boards. Looks like Xander is missing Anya in more ways than one.

Time got away from me while I explored the world that had come straight from Joss’ vivid imagination—it was time to interview a couple of the actors who worked on the show. Time for me to step outside of Joss’ surreal world and find out more about what made his vision a reality.