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Authors: Candace Havens
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Critical to the success of
Buffy
was finding the right actress to play the lead. Whedon knew exactly what he wanted. His Buffy needed to embody a complex mix of strength, vulnerability, sweetness, ruthlessness, beauty, and determination. The pretty young woman had to look like the innocent blonde who would be killed in the first act of a lowbudget slasher film while being able to radiate an intensity that would give even the nastiest demon pause.
Buffy
was finding the right actress to play the lead. Whedon knew exactly what he wanted. His Buffy needed to embody a complex mix of strength, vulnerability, sweetness, ruthlessness, beauty, and determination. The pretty young woman had to look like the innocent blonde who would be killed in the first act of a lowbudget slasher film while being able to radiate an intensity that would give even the nastiest demon pause.
Whedon knew he was asking for a lot but he was determined not to compromise. He auditioned hundreds of women without finding what he was looking for. Sarah Michelle Gellar was one of these young women but he had her tagged to play Cordelia, a role not too different from her Emmy-winning role on the soap
All My Children
.
All My Children
.
Gellar wasn’t sure she wanted to play Cordelia, for fear of being typecast as the bitchy brunette. But she loved the script. “I sat back and I kept rereading the pilot, which I still have, and there was something so special and so unique about it. There just wasn’t another show like it. And I said, ‘I feel like I want to be a part of this.’ There was something in the writing; there was something in the story.”
So Gellar agreed to audition for Cordelia. Two auditions later, she won the role. But there was still no Buffy. The studio executives suggested to Whedon that he consider Gellar for the Buffy role. Gellar was told that she had won the role of Cordelia, but if she wanted, she could audition for the Buffy role. Gellar agreed. Joss had her audition many times, long, grueling auditions that took their toll. When asked to come back for a final time, Gellar broke down in tears. “Never mind, I’ll just be Cordelia,” she sobbed. When she did return, she found Joss and casting team there to congratulate her on winning the role of Buffy.
“I guess we did make it pretty tough on her,” says Whedon. “But we knew that she was definitely the one.”
“Auditions are scary things anyway,” says Gellar. “You go in and often read for a different part than you eventually get. It’s weird but they look at you and sometimes say, ‘Hey, try reading this other role.’ I really didn’t have a clue after going back and forth to the auditions where I was with them. I think they try really hard not to let you know if they like you, because there’s some morbid fascination with the desperation these poor actresses feel. I do know that when I heard I finally had the part, I felt like I’d earned it in more ways than one.”
I think they try really hard not to let you know if they like you, because there’s some morbid fascination with the desperation wiz—Sarah Michelle Gellar
The role of Buffy would turn Gellar into a star. But that was far from evident at the time and her new role didn’t impress her friends. “You try being on a midseason replacement show on the WB called
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and see how much respect you get,” Gellar explains.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and see how much respect you get,” Gellar explains.
Gellar would turn out to be the ideal choice for the series, casually beautiful, credibly tough, and genuinely funny. Most critically, she brought a powerful vulnerability to Buffy’s superhero persona. “I wanted to stress her vulnerability, because she came off a little harsh in the movie,” Joss explains. “I wanted to pull back from that. This is someone who has already been a slayer. You want to make her an underdog. She is stronger than everyone around her, because she is faster and smarter. So you need to have that empathy that everybody puts on her.”
Buffy was far from Gellar’s first role. At nineteen, Gellar was a showbusiness veteran, having played Kendall Hart on the ABC soap opera
All My Children
from 1993 to 1995. She also played several small roles in various television shows and miniseries throughout the early nineties, from
Swans Crossing to Girl Talk
with Soleil Moon Frye.
All My Children
from 1993 to 1995. She also played several small roles in various television shows and miniseries throughout the early nineties, from
Swans Crossing to Girl Talk
with Soleil Moon Frye.
When she left her popular role as Kendall on
All My Children
, Gellar’s fans and a few of her peers thought she was foolish to leave such a plum job. But ongoing conflict with Susan Lucci made the work environment stressful, so Gellar decided it was time for the next phase in her career. She packed her bags and moved from New York to California with her mother. There were regular auditions after arriving, but nothing worked out. Trudging off to auditions was a daily event, and while her savings could keep her going for a short time, Gellar knew she had to find work fast. She wasn’t sure what to think when the script for
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
arrived.
All My Children
, Gellar’s fans and a few of her peers thought she was foolish to leave such a plum job. But ongoing conflict with Susan Lucci made the work environment stressful, so Gellar decided it was time for the next phase in her career. She packed her bags and moved from New York to California with her mother. There were regular auditions after arriving, but nothing worked out. Trudging off to auditions was a daily event, and while her savings could keep her going for a short time, Gellar knew she had to find work fast. She wasn’t sure what to think when the script for
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
arrived.
“The title would throw anyone off,” laughs Gellar. “But in that first script you could see that this was a strong female character and those aren’t always easy to find. I knew going in that it would be a very physical role, but in hindsight I didn’t really have a clue what I was in for.”
Gellar could relate to what Buffy was going through. The actress, who was born and grew up in Manhattan, had many of the same high school conflicts as the characters in
Buffy
. “I was an actor and I tried to go to a high school where that’s what you trained for, but they didn’t like the fact that I was already working,” says Gellar. “They weren’t very happy about any of that. And I never fit in. I don’t know if it was jealousy or if it was because I was never there, but I always felt like such an outsider.”
Buffy
. “I was an actor and I tried to go to a high school where that’s what you trained for, but they didn’t like the fact that I was already working,” says Gellar. “They weren’t very happy about any of that. And I never fit in. I don’t know if it was jealousy or if it was because I was never there, but I always felt like such an outsider.”
In one of their first interviews in front of the press, Whedon was incredulous when the beautiful Gellar mentioned that she felt like a geek in high school.
“Does anyone have a good time in high school?” laughed Gellar. “I felt like a total geek and didn’t fit in at all.”
“Are you serious?” asked Whedon. “You have to be kidding.”
“I am not!” said Gellar seriously. “High school was not a fun time in my life and I did feel like a total geek most of the time. I didn’t have any friends.”
“Wow,” Whedon said. “See, that’s what I mean about this being so universal. There are millions of people who had horrible high school experiences and we can all relate to Buffy in some way.”
4
Secrets of Success
“[
When asked, ‘What’s your secret for building a cult phenomenon?’] . . . I’m not telling you. That’s all I’ve got.”“
I
have never had any particular life of my own, so I don’t see any particular reason why anyone should run out to get one. of course, if they’re dressing up like willow and staying in their basement for nine months at a time, that’s not good. But the show’s designed to foster slavísh devotion; it has it from me, and I entirely respect it in others.”—Joss Whedon
W
hedon launched
Buffy
with grand ambition. Knowing full well
Buffy’s
status as an obscure show on a new network, with a tiny budget and a minimal network commitment, Joss set out to build an empire. Joss envisioned
Buffy
as a genuine cultural phenomenon, complete with action figures and comic strips, cartoons and spin-offs. Joss kept this to himself because he knew how crazy it made him seem. But he was deadly serious and, against all odds, he made it happen.
hedon launched
Buffy
with grand ambition. Knowing full well
Buffy’s
status as an obscure show on a new network, with a tiny budget and a minimal network commitment, Joss set out to build an empire. Joss envisioned
Buffy
as a genuine cultural phenomenon, complete with action figures and comic strips, cartoons and spin-offs. Joss kept this to himself because he knew how crazy it made him seem. But he was deadly serious and, against all odds, he made it happen.
It’s easy to underestimate the size and devotion of the
Buffy
fan community.
Buffy
has often been among the top ten searches on leading search engines and is frequently the most populated Internet discussion group of any television show. Literally hundreds of
Buffy
fan sites have been created by enthusiastic fans, covering everything from slash fiction to homages to minor characters. So, how did he do it?
Buffy
fan community.
Buffy
has often been among the top ten searches on leading search engines and is frequently the most populated Internet discussion group of any television show. Literally hundreds of
Buffy
fan sites have been created by enthusiastic fans, covering everything from slash fiction to homages to minor characters. So, how did he do it?
Joss succeeded because he very deliberately introduced to
Buffy
seven key ingredients that had never been brought together in a television show before. Combined, these seven ingredients created a show that is truly unique and genuinely precious.
Mixing up the GenresBuffy
seven key ingredients that had never been brought together in a television show before. Combined, these seven ingredients created a show that is truly unique and genuinely precious.
First, Joss set out to create a truly cross-genre show. Essential to the concept of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
was that it would integrate four distinct genres–horror, action, comedy, and drama. Some combination of these genres was part of the best television shows–serious dramas lightened with moments of comedy, or comedies spiced with an element of action. A few shows, notably
NYPD Blue
, integrated drama, action, and comedy. But
Buffy
was unique in integrating all four genres and giving each of them equal weight. Is
Buffy
a comedy or a drama? Action or horror? There is no real answer to this question, because
Buffy
is, at heart, all four of these.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
was that it would integrate four distinct genres–horror, action, comedy, and drama. Some combination of these genres was part of the best television shows–serious dramas lightened with moments of comedy, or comedies spiced with an element of action. A few shows, notably
NYPD Blue
, integrated drama, action, and comedy. But
Buffy
was unique in integrating all four genres and giving each of them equal weight. Is
Buffy
a comedy or a drama? Action or horror? There is no real answer to this question, because
Buffy
is, at heart, all four of these.
This integration lies at the core of
Buffy’s
appeal, but it made the show almost impossible to describe in a way that movie and network executives understood. How do you sell a show that doesn’t fall into a clear genre? For this reason, the movie version of
Buffy
was turned into a comedy, much to Joss’s dismay As a television show,
Buffy
was rejected by the major networks. Ultimately, the fledgling WB accepted
Buffy
as a cross-genre show. This acceptance was either a result of WB’s vision or of its executives’ inexperience. But the reality is that it’s unlikely
Buffy
would have been allowed to proceed with its cross-genre approach on one of the more established networks.
Buffy’s
appeal, but it made the show almost impossible to describe in a way that movie and network executives understood. How do you sell a show that doesn’t fall into a clear genre? For this reason, the movie version of
Buffy
was turned into a comedy, much to Joss’s dismay As a television show,
Buffy
was rejected by the major networks. Ultimately, the fledgling WB accepted
Buffy
as a cross-genre show. This acceptance was either a result of WB’s vision or of its executives’ inexperience. But the reality is that it’s unlikely
Buffy
would have been allowed to proceed with its cross-genre approach on one of the more established networks.
Integrating these genres made great demands on the writers, but it also required highly skilled directors and a strong technical crew. Horror, for example, demands different framing and lighting than comedy or action. Horror is fundamentally about the loss of control; the main characters don’t control the action, can’t take the initiative. The action, instead, is controlled by the villain. A good director creates a mood consistent with this loss of control, with plenty of tight shots and deep shadows. Action is almost the opposite; it’s about taking control. In action, the main characters take the initiative and drive the plot, requiring a very different mood. It’s a rare director that can integrate these elements well, and shift rapidly between them.
ContinuityThe second ingredient that led to
Buffy’s
cult status was the incredible degree of continuity Whedon built into the series. The most obvious aspect of this continuity was the season-long story arcs, which allowed complex plots that fans could sink their teeth into. Unlike soaps, Joss did not write the show as a seemingly never-ending series of plot developments. Instead, Whedon followed the lead of his favorite author, Charles Dickens, who planned out his novels in their entirety but wrote and published each chapter separately. Joss knew exactly where he was going. He created a story arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end, that stretched over the twenty-two episodes of the series.
Buffy’s
cult status was the incredible degree of continuity Whedon built into the series. The most obvious aspect of this continuity was the season-long story arcs, which allowed complex plots that fans could sink their teeth into. Unlike soaps, Joss did not write the show as a seemingly never-ending series of plot developments. Instead, Whedon followed the lead of his favorite author, Charles Dickens, who planned out his novels in their entirety but wrote and published each chapter separately. Joss knew exactly where he was going. He created a story arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end, that stretched over the twenty-two episodes of the series.
Whedon assumes that his viewers know everything that has happened on the series to date and he makes sure his characters remember what’s happened as well. Television shows that miss this drive him crazy. On The X-Files, for instance, Scully’s skepticism persisted despite weekly evidence of the paranormal. “You’re an idiot,” Joss laughs, referring to Scully, “it’s a monster.”
But Whedon went beyond complex season-long plots to bring unprecedented continuity to the entire run of the series. As a fan himself, Joss knew how fans obsess over shows and take note of every detail. So he obsessed over the details himself, providing a degree of continuity which was unnoticed by most viewers, but which rewarded his fans and increased their loyalty. Examples of these continuities are legion. In “Restless,” the finale of season four, Joss put Willow back into the “softer side of Sears” outfit she wore in the first episode. After Joyce’s death, we see Giles mourning while listening to Cream’s “Tales of Brave Ulysses,” the same song he played the night he and Joyce had sex. Sometimes the continuity takes a turn towards the ludicrous, as when Giles and Buffy recount the number of times she’s saved the world in “The Gift.” But overall, the continuity is a pleasure for fans of the show.
Even more enticing to the attentive fan is
Buffy’s
foreshadowing. Because Joss plans his major plot points years in advance, he is able to tantalize viewers with hints of what’s to come. A wonderful example of this is found in the dream sequence in “Graduation Day, Part II.” Faith tells Buffy, “Oh yeah. Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from seven three oh.” The numbers were referenced again in the season four finale, “Restless,” when Buffy noted that the time was 7:30. “Some fans figured it out,” Whedon said. “Seven three oh is exactly two years in days. Two years until the next climax. Whatever she’s talking about will be resolved.” This climax turns out to be Buffy’s death at the end of season five.
Buffy’s
foreshadowing. Because Joss plans his major plot points years in advance, he is able to tantalize viewers with hints of what’s to come. A wonderful example of this is found in the dream sequence in “Graduation Day, Part II.” Faith tells Buffy, “Oh yeah. Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from seven three oh.” The numbers were referenced again in the season four finale, “Restless,” when Buffy noted that the time was 7:30. “Some fans figured it out,” Whedon said. “Seven three oh is exactly two years in days. Two years until the next climax. Whatever she’s talking about will be resolved.” This climax turns out to be Buffy’s death at the end of season five.
One critical aspect of continuity is the recognition that time passes and a willingness to allow the characters to grow and evolve in unforeseen ways. This is risky, because the evolution might not please fans. Most television shows do everything they can to adhere to the formula that made them successful in the first place.
Buffy,
on the other hand, is continually taking risks. Joss understands that this is part of the show’s appeal.
Buffy,
on the other hand, is continually taking risks. Joss understands that this is part of the show’s appeal.
The key, Joss believes, is for the writers, the viewers, and the characters all to be worried about the same things. When Angel left the show, for example, the writers and the fans worried about Buffy. Will she ever find another love? Could any future lover be as worthy as Angel? These worries are fine, Joss feels, because these are the exact concerns Buffy has. Similarly, when the Scoobies left high school, viewers and writers worried about the continued appeal of the show. But, again, these concerns echo those of the characters–will life be as good after high school?
BOOK: Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy
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