THE VIDEOS

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' -- This is where it all began. Joss Whedon had seen enough movies where a blonde girl walks into a blind alley only to be ripped apart by some major evil thing, and he felt sorry for the girl. In 1992, a movie using Joss' idea to turn the tables for the blonde girl was created, but it wasn't Joss' vision. The basic premise was there -- a young girl, one Buffy Summers (played here by Kristy Swanson) is a SoCal high school student and cheerleader, who only wants to shop and dream of marrying Christian Slater. A strange man introduces himself as Merrick, her watcher (Donald Sutherland), and informs her she's the chosen one, one girl, the latest in a long line of girls with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, the slayer. Pressure from Sutherland caused this movie to stray from Whedon's original dark and edgy concept and turn into a campy comedic farce which had lukewarm response at the theaters and is not very revered by many fans of the TV show. But the fact remains, this is where it all began, and while many of the critical elements from the movie were replayed (or at least referenced) in the TV show (making the movie optional viewing), it is still interesting to go back and watch where the Buffy story begins.

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete First Season', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Second Season', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fourth Season', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Fifth Season', 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Sixth Season' and 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Seventh Season' (or 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Series (Seasons 1-7)') -- flash forward to 1997, and fledgling netlet the WB has given Joss Whedon another chance to see his vision come to life. BtVS is now a TV show, with Sarah Michelle Gellar in the titular role and Whedon maintaining creative control. Joss' idea was that he didn't want to re-do the movie, so the story of Buffy in the TV series picks up after the events of the movie (or rather, Joss’ original concept for the movie). At the same time, Joss wanted to ensure anyone who didn't see the movie could still enjoy the series without getting lost, so he did start fresh. After the events of the movie, Buffy was expelled from Hemery High, so she and her mother relocate to Sunnydale, explained to be two hours from Neiman-Marcus by freeway, i.e., a small SoCal town in the middle of nowhere. But Sunnydale sits atop a Hellmouth (a center of mystical convergience that seems to attract vampires), and while Buffy thinks she's escaping her slayer duties, she only runs into a new watcher and a whole new batch of vampires to dispatch. While the movie might have been optional viewing, each season of the TV show is required before moving on to the next, as each builds on what came before.

'Angel - Season One', 'Angel - Season Two', 'Angel - Season Three', 'Angel - Season Four' and 'Angel - Season Five' -- After the third season of BtVS, Buffy's long-suffering boyfriend (David Boreanaz) left Sunnydale for the City of Angels, Los Angeles. There, in his own spinoff series, he battles the minions of evil, most notably the satanic law firm of Wolfram & Hart, as a fighter for the powers that be. It's also significant because up until BtVS and AtS began running on different networks, storylines frequently crossed-over.

THE REFERENCE MANUALS

'Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Origin' -- This is a graphic novel based on the original movie. It's the original movie story, re-drafted to bring it parallel with the TV series (i.e., in this telling, Buffy does burn down the gym).

'The Watchers Guide Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)', 'The Watcher's Guide, Volume 2 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)' and 'The Watcher's Guide, Volume 3 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)' -- The watcher's guides serve as episode-by-episode reference manuals. There are synopsesfor each episode, explanations for the pop culture references, and links explaining where certain historical references (or references foreshadowing future episodes) come from and their significance. They also include biographies of the cast (including major recurring characters), behind-the-scenes insights, etc.

'Angel: The Casefiles, Volume 1' and 'The Casefiles : Volume 2 (Angel)' -- Essentially Watcher’s Guides for AtS, and just as well put-together.

'The Monster Book' -- This is an exhaustive reference guide to the witches, vampires, demons, etc. that have frequented Sunnydale, both good and bad. It's been out for several years, so hopefully a volume 2 is due out covering later seasons and their monsters (and updating the status of previous characters, for example, witch Amy Madison (Elizabeth Anne Allen) who is no longer a rat). Not only does it detail each monster that has appeared on BtVS (including their relationships to other characters, episodes where they appeared and the last known status), it also explains the origins of the mythologies especially focusing on the mythologies borrowed by Joss Whedon and crew to make BtVS.