Seven Seasons of Buffy: Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors Discuss Their Favorite Television Show (Smart Pop series)
Page 1
PRAISE FOR SEVEN SEASONS OF BUFFY
“A fun, sassy, intelligent and sarcastic book by and for those who understand the fascination with The Slayer, her friends and her foes. I loved it!”
—Nora Roberts
“This collection of smart, sassy, mind-bending essays is a fitting tribute to Joss Whedon’s beloved series. Read them and weep—for the loss of a great show that clearly encouraged its fans to think great thoughts.”
—Michael Logan, TV Guide
“Rejoice, O Buffyphiles! It’s a delight to learn that the most famous writers in the business are also the biggest fans of our favorite show, and they live up to their promise! This captivating collection will make you cheer, laugh, growl (with glee!), and think—the same as the series! From sublimely thought-provoking to slapstick hilarious, this book is just as relentlessly entertaining, capturing the essence of what we love about the Buffy the Vampire Slayer!”
—P.N. Elrod, author of The Vampire Files
“Great minds on a great subject have produced essays that are fun, thought-provoking, maybe even a tad controversial. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it . . .”
—Susan Sizemore, author of Companions and The Hunt
“Here’s a great idea—getting some terrific writers to write about one of TV’s most memorable heroines. All Buffy fans, and also viewers who should get to know her better, will enjoy this book.”
—Pamela Sargent, author of Shore of Women and Child of
Venus
“For those of us who suffer from Buffy withdrawals, this creative anthology catapults us right back into the Slayer’s world. This eclectic group of science fiction writers knows their Buffy, and entertains us with the outrageous and sublime. A must-read for fans and anyone who loves the genre.”
—Candace Havens, author of Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind
Buffy
“Thoughtful, revelatory, shrewd and satisfying. Buffy lives!”
—Patricia Gaffney, author of The Saving Graces
and Circle of Three
SEVEN SEASONS OF
BUFFY
ALSO EDITED BY GLENN YEFFETH
Taking the Red Pill:
Science, Philosophy and Religion in The Matrix
Edited by Glenn Yeffeth
SEVEN SEASONS OF
BUFFY
Science Fiction
and Fantasy Authors
Discuss Their Favorite
Television Show
BENBELLA BOOKS • Dallas, Texas
First BenBella Books Edition April 2003
“Buffy vs. the Old-fashioned ‘Hero’” © 2003 David Brin
“Is That Your Final Answer . . .?” © 2003 Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
“Sex and the Single Slayer” © 2003 Nancy Kilpatrick
“The Search for Spike’s Balls” © 2003 Sherrilyn Kenyon
“A Slayer Comes to Town” © 2003 Scott Westerfeld
“Skin Pale as Apple Blossom” © 2003 Peg Aloi
“Lions, Gazelles, and Buffy” © 2003 Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
“The Good, the Bad, and the Ambivalent” © 2003 Laura Resnick
“For the Love of Riley” © 2003 Michelle West
“A Buffy Confession” © 2003 Justine Larbalestier
“Dating Death” © 2003 Jennifer Crusie
“The Meaning of Buffy” © 2003 Marguerite Krause
“When Did the Scoobies Become Insiders?” © 2003 Sarah Zettel
“A Reflection on Ugliness” © 2003 Charlaine Harris
“Power of Becoming” © 2003 Jacqueline Lichtenberg
“Unseen Horrors & Shadowy Manipulations” © 2003 Kevin Andrew Murphy
“Innocence” © 2003 Carla Montgomery
“Where’s the Religion in Willow’s Wicca?” © 2003 Christie Golden
“Love Saves the World” © 2003 Jean Lorrah
“A World Without Shrimp” © 2003 Margaret L. Carter
“Matchmaking on the Hellmouth” © 2003 Lawrence Watt-Evans
“Slayers of the Last Arc” © 2003 Nancy Holder
Additional materials copyright © 2003 BenBella Books
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
BenBella Books
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Seven seasons of Buffy : science fiction and fantasy authors discuss their favorite television show / edited by Glenn Yeffeth. — 1st BenBella Books ed.
p. cm.
ISBN:978-1-9352-5149-1
1. Buffy, the vampire slayer (Television program) I. Yeffeth, Glenn, 1961–
PN1992.77.B84s48 2003
791.45'72—dc22
Cover design by Melody Cadungog
Interior designed and composed by John Reinhardt Book Design
Distributed by Independent Publishers Group. To order call (800) 888-4741
www.ipgbook.com
Dedicated to Joss Whedon,
for your kindness, support and,
most of all, for seven seasons of Buffy
Contents
FOREWORD: TASTE OUR STEEL • Drew Goddard
BUFFY VS. THE OLD-FASHIONED “HERO” • David Brin
IS THAT YOUR FINAL ANSWER . . .? • Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
SEX AND THE SINGLE SLAYER • Nancy Kilpatrick
THE SEARCH FOR SPIKE’S BALLS • Sherrilyn Kenyon
A SLAYER COMES TO TOWN • Scott Westerfeld
SKIN PALE AS APPLE BLOSSOM • Peg Aloi
LIONS, GAZELLES, AND BUFFY • Chelsea Quinn Yarbro
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE AMBIVALENT • Laura Resnick
FOR THE LOVE OF RILEY • Michelle Sagara West
A BUFFY CONFESSION • Justine Larbalestier
DATING DEATH • Jennifer Crusie
THE MEANING OF BUFFY • Marguerite Krause
WHEN DID THE SCOOBIES BECOME INSIDERS? • Sarah Zettel
A REFLECTION ON UGLINESS • Charlaine Harris
POWER OF BECOMING • Jacqueline Lichtenberg
UNSEEN HORRORS & SHADOWY MANIPULATIONS Kevin Andrew Murphy
INNOCENCE • Carla Montgomery
WHERE’S THE RELIGION IN WILLOW’S WICCA? • Christie Golden
LOVE SAVES THE WORLD • Jean Lorrah
A WORLD WITHOUT SHRIMP • Margaret L. Carter
MATCHMAKING ON THE HELLMOUTH • Lawrence Watt-Evans
SLAYERS OF THE LAST ARC • Nancy Holder
Foreword
TASTE OUR STEEL
Why do we care?
I don’t so much pose the question in the general sense (though we can discuss that if you wish, I think it has something to do with electrolytes) but rather as it relates to a certain vampire slayer from Sunnydale.
Why do we care about Buffy? Why do we care so much about Buffy?
Why are we watching her and reading about her and dressing up like her and writing the occasional Buffy/Chaos Demon/Staff Writer fanfic about her?
I’d like to suggest that it either a.) has something to do with leather pants or b.) comes down to the integrity of intent behind the show itself.
“Integrity of intent.” What does that even mean? To be honest, I’m not quite sure. But I do know that if you find yourself wear
ing leather pants, a halter top, and claddagh ring in a bar in Santa Monica and your friends and/or a German person start telling you that Buffy the Vampire Slayer is nothing more than a silly little show about vampires, you can whip out a phrase like “integrity of intent” and they will be so amazed by your keen intellect they will bow down before your giant brain or, in the case of the German person, try to fight you.
German people love to fight. That’s my point.
If you look at the way Joss Whedon constructed his little show, you’ll see that every episode has something important to say about the human condition. (Sounds simple enough, right? You’d be amazed at how the notion of plot-for-the-sake-of-plot-alone has overtaken the corporate entertainment mentality. Actually, you probably wouldn’t be amazed. You seem pretty smart. You don’t need me telling you these things. Also, your hair looks great today. Also, I agree with you when you say $120 is far too much to pay for a pair of blue jeans.) Every episode emanates from a relatable emotional place; we care because the intent behind the show is pure.
“Wait. Are you saying the show means well? That’s your point? Isn’t that what they say about autistic children and old people?”
No. I mean, yes. I mean, I don’t know. (And who says that about autistic children? That’s terrible.)
I’m saying those of us who care see ourselves in Buffy. She represents our voice. And so we celebrate this silly little show and we occasionally punch out German people in bars because we’ve somehow come to understand what it feels like to be a teenage girl whose duty it is to rid the world of vampires.
And so what you’ve got in your hot little hands here, dear reader, is a collection of the best and brightest science fiction and fantasy authors around doing just that (and by “that” I mean “celebrating this silly little show,” not “punching out Germans.” That’s a different book entirely.) And as you read through these essays, you’ll see the passion these heavyweights have for Buffy, and hopefully you’ll come to understand there’s a large, diverse group of people out there who, deep down, are simply young teenage girls jumpkicking vampires and yelling, “Close your eyes Angel . . . and taste my steel!”
What I’m saying is, you are not alone.
Drew Goddard used to argue that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the greatest television show of all time. Then he got a job working for the show. Now he has to say things like “It’s impossible to judge one work of art against another,” and “It’s an honor to be included in the same sentence as Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman,” and “As long as we’ve helped one impoverished, inner-city child, well, we’ve done our job.”
David Brin
BUFFY VS. THE
OLD-FASHIONED
“HERO”
In a now-infamous Salon article, David Brin takes on the virtually sacred Lord of the Rings trilogy, pointing out that the works celebrate the attempts of the hierarchy of a feudal order to squash the revolt of a more egalitarian society. As Brin points out, in the Lord of the Rings “the good guys strive to preserve and restore as much as they can of an older, graceful and ‘natural’ hierarchy, against the disturbing, quasi-industrial and vaguely technological ambience of Mordor, with its smokestack imagery and manufactured power rings that can be used by anybody, not just an elite few . . .” Brin goes on to note Hollywood’s inherent bias toward feudal systems and dynastic elites, citing Star Wars as another prominent example. But Brin does credit one Hollywood creation with deliberately subverting hierarchy and embracing the common folk. And that creation is . . .
WHAT DOES IT TAKE to be a shining new star in Hollywood these days?
Well, if you’re female, it helps to be beautiful. An ability to act? Kind of useful. Success may also come with knowing the right people. That much has always been true.
But nowadays another essential trait has been added to the list of starlet requirements. You gotta be able to kick ass.
Think about it. Can you name any hot new Hollywood sensations who can’t do a leaping decapitation kick? From La Femme Nikita and Charlie’s Angels to Witchblade and Xena, the trend has been amazingly consistent. And leading the charge has been the winsome but mighty Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Oh we still like our heroines to be gorgeous. We’re still terribly sexist. But you have to admit, it’s a more respectful sexism. That’s how progress comes, in stages.
Nowhere is this progress better typified than in Buffy, with its wonderfully charming mix of the silly and the serious, the assertive and the sweet. Old-fashioned values of love and romance are retained while making it clear that women are no longer willing to be pushed around.
And it goes much deeper than that. For Buffy hearkens to the greatest modern movement, though one we hardly ever comment on—the momentous movement to change the way people view authority. A movement that pervades our culture, calling into question the whole issue of conformity and obedience. Unlike any other culture, ours has taken to saying—prove it!
In Buffy, an expert or authority figure is judged good or evil by a simple set of standards that have nothing to do with their status or class or birth. Even a vampire can be a good guy. The sole criterion that matters is whether you treat others decently.
Nor is Buffy alone pushing this message. Take Xena and Hercules, two fairly lowbrow popular television series in which authority figures were portrayed as evil in direct proportion to their rudeness or callousness toward commonfolk. Xena might rescue an exiled king from invaders and restore his throne, but only if he treats people nicely and promises to set up a democratically elected city council. Any time someone is abused by an Olympian, that ‘god’ is sure to face dire punishment from our heroine!
Yes indeed, Buffy ain’t alone. She’s leading an important movement. Our myths are the way we prepare our minds to think and our wills to act. And her stories are right up there, promoting individualism, tolerance, eccentricity, openness, and suspicion of anything that reeks of snooty superiority.
Ah, but she has her work cut out for her. The will toward worshipping Olympians and demigods still roils within us. After all, we spent thousands of years in feudal settings that were totally undemocratic. Social structures were pyramid-shaped, with a narrow elite dominating ignorant masses. Starting with Homer’s Iliad and Gilgamesh, nearly all of the bards and storytellers worked for the chiefs, aristocrats, and kings who owned all the marbles.
In his famous book about The Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell spoke lovingly about the positive aesthetic elements of these old myths . . . without even once mentioning their dark side, like the deep assumption that humans come in neatly packaged social castes. That secrecy and mystery are more important than cooperation and skill. The surrounding society doesn’t matter. Neither does daily life.
None of this is true of Buffy, who values daily life and the vibrant society around her. What does she need after a stint of saving the world? A bath and then a trip to the mall! She’s normal and likes it. Well . . . all right, maybe above average. All right, she’s way above average! But she also likes being one of us. That matters.
Older stories played a different tune—that lords and “better” folk had a right to exercise capricious power at whim. You could choose which demigod to root for—say, Achilles or Hector. But there was no disputing the super hero’s ultimate right to deal with mortals however he wished. Small wonder this pattern crossed nearly all cultures and eras. After all, the chiefs and kings were the ones who had all the cash and beer. Storytellers needed patrons. They cozied up to the mighty whenever they could.
You don’t think people preach that message anymore? Look closer! Today you see it exemplified in highly popular epics like the Star Wars saga and Lord of the Rings. Oh, sure, in those tales the “good guys” are prettier than the villains. The towering lords and secret cultmasters on one side utter nicer phrases than the “evil” secret masters do on the other side. What the secret masters on both sides have in common is that they are snooty, bossy, mysterious, and oh so superior.
It seems a pity that all fantasy stories get jumbled together, often sharing the same eager fans. They shouldn’t be. Because the deep moral lesson of Buffy is the opposite of Star Wars. It has nothing at all to do with feudal legends or Lord of the Rings . . . or even Dracula, with its gloomy maunderings about futility and the past. Go ahead, picture Buffy in those tales. She’d knock those epics off their carefully laid rails with the very first irreverent, questioning words out of her mouth.
Kings and wizards may seem romantic, but they had 6,000 years to deliver human happiness, and all they ever did was push us around like vampires. And Buffy doesn’t take it! Notice the episodes set in the past. The Slayer is never one to accept a brat’s authority, just because his dad wore a crown.
If this were 1776, she’d hack off her hair and join the Continental Army. If it were 1850, she’d be liberating slaves via the Underground Railroad. I can picture Buffy as a suffragette, or helping the French Resistance, tossing Nazis like kindling in order to free their prisoners.