Buffy the Vampire Slayer (franchise)
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer is an American television series which ran from 1997 to 2003, and was created by Joss Whedon. It follows the adventures of Buffy Summers, chosen by mystical forces to be the Slayer, and who fights vampires and other demons with her friends. The television series also had a spin-off, Angel; The fictional universe in which both series, as well as their various tie-in media, inhabit is known as the "Buffyverse".
References & Crossovers
Elements of the Doctor Who universe have been specifically mentioned in the Buffyverse, most notably in the season 6 episode of Buffy, "Smashed", when Andrew mentions that he has seen "every episode of Doctor Who." David Tennant also later appeared as himself in the comic In Perfect Harmony, along with a reference to the TARDIS.
Each of the two fictional universes also contain at least one reference to an in-universe element of the other. "William the Bloody Awful Poet", the former human self of the vampire Spike, briefly appears in PROSE: Camera Obscura, and the Tenth Doctor and Rose Tyler made a cameo appearance in the canonical Buffy comic No Future for You.
In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics Welcome to the Team, Part One and I Wish, Part Two there was a miniature figure of a Dalek inside Alexander Harris' room.
Sunnydale (the city where Buffy the vampire slayer took place) was a city in California. Yesterways LTD wanted to take the visitors of the V is for Vampire Tour there. However after 1997 the city had refused to reissue permits to park the tour caravans on Main Street. Before that they could only park there between the hours of midnight and 4 AM. (PROSE: Possum Kingdom) When Anji Kapoor visited New Orleans together with the Eighth Doctor the Doctor told Anji that any real vampires would shun cities like Sunnydale and New Orleans. They would not have enough privacy there. However Anji believed that Sunnydale was not real. (PROSE: The City of the Dead)
Similarities
- Perhaps the biggest similarity is that vampires appear in several Doctor Who stories, such as State of Decay and Vampire Science. There are also others that include vampire-like aliens, most notably The Vampires of Venice which specifically refers to "vampires", but which are later revealed to be Saturnynians.
- Both Doctor Who and Buffy also have a spin-off, darker in tone, in which an immortal protagonist moves to a city and protects the public from things they often cannot comprehend, Torchwood and Angel.
- The Cardiff rift was a plot generator for series 1 and 2 of Torchwood, in the same way that the Hellmouth is in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both series also have episodes entitled 'End of Days'.
- An ancient vampire shares the same name as the recurring villain the Master.
- Both the Doctor Who serial The Talons of Weng-Chiang and the Buffy episode The Puppet Show feature ventriloquist dolls which are actually alive.
- The Buffy episode "Go Fish" featured fish-like demons that resemble the Silurians.
- In the Buffy episode "As You Were", Spike uses the alias "The Doctor" when breeding and planning to sell a species of dangerous demons.
- The audio drama Minuet in Hell also has several similarities. It features an organisation that is dedicated to dealing with supernatural beings, fronted by a young girl, in a similar way to the Watchers Council and the Slayer. In addition, the use of the phrase "Bored now" before attacking someone is also seen in the 'Buffy' episodes "The Wish", "Doppelgängland", and "Villains". It also thematically similar to Whedon's later series, Dollhouse.
- In Assimilation², Rory Williams uses his knowledge as a Roman Centurion to bluff two guards into allowing him to pass, a tactic also used by Xander Harris in the episode Innocence. Like Rory, Xander also received his knowledge after an alternate 'existence' as a soldier.
- The Silence reminded some critics of Buffy's Gentlemen.[1][2]
- In the Doctor Who novel Lungbarrow the author Marc Platt compared K9's way of speaking the unspeakable, unconstrained by the human vices of politeness and consideration to Anya Jenkins' similar way of speaking.
Connections with Doctor Who
- Series regular Anthony Stewart Head, who plays Rupert Giles, has many connections to Doctor Who. He guest starred in School Reunion and The Infinite Quest, as well as various Big Finish Productions audio dramas. He also narrated Doctor Who Confidential and Project Who. He has often been reported as a potential candidate for the role of the Doctor.
- Recurring star of the series Juliet Landau, who plays the vampire Drusilla, has also portrayed an incarnation of companion Romana in several audio adventures.
- It has been acknowledged that some of the dialogue in School Reunion, such as Finch's line "ignore the shooty-dog thing," was inspired by the style of writing used on Buffy.[source needed]
- Russell T Davies has mentioned that the Buffy episode "The Zeppo" was a possible influence on the Doctor Who episode Love & Monsters. Similarly, Buffy creator Joss Whedon expressed admiration for Russell T. Davies while speaking as part of the Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog panel at the 2008 Comic-Con.
- Although the project has since been abandoned, Doctor Who producer Julie Gardner met with Whedon to discuss Ripper, a potential BBC co-production spin-off.
- The character Fillion, who appears in the comic Space Squid, is named after, and features a likeness to, actor Nathan Fillion, who appeared in the series.
- When Billie Piper was cast as Rose Tyler, Russell T Davies said he wanted to have "a Buffy The Vampire Slayer-style right-hand woman".[3]
- The comic artist Georges Jeanty said that he was 99% sure that Jenny was a homage of Russel T Davis to Buffy. He returned the favour by dressing Buffy in the comic Twilight, Part One like Jenny.[4]
- The Doctor Who Magazine entitled their 280th issue with the question: "What do Babylon 5 and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have to offer the discerning Doctor Who fan?" In the magazine the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes Becoming, Part One and Becoming, Part Two were compared with the Doctor Who episode The Curse of Fenric.
Connections with Torchwood
- James Marsters, who played the vampire Spike in both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel, played Captain John Hart in Series 2 of Torchwood. The two characters had a number of similarities in personality as well.
- As Miracle Day was an American co-production, the two shows also share a number of cast and crew, including recurring guest star Robin Sachs who played Ethan Rayne, writer/producer Jane Espenson, and costume designer Shawna Trpcic. Eliza Dushku, who played Faith Lehane in Buffy and Angel also provided her voice for Torchwood: Web of Lies.
- On the Torchwood website, one of the creatures described by Owen Harper as being in stasis in the Torchwood morgue is the "Invincible Vampire", which reconstitutes itself after it is "dusted". "Dusted" is terminology from Buffy for the slaying of a vampire.
- The Angel episode A Hole in the World features a pit that extends all the way through the Earth, between England and New Zealand. Miracle Day has a similar feature called the Blessing, which extends between Shanghai and Buenos Aires.
- Russell T. Davies stated that Torchwood was inspired by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel.[5]
References
External links
- The Buffyverse wiki, focusing on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, its spin-offs, and expanded media.
- Doctor Who, on the Buffyverse wiki.
