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News Feature
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BUFFY FANS BID FAREWELL

NEWS FEATURE
by Marcia Czerniak

May 26, 2003

Question: What do you get when you combine a vampire slayer - well, technically three, a watcher, two witches, a tortured and remorseful vampire with a soul, the key to the world, a bitchy cheerleader, a loyal everyman, a vampire version of Sid Vicious, a werewolf, vampires, a gypsy teacher, a vengeance demon, army commandos and some of the biggest baddies the world has ever seen?

Answer: Seven seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

AFTER seven years of fighting vampires and demons, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is retiring her stakes. Buffy has become so much more than a television show for many of its fans and now that it is about to finish, many are left wondering what will fill the void.

So what it is about Buffy the Vampire Slayer that has attracted one of the largest cult followings in the world? Many say it is because series creator Joss Whedon is a genius and the cast are amazing or the storyline is superb and allows its audience to relate to experiences they themselves have had. Whatever the reasons may be, Buffy is loved by millions around the world.

Beginning in 1997, Buffy Summers erupted onto television screens as a confused 15-year-old who had recently moved to Sunnydale, California. Expelled from her previous school for burning down the gym - it was infested with vampires - the move was a new beginning, away from the world of demonic activity. Little did Buffy know that Sunnydale was built on the central convergence point for mystical energy, or plainly put - the Hellmouth.

The ensuing seven years have led to many memorable Buffy moments. Finding her one true love in Angel, the vampire with a soul and then later having to let him go. Having her high school graduation attacked by a giant demon snake. Sacrificing her life so that her sister may live and then being brought back from the dead. The entire Sunnydale community being trapped in a world of song in the musical episode "Once more with Feeling", to the absolute raw emotions seen in "The Body", where Buffy's mother, Joyce, dies. And in between all this, Buffy has defeated countless vampires and demons and saved the world from an apocalypse at least seven times.

Now, after seven years of being able to lose yourself in the world of Buffy and her friends, fans across the world are having to say goodbye to the show they love so much.

Screened on Channel Seven on Tuesday nights at 10.30pm, Buffy attracts an average of 84,000 viewers a week in WA, which is reasonably high for that timeslot.

A Channel Seven spokesperson said Buffy had been tried in several timeslots and it was found that the 10.30pm slot has been the most successful, as those that appreciate what Buffy is about - mainly the 18 to 39-year demographic - will stay up to watch it.

One such person who appreciates what Buffy is about is 21-year-old Mieke Stewart, who has watched the show since season three.

"It was season three, Angel lying naked on the floor that made me go 'I cannot miss the next episode'," Miss Stewart said.

When asked how she felt about Buffy finishing, Miss Stewart said she was sad.

"It's nice to immerse yourself in another world, Buffy-verse is another world and it's planned down to the most intricate detail, the characterisation is superb and meticulous. I really don't believe another TV show has ever provided the level of intellectual viewing that Buffy does. So I guess I'm worried there'll be some kind of void in my life."

This sentiment is also shared by fellow Buffy fan, 22-year-old Dagmara Wirski.

"I have watched Buffy since the beginning in 1997, and its spin-off Angel since it began in 2000 and now that Buffy is coming to a close I have no idea what I am going to do," Miss Wirski said.

"I think that I'm going to be a wreck when it comes to the series finale, no matter how the show ends, I just know I am going to cry.

"My room is like a shrine to the show, I have all the episodes on video, I have action figurines, posters, I have a toy car replica of the car Angel drives, I have books on the show, scripts - basically anything I can afford to get my hands on.

"There is something about the show that just gets at me, all my friends think I am slightly obsessed and tune off when I start talking about it, but I don't care what they think, Buffy is just so … I can't even explain how good it is."

Perth business Empire Toys stocks many collectable toy items, with one of their lines being Buffy. Empire's Kristina Farrell said, as time goes by, interest in Buffy stock keeps increasing.

"The Buffy products we cover are action figurines, posters, t-shirts, cardboard cut-outs, Christmas ornaments, trading cards and comics," Ms Farrell said.

"As a proportion of total turnover, Buffy is probably only four per cent but then again we have a lot of toy lines and that's still pretty sizable."

Ms Farrell said the end of Buffy could have a positive effect only on sales.

"The pricing on products already released have steadily gone up in price. If you look on eBay, the pricing on earlier action figures has doubled if not tripled in some cases," she said.

"The pricing will only continue to increase. In fact, I believe this is the new Star Wars and that in five years time the figures will go for up to five times their original pricing."

An example of Buffy's popularity can be seen when looking at the auction being run by the show's distributor, 20th Century Fox. Auctioning off Buffy memorabilia on eBay, prices have reached a staggering US$13,000 for an outfit worn by the character Spike. With less than four days to go, a script for the last episode of Buffy, signed by the cast, is currently at US$10,700. There have already been 61 bids on the item.

Miss Stewart estimated she had spent well over $1000 on Buffy memorabilia and Miss Wirski said she calculated her Buffy items to be worth around $1800.

Both girls admitted they would go to pretty extreme lengths when it came to Buffy.

Miss Stewart said she downloaded episodes screening in America when season seven began, meaning she has seen the season finale already.

"Normally I spend three to four hours downloading, three to four hours converting and 30 minutes burning. The first time I downloaded an episode it was an intermittent connection and the download speed was below the minimum limit, so I had to type '/msg BuffyDCC xdcc send #1-5' every three minutes, and it took over six hours of doing this, every three minutes."

Fans all around the world have contributed to the taking out of a full-page ad in the Hollywood Reporter (which can be seen at http://www.buffythankyou.com/index.php?page=hrad), which reflects the sentiments of all Buffy fans. The ad says thankyou to all those involved in any aspect of the show "for seven of the best years that television has ever seen".

Ms Wirski said the ad was an example of how appreciative fans were of being able to be part of the Buffy phenomena.

"My world won't be the same when Buffy finishes, but I guess I have to look at it this way: At least I have been able to witness one of the greatest shows in my lifetime," she said.

"One day I can tell my grandkids that there was this show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer and how it changed my life forever."