| A | B | C | D | E | |
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1 |  | ||||
2 | Series Order | ||||
3 | Authored by dizzydee123 | ||||
4 | Introduction | ||||
5 | This document details a suggested viewing and reading order for the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and related media series. Story arcs have been ordered prioritising narrative flow over original airing and publication order. Judgements made to this effect are based on the opinion of the author of this document. | ||||
6 | "Buffy" and "Angel" | ||||
7 | "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" began as a 1992 film written by Joss Whedon, the property was adapted for TV as a series with Whedon acting as showrunner and aired for seven seasons from 1997 to 2003. A spin-off series "Angel", created by Whedon and David Greenwalt aired for five seasons from 1999 to 2004. The two series exist within the same canonical universe, share numerous crossover story arcs and are hence ideally viewed in unison. | ||||
8 | HD Remaster | ||||
9 | Present day streaming services host a high definition "remastered" version of the series which diverges from creative choices presented in the originally aired format. Fans have called for a revision of the remasters, though none has yet been announced. The VHS and DVD releases of the series are generally faithful to the aired versions. Note that all seasons of "Buffy" were originally framed for the 4:3 aspect ratio though some 16:9 releases exist, whilst "Angel" was originally framed for 16:9 widescreen. | ||||
10 | Supplemental Comics | ||||
11 | Supplemental comic titles were published by Dark Horse Comics concurrent with the original TV airing. Whilst not considered canon, some titles had involvement from Buffy alumni, both writers and actors, and expand on events not seen in the TV series. They may be considered additional material to be read following the conclusion of each TV season, though they have no bearing on subsequent narrative arcs unless otherwise noted. | ||||
12 | Post TV Continuation | ||||
13 | During the original airing of "Buffy" and "Angel" and following their conclusion several spin-off projects were considered, including a "Buffy" animated series (a promo for which can be viewed on Youtube), a "Faith" series, a "Ripper" series and several film continuations, though none ever came to fruition. However, canonical continuations of both "Buffy" and "Angel" were produced in comic form with direct involvement from series creator Joss Whedon, with publication spanning 2001 to 2018. Note that despite the comic seasons adhering to a loose one year time frame per season, the writers occasionally make anachronistic references to present day technology and personalities. | ||||
14 | Series Future | ||||
15 | Comic publisher Boom! Studios began a modern day retelling of Buffy stories beginning in 2019 (see "Buffy 2019" tab) which is considered separate from the original canon. In 2018 a new production of Buffy was announced to be in development with Monica Owusu-Breen as showrunner, though no further details have surfaced. In 2019 Disney aquired 20th Century Fox, renewing the posibility for future Buffy productions. | ||||
16 | A Note About Canon | ||||
17 | What constitutes canon is a contentious issue amongst fans of the series. It is the opinion of the author of this document that all titles produced with the direct involvement of series creator Joss Whedon are to be considered canon with minor exceptions. Titles in bold fall under this definition unless otherwise noted. | ||||
18 | Colour Key | ||||
19 | "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" TV episode | ||||
20 | "Angel" TV episode | ||||
21 | Comic title | ||||
22 | series | # | title | note | |
23 | Universal episode number | Buffy Season 1 | Set in 1996-1997 and aired 1997. The TV adaptation of the feature film "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" loosely follows on from the events of the film though establishes a new continuity independent from it. Produced as a midseason replacement, it featured only 12 episodes. | ||
24 | 001 | Buffy | 1 | Welcome to the Hellmouth | Series premiere |
25 | 002 | Buffy | 2 | The Harvest | |
26 | 003 | Buffy | 3 | The Witch | |
27 | 004 | Buffy | 4 | Teacher's Pet | |
28 | 005 | Buffy | 5 | Never Kill a Boy on the First Date | |
29 | 006 | Buffy | 6 | The Pack | |
30 | 007 | Buffy | 7 | Angel | |
31 | 008 | Buffy | 8 | I, Robot... You, Jane | |
32 | 009 | Buffy | 9 | The Puppet Show | |
33 | 010 | Buffy | 10 | Nightmares | |
34 | 011 | Buffy | 11 | Out of Mind, Out of Sight | |
35 | 012 | Buffy | 12 | Prophecy Girl | |
36 | Supplemental comics. | ||||
37 | Buffy | 1-3 | The Origin | Comic adaptation of the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" film screenplay | |
38 | Buffy | Short | MacGuffins | The first published Buffy comic | |
39 | series | # | title | note | |
40 | Buffy: The High School Years | Set during Buffy Season 1 and published 2016-2017, a non-canonical series returning to Buffy's roots. | |||
41 | Buffy | Graphic novel | Freaks & Geeks | ||
42 | Buffy | Graphic novel | Glutton for Punishment | ||
43 | Buffy | Graphic novel | Parental Parasite | ||
44 | Buffy | Short | No Need to Fear, the Slayer's Here | Short released for Free Comic Book Day 2017 | |
45 | series | # | title | note | |
46 | Buffy Season 2 | Set in and aired 1997-1998. The second season was a larger 22 episode production which was henceforth the standard season length. | |||
47 | 013 | Buffy | 1 | When She Was Bad | |
48 | 014 | Buffy | 2 | Some Assembly Required | |
49 | 015 | Buffy | 3 | School Hard | |
50 | 016 | Buffy | 4 | Inca Mummy Girl | |
51 | 017 | Buffy | 5 | Reptile Boy | |
52 | 018 | Buffy | 6 | Halloween | Halloween episode |
53 | 019 | Buffy | 7 | Lie to Me | |
54 | 020 | Buffy | 8 | The Dark Age | |
55 | 021 | Buffy | 9 | What's My Line, Part One | |
56 | 022 | Buffy | 10 | What's My Line, Part Two | |
57 | 023 | Buffy | 11 | Ted | |
58 | 024 | Buffy | 12 | Bad Eggs | |
59 | 025 | Buffy | 13 | Surprise | Buffy's 17th birthday |
60 | 026 | Buffy | 14 | Innocence | |
61 | 027 | Buffy | 15 | Phases | |
62 | 028 | Buffy | 16 | Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered | |
63 | 029 | Buffy | 17 | Passion | |
64 | 030 | Buffy | 18 | Killed by Death | |
65 | 031 | Buffy | 19 | I Only Have Eyes For You | |
66 | 032 | Buffy | 20 | Go Fish | |
67 | 033 | Buffy | 21 | Becoming, Part One | |
68 | 034 | Buffy | 22 | Becoming, Part Two | |
69 | Supplemental comics. | ||||
70 | Buffy | Graphic novel | Ring of Fire | ||
71 | Spike & Dru | 1 | Paint the Town Red | Co-written by James Marsters | |
72 | Spike & Dru | 2 | The Queen of Hearts | ||
73 | Spike & Dru | 3 | All's Fair | ||
74 | series | # | title | note | |
75 | Buffy Season 3 | Set in and aired 1998-1999. | |||
76 | 035 | Buffy | 1 | Anne | |
77 | 036 | Buffy | 2 | Dead Man's Party | |
78 | 037 | Buffy | 3 | Faith, Hope & Trick | |
79 | 038 | Buffy | 4 | Beauty and the Beasts | |
80 | 039 | Buffy | 5 | Homecoming | |
81 | 040 | Buffy | 6 | Band Candy | |
82 | 041 | Buffy | 7 | Revelations | |
83 | 042 | Buffy | 8 | Lovers Walk | |
84 | 043 | Buffy | 9 | The Wish | |
85 | 044 | Buffy | 10 | Amends | |
86 | 045 | Buffy | 11 | Gingerbread | |
87 | 046 | Buffy | 12 | Helpless | Buffy's 18th birthday |
88 | 047 | Buffy | 13 | The Zeppo | |
89 | 048 | Buffy | 14 | Bad Girls | |
90 | 049 | Buffy | 15 | Consequences | |
91 | 050 | Buffy | 16 | Doppelgängland | |
92 | 051 | Buffy | 17 | Enemies | |
93 | 052 | Buffy | 18 | Earshot | |
94 | 053 | Buffy | 19 | Choices | |
95 | 054 | Buffy | 20 | The Prom | |
96 | 055 | Buffy | 21 | Graduation Day, Part One | |
97 | 056 | Buffy | 22 | Graduation Day, Part Two | |
98 | Supplemental comics. | ||||
99 | Buffy | Graphic novel | The Dust Waltz | ||
100 | Buffy | 1 | Wu-tang Fang | Start of the original Buffy comic series which ran for 63 issues | |