What is "The Annotated Buffy"?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is, of course, the brilliant television show created by Joss Whedon, which has suceeded, for the past six years, in bringing deep, intelligent human drama, with a sci-fi/fantasy/action bend to television audiences. Many people are not aware of the many complex allusions and references that populate the episodes of Buffy, and its spin-off series, Angel, and that's what this site is for. The annotations work like annotations for a literary work, including continuity checks, literary references, character development notes from episode to episode, and the like.

Why an "Annotated Buffy"?

I was a long-time fan of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and had searched on-line for an intelligent website that addressed the deeper and finer points of the show, besides the regular, gushy fan sites. After months of surfing, I finally discovered the "All Things Philosophical on Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (AtPoBtVS) website and forum. It was an absolute revelation to me, filled with brilliant, incisive episode analyses and thought-provoking posts on the messageboard. There are so many great posts there, in which I learned so much about symbols and references in "Buffy"--literary, cinematic, mythological, religious--that I wanted to give a little something back to the board. Sometimes, since there's so much great stuff at the board, it's easy to miss some great points, so this site is my attempt to compile a great deal of the ideas there, and to add some of my own annotations. The title was inspired by Martin Gardner's brilliant book, "The Annotated Alice."

How to Use "The Annotated Buffy"...

When you open an episode page of "The Annotated Buffy," you will see two frames. In the top frame will be a complete transcript of the episode. In the bottom frame are located all of the annotations. As you read the transcript, you will notice some lines throughout that have been colored and underlined. If you click on any of these lines, my note referring to that particular line will appear in the lower frame. Similarly, if you click on the code number of a particular note in the bottom frame, it will take you to the correct part of the transcript, in the upper frame. You also, of course, have the option of scrolling all the way through either of the two frames, and of changing the size of the frames by moving the dividing bar up or down.

How to Read "The Annotated Buffy"...

The typical annotation starts off with a code number, and then a quote from the episode, or a description of what is going on in a particular scene, which could be seen as the point where you should press "PAUSE," either literally, if you have this with you as you're watching the episode, or mentally, if you're remembering the scene. Next to the quote will be a label such as CONTINUITY CHECK, or FROM THE MOUTH OF THE ALMIGHTY JOSS (for a quote from Joss Whedon), or the like. Next comes the annotation itself. Anything another person has written will be in quotes. My own annotations will not be. After that will be a note as to who contributed the quote. If it is from a poster at the AtPoBtVS board, the credit will include the author, the date of the post, and the time, so you can go read the rest of the post yourself, in the board archives.

A Sample Annotation

1Y) "Go ahead. Prepare me." JOSEPH CAMPBELL & THE HERO'S JOURNEY: "The discovery of the dead body later in the day prompts Buffy to return to the library, where Giles issues a second Call, which Buffy again refuses."--Rattletrap, Tuesday, 12/11/01 at 09:21:16

Submit Your Own Annotation...

This site is a constant work-in-progress. If you would like to contribute an annotation, about something I may have overlooked, please e-mail me at morningperson_2000@yahoo.com with your annotation, and I will consider it for submission. Depending on how many annotations I get, I may not be able to use all of them from everybody, so please don't feel bad if I don't end up posting yours.

An Important Note

Please do not use anything from this website on your own website, without my express written permission. In some cases, this may be hard to get, because I will have to also clear it with the author of that particular section. Anything used from this site must be linked back to this site. These annotations take a great deal of hard work and time, and I don't want anyone else taking credit for my work.