buffy the vampire slayer - unaired pilot
Added 2025-02-25 15:25:01 +0000 UTCcough cough cough.............this thing on???
Comments
I'm a little delayed watching this, but I really appreciate you putting out a surprise reaction. Buffy content is always welcomed and it's been ages since I've seen the unaired pilot. I don't know for certain what the plan was, but this 'pilot' really felt more like them filming a super low budget proof of concept rather than something that was supposed to be seen. It is notably shorter than a regular episode, and there is no Joyce, Angel or mention of the Master. You can definitely see the sparks of a great idea, but it's very unpolished and not tight on dialogue or action. Too many awkward pauses, campy moments that turn cringe, unnecessary conversations that don't add to the story and a complete lack of chemistry with the actress playing Willow and the rest of the cast. Also that library set would not have worked long term. Can you imagine all the awkward moments we'd have watching Giles deliver exposition while he tries to navigate down or up a tight spiral staircase? Just not practical at all. This is a fun watch, for the nostalgia, and to also see how much they managed to improve from this to the actual pilot.
Jaci
2025-02-28 16:19:54 +0000 UTCRIP Michelle 😔
Kimberly Bellow
2025-02-27 07:47:23 +0000 UTCBuffy feels more like the movie“valley girl” version of the character than she does in the show
Ray D
2025-02-27 01:19:31 +0000 UTCIt’s funny that even a lot of the smaller characters are here played by the same actors, Darla, Harmony, and Jonathan. Also, some pretty good music, good Rancid and Stone Temple Pilots songs.
Ray D
2025-02-27 01:10:05 +0000 UTCI love Stephen Tobolowsky too! He would have been a great Flutie.
StephanieB
2025-02-26 03:03:26 +0000 UTCThat makes total sense! Like the car in “The Zeppo”😄
StephanieB
2025-02-26 02:56:33 +0000 UTCThe OG Willow was on the show Sisters I watched and she’s a good actress, but this role wasn’t right for her. Stephen Tobolowsky as Flutie on the other hand I wish they could have kept. He’s such a funny character actor.
Steven Winthrop
2025-02-26 01:00:36 +0000 UTCI take Xander having a skateboard as him trying to be cool, but giving it up once the novelty wore off and he - no offense to Xander - still wasn’t cool lol.
Lime Pie
2025-02-26 00:26:12 +0000 UTCWow, it’s been a while since I last saw this. I forgot how awkward and cringy it was in parts! I think you may already know this, but the point of this pilot was to be shopped around to the networks, so this was before the WB picked it up and the show actually got a budget. I guess that’s pretty clear from the low production value. I love that SMG’s hair is brown- she was like,” if this doesn’t get picked up, I’m not bleaching my hair for it!” However, I have to say I’m quite impressed with the stunts. I do love Buffy’s flip off of the library loft area, I wish they had left that in the aired pilot. Darcie, you are so right about the lack of chemistry between Nicholas Brendan and the original actress who played Willow. There is zero vibe that they are old friends or really close at all. However, I won’t totally blame that on the actress. Who knows what kind of direction she was given for the pilot or if she was given any background about her relationship with Xander. Anyway, it’s that weird pause before she says “which part” when Xander says he had trouble with part of the homework- so awkward! I love Allyson Hannigan‘s choice to play Willow as cheerful and nerdy rather than sad and nerdy; even when she was getting down on herself in the first episode, I still felt an overall positive vibe from her. They did a great job of cleaning up the script and doing more “showing rather than telling” in the aired pilot, which kept the story moving. It is funny that Xander was I guess supposed to be kind of a skater boy in the first episode? He didn’t carry around his skateboard in the aired pilot, but as another commenter mentioned, he is first seen riding a skateboard- which was then never seen or mentioned again on the show! I think that comes from the “cool kid“ skater culture in California at the time. Which is funny, since Xander is not really meant to be cool. But I think that was maybe Joss trying to live vicariously through that character. Also note that the vampire Willow leaves the bronze with says he is from Crossroads school. That is an actual school in LA, where Joss’ little brother attended. Joss cut his teeth working on some of the school’s stage productions. He actually includes one other shout out to that time in his life in a much later episode, in 7x07 “Conversations with Dead People”- the vampire Webs said he did the lighting for the musical Pippin- I believe Joss did the lighting for Crossroad’s Pippin production.
StephanieB
2025-02-25 23:44:00 +0000 UTCAHH, when you said happy tuesday my eyes started welling up. came onto patreon to watch someone else's buffy reaction, but this took priority <3
Quiver
2025-02-25 19:32:44 +0000 UTCWonder if she'll watch that Dr. Phil episode with Nicholas Brendon walking off stage while Dr. Phil berates him
Daphne O'Reilly
2025-02-25 16:42:36 +0000 UTCThank you so much for this. I thought I had seen this unaired pilot. But so much of it is unfamiliar to me. BTW the first time we saw Xander he was heading to school on his skateboard. The first time he saw Buffy he ran into the railing on his skateboard.
Eric Haefele
2025-02-25 16:14:03 +0000 UTCThank you, Darcie! So excited to watch this with you!!!
StephanieB
2025-02-25 15:59:30 +0000 UTCOH IT SURE IS TUUUEEEESDAAAAYYYY!!!!!
Val ☽ ‣
2025-02-25 15:45:04 +0000 UTCthank you for keeping the Buffyverse flame alive on this channel Darcie 😌😌
madfem
2025-02-25 15:30:29 +0000 UTC
