BONUS BUFFYVERSE: The Unaired Pilot & BTS of 'Once More, With Feeling' Reactions
Added 2025-12-24 15:00:12 +0000 UTC
Comments
Yes that’s Danny Strong who plays johnathn
Michael Matthews
2026-01-02 04:07:45 +0000 UTCYes that’s Mercedes McNab as Harmony she was 16 years old when she did this pilot making the longest serving actress in the Buffyverse until the finale of Angel
Michael Matthews
2025-12-31 18:34:28 +0000 UTCBuffy was not made up: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffy_(given_name) https://engaging-data.com/baby-name-visualizer/?n=buffy&sex=f&data=n
El
2025-12-25 17:35:47 +0000 UTCI'm so glad WB saw the potential in Buffy and decided to give the show a chance! The unaired pilot was initially passed over until it was eventually picked up by the network as a mid-season replacement after another show's ratings declined. Although it had achieved to successfully convince the network to pick up the show, there were several issues with it, and the network wasn't convinced the original pilot was strong enough to attract viewers, which led to the decision to reshoot the first episode. Joss Whedon has been very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the unaired pilot. It was very poor quality, had a low budget, and the pacing was way too rushed. Willow was recast for two reasons: one because Riff Regan's performance was considered too serious and lacked the quirkiness that Alyson Hannigan brought to the role, and two because there was a lack of chemistry between Regan and the rest of the cast. Also, I'm pretty sure the name Buffy was made up.
anna
2025-12-25 14:44:21 +0000 UTCThat's not the same actor. This is Stephen Tobolowsky. The actor in Flooded is named Michael Merton
Kevin Charley
2025-12-25 05:58:58 +0000 UTCThe actor who plays the principal in this episode actually DOES appear in a real, aired episode of the show, as the loan officer in 6x04: Flooded. EDIT: apparently not. imdb isn't always perfect, and he must have been mis-credited when I last looked up that episode. I don't know the exact reasons for Willow being recast, but just based on my own watching of the pilot, I think Riff Regan's performance is just ... kind of lifeless and flat. She sounds like she's reading from a script, rather than embodying a character. She doesn't seem to be playing off the other performers in her scenes. And as far as your question about relationships between people involved with the show, one of the most interesting ones is that Amber Benson (Tara) and Adam Busch (Warren) dated for a pretty long time, including, I believe, around the time when Seeing Red aired.
El
2025-12-25 05:34:22 +0000 UTCthis was so cozy! merry christmas 🎄✨
Frelle
2025-12-25 00:34:06 +0000 UTComg yes please.
Jason Harrelson
2025-12-24 22:59:11 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas! ♥️
Jordan McLaren
2025-12-24 18:58:06 +0000 UTCThis was such a fun surprise! I wonder if she'll ever get around to Dr Horrible's Sing Along Blog?
Captain Hammer
2025-12-24 17:37:35 +0000 UTCThe Buffy pilot is fun, but Im glad the library got redesigned into what appeared on the show. I think for the vampire face "morphs" they needed to film parts of the scene without the vampire face make up and parts of the scene with make up and then used cgi to transition from one to the other. I dont think the technology was there yet (especially for TV) for a motion capture CGI face replacement. Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
James Smith
2025-12-24 16:40:22 +0000 UTCMerry Christmas, Cass! Thank you for this lovely present.
Lime Pie
2025-12-24 16:10:12 +0000 UTCBTS of Once More With Feeling is my entire childhood!
Melissa Reynolds
2025-12-24 15:41:10 +0000 UTC
