Abstract
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel are among the most innovative TV series in recent years. Focusing on a high-school (later college) student who doubles as vampire slayer — that is mythical fighter against evil1 — Buffy creates a ‘universe’ in which vampires, demons, witches and mythical forces are part of everyday life. Buffy is set in Sunnydale, a fictitious southern Californian small-town situated on the ‘Hellmouth’. This portal between dimensions is a hotspot for demonic activity and thus serves as a means of explaining the ongoing supernatural occurrences in the series. In her fight against evil, Buffy is supported by her friends Willow and Xander as well as by her Watcher Giles, a mentor character who not only trains the slayer in fighting but also continuously provides her with information about supernatural occurrences and possible ways of defeating them.
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© 2005 Gaby Allrath
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Allrath, G. (2005). Life in Doppelgangland: Innovative Character Conception and Alternate Worlds in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. In: Allrath, G., Gymnich, M. (eds) Narrative Strategies in Television Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230501003_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230501003_7
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-54505-6
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