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"Buffy" is different from other shows on television. It might only have about five million viewers every week, yet its cultural significance far outweighs its seemingly small audience. In contrast, shows such as "ER" or "The West Wing," both well-written, well-acted programs with four times the viewership, are not considered worthy of study and fan dissection, certainly not to the extent that "Buffy" or it spinoff show, "Angel," might be.
On dozens of Web sites, its fans dissect everything from whether the lovesick, formerly evil vampire Spike is a proper consort for Buffy, to the criminal neglect that the show has faced from the awards establishment (even its best episodes, such as the near-silent "Hush" or the all-musical "Once More, With Feeling" have been ignored by the Emmys). Famously, "Buffy" also has a devoted fan base among academics, who parse its every shot and line of dialogue for cultural significance.
"Buffy" is the subject of four books of academic essays, and in October, 2002, fans from around the world gathered at the University of East Anglia in England to hear more than 50 papers on the "Buffyverse" delivered by academics. Topics ranged from "Queering the Bitch: Spike, Transgression, and Erotic Empowerment" to "Yeat's Entropic Gyre and Season Six of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer.'" So what happened to the idea of this being a juvenile television show?
