TV | Pop Culture | 90s

10 Behind-The-Scenes Secrets From 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' That Will Make You Come Back From The Dead Twice

We were first introduced to Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 1992 with a feature film. The movie performed well in the box office, and five years later Buffy was back on the small screen for a series that we all grew to love.

Starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, this show grew to be a fan-favorite across the supernatural and science fiction world.

Sarah, who was previously known on the soap opera All My Children rose to stardom as she battled the forces of darkness with her kick ass moves.

The show was nominated for for an Emmy and won three Golden Globes while it was on air for seven seasons between 1997 and 2003.

While you think you may know everything about "The Chosen One," here are some facts that would probably surprise you about the show.

1. The show couldn't afford a set.

In the early days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, they used a warehouse for filming because they couldn't afford a proper sound stage.

“We were very much on a tight budget,” writer Joss Whedon said.  “This hall you’ll see a lot of in the first 12 episodes. It is the entire school. We only had the one hall, so we use it over and over again. It’s really kind of sad, actually.”

The warehouse front also doubled as the entrance to a club, The Bronze.

“When we designed the club, we put the door to the club on the outside of the actual warehouse so that we could go in from the outside because that would give it real life and make it very realistic,” Whedon said.  

2. Dolly Parton was an Executive Producer.

The country music superstar launched the production company Sandollar Productions. They turned out movies such as Father of the Bride and Sabrina.

In 1992, the production company worked on the original Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie and Parton's company eventually produced the TV series as well.

3. Sarah Michelle Gellar sleeps next to a prop from the set.

In 2014, Sarah revealed that she still has a souvenir from the set with her every night.

“I think my favorite is that my makeup artist had made a special stake for me with a little bottle of holy water, and to this day I keep it by my bed,” she admitted on Reddit.

4. Spike almost had a Texan accent.

Were you team Angel or team Spike? Regardless both vampires were dreamy! One thing we loved about Spike was his sexy British accent. But you will be surprised to know that it's actually faked.

When James Marsters first auditioned to play the role of Spike, he used a Texan accent for his character. That would have definitely changed the way we saw our bad boy, Spike. What do you think, would you have preferred a more Southern accent over English one?

5. Ryan Reynold was almost Xander.

Before Nicholas Brendon landed the role of Xander, the part was actually offered to Ryan Reynolds first.

Ryan claimed he didn't want to play the part because he himself had a bad high school experience.

He has gone on to have a great career, so I doubt he regrets his decision.

6. Some actors auditioned for different roles.

Before Sarah landed the lead role in Buffy, she actually auditioned for the part of Cordelia. Funny enough, before Charisma Carpenter landed the role of Cordelia, she auditioned to be Buffy.

Charisma was afraid to play the part of Cordelia because her last role had be of a bratty high school student and she didn't want to experience type-cast.

Imagine if those two powerful leading ladies had switched roles!

7. There was supposed to be an animated spin off

While the show sparked the successful spinoff Angel, Joss Whedon had another show in mind that never came to be.

“The only thing we didn’t get to do is an animated version, which was a delight for us because the writers themselves were working on it,” he said.

Whedon said that there were seven scripts for the show, ready to go.

“They were really fun to write,” he said. “We could not sell the show. We could not sell an animated ‘Buffy,’ which I still find incomprehensible.”

8. Sunnydale High may look familiar.

Los Angeles’ Torrance High School was used for the exterior shots of Sunnydale High, but if you look closely it may be very familiar.

This location was used in a number of other TV shows and movies including,  Beverly Hills 90210, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 90210, She’s All That and Not Another Teen Movie.

The California high school is one of the oldest schools in the state and is still in session today.

9. Only two characters appeared in every episode.

Buffy and Willow, played by Alyson Hannigan, were the only two people to be in every single one of the 144 episodes of the show.

Hannigan has credited her role on Buffy to be what launched her career.

“It’s such a gift,” Hannigan said. “…I’m so grateful that I got to be a part of that.”

10. Season five was supposed to be the end.

And for some of us, it was.

Do you remember when Buffy died at the end of season five? That was supposed to be the end of the series.

Since the show was so popular, Joss Whedon didn't want to end it like that.

Many people didn't know how the show would carry on after that, and some believed the quality dropped after that.

The show went on to do two more seasons, and almost had an eighth.

Sarah prevented an additional season because she didn't want to do the show anymore.

What do you think? Would you have watched an eighth season? Share with us in the comments.

Source: Fox News / The Richest

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