This is a part 2 of 3 of the FAQ for alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer. (Last updated on 3/9/98) The preface, contents, and sections 1 and 2 are in part 1, sections 3 and 4 are in part 2, and sections 5 through 8 are in part 3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3) About the newsgroup: 3.1) What do people talk about here? The newsgroup is for discussing anything having to do with the show, the cast and crew, or the world or plot of the show. Especially prized is information about cast appearances (in person, in film, or elsewhere on TV), or information about what the network is doing (schedule changes and the like). But, hey, it's ALT, people will talk about their toes if they think anyone is listening (or not). 3.2) *IMPORTANT* If you're posting about the most recent episode. There are a couple of conventions we observe for the sake of those who haven't seen the episode yet. For example, maybe they live on the West Coast, and are reading news when they should be working late (ahem), and the episode has just been broadcast on the East Coast. Or maybe they taped it, and can't watch it for a day or two. And, anybody in Canada dependent on YTV won't be able to watch the episode until Friday. ONE: Please don't spoil the episode (give away a plot point) in the Subject: line of your post. Extremely bad form. TWO: Leave spoiler space (a screen of mostly blank lines: 22 should do) so that people don't have to read the spoiler before they have a chance to advance to the next thread. 3.3) *IMPORTANT* Before you ask questions/post answers. If you have a question about the show, the cast, or an old episode, check this FAQ! Then check a show-specific FAQ! I'll bet you a nice, shiny quarter that your question has already been answered here or in another FAQ. Well, no, not really. If you still have a question, especially one about a plot point in a recent episode, PLEASE read the group before you post it! You may say, "But there's over 200 posts there - I don't want to read them all!" but the REASON there's 200 posts is because 40 of them ask the same questions and they get the same answers repeated many times by many different people. The same goes for answering such questions - I know it's fun to show off your Buffy knowledge, but if somebody else has posted the answer to the group already, there's no need to post it 3 or 4 more times. 3.4) *IMPORTANT* General USENET etiquette. Back when *I* was a freshman, we didn't have AOL, or WebTV, or SPAM, but we still had USENET, and it still sucked. Here's how you can make this group, and USENET, suck a little less. * Stay on-topic. This means talking about something vaguely Buffy-related on this group. Yes, you can talk about the movie, even though this is a TV group. Don't make people wade through off-topic posts; post them to a relevant newsgroup (there IS one out there, even if it's misc.misc, or alt.religion.kibo). * Change the Subject: line when the topic of discussion changes. Maybe someone wasn't reading your thread because it was about Gile's ties. But if you start talking about Xander's shoelaces, maybe they have something to add. Changing the Subject: means you've, er, changed the subject. * Don't bother posting ads. What am I saying? If you spam newsgroups, you're too stupid to pick your own nose, much less read a FAQ. Never mind. * Don't respond to trolls. Anyone who comes here shouting, "Buufy SUX," a) can't spell, b) most likely isn't actually reading the group. If you must respond, respond via e-mail, and only to the troll itself. * Try to spell things right, and make sure your editor wraps lines (so your posts aren't 3 lines long and 3 screens wide. Be aware that a lot of people can't read or don't like HTML messages. * Conversely, if you have a problem with someone's spelling or formatting, send them a polite e-mail. The whole group doesn't need to hear you complain. * I repeat: If you can do it over e-mail, don't post it to the group. 3.5) What do people mean by ? Generic USENET stuff: BTW - By the way IMO - In my opinion (also IMHO - humble, IMNSHO - not so humble) ROTFL - Rolling on the floor laughing, usually a compliment FWIW - For what it's worth AFAIK - As far as I know YMMV - Your mileage may vary IIRC - If I recall correctly alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer stuff: SMG - Sarah Michelle Gellar (aka Buffy) AH - Alyson Hannigan (aka Willow) ASH - Anthony Stewart Head (aka Giles) JW - Joss Whedon, DB - David Boreanaz, etc. A1 - the Anointed One (Annoying One, Atomized One) WB - Warner Brothers TPTB - The Powers That Be (often the WB) IKWYDLS - I Know What You Did Last Summer, the summer 1997 movie that SMG starred in. Various episode titles (see question 2.4) 3.6) Should I post fanfic here? Where should I post it? There are many people on this group who aren't interested in fanfic. There is a separate newsgroup (alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative) for posting fanfic as well as several mailing lists and websites (search for Buffy and fanfic at your favorite search engine) devoted to Buffy fanfic. Furthermore, if fanfic is posted to the group, people involved with the show will not participate due to possible legal difficulties with intellectual property. This is a real issue, and studios do get sued. Our take on it: There are enough people who don't want to see it here (including us) that, with the multitude of other options available, there's no need for fanfic to be posted in this group. For those to whom .creative hasn't propagated yet, either bug your ISP provider to get it, or go to DejaNews - although it apparently isn't accessible with Browse Newsgroup, if you go to the Read Newsgroup page (http://www.dejanews.com/home_rn.shtml) and type in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer.creative, it's available that way. 3.7) Should I post binaries (pictures) here? Hell no. Some news servers don't carry binaries groups (a picture is literally worth a thousand words on the Internet). Some admins might take this group off their server if it gets big binary posts. The best thing to do is to post your images to a legitimate binaries group (or a web or ftp site), and then drop alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer a note describing the content, location, and subject of your post. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4) About the plot (or, What in the Hellmouth is going on?): 4.1) Why is Buffy THE Slayer? Buffy Summers is that one girl in all the world, the Chosen One, born with the strength and skill to hunt vampires, to find them where they gather and to stop the spread of their evil and the increase of their numbers. Of course, she kills giant preying mantises and other demons and things too, but that's part of living on the Hellmouth. 4.2) Why were there two Slayers? While Buffy was briefly dead (PG), another slayer-in-training, Kendra, was called. She had been trained more traditionally than Buffy (compare with the movie), which caused some friction between them. They saved Angel from Spike's ceremony to restore Drusilla (WML). Kendra went back home. 4.3) What is the Hellmouth? Sunnydale rests on a center of mystical convergence called the Hellmouth, which is a portal between this reality and the next. The Master hoped to open this portal and destroy the world of Man, unleashing the demons. It's closed, but still there, and attracts vampires and other hideous creatures. And the Slayer. 4.4) Hey! That isn't how the movie ended! Yes, yes, we know. At the end of the movie, Buffy (who was a senior in high school) hopped on Pike's motorcycle and they drove off into the sunset. At the beginning of the series, we learn that Buffy and her Mom have moved to Sunnydale from L.A. Buffy's parents have recently divorced, and Buffy has been expelled from her old school for burning down a gym full of vampires. When she arrives at her new school (as a sophomore), she's shocked to find Giles the Librarian is her new Watcher, since she wanted to retire from vampire slaying. Does the series pick up where the movie left off? If it does, there are serious discrepancies setting- and plot-wise, but we can wave our magical Television Wands and make those go away for the most part. On the other hand, the first season of Buffy could be seen as a remake of the movie. I like the second theory, as it leaves more of Buffy's past to explore, yet sets the movie aside as a separate story, thus erasing contradictions. Another way of thinking about it is, as David Tanguay (dat@thinkage.on.ca) put it, "The series is the sequel to the novel from which the movie was adapted, except that that novel doesn't exist." While Joss Whedon both wrote the movie screenplay and produces the TV series, he says that the studio changed the Buffy "universe" in the production of the movie. Where there is disagreement between the movie and the TV series, the TV series is assumed to be canon. At this point, the TV series has covered enough situations to not need the movie as background material, so the movie can safely be ignored (although I still think it was pretty amusing and had some nice one line zingers). Or something. 4.4a) What happened to Buffy's vampire sense? In the movie, Buffy could sense vampires by getting cramps ("My secret weapon is PMS?!"). In the TV series, this doesn't appear to be the case. In WTTH, Giles tells her she should have this ability, but she uses her fashion sense, not any vampire sense, to find the vampire in that scene. Similarly in Bad Eggs, she doesn't sense Lyle, but instead notices that he doesn't appear in the mirrors surrounding the escalator. It's entirely possible that it was written out of the script (i.e. Buffy didn't have it "honed") for the sake of the dramatic needs of her falling in love with Angel. 4.5) How old/what year are Buffy et. al.? Buffy's birthdate was shown twice in IRYJ - two different dates (10/24/80 and 5/6/79). Buffy's headstone said 1981-1997 in Nightmares, and she had her 17th birthday in Surprise, so 1981 would seem to be the correct year-of-birth. The gang are currently (in the second season) juniors at Sunnydale High, so a guess of 17 years old seems reasonable for the rest of them. For bio info on the actors themselves, see the official site. 4.6) What happened to Jesse? Xander and Willow's friend Jesse was turned into a vampire in The Harvest. Xander was trying to talk Jesse out of dining on Cordelia at the Bronze (Sunnydale's hip, yet seedy, night-club for high-school students and adults alike), when a fleeing woman bumped into Jesse and drove him onto Xander's stake. Compare with Pike's best friend in the movie. 4.7) What happened to Principal Flutie? Principal Flutie was eaten by a pack of hyena-possessed students with great wardrobes. No, Xander wasn't with them at the time, but he had also been possessed (The Pack). 4.8) What has happened to Angel? Who is Angelus? Angel (or Angelus, the one with the angelic face) is a 241-year-old vampire. A gypsy curse restored his human soul, but left the demon inside him (see 6.3). Once the most savage vampire the Master had ever known, he no longer killed humans, but still required blood (Angel). He and Buffy fell in love. The curse was broken when Buffy gave him a moment of true contentment/happiness (Innocence), since the point of the curse was to torture him continuously. Now Angelus, a vampire with no conscience or humanity, is back. It's a newsgroup convention to use Angelus to refer to evil Angel, and Angel to refer to the good Angel that was kissy-face with Buffy. 4.9) What happened to Darla? Darla was the Master's most favored servant, and Angel's creator (siress?). Angel staked her to save Buffy (Angel). 4.10) What happened to the Master? After getting trapped in the Hellmouth 60 years ago, the Master tried to escape in The Harvest, and finally managed to open it again by KILLING Buffy. Then Xander resuscitated Buffy, who slew the Master, which re-closed the Hellmouth (PG). The Anointed One tried to revive the Master, but Buffy stopped the vampires again, and smashed the Master's skeleton (WSWB). 4.11) What happened to the Anointed One? Colin was a child turned into a vampire, as per prophecy, to lead Buffy into Hell (NKABOTFD). He did just this in Prophecy Girl and tried to revive the Master's bones in When She Was Bad. Spike grew tired of him at the end of School Hard, tossed him in a cage, and hoisted him up into some sunlight. He's DEAD, OK? 4.12) Who are Spike and Drusilla? William the Bloody was nicknamed Spike for hammering railroad spikes through his victims. He has killed two Slayers, and Angel is apparently his sire (School Hard) (although it is unclear whether Angel or Drusilla directly "converted" him - see question 6.6). Spike is currently in a wheelchair (Surprise) after having an organ dropped on him and trapped in a burning church in WML pt. 2. Drusilla is Spike's lover, a former nun driven mad and turned into a vampire by Angel in his soul-less days. She was thought to have been killed by a mob in Prague sometime in the past, but was very recently restored to full health by a profane ceremony which nearly killed the captive Angel (WML pt.2). 4.13) Who is/what happened to Dalton/the bookworm vampire? Dalton (played by Eric Saiet) was the cool bookworm vampire henchman of Spike and Dru who wore glasses. He stole the cross of Du Lac in WML part 1, and was seen transporting a part of the Judge in Surprise. He was unfortunately killed in Surprise by the Judge since he was "full of feeling" because "he reads". Sucked to be him. 4.14) Doesn't anyone else know what's going on? Like Buffy's mom? Buffy's mom would freak, OK? Buffy hides her slayer-ness from her mom because she fears her mom wouldn't understand and it's gotten her in enough trouble already (cf. burning down her old school's gym, WTTH). Principal Snyder seems to know that something weird is going on (School Hard), but might not know vampires are actually involved. Buffy's old friend Ford knew what was going on, but he's dead (LTM). No one in Sunnydale seems to notice the large body count, or realize that they're surrounded by vampires. Giles chalked it up to people being in denial of a sort, for example, explaining the vampire attacks away as gang activity (The Harvest, School Hard). suggests that since Sunnydale has _always_ been on the Hellmouth, they consider it perfectly normal for mysterious deaths to happen there. 4.15) Who is Ethan? Ethan and Giles used to be part of a circle of friends that allowed the demon Eyghon to possess them for orgies, back in Giles' days of youthful rebellion against his fate of being a Watcher. He may have skipped town, after nearly getting lots of people killed with a malicious spell (Halloween), and nearly getting killed himself by the demon (TDA). 4.16) Who is "Ripper"? It's a nickname Ethan used for Giles; probably a play on "Rupert". NO, he's not Jack the Ripper. 4.17) Who is the Scooby gang? the Slayerettes? Both of these refer to Buffy's support group, led by Xander/Willow/ Giles, but which has grown to include Cordelia, Oz and formerly Ms. Calendar. Willow in The Witch: "Yeah, you're the Slayer. We're, like, the Slayerettes." Xander calls them the Scooby gang in WML, referring to the cartoon Scooby Doo which had a gang of crime-solving kids - the parallels are pretty obvious, Willow as Velma, Xander as Freddy, Oz is apparently Scooby now and has a van to boot. 4.18) Why aren't the assassins still after Buffy? Spike hired the Order of Turacca to assassinate Buffy, or at least keep her busy while the vamps researched the ceremony to restore Drusilla (WML pt.1). They captured Buffy and brought her to Spike, stating that they thought were to deliver her dead or alive. Spike told them they were mistaken, but between that technicality, and Buffy and pals killing the rest of the assassins, and Spike and Drusilla being assumed dead (WML pt.2), the contract is likely no longer in force (so say "Angel's sources" in Ted). 4.19) What's up with Ms. Calendar? It turns out that Jenny Calendar, Sunnydale High's resident techno-pagan, is actually Janna, of the Calderash clan of the Romany, or Gypsies (Surprise). She was sent to make sure Angel suffered under his curse, but didn't know enough to prevent Buffy from breaking the curse (Innocence). Jenny had been on the track of a spell to restore Angel's soul to him in Passion. Unfortunately, Angelus found out, decided he wanted to stay evil, and killed Jenny before she could tell anyone (Passion). 4.20) What's the deal with Oz? How come he wasn't in this episode? Oz is a guitarist for a high school band who's currently semi-going-out with Willow. He found out he's a werewolf after getting bitten by his cousin Jordy (Phases). Apparently, the Screen Actor's Guild restricts actors to ten episodes per season or less unless they appear in the opening credits. Since TPTB underestimated Oz's appeal and had not signed him as a regular this season, his appearances are limited, and they are probably saving him for episodes where he gets used extensively. 4.21) Who is Jonathan? Jonathan (played by Danny Strong) apparently is the designated student extra for BTVS. So far this season, I think we've seen him 5 times: he was the student Impada was sucking dry in IMG before Xander broke in, he was Cordelia's underclassman boyfriend at the end of Reptile Boy, he got taken hostage by the police lady assassin in WML, he got taken over by the Bezor in the hallway outside the library in Bad Eggs, and, of course, walked in on the Scooby Gang in the library in Passion. 4.22) What's with gangs on PCP and gas leaks? At the end of School Hard, Principal Snyder confers with the cop on the scene coming up with a story to tell, and agree on the "usual" story, a gang on PCP. In Bad Eggs, it was a gas leak that was blamed. Hence, these are being used in the newsgroup as references to fairly unbelievable occurrences, or, alternatively, as excuses for most anything, e.g. the Judge in Innocence being described as a big blue gang member on PCP who wasn't seen too clearly because of the gas leak in the mall. 4.23) How the heck many things are under Sunnydale High? Well, so far we've seen an a completely buried church (WTTH), the Hellmouth (PG), and a Mama Bezor (Bad Eggs). Methinks this plot device is getting a wee bit old. 4.24) What all is in Sunnydale? For a town of 30,000 (School Hard), and being a "one Starbucks town" (WTTH), Sunnydale seems to have a lot of facilities: a National Guard (army?) base (Innocence), a mall (Innocence), a miniature golf course (Ted (or not, in WSWB)), 43 churches (WML pt. 2), 2 costume shops (Halloween), an ice cream parlor (WTTH), ice skating rink (WML), Slick Willy's bar (WML), an art gallery (Buffy's mom's), a history museum (IMG), a huge cemetery (various), docks (Surprise), a bus station (IMG), a big hospital (Nightmares, KBD), and, I'm sure, more that I'm forgetting. 4.25) Omigod, is going to hook up with ? I shudder to include this, but it gets asked A LOT. OK, Willow's had a crush on Xander since kindergarten, but fears rejection, and with good reason, because Xander (if you don't count bugs and mummies) only had eyes for Buffy (The Pack), who only grooved on Angel (Angel), so she rejected Xander (PG). At the end of the summer, Xander *almost* kissed Willow (WSWB), but didn't, and Buffy and Angel started bickering (SAR), but not quite dating (RB), but then this guy Oz, who's the guitarist for Cordy's boyfriend's band, was severely smitten by Eskimo-Princess-Willow (IMG). Buffy and Angel started to work it out, and Cordy and Xander actually KISSED due to being trapped in Buffy's basement by Grub Man, and out of nowhere Oz took a bullet for Willow (WML pt.2)! So Cordy and Xander kept slipping off to broom closets to make out, and Buffy, Angel, big smootchie, and Oz and Willow decided to make a date out of Buffy's birthday party (Surprise). When Buffy and Angel slept together (yes, they did the wacky), Angel's soul was taken away, and now Buffy is undergoing the worst conceivable break-up of all time. Willow noticed Xander and Cordy kissing, and was extremely upset, but Oz seemed to comfort her by professing his daydreams of Willow-kissage (Innocence). Willow took charge in Phases, and shared a sweet kiss with Oz despite him being a werewolf. Xander and Cordy established themselves as a couple in BBB after Cordy dissed her friends rather than submit to their scorn of her loser boyfriend. Oz decked Xander for making Willow miserable in BBB, so they seem to be solid as a couple for now as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------