Undead TV: Essays on Buffy the Vampire Slayer

by Elana Levine (Editor), Lisa Parks (Editor), Mary Celeste Kearney (Contributor)

When the final episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer aired in 2003, fans mourned the death of the hit television series. Yet the show has lived on through syndication, global distribution, DVD release, and merchandising, as well as in the memories of its devoted viewers. Buffy stands out from much entertainment television by offering sharp, provocative commentaries on gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, and youth. Yet it has also been central to changing trends in television production and reception. As a flagship show for two U.S. “netlets”—the WB and UPN—Buffy helped usher in the “post-network” era, and as the inspiration for an active fan base, it helped drive the proliferation of Web-based fan engagement.In Undead TV, media studies scholars tackle the Buffy phenomenon and its many afterlives in popular culture, the television industry, the Internet, and academic criticism. Contributors engage with critical issues such as stardom, gender identity, spectatorship, fandom, and intertextuality. Collectively, they reveal how a vampire television series set in a sunny California suburb managed to provide some of the most biting social commentaries on the air while exposing the darker side of American life. By offering detailed engagements with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s celebrity image, science-fiction fanzines, international and “youth” audiences, Buffy tie-in books, and Angel’s body, Undead TV shows how this prime-time drama became a prominent marker of industrial, social, and cultural change.

Contributors. Ian Calcutt, Cynthia Fuchs, Amelie Hastie, Annette Hill, Mary Celeste Kearney, Elana Levine, Allison McCracken, Jason Middleton, Susan Murray, Lisa Parks

Genres: Nonfiction, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Vampires, Pop Culture, Tv, Essays, Urban Fantasy

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Remi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great critical analysis of one of my favorite TV series. But what makes this one stand out from the several I've read (and enjoyed) in the past is that this book analyzes its media presence (marketing, advertising, etc) which is awesome because I majored in mass comm. I loved how these writers picked apart everything from Buffy's feminist credentials to how episodes and scenes were shot to all of the analogies and hyperbole. My only criticism is of the chapters that analyzed the issue of race in BtVS. I don't feel they went far enough in their analysis or criticism. They basically mentioned The First Slayer, Kendra and Mr. Trick in one sentence per chapter and then moved on. Granted, I feel Angel the TV series has race more prominently featured, it would've been nice to see a fuller analysis. Either way, I started off being a little ambivalent when I started reading this book but quickly fell in and enjoyed it. Good read.

[Estrella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A critical analysis from the point of view of the cultural studies particularly in popular culture about one of my favourite TV-shows, I really enjoyed it, the way is structured and the wide range of topics that analyses like media impact, feminism and femininity, the censorship towards the show in the UK, the analysis of the female and male representation...
I miss a conclusion at the end that would have offered a reflection of the book because every chapter is written for different authors would have been good a final conclusion from the editor, but apart from that I really like it, I think if you are a fan from BTVS and would like to read something academic about it but not feel bored or overwhelmed by insignificant details like it happened to me trying to read other essays related with the show, this is your book

[Gill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thoughtful set of essays looking at the show as cultural artefact and set in its period, which is, horrifically, twenty years ago now - at least, S2 is. I particularly enjoyed the discussion of the British reception and the attempts by TV channels to put the Buffyverse into a "box" - I still haven't really forgiven C4 for what they did to Angel, while at least the Beeb had later screenings of uncensored episodes. In places a little dated, inevitably, but still refreshingly prepared to take this seminal show seriously.

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Didn’t really connect with the essays in this one (a lot of focus on the marketing and such rather than the actual material) but far and way my favorite essay was “At Stake: Angel’s body, fantasy masculinity, and queer desire in teen television”. Finally someone who understands that Angel is MEANT to be a damsel in Buffy.

[Loreen ☕️]

0 stars because I skimmed most of the book since many/most of the essays are so out of date.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been a "Buffy" fan for a very long time but hadn't read any of the books analyzing the show until I read Evan Ross Katz's "Into Every Generation A Slayer is Born", which is great and I highly recommend for "Buffy" fans. Reading Katz's book brought to my attention the litany of academic books written on the subject of Buffy both as a character and as a show. As a result, I started trying to obtain copies of these books because I thought they sounded interesting.

I started with Undead TV because it sounded like one of the more interesting options. While the early chapters in the book were interesting they focused more on the media and popular culture impact of the series. While these analyses obviously have merit, I am more interested in the perspectives that happen in later chapters. Specifically, I really enjoyed chapter 5 ("Race and Displacement in Buffy and Angel), chapter 6 ("Angel's Body, Fantasy Masculinity and Queer Desire in Teen Television") and chapter 8 ("Defining Feminism and Femininity"). The analyses provided in these chapters made me think differently about the way that I viewed the show and provide an analytical way of looking at certain episodes and characters.

If you are a fan of the series I think that you would enjoy this book, but you do have to be prepared for a few chapters that lean more academic in nature (both in content and language). However, the chapters that focus on the show and branch out to bring in the academic analyses inward are worth the read.

[Pamster · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first essays are all about things like the impact of the show, marketing of the show, fan interaction with the show, etc. I am way more interested in criticism of the show itself. Give me readings of that text until the end of time, and I'll be happy. So I put it down for a while, not all that engaged, but then picked it back up & the next 2 essays were awesome. One is about race in Buffy and Dark Angel (which I haven't watched). It says that BtVS "depicts the whiteness of Buffy and her friends with a forthrightness that is rare on series TV, or in the broader culture . . . The series consistently investigates whiteness as a cultural construction and presumption, by parody, by metaphor, and, occasionally . . . by contrast." Love it! Super interesting ideas. Okay, and then there's the next one, covering both BtVS and AtS, on the queering of Angel's body. Omg. Yes. That one is so my favorite.

[Melissa Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. As it is a collection on varying topics and by different authors, some chapters were better than others. But I certainly enjoyed reading it. While I am pretty versed on Buffy, my eyes were opened to some aspects of the show and it's connected literature that I hadn't even thought of. Would recommend to Buffy lovers!

[Meg]

I was reading this in university when I was very busy with schoolwork, so I didn't get a chance to finish it. I would really like to get back to it someday.

[BibliofiendLM · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely interesting perspectives on the Buffyverse from an academic angle.