Bite Me!: The Unofficial Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer

by Nikki Stafford

It's been ten years since Buffy Summers first walked into the Sunnydale High library and came face-to-face with her Watcher, who told her she was the Chosen One who would save the world from vampires. In the seven seasons that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on TV, we watched her kill her true love (but he got better), graduate high school (by blowing it up), discover she had a sister (who ... uh ... was always there?), sacrifice her own life (but she got better), watch her sidekicks become heroes (and villains), and, essentially, grow up.

Bite Me!, Nikki Stafford's critical analysis of the show, was one of the bestselling and most critically acclaimed books on Buffy when it was released in 2002. Current up to season 6, the book examined Buffy's development, and outlined the mythical, religious, and historical backgrounds to the episodes. Nikki's guide to season 7 appeared in her Angel book, but there was never one place where fans could get their Buffy fix all in one place. Until now.

Revised and updated, the 10th Buffyversary edition of Bite Me! contains all seven seasons of this groundbreaking series, chronicles what happened to all of its stars, gives the background story to why the series ended and what legacy it has had, and even contains information about the new Buffy "season eight" comic book series from Dark Horse. Bite Me! is the definitive guide for all Buffy fans.

Genres: Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Nonfiction, Vampires, Tv, Paranormal, Pop Culture, Reference

429 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even with the full extra star given to anything related to Joss Whedon or Buffy the Vampire Slayer this book rates only four stars. I would be very dismayed if Ms. Stafford has ever had any other thing she's written published and it makes me sad that her treatment of this very intelligent and ground-breaking series was the one published. She writes like an over-enthusiastic tenth-grader talking to her friends about how super awesome her favorite show is. Compound sentences are rife with subject-verb disagreement, she relies excessively on the same transitional phrases, and spelling and grammar errors can be found on an inordinate number of pages for a professionally published book. I also take issue with the fact that her "Episode Guides" are more like reviews, showcasing her personal opinion and copious amounts of "nitpicks." These nitpicks are sometimes laughable, in that I could come up with several perfectly reasonable explanations for much of what she seems to find contradictory about the events of the show.
I find the most egregious of her excessively belabored opinions to be that Riley is "boring" and his relationship with Buffy has no chemistry. I might actually be a little more critical of her because of this opinion, because I really love that Joss gave Buffy the opportunity to see how she would related with a "nice, normal" guy. If Buffy's only relationships in the show had been with men who had superhero powers and "darkness" in them, we would never know (and neither would she) if she could have a "normal" relationship. It's precisely because the Riley relationship did not work out that we are able to accept Buffy and Spike together.
On a more positive note, the actor bio's were very thorough, it was interesting to read about the Posting Board Parties (I think BtVS might be the first show to truly embrace the online fans), and the quiz was appropriately challenging. I was a little confused by the chapter on "Little Willow" who is a prominent member of the posting board and runs many of the official websites of the cast. It was interesting to read about her, but I don't know that she is due an entire chapter in a book like this. I would be more interested in the Posting Board member who was eventually hired as a writer on Angel. I would also have liked more on Andy Hallett, Mercedes McNab, Adam Busch, Danny Strong, and Tom Lenk. In fact, I think that as the most "recurring" recurring character on Buffy, Danny definitely deserved a bio.
Having said all that; however, this is a welcome addition to any Buffy fan's collection of reference material.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was ok. I loved the TV series... hate to admit but I kinda liked the Angel series better... but I did love this show. Reading this guide was like having a conversation about the show. Some opinions I agreed with and others I did not.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of me wishes that I had waited for the latest edition, but this version is still very informative and entertaining.

Stafford's (previously) new edition of Bite Me! includes extended biographies/filmographies for all of the major cast members of Buffy and Angel through seasons 6 and 3 respectively. There are also detailed highlights from the official Buffy forum "Posting Board Parties," as well as interesting facts and insights into Buffy's online community. A trivia quiz is included (with a ton of ridiculously obscure questions), and finally lengthy episode reviews of Buffy and Angel.

The reviews were cool to clarify some of the background mythology or cast information from each episode - it's clear Stafford is an avid Buffy reader and really knows her Sunnydale ins and outs. I don't always agree with her assessments, but she does specify that they're just her opinions based on multiple viewings. I found her critiques of the infamous season 6 to be pretty enlightening too, since she tries to show that it wasn't as bad as a lot of us thought. I also deeply appreciate that I didn't have to wait for new episodes after months long stretches.

Just an interesting observation that Stafford seems to like Angel better than Buffy, though she is still an avid Buffy fan. Her critiques of the Angel episodes are much more positive and compliment the style, form, and writing of the episodes rather than questioning inconsistencies and dismissing whole scenes or episodes (like some in Buffy).

A great read for background info and for a companion while rewatching the show.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

No matter if you are a passive fan, or a Whedonite, this book is bound to have something that you will enjoy. It helps connect some of the behind the scene controversies with the WB and Fox and gives in depth commentaries of each episode. What I found the most appealing about this book however, was how it showed the connections between the episodes, highlighting Joss's ability to draw back themes and moments from season one and make them relevant for the entire series. Taking on a task such as writing a comprehensive book about one of the biggest cult classics out there, is monumental and this book did not disappoint.

The only downside of this book was Nikki Stafford .The author will at times inject a little too much of her own opinion into what should be an unbiased commentary. I found myself countless times yelling right back at the book as she made a flippant remark for one thing or another. Often, she becomes too wrapped up in the episode and doesn't realize the bigger picture. That being said, I do not envy her this task and I think she did an admirable job.

I highly recommend this book. It renews whatever hidden passion you have in the show and makes you want to curl up on the sofa and have a marathon.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nikki Stafford's episode guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer succeeds in a way that nearly no other guidebook does: As a fresh, inviting and casual guide, written in a breezy conversational style that makes for an entirely pleasant and easily-consumed experience. Having read several episode guides for a number of different shows, I know how rare it is to find such an approach; as a result, this is one of the very few guidebooks on the market in which readers could find themselves plowing from one entry to the next to the next - as opposed to the dryness of most books of this nature, which encourage a reader to put the book down after just a few pages. While the content only briefly touches on critiques, insight and themes, there are certain to be found various behind-the-scenes stories that other books leave out. If not the most discursive book of this sort, it's possibly the most casually readable. Not my choice for the best guidebook on the market, but certainly a very fun one.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an interesting enough read. Some of her opinions I disagreed with, others I felt she was spot on. But that's the thing about opinions. There's no right or wrong. But as a "guide" I would expect the factual sections to be, well, factual. There were a few points scattered here and there that were incorrect but I was willing to overlook them.

But then the book completely lost me after reading (*spoiler alert*) in the write-up for episode 2.10 (What's My Line Part 2), about Kendra: "So why does she return to Africa?" What the what? Africa? Seriously? How does she confuse Jamaica (especially considering the horribly awful Jamaican accent that the poor actress was forced to assume) with Africa? That broke it for me. Not bothering to read the rest. It's a pretty big mistake. And an offensive one to boot. Book closed. On to the next one.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book, split into two sections, biographies of the actors and then an episode guide. The bios were good, I learned things I hadn't known, especially with insider bits of the show itself. The episode guide was odd, didn't really outline what happened in each episode, glossed over or completely ignored much but picked an element or two to dissect. Much more concerned with themes than specifics. Still, I enjoyed it.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this because I'm doing the Buffy rewatch and had never read Nikki's book. The version I got from my library only went up to Season 6, which was kind of a shame. I enjoyed this book a lot, learned a lot of facts and read it in one sitting.

My only quibble was that I didn't really care to read about the posting board party and I skipped that section.

I plan to read the Angel book too, once I'm further along in the series.

[Bron · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book for the background it gave me on the cast and crew of Buffy, and reading the episode analyses was a nice way of reliving the episodes again, but I thought it was a real shame Nikki Stafford hated Beer Bad, Superstar, and Buffy's mum so much! (Especially Superstar, I thought that was a really clever episode.) It's all personal opinion though, so fair enough.

[Lida · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh. Not a fan of the writing style-- too poppy for me. Lots about the actors and how they got famous, complete with captions like "the sexy James Marsters." But does have a comprehensive list of all the episodes from season 1-7, including bloopers and plotholes and things like that. But more of a fandom handbook than a text that would be considered Buffy Studies.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive unofficial guide to the series. The episode summaries/critiques are well thought out and entertaining; definitely worth a read if you're more than a casual fan of the series!

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

On its own it's a little thin and fanzine-ish, but when you are trying to remember which episode featured Anya dressed as a giant bunny, it's indispensable.

[Lela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this in 2005 or 2006 and I still read it regularly to this day. Especially if I'm watching my Buffy DVD's.

[Karen-Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Buffy this was delicious.

[Joanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has spoilers