10 Unpleasant Facts About The Making Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show that likes to play with genres. Coming-of-age themes are packaged within a supernatural storyline that contains plenty of horrifying monsters and disturbing scenarios.

But despite these moments of darkness, the tone of the show is generally light-hearted and self-aware. Most episodes contain a fair degree of verbal and physical humour, and from an outsider’s perspective, Buffy the Vampire Slayer looks like a show that would have been really fun to make.

Though the cast and crew have plenty of fond memories of their time on the show, creating this cult classic wasn’t always a pleasant experience for them. Some cast members went through physical and mental pain during a number of scenes, and they weren’t always on board with what they were required to do, either. Budget constraints, gross details, and embarrassing scenarios were also prevalent during the making of the show.

Whilst it’s a shame that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was marred with a number of behind-the-scenes issues, there’s no denying these unpleasant facts are worth knowing about, and can completely alter the way you view certain scenes.

The sixth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is the most polarising. Some fans commend the grimy tone and the exploration of mature themes, whilst others believe the writers went too far and took the show to an unnecessarily dark place.

Unfortunately, Sarah Michelle Gellar falls into the latter category:

“I’ve always said that Season 6 was not my favourite. I felt it betrayed who she was.”

Buffy’s self-destructive relationship with Spike is probably what Gellar is referring to here, and this is understandable. Though Spike’s infatuation with the Slayer is established in the previous season, Buffy’s lust for the evil vampire is hard to take in when you watch Season 6 for the first time.

Interestingly enough, Joss Whedon holds the opposite view and has praised the sixth season for exploring the dynamics of an unhealthy relationship. But regardless of what you think of the run, Season 6 will always be a hot topic of conversation. Ten years from now, fans will still be arguing about it.