Buffyverse canon

The "Buffyverse" canon consists of materials that are thought to be genuine (or "official") and those events, characters, settings, etc., that are considered to have inarguable existence within the fictional universe established by the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". The Buffyverse is expanded through other additional materials such as comics, novels, pilots, promos and video games which do not necessarily take place in exactly the same fictional continuity as the "Buffy" episodes and "Angel" episodes. "Star Trek", "Star Wars", "Stargate" and other prolific sci-fi and fantasy franchises have similarly gathered complex fictional continuities through hundreds of stories told in different formats.
Definition.
Using the religious analogy of a canon of scripture (see Biblical canon), things that are not canon are considered "apocryphal." When a body of work is not specifically accepted or rejected by an authority, "canon" can be a fluid term that is interpreted differently by different people. This is the case with ""Buffyverse" canon", which has yet to be publicly defined by an authority to the satisfaction and consensus of all observers (see: links to canon debates). The creator of the Buffyverse, Joss Whedon, has implied that additional materials he was not heavily involved in creating were separate from canon. When asked in an interview about canon, Whedon stated:
Canon listing.
This is an overview of what has been dubbed official "Buffyverse" canon by the series creator Joss Whedon:
Comics and novels.
Outside of the TV series, the Buffyverse has been expanded and elaborated on by various authors and artists in the so-called ""Buffyverse" Expanded Universe". The "Buffyverse" novels and "Buffyverse" comics are licensed by 20th Century Fox, but are generally considered 'less real' within the "Buffyverse" (apocryphal).
Despite this, they have been licensed as official "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Angel" merchandise. Furthermore, many authors have said that Whedon or his office have had to approve their overall outline for their novel or comic if not the final product. This was to prevent the stories venturing too far from the original intentions of "Buffy/Angel" stories (see below). These works are commonly considered non-canon. Jeff Mariotte, author of "Buffyverse" novels and comics has said:
Works by "Buffyverse" writers and cast.
Joss Whedon.
Work created with Joss Whedon's involvement has been described as canon by commentators, and by Whedon himself. For example, he announced in 2005:
In a separate interview, Whedon spoke of the planning process for the series:
Whedon has also written the comic mini-series "Long Night's Journey", as well as short stories for "Tales of the Slayers" and "Tales of the Vampires".
"Fray" is an eight-part comic series written by Whedon, about a Vampire Slayer of the future named Melaka Fray. In the Buffyverse, a powerful scythe used by Buffy is found in centuries to come by Melaka Fray. In 2001, whilst Whedon was still producing "Buffy", he spoke about his concern of implications of information established by Fray (and "Buffy" comics generally) affecting the canon Buffyverse:
However, the "Buffy" series finale did not match continuity set by "Fray". In "Fray" no mention is made of the Slayer's essence being split amongst multiple women. When asked about the apparent contradictions between "Buffy" and "Fray", Whedon responded:
In an interview with "TV Guide", Whedon revealed that he considered TV tie-in comics to be "ancillary" unless written by the script-writers:
Mutant Enemy.
Several of the comics have been written by the scriptwriters of Mutant Enemy Productions. Doug Petrie wrote comics "Ring of Fire", "Double Cross", and "Bad Dog".
Jane Espenson has written comics ("Haunted", "Jonathan", and "Reunion"), as well as two "Tales of the Slayer" prose shorts ("Again, Sunnydale" and "Two Teenage Girls at the Mall"). Rebecca Rand Kirshner also wrote a prose short story for "Tales of the Slayer", "The War Between the States".
"Buffyverse" cast.
Two actors have co-authored comics with Christopher Golden. James Marsters, who portrayed Spike, co-authored "Paint the Town Red", whilst Amber Benson co-authored "Willow & Tara". Benson also wrote the comic short story "The Innocent".
Works by other authors.
All other "Buffyverse" comics and novels were written by authors that were not involved with any level of production of the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" or "Angel". The creators of these works are generally free to tell their own stories set in the Buffyverse, and may or may not keep to established continuity. Similarly, writers for the TV series were under no obligation to use continuity which has been established by the Expanded Universe, and sometimes contradicted it.
Continuity problems.
Usually the authors and editors of these licensed materials try not to contradict information that has been established by canon. However, many of the materials do directly contradict it. Jeff Mariotte has said:
For example, according to "Monster Island", Spike and Gunn meet in the Hyperion Hotel in Angel Season 3; however, the canonical "Angel" TV series later established that Spike and Gunn meet in the Wolfram and Hart L.A. offices in Angel Season 5.
Some of the licensed materials successfully avoid contradicting any information given in episodes. For example, "How I Survived My Summer Vacation" features short stories that take place after Buffy Season 1 but before Season 2.
Joss Whedon's involvement.
A number of comments by "Buffyverse" writers have indicated that although they know they are not writing "Buffyverse" canon, overviews for their stories may still have been checked over by Whedon.
Referring to Whedon, Christopher Golden said:
In a separate interview, Golden said:
Similarly, Peter David was asked about his comic, "", and said:
Jeff Mariotte has revealed more detail of the approval process:
Mariotte implies that little input is given, only acceptance or rejection of general ideas:
When asked how much attention he pays to licensed works, Whedon said:
Elsewhere, Whedon has pointed out that he has never entirely read a single Buffy novel, and has little time to devote to such material. He therefore knows little of the final product, or of their quality control.
Sanction by Joss Whedon.
In one instance, Whedon has endorsed a comic neither written nor supervised by him, "The Origin" by Christopher Golden and Dan Brereton, as canonical. An adaptation of the 1992 "Buffy" film which was reworked to fit the television series' continuity, Whedon said this of the comic:
Brian Lynch, writer of ' and ', had no involvement in the production of the "Buffy" or "Angel" television series, but was charged by Joss Whedon with producing the canonical comic series "". Betta George, a character created by Lynch, has since been brought into the official canon. "Angel: After the Fall" also makes explicit reference to "Spike: Asylum" within its pages. When "After the Fall" became an ongoing series penned by various writers, the canonicity of later stories became somewhat nebulous without the explicit say-so of those involved or Whedon himself.
Other "Buffy" productions.
Excluding the "Buffy" and "Angel" television episodes, novels, and comics, there have been a variety of other official productions in the "Buffy" franchise. They are largely regarded as apocryphal, and some are contradicted by other canonical works.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1992 film).
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer", the 1992 comedy film starring Kristy Swanson as Buffy, was written by Joss Whedon and directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui. In 2001, Whedon described his experience watching the film:
The film contradicts continuity established by the "Buffy" television series; for example, the nature of vampires differs in significant ways: in the film, vampires do not have "vamp" faces whilst feeding, and can fly. They also do not turn into dust when killed. As noted above, the canonicity of this film is superseded by "The Origin".
Television pilots.
Whedon wrote and partly funded a 25-minute unaired "Buffy" pilot to help sell the series concept, but he was not happy with the final product (he has been quoted in an interview about the pilot, "It sucks on ass"). The story is nearly identical to the plot of the first "Buffy" episode, "Welcome to the Hellmouth", which supersedes it in canon; there are minor canonical changes, including the recasting of some roles and slight personality changes for some characters.
The unaired Angel pitch tape was produced prior to that series. It features Angel speaking toward the camera (possibly breaking the Fourth wall) and narrating action seen in clips.
Video games.
The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" video games do not contradict continuity established by the series. Furthermore, many of the actors from the shows have provided their voices for the games. Joss Whedon was involved in "", and appears in the game's special features.
Undeveloped productions.
Mutant Enemy Productions have at various times gone into the early stages of development with potential "Buffyverse" spinoffs that were ultimately unproduced. "Faith the Vampire Slayer", "Ripper", "Slayer School", and the "Spike" movie would have taken place within the same fictional continuity. "Buffy the Animated Series" might have followed a slightly alternative continuity since promotional artwork has shown that the Sunnydale High library would have looked dramatically different from in the "Buffy" episodes.
The David Fury-written script "Corrupt" establishes an alternative continuity after the premiere "Angel" episode, "City of". Events that take place in the story are instead superseded by the continuity of the second "Angel" episode, "Lonely Hearts", the episode which was written to replace "Corrupt".
Unofficial works.
Various works are not licensed by 20th Century Fox as "Buffy/Angel" merchandise, and do not have any involvement from any "Buffyverse" cast and crew. These include adult (pornographic) parodies and fan films.