Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that answer the question.
Query: How many seasons does Buffy the Vampire Slayer have?
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is an American television series created by Joss Whedon, which premiered on March 10, 1997. It concluded on May 20, 2003, after seven seasons with 144 episodes in total, plus an unaired pilot episode.
The storyline was continued in a series of comic books produced by Joss Whedon and published by Dark Horse Comics, which serve as a canonical continuation of the television series. The series, which began in 2007 with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight", followed by "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine" in 2011, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten" in 2014, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven" in 2016, and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Twelve" in 2018, which was the final season of the comic book series.
"The Body" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the supernatural drama television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". The episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on the WB network in the United States on February 27, 2001. In the series, Buffy Summers is a teenager chosen by mystical forces and endowed with superhuman powers to defeat vampires, demons, and other evils in the fictional town of Sunnydale. She is supported in her struggles by a close circle of friends and family, nicknamed the Scooby Gang. In "The Body", Buffy is powerless as she comes upon her lifeless mother, who has died of a brain aneurysm.
Each season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (often simplified as "Buffy") presents an overall story arc which episodes tie into, as well as a specific manifestation of evil known as the Big Bad. As noted by "Buffy" scholar Roz Kaveney, episodes in the fourth season address authority, order, and the estrangement from the self and others as Buffy and her friends take on new roles after high school. An ongoing theme in the series is Buffy's complex relationship to her destiny as the current Slayer and how she uniquely expresses this role, and this plot element is further explored in season four in general, and in the episode "Restless" in particular.
Veteran "Buffy" director James A. Contner (also co-producer) directed the highest amount of episodes in the first season, directing four episodes. David Greenwalt directed two, including the season finale.
Beginning with this season, both "Angel" and its parent series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" aired on The WB Television Network. Both shows aired on Tuesdays, "Buffy" at 8:00 PM ET, and "Angel" at 9:00 PM ET. The first season of "Angel" aired along with the fourth season of "Buffy". Both shows would feature crossover episodes where characters would appear on the other show. Along with the title character Angel (David Boreanaz), Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) appeared as main characters on the new series.
At the end of the third season of "Buffy", the 242-year-old, re-ensouled vampire Angel left Sunnydale to give teenage Slayer Buffy Summers the chance to live a normal life. Angel is now living in the big city of Los Angeles. With Buffy gone Angel is now completely cut off from society, every day getting closer and closer to giving in to his vampiric hunger. It's not until he befriends the half demon and fellow Irishman Doyle, who is sent visions of people in trouble by The Powers That Be, and fellow Sunnydale resident Cordelia Chase, who grounds Angel's life in the humanity around him, that he truly begins to take charge of his life and seek atonement for his past sins. He sets up his own detective agency, Angel Investigations and begins to "help the helpless".
Buffy Summers (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar) is the "Slayer", one in a long line of young women chosen by fate to battle evil forces. This mystical calling endows her with powers that dramatically increase physical strength, endurance, agility, accelerated healing, intuition, and a limited degree of clairvoyance, usually in the form of prophetic dreams. She has returned from death twice and is known as a reluctant hero who wants to live a normal life. However, she learns to embrace her destiny as the vampire slayer.
Angel's first appearance is in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" in 1997. In it, he meets the protagonist Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a young girl destined to fight evil in the small town of Sunnydale, California. For the first half of the season, Angel is an enigmatic love interest for Buffy, showing up only to offer her cryptic messages about upcoming threats. It isn't until the episode "Angel" that the character is revealed to be a benevolent vampire from Galway, Ireland, who immigrated to the United States to escape his past as the sadistic Angelus after his soul was restored by a vengeful gypsy clan. Although uneasy about trusting a vampire, Buffy and the Scooby Gang eventually come to view Angel as an ally. In the second season (1997–1998), Buffy and Angel's romantic relationship develops and the pair make love in the episode "Surprise". For experiencing a moment of pure happiness, however, the gypsy curse on Angel is revoked, unleashing his soulless alter-ego, who reunites with his old friends, vampires Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau), and begins terrorizing Buffy and her friends. Upon discovering gypsy descendent Jenny Calendar (Robia LaMorte), who is working to translate the text of a spell to restore Angel's soul, Angelus murders her by breaking her neck, and places her body in the bed of her boyfriend, Giles (Anthony Head), for him to discover. Angelus then attempts to destroy the world by awakening the demon Acathla. In the season finale, neophyte witch Willow (Alyson Hannigan) manages to restore Angel's soul at the last moment, but Buffy is forced to kill him to save the world from Acathla, and Angel is sent to hell. In season three (1998–1999), episode three, "Faith, Hope & Trick", Angel is inexplicably returned from hell by an unknown party and is soon found by Buffy. The Scooby Gang are outraged when they discover that Buffy has been secretly caring for him since his resurrection, but grudgingly accept him after he saves Willow's life in episode seven, "Revelations". In the episode "Amends", the primordial First Evil attempts to manipulate Angel to murder Buffy, but Angel chooses suicide instead by waiting for the sun to rise on Christmas morning. California's heatwave is suddenly interrupted by a freak snowstorm hiding the sun, sparing Angel's life, which he takes as a sign from above that he was brought back for a reason. Buffy and Angel initially attempt to be friends but eventually resume their romance. However, Angel becomes more and more aware of their limitations as a couple and breaks up with her in the hopes that she will be happier without him, leaving Sunnydale altogether after attending Buffy's prom and helping her in the battle against Mayor Wilkins (Harry Groener).
After attempting to start a new life in Los Angeles, Buffy returns to town in season three. Angel has mysteriously been released from the demon dimension, but is close to insanity due to the torment he suffered there, and is nearly driven to suicide by the First Evil. He and Buffy realize that a relationship between them can never happen; he eventually leaves Sunnydale at the end of the season. A new watcher named Wesley is put in Giles' place when Giles is fired from the Watcher's Council because he has developed a "father's love" for Buffy; and towards the end of the season, Buffy announces that she will no longer be working for the Council. Early in the season, she meets Faith, the Slayer activated after Kendra's death. She also encounters the affable Mayor Richard Wilkins, who secretly has plans to "ascend" (become a "pure" demon) on Sunnydale High's Graduation Day. Although Faith initially works well with Buffy, she becomes increasingly unstable after accidentally killing a human and forms a relationship with the paternal yet manipulative Mayor, eventually landing in a coma after a fight with Buffy. At the end of the season, after the Mayor becomes a huge snake-like demon, Buffy and the entire graduating class destroy him by blowing up Sunnydale High.
"Buffy" did not compete with shows on the main four networks (CBS, ABC, NBC, and Fox), but The WB was impressed with the young audience that the show was bringing in. Because of this, The WB ordered a full season of 22 episodes for the series' second season. Beginning with the episode "Innocence," which was watched by 8.2 million people, "Buffy" was moved from Monday at 9:00 pm to launch The WB's new night of programming on Tuesday. Due to its large success in that time slot, it remained on Tuesdays at 8:00 pm for the remainder of its original run. With its new timeslot on The WB, the show quickly climbed to the top of The WB ratings and became one of their highest-rated shows for the remainder of its time on the network. The show always placed in the top 3, usually only coming in behind "7th Heaven". Between seasons three and five, "Buffy" flip-flopped with "Dawson's Creek" and "Charmed" as the network's second highest-rated show.
The Vampire Diaries is an American supernatural drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the popular book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, 2009, and concluded on March 10, 2017, airing 171 episodes over eight seasons.
"The Vampire Diaries" is an American fantasy-drama television series which was first broadcast on The CW from 2009 to 2017, airing 171 episodes over 8 seasons. Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec adapted the TV series from L.J. Smith's novel series of the same name. Some of the characters appeared in the spin-off series, "The Originals".
SFPD officer Robert Dowling is introduced in the first issue of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine". He is investigating a series of murders of unmarked and unwounded Jane and John Does around the San Francisco area, which he hypothesized were vampires. After witnessing Buffy stake a vampire, he and his partner arrest her for homicide. After Buffy escapes custody, he declares her the target of a manhunt. After he is anonymously tipped off about the location of the real culprit, Severin, Dowling appears at the scene of a battle where Buffy and Spike are having their powers drained; he shoots Severin three times, hospitalizing him. Subsequently, he and his partner begin investigating vampires more strenuously until she too is turned. He is trained by Xander and Dawn both in how to kill vampires, and in understanding the difference between who the vampires once were and who they now are, using which he is able to kill his ex-partner. Dowling subsequently attempted to quit the force, but was put in charge of an anti-vampire task force instead, working alongside Buffy.
During Buffy's 17th birthday, Drusilla and Spike resurrect a powerful demon called "The Judge" (Brian Thompson) who can burn the humanity out of people and who claims to be invincible. After Buffy and Angel escape from his attack, the two finally consummate their relationship which brings Angel "a moment of perfect happiness" and ends up costing him his soul. Buffy wakes up in Angel's bed the following morning alone and frets about his disappearance. Later she returns to his apartment where he torments her about giving up her virginity to him. Buffy is left emotionally devastated and suffers further betrayal after she learns that Jenny Calendar is of gypsy origin and was sent to Sunnydale in order to prevent Angel from losing his soul, a mission in which she failed. Angel, now Angelus, joins forces with Spike and Drusilla as they intend to use the judge to wipe humanity off the Earth. The Scooby Gang show up to stop them and Buffy uses a rocket launcher to kill the judge and halt the vampire's plan. She then fights one on one with Angel for the first time but cannot kill him. Instead she forcibly kicks him in the testicles and leaves. Meanwhile, Willow finds out about Xander and Cordelia's relationship and falls out with Xander as a result, while Giles' relationship with Jenny is shattered due to her betrayal.
The series premiere of "The Vampire Diaries" on September 10, 2009, gave The CW its biggest series premiere, scoring 4.91 million viewers. Adding in DVR numbers, the ratings for the premiere swelled to an official 5.7 million viewers. In 2016, a "New York Times" study of the 50 TV shows with the most Facebook Likes found that "as with several other shows that focus on the supernatural", "The Vampire Diaries" was "slightly more popular outside of cities. That said, the show's fandom has the smallest amount of spatial variation of all 50 shows".
Jarett Wieselman of the "New York Post" listed the scene in which Buffy mimes staking The Gentlemen and its humorous misunderstandings by the other characters among the top five best "Buffy" moments, especially praising Sarah Michelle Gellar's (Buffy) comedic acting. Nikki Stafford, author of "Bite Me! The Unofficial Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer" writes "Hush" is "mind-blowing" and "one of the best hours of television ever". For Buffy studies scholar Roz Kaveney, the primary reason "Hush" was successful was the acting strengths of the central cast. "Hush" is Alyson Hannigan's (Willow) favorite episode of the "Buffy" series, and the one Nicholas Brendon (Xander) considers the most frightening. Series writer Jane Espenson stated the episode "redefined what an episode of television could do".
The gang does some growing up. Willow prevents Andrew from making a terrible mistake with the "Vampyr" book when he attempts to resurrect her long-dead girlfriend Tara, whose death he feels responsible for, and confronts his tendency to act impulsively – sometimes with good motivations – but without regard for other people's consent or feelings. He does however activate a digital recording of the personality of his friend and victim Jonathan Levinson. Some time later, after some soul searching, Andrew realizes he is gay. Meanwhile, Willow, ends her relationship with the demon witch Aluwyn, having grown apart, and Xander and Dawn decide to take things slow. Buffy and Spike confront the fact that they've grown closer to each other, and Buffy realizes she loves Spike, and they become a couple. Buffy stands by Spike when it appears that an evil outside force is controlling him at night, and they soon track this force down: an ancient vampire named Archaeus who is part of the same lineage as Spike and Angel, Archaeus having directly sired the Master. Temporarily getting away from the powerful demon, the group realize they will have to bring Angel in on the development. Buffy is able to put the events of "Season Eight", in which Angel was influenced by a higher power into being a villain, behind her, but there is initial awkwardness in the group as they attempt to confront Archaeus. However, working together, Buffy, Angel and Spike are able to wound Archaeus and kill his servants with the Scythe, so Archaeus flees. D'Hoffryn informs Buffy that a portal Archaeus was using, which opens into hell dimensions, is called the Restless Door and is being repaired by an alliance of enemies faced by the gang this season: the Old One, the Soul Glutton; the siren, Mistress; and the flesh demon, the Sculptor, who wish to overrun Earth with demons. Angel leaves to warn his friends in London, giving Spike his blessing and accepting a place as a friend in Buffy's life, but confides in Willow that he believes Spike's self-destructiveness will doom his relationship with Buffy.
An album including all 14 songs in the episode, with Christophe Beck's scores for three other "Buffy" episodes, was released by Rounder Records in September 2002 as season seven premiered. John Virant, president and chief executive of Rounder Records, told the "Los Angeles Times", "I remember watching the episode when it aired last October, and after it was over, I said to my wife, 'That's the best hour of TV I've ever seen. Someone should put that [soundtrack] out.' I inquired at Fox, just following up, and they said, 'Well, we tried, it didn't happen. If you want to take a run at it, feel free. AllMusic gives the album five out of five stars, stating that the music is "every bit as fun as the episode itself", praising the voices of Benson, Marsters and Head. Reviewer Melinda Hill states it is "a must-have for "Buffy" fans, but it wouldn't be out of place in anyone's collection".
Beverly Hills, 90210 is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling under his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for ten seasons on Fox—originally airing from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000. This, the longest-running show produced by Spelling, aired slightly longer than "Dynasty". It is the first of five television series in the "Beverly Hills, 90210" franchise and follows the lives of a group of friends living in the upscale and star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California as they transition from high school to college and into the adult world. The "90210" in the title refers to one of the city's five ZIP codes.
"Beverly Hills, 90210" is a United States primetime teen drama which ran on the FOX network for ten years, from October 4, 1990 to May 17, 2000. The series lasted for 304 episodes (a two-part pilot, 292 regular episodes and 11 specials). Note that the original pilot, which subsequently has aired, is not the original pilot of the show which did air.
The group was first referred to as the Scooby Gang by Xander Harris in the Season Two episode "What's My Line, Part One" as a reference to the group of monster-hunting teenagers from the Hanna-Barbera animated series "Scooby-Doo" that is otherwise known as Mystery Inc., who investigate and solve supernatural/occult monsters mysteries much like The Scoobies in Buffy. The first visible sign was in Season 1, Episode 11, where Willow is seen wearing a Scooby Doo T-shirt, Buffy sports the Daphne trademark neck scarf, and later Xander responds, "Can you say, 'Gulp'?" as Shaggy often does. Sarah Michelle Gellar, the actress who plays Buffy, would later also appear as Daphne Blake in the films "Scooby-Doo" and "".
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eleven is the sequel to the "Season Ten" comic book series, a canonical continuation of the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Buffy & Angel consist of only 12 issues per series, a much shorter run than the previous seasons, while the miniseries, Giles, runs for 4 issues. The series was published by Dark Horse Comics and began on November 23, 2016.
Dark Horse has published the "Buffy" comics since 1998. In 2003, Whedon wrote an eight-issue miniseries for Dark Horse Comics titled "Fray", about a Slayer in the future. Following the publication of "Tales of the Vampires" in 2004, "Dark Horse Comics" halted publication on Buffyverse-related comics and graphic novels. The company produced Whedon's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight" with forty issues from March 2007 to January 2011, picking up where the television show left off—taking the place of an eighth canonical season. The first story arc is also written by Whedon, and is called "The Long Way Home" which has been widely well-received, with circulation rivalling industry leaders DC and Marvel's top-selling titles. Also after "The Long Way Home" came other story arcs like Faith's return in "No Future for You" and a "Fray" cross-over in "Time of Your Life." Dark Horse later followed "Season Eight" with "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine", starting in 2011, and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten", which began in 2014.
"Where are They Now?" is a brief story released in a free sampler celebrating Dark Horse's 30th anniversary. Harmony, Clem, and a two-person film crew of a vampire and human are filming Harmony's documentary of how the world has changed now that the supernatural is known. She annoys Buffy over three days, calling her a relic that is no longer special since she broke the rules to give all the Slayers power, but also warns her that someone is apparently trying to kill her. Buffy is electrocuted by wires left in water in the laundry room. Harmony interrupts Buffy and Spike's date night, implying they have relationship problems, and the three of them stop an out-of-control streetcar from hurting anyone. On the third night she walks in on Buffy and Giles looking over old spell-books, and Giles remembers the human from the film crew as a former Watcher-in-training, deducing that he and the vampire cameraman are trying to kill Buffy, tired of her messing with primordial forces. Buffy slays the vampire, and the would-be Watcher is turned over to the police. Harmony believes that if a Watcher and vampire hate Buffy enough to work together, she should realise that rules exist for a reason, and that if she keeps breaking them she might break everything. Buffy ignores this, and Harmony is unsure if that makes her the best Slayer ever, or the worst.
"Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Nine" continues the plot thread from the previous series, focusing on Buffy and her core group of friends. After the Twilight crisis, in which she destroyed the 'Seed of Wonder' and consequently brought about the end of magic, Buffy is now living in San Francisco and must continue her duties as the Slayer. However, there is a new status quo in Buffy's personal life as well as in her Slayer career. For example, in the process of becoming a vampire, demons are no longer able to fully possess the dead, creating mindless creatures which Xander coins "zompires". Xander and Buffy's sister Dawn have settled into a quiet domestic life together, and Buffy's best friend Willow no longer possesses magical abilities. Andrew and Riley are still friends of Buffy's, but she sees them less frequently. Buffy lives with two seemingly normal roommates, Tumble and Anaheed, and the job of patrolling for vampires initially falls to Buffy and her ex-lover Spike, a vampire with a soul.