Reading the Vampire Slayer: The Complete, Unofficial Guide to 'Buffy' and 'Angel' (Reading Contemporary Television)

The first edition of Reading the Vampire Slayer was highly praised in both the fan magazine SFX and the Times Literary Supplement . This second edition is hugely revised and expanded to cover the sixth and seventh seasons of Buffy and the third and fourth seasons of Angel . It contains chapters on the relationship between Buffy and the lovelorn vampire Spike and on the thematic structure of Angel , as well as interviews on the writing of Buffy with scriptwriters Jane Espenson and Steven DeKnight. Individual chapters have been updated and the useful episode guide is expanded to cover all seven seasons of Buffy and the four seasons of Angel , as is Roz Kaveney's general introduction to the scenes and structures of each season . Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer was for its seven season run perhaps the most original popular television show of the last decade. It put an inventive spin on vampires and demons, partly for thrills, partly as eloquent metaphors for teen and young adult angst, varying its tone from comic surrealism to moments of intense, almost operatic passion. Reading the Vampire Slayer was much praised on its first appearance as the indispensable and accessible companion to Buffy and its spin-off series Angel. This radically expanded and revised new edition is the only book to explore the complete Buffy. The editor's introduction now considers the themes and structures of the seven seasons of Buffy and the ways in which its final season rounded these off, as well as considering four seasons of Angel.Updated and wholly new chapters consider California and Los Angeles as Hellscapes; the theme of personality and performance in both shows; the way Angel uses non-traditional family structures as an emotional armature; the importance of space and of locations such as Buffy's home and school, Giles' Magic Shop and Angel's hotel. They follow the transgressive heterosexuality of Buffy's relationship with the vampire Spike and the knowing flirtation of the shows with a fan culture fascinated by subtextually-implied lesbian and gay relationships between characters. New attention is paid to Buffy's controversially dark and adult sixth season and to the seventh and final one. Bada bing! What drama. ‘The most important work of American popular culture in fifty years'is how the New York Times describes The Sopranos. Critically-acclaimed, award-winning, and the most watched show on HBO, the mobster drama swirls around the middle-aged Mafioso, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). Having to negotiate two families, both at home and at work, is it any wonder he is suffering an epic midlife crisis involving Prozac and visits to a therapist? The series quickly became compulsory watching when it first screened back in 1999 and has since gone on to become an international hit and subject of intense discussion. Coinciding with the sixth and penultimate series, Reading The Sopranos offers a timely response to one of the most talked about shows on television. This book explores how The Sopranos has rewritten the rules of television drama and changed attitudes about television itself. Contributors present fresh perspectives on psychotherapy and dreams; racism and the Italian- American community; Carmela and post-feminism; The Sopranos as an HBO brand; racism; the full cast of ‘gangsters Italianate'that people Sopranos'New Jersey and much more. Reading The Sopranos also features a timeline, character list and complete episode guide, as well as editor David Lavery's up to date ‘Intertextual Moments and Allusions on The Sopranos'. Essays and analysis of the television programs Buffy the vampire slayer and Angel. Includes an episode guide to all seven seasons of Buffy and to the first four seasons of Angel, as well a critical overview of those seasons' principal themes and structures.