Why The Very Strange Buffy The Vampire Pilot Nearly Killed The Show

Sarah Michelle Gellar's Buffy The Vampire Slayer is by all accounts a cultural staple of sci-fi television. Though after the initial Buffy pilot was shot, our favorite vampire slayer almost didn't see daylight. Luckily a new pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was shot, and the rest is history. But what exactly was so bad about the original Buffy pilot?

#buffythevampireslayer #buffy #nerdstalgic

[trinaq]

Watching the original pilot is like seeing the rehearsal before the actual play: All the lines and moments are already present, but it just feels drastically incomplete.

[blurrble]

I feel bad for the original actress, but I can't imagine Buffy without Alison Hanigan

[wildermidnight]

Hannigan was pivotal to the success of Buffy. It was Hannigan liking the band Nerf herder that got them to do the shows opening theme. Willow was also intended to go dark as eary as season two but the characters popularity put that particular sub plot on the back burner until season six. Without Allyson the show might have had a completely different feel.

[BuffyFan]

The unaired pilot didn't fail. It did the only thing it was ever meant to do. It sold the show. It was never meant to be the actual first episode or shown to the public in any way and always meant to be exactly as it ended up being. It was something to show studio heads and convince them to greenlight a season. Things always change from pilots to the next filmed episode: _The Nanny_ changed sets, this show changed actors and actresses, _Game of Thrones_ re-filmed, scripts always change. These are only a few examples. The movie failed in box office numbers and the producer (oddly, the same one that eventually had a hand in cancelling Joss's later _Firefly_ TV Show) asked Joss if he would like to do a series based off it. So he wrote the unaired pilot to pitch the idea to Networks and The WB said yes.

[amandaredd]

They were smart to redo it and bring in Allison Hannigan and David Boreanaz. This show is my teen years and I absolutely love everything about it ❤

[WyomingGuy]

Riff Regan has been working as a Director of Operations, Accounting and Human Resources for a non-profit HIV/AIDS organization in Washington, DC for the past 4 years.

Retired from the entertainment industry in 2003. Lives in Boston, MA, working at a start-up out of Harvard University, as of 2013.

[Zaxbox]

It's odd that Regan never showed up in the series as another character. She could have stuck around like Jonathan.

[ninjanibba]

Im glad to have finally watched this show along with Angel last year after hearing about it for years, I definitely understand the popularity it has

[lonellfletcher]

Its always about the little details and moments, every decision when it comes to casting and writing. It makes all the difference.

[trinaq]

Riff Regan, AKA the original Willow, was alright in this role, but Alyson Hanningan was undeniably the better choice. I feel bad for Regan, in that she narrowly missed out on a huge opportunity, but her Willow was just too confident.

[myladynoir]

Willow is my absolute favorite ❤️ and Hannigan is brilliant - one of my favorite actors of all time. So glad they recast and made Buffy the wonderful masterpiece it is today! Also, side note, I love the original movie in all it's cheesy glory. The scene where the vamp overacts his death is my favorite 😅

[zahrans]

I wear the cheese, it does not wear me

[salt-emoji]

I don't think there is any other show that more people know about but haven't watched.

[kkre]

Buffy and Nerdstalgic!! A match made in heaven!!

[thegunslinger]

"Out . For . A . Walk.... BIT**!" Such a brilliant a show.

[JhadeSagrav]

"Hannigan's delivery is effortlessly funny.."
_Willow, have you been drinking coffee again?_
_HA haaaa it makes me jumpy!_ { runs away }
-Lie To Me
^^ i had to rewind that and watch it like 6 times cuz i laughed through it every time

[LookinGoodAnya]

1:15 don't you disparage this death scene! It's so over the top, it's amazing. Also the guy looks and acts like Nic Cage so the ridiculousness is totally appropriate.

[killianlpc]

Unfortunate for Riff Regan, but it's almost impossible to imagine anyone else playing Willow other than Alyson Hannigan. As we know SMG originally read to play the part of Cordelia, and Katie Holmes was going to be Buffy etc etc. It's all ifs and buts now, I think the original pilot was quite good and had a definite charm about it. There was one terrific scene in it when Buffy does a gymnastic vault jump in the library, this should have been left in the show E1 proper, but it was taken out.

[Fledhyris]

First thing that struck me both with the video itself, and all the comments, about how Regan played the role of Willow, is that it wasn't the actress' choice. She did what she was directed to do. Who knows if she could have pulled off a much quirkier Willow if she'd been given the chance? I'm thinking that after the pilot, they decided to make some changes, like shows always do once accepted to a network, and planned changes for the character - but we don't know for sure that Regan was replaced because she couldn't do it. There could be any number of reasons - maybe Joss or the casting director just had a Eureka moment and thought 'we gotta get Alyson!' And I am sorry for Riff missing the iconic role, but so, so glad we got Alyson because her Willow was one of the best parts of an incredible show. No shade to SMG (or anyone else) but Alyson was the best actor on that show by miles.

[giottocook]

You should definitely do an episode about the heart of Scooby-Doo, that being the friendship the gang share despite their differences.