A popular American television show from the late 1990s through early 2000s, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has had a tremendous influence on popular culture that has attracted serious scholarly attention. Even the language used on the show has affected modern colloquial expressions.Susan Clerc, "Review of Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon," Journal of Popular Culture 38.2 (Nov 2004): 427–428. A noteworthy example of this pioneering is the fact that the first use on television of the phrase "to google" as a verb appeared on the show on October 15, 2002, in the fourth episode of the show's final season.
References in other works of fiction Buffy and its spinoff, Angel, which employed pop culture references as a frequent humorous device, have themselves also become a frequent pop culture reference in video games, comics and television shows, and have been frequently parodied and spoofed. Sarah Michelle Gellar, the actress who played Buffy, has herself participated in several parody sketches, including a Saturday Night Live sketch in which the Slayer is relocated to the Seinfeld universe,SNL (aired January 17, 1998) see 'doggans' (transcriber) SNL Transcripts: "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", Snltranscripts.jt.org (1997). and adding her voice to an episode of Robot Chicken that parodied a would-be eighth season of Buffy."Buffy Season 8" from Robot Chicken Season 1, episode 4 (aired March 13, 2005). See: Whedonesque.com . There are also several adult parodies of Buffy, web comics, and music.
Television Sketch shows There have been a number of spoofs of Buffy on notable TV comedy sketch shows. In chronological order:
MADtv (1997) – "Buffy the Umpire Slayer" sketch in which Nicole Sullivan starred as 'Buffy'."Buffy the Umpire Slayer" on MADtv Season 3, episode 8, aired November 1997:Madtv.com entry , The clip features Buffy, Willow (Lisa Arch), Xander, and Giles attempting to control the threat from blood-sucking baseball umpires. Saturday Night Live – Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in a sketch first aired on 1998, in which the Slayer was relocated to the Seinfeld universe, starring as an Elaine Benes version of Buffy. The sketch portrayed Jerry Seinfeld (Will Ferrell), George Costanza (Darrell Hammond), and Cosmo Kramer (Jim Breuer) as vampires.SNL Season 24, episode 19, aired May 15, 1999: transcript MADtv (2001) – Michelle Trachtenberg appeared in a sketch that has been entitled "Bunny the Vampire Slayer" by MADtv, and features the MADtv recurring character, Bunny Swan, (more commonly known as "Ms. Swan)"."Bunny the Vampire Slayer" on MADtv Season 7, episode 7, aired November 24, 2001: Madtv.com The five-minute clip includes Trachtenberg as Dawn Summers coming face to face with Bunny Swan in a graveyard. Bunny tells Dawn that she is her aunt, and also the slayer. It also includes cast members Andrew Daly as Spike, Mo Collins as Willow and Stephnie Weir as Tara. V Graham Norton – When Anthony Head appeared on Norton's show, he spoofed "Buffy" in a "Poofy the Vampire Slayer" sketch. Graham Norton portrayed 'Poofy', whilst Head portrayed 'Rupert Giles'."Poofy the Vampire Slayer" on "Graham Norton's Bigger Picture" Season 2, Episode 8, aired February 27, 2006 Robot Chicken – Series co-created by Seth Green (who portrayed Oz on Buffy). Sarah Michelle Gellar lent her voice to the episode "Plastic Buffet", which included a parodied would-be eighth season of Buffy. The story featured Chucky (voiced by Mark Hamill) and the soulless Lettuce Head Kids terrorising America. In addition, several cast members from Buffy the Vampire Slayer have lent their voices to Robot Chicken sketches including series creator Joss Whedon.Buffy Season 8 from Robot Chicken Season 1, episode 4, aired March 13, 2005: Whedonesque.com Mad – A sketch in the television adaption of Mad Magazine features Buffy Summers attempting to kill Edward Cullen and Bella Swan in a parody of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, titled "Staking Dawn".
Series television In Eureka, the character of Douglas Fargo frequently referred to his obsession with Buffy, most notably naming his Smart House "Sarah" after Sarah Michelle Gellar, the series' main actress. The Friends episode titled The One Where Chandler Can't Cry, included a scene in which Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula Buffay starred in a porn film named Buffay the Vampire Layer (parodying Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and perhaps alluding to real life Buffy adult parodies), which consists of Buffay seducing and having sex with a Dracula-like vampire. Ursula Buffay uses her twin sister Phoebe's name for the credits.Various authors, Friends: "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry"; allusions TV.com (episode aired February 10, 2000). In the X-Men: Evolution episode "SpykeCam", Rogue and Kitty Pryde can be seen dancing in the woods, recreating the dance scene between Buffy and Faith in the episode "Bad Girls". In The Simpsons episode "Homer of Seville" has Marge Simpson mentioning a buffet restaurant named Buffet the Hunger Slayer. In the 2009 episode "Rednecks and Broomsticks", Lisa Simpson becomes interested in joining a Wicca group, and decides to check on "Wiccapedia." Sure enough the computer screen shows a replica of Wikipedia, with an array of links: "Familiars: wolf, cat, ferret – will they eat you when you die?, 4,400+ articles; Dating: share your stories, 0 articles; Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The greatest show in history, 2,500,000,000+ articles." In the Xena: Warrior Princess episode "The Play's the Thing", a theater critic remarks, "I hear "Buffus the Bacchae Slayer" is playing next door." In an episode of Charmed, Prue and Phoebe Halliwell are investigating a mausoleum when Prue exclaims that there might be zombies or vampires present, to which Phoebe jokingly comments, "where's Buffy when you need her?". On the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana, Miley's foil/rival/crush, Jake Ryan (played by Cody Linley), is the star of a fictional television series Zombie Slayer at Zombie High, with obvious Buffy parallels. In an episode of Smallville ("Thirst"), Lana Lang is changed into a vampire by a blond sorority girl by the name of "Buffy Sanders" (a reference to Buffy Summers). Recurring character Professor Milton Fine, played by James Marsters (who played Spike on Buffy), tells Clark Kent, "There are no such things as vampires." In the Arthur special "Arthur, It's Only Rock and Roll", Muffy makes a commercial for her to promote Francine's band and show it to the Backstreet Boys. When Arthur and Buster, pretending to be Vampires, are on, Muffy, dressed as a super hero, comes to the rescue, calling herself "Muffy the Vampire Slayer." In the episode "The Making of Arthur", Muffy enters a contest hosted by Matt Damon, and names her entry "Muffy the Umpire Slayer". A season-one episode of the show Big Wolf on Campus was called "Muffy the Werewolf Slayer." In the House of Mouse episode "Gone Goofy" (in "Donald's Goofy World" segment), when Donald Duck is watching TV, there is a show on called "Goofy the Vampire Slayer". In the WB/CW series Gilmore Girls, Rory teases Paris, who is afraid to go outside in the dark. Rory asks if "she's afraid to run into Drusilla and Spike". Another time, when Paris going out late to hook up with someone, Rory asks "With who? Spike and Drusilla?" In a Farscape episode, one of the things that the astronaut John Crichton regrets about being caught in a wormhole and sent to a distant place in the galaxy is that, even if he manages to return to Earth, by then Buffy the Vampire Slayer would have ended. On Will & Grace, Jack admits to being a fan of the show and Willow in particular and the fact that she is a lesbian. He also bursts out "Oh, for the love of Buffy and Angel – just say it!", referring to the well-known love story between the two characters. On Malcolm in the Middle, in the episode Francis Escapes, Francis asks his girlfriend over the phone if she is watching Buffy, due to the sounds coming from the television, as well as her lack of interest in the conversation. In series 2 of the British Sitcom Spaced, Tim prays that he will get his dream job at Darkstar Comics, kneeling in front of a Buffy poster.Spaced, series 2 episode 4: "Help" Another character is described as being "shallow, like Cordelia from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and latterly Angel, the spin-off series that was set in L.A."Spaced, series 2 episode 5: "Gone" An episode of The Twilight Zone (Second Revival) features Jessica Simpson baby sitting a young girl with a large collection of dolls which are actually her past carers. The girl mentions that she watched Buffy with one of the babysitters, saying that she wanted Buffy and Spike to hook up. In the Daria episode "Speedtrapped", Quinn remarks, "We'll be through the criminal justice system and home in time for Buffy." On the HBO series True Blood, based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, Sam Merlotte quips, "You know what I really wish would come to Marthaville? Huh? Buffy. Or Blade." On The Cleveland Show, in the episode "Birth of a Salesman", Tim the Bear prays to Jesus Christ for Cleveland Brown and Terry to go to the bar so he could catch up to his sales, then he prays "Thank you Jesus. Now maybe we can think about bringing back Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Also, in the Season 2 final, Hot Cocoa Bang Bang, a Buffy fangirl kills both Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart at Comic-con by stabbing them with a wooden stake. In Strange Attractors, an episode of Heroes, Becky tells Claire that she (Claire) did not have to "go all Buffy." In the Australian soap opera Neighbours, Kate Ramsay compares Donna's love triangle to "Buffy, Angel and Riley". In a YouTube Red series called "Foursome" Season 2, Dakota makes a reference to piercing belly buttons being a thing done back in Buffy's "days". Dawson's Creek in an episode entitled, "Valentine's Day Massacre", Pacey Witter makes a reference to Buffy while confessing his secret feelings for Joey Potter to his brother Doug. He tells Doug that if he acts on his feelings "the earth would crack open and Capeside would become home to a huge Hellmouth that would spew forth endless monsters and demons..." In an episode of Bones (of which David Boreanaz, who played Angel, is a lead character) the overly chipper lab intern Daisy Wick remarks that she often thinks to herself "WWBD? What would Brennan do?" harkening to the common fan phrase 'What would Buffy do'. There is also another in the first episode of Season 6, where Caroline Julian, the state prosecutor, makes a reference. When referring to the fact that all of the Jeffersonian team have come back to D.C, she states that "The whole Scooby Gang's comin' back" An episode in the first season of Imaginary Mary, Dora and Andy fake a sick day from school to not run the race and bond together by binge watching Buffy and Andy fanboys about Sarah Michelle Gellar. In the series 2 opener of Being Human, Annie remarks to Nina that there was a werewolf named Nina in Buffy, though this character actually appeared on its spin-off Angel. Also in the episode "Pack It Up, Pack It In" of the American version, Aidan references at "time in the 90's when all the vampires knew karate," referencing the long fight sequences that preceded most of the vampire kills in Buffy. In episode 17 "Hell House" in Season 1 of Supernatural, Harry is freaking out and wants to abandon their ghost hunting endeavors when Ed tells Harry "Remember, WWBD. What would Buffy do?" Harry responds with "I know but, Ed, she's stronger than me." In Season 7 episode 7 entitled "The Mentalists" the show speaks of an Orb of Thesulah which was used to restore Angel's soul. Also, in Season 7 episode 5 "Shut Up Dr. Phil" that guest stars Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia) and James Marsters (Spike) there is an art auction in which images in two of the paintings bear a striking resemblance to Giles and Willow.