Watch The Original Unaired 1996 Pilot For BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Which Joss Whedon Says "Sucks on Ass"
If you’re a fan of Joss Whedon’s classic Buffy The Vampire Slayer series, I’ve got a little treat here for you today. If you’ve never seen the original unaired pilot for the series, you can check it out here.
The original Buffy The Vampire Slayer pilot was only about 25 minutes long, and it was intended as a presentation for network executives rather than as a full-fledged episode. While it contained the kernel of what the series would eventually become, it also had some differences.
Warner Bros. commissioned the pilot but due to the low budget it was given, Whedon had to edit his pilot script to accommodate the shorter run-time. In the book, Amy Pascale's Joss Whedon: The Biography, it’s revealed that there were a lot of issues with the production and it was described as a "nightmare" because the crew didn’t really like working with Whedon.
One of the most noticeable differences between the unaired pilot and the series is the cast:
Buffy Summers: While Sarah Michelle Gellar is synonymous with the role of Buffy, she is the Buffy we see in both the pilot and the series.
Willow Rosenberg: Perhaps the most significant change in cast was that Willow, later portrayed by Alyson Hannigan, was originally played by Riff Regan in the pilot. The character was also slightly different in demeanor. While Hannigan's Willow starts off shy and becomes progressively stronger and more self-assured, Regan's portrayal was less distinct.
Principal Flutie: In the unaired pilot, the role of the principal at Sunnydale High was played by Stephen Tobolowsky, who was later replaced by Ken Lerner in the series.
While the core of the story – a high school girl chosen to battle the forces of darkness – remained consistent, the tone of the unaired pilot was slightly different. It felt a bit rougher around the edges, given its shorter length and its nature as a proof-of-concept.
Although it served its purpose by securing a series order, the original pilot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was never intended for public viewing, but it provides a fascinating look into the early stages of a beloved series, offering insights into the show's evolution and the creative choices that shaped it.
Whedon and the studio weren’t really fans of the pilot episode and they were all pretty "underwhelmed" with it and they didn’t even pick up the show for the 1996 fall season. Instead, they went with 7th Heaven. During an interview with IGN, Whedon said the pilot he made "sucks on ass."
WB chief programmer Garth Ancier once said:
"The pilot was not great. And we had some better pilots that year. The discussion was, 'Do we make our bet on another show from Stephen Cannell [21 Jump Street, The A-Team, The Rockford Files]? Or do we make our bet on Joss, who we believe in as a writer, even though this pilot will have to be thoroughly trashed?'"
So, what was it that actually pushed the series into development? The WB president at the time, Susan Daniels, canceled the soap opera Savannah in February of 1997 and brought Joss Whedon on board to develop Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The rest is history!