In 2002, in time for
the seventh and final season, Dart Flipcards Inc. produced a line of Mini Lunch
Boxes (8.25cm x 5cm x 2.5cm) filled with chewing gum, and with licensed images
on them. Although the images were not directly tied to the final season, they
still demonstrate how Buffy firmly remained on the pop culture radar.
That same year, in a
release that truly indicated how Buffy the Vampire Slayer was able to transcend
the limitations usually associated with a TV series, Rounder Records released a
Soundtrack CD for the episode ‘Once More with Feeling’ from season six. Chief
executive of Rounder, John Virant, 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.' With a gorgeous cover by noted comic book artist Adam
Hughes, copious liner notes by Joss Whedon, lyrics, and various pictures from
the episode, Rounder Records succeeded in producing a first class product.
Alas, all good things
must come to an end, as Entertainment Weekly pointed out in their March 7,
2003, issue. By now, the quirky little mid-season replacement was a bona fide pop culture phenomenon, able
to command the entire cover of a major magazine. And though the televised
adventures of Buffy Summers and her ‘Scooby Gang’ went off the air May 20, 2003,
the ensuing fourteen years have not shown any decrease in the number of
collectibles being released. Perhaps we all want to own a small piece of
something we so loved? Regardless, in honour of that fateful night twenty years
ago when Buffy Summers was first introduced to the small screen, let’s all dust
off our DVD players, drop in "Welcome to the Hellmouth", and press
play…
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