Discover
"The Body" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the supernatural drama television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). It was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on the WB network in the United States on February 27, 2001. In the series, Buffy Summers is a teenager chosen by mystical forces and endowed with superhuman powers to defeat vampires, demons, and other evils in the fictional town of Sunnydale. She is supported in her struggles by a close circle of friends and family, nicknamed the Scooby Gang. In "The Body", Buffy is powerless as she comes upon her lifeless mother, who has died of a brain aneurysm.
Although Buffy and her friends deal with death every week, often in very gruesome and fantastic ways, in this episode they are bewildered by the natural death of Joyce Summers, the divorced mother of Buffy and her sister Dawn and occasionally a mother figure to their friends. They struggle to comprehend what the loss means to each of them and to the group. Buffy must begin to face her life and her duties as the Slayer without parental support and comfort. The episode was stripped of all music—a regular staple of the Buffy series—and disorienting effects were included to convey the sense of displacement and loss associated with the death of a close family member.
"The Body" aired to wide acclaim, and has since been ranked by several critics as one of the greatest episodes of television ever broadcast.
Original Release
03/03/2001
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Sarah Michelle Gellar | Buffy Summers |
Nicholas Brendon | Xander Harris |
Alyson Hannigan | Willow Rosenberg |
Emma Caulfield Ford | Anya |
Michelle Trachtenberg | Dawn Summers |
James Marsters | Spike |
Anthony Head | Rupert Giles |
Randy Thompson | Dr. Kriegel |
Amber Benson | Tara Maclay |
Kristine Sutherland | Joyce Summers |
Directors
Writers
Rebecca Kirshner, Steven S. DeKnight, Joss Whedon
Creators
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Sarah Michelle Gellar | Buffy Summers |
Nicholas Brendon | Xander Harris |
Alyson Hannigan | Willow Rosenberg |
Emma Caulfield Ford | Anya |
Michelle Trachtenberg | Dawn Summers |
James Marsters | Spike |
Anthony Head | Rupert Giles |
Randy Thompson | Dr. Kriegel |
Amber Benson | Tara Maclay |
Kristine Sutherland | Joyce Summers |
Kevin Cristaldi | First Paramedic |
Stefan Umstead | Second Paramedic |
Loanne Bishop | 911 Operator |
J. Evan Bonifant | Kevin |
Kelli Garner | Kirstie |
RaéVen Kelly | Lisa |
Tia Matza | Teacher |
John Michael Herndon | Vampire |
Johnny Arbid |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Joss Whedon | Executive Producer |
Gail Berman | Executive Producer |
Sandy Gallin | Executive Producer |
Marti Noxon | Executive Producer |
Dolly Parton | Executive Producer |
Fran Rubel Kuzui | Executive Producer |
Kaz Kuzui | Executive Producer |
Marc David Alpert | Producer |
Gareth Davies | Producer |
Jane Espenson | Producer |
David Fury | Producer |
David Greenwalt | Producer |
John F. Perry | Producer |
Douglas Petrie | Producer |
David Solomon | Producer |