BUFFYVERSE STATS - Year Five

BUFFYVERSE STATS - Year Five

TOP 40 CHARACTER LIST:

Once AGAIN, I'm wasting my semi-valuable time (and hopefully yours) to bring you the latest update in my attempt to catalogue the most significant characters in the BUFFYVERSE. Previous CUMULATIVE updates covered the first, second and third years of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After that, the task became more complicated as Buffy's fourth season aired simultaneously (day and date, literally) with the first season of Angel. So the Year Four update included Buffy S4 & Angel S1. This update covers year five, i.e. Buffy S5 & Angel S2.

As you may recall, I've tried to inform this subjective task with an objective formula. I tried, as much as possible, not to allow my knowledge of future events to influence the current standings. Still, I won't deny that subjectives have played a role. It's hard not to take extra notice of a character you know is going to be important later. And ties were broken based entirely on subjective criteria.

The idea behind a cumulative tally is to mimic the original experience of following the Buffyverse. It's a horse race. Some of the winners and losers are decidedly predictable. Others are a bit surprising - surprising enough that it's become absolutely clear that my system must be flawed. I've since dreamed up a new system, but it's too late to implement it. Someday, LONG after I've finished this first survey (but ONLY if I prove truly insane), I might just start over and see what the results are with OBJECTIVE SYSTEM 2.0. But for now - assuming you haven't nodded off - you're stuck with System One.

I have a list of ALL the characters that have appeared in both series up to this point. It's so long (including everything from leads to ridiculously minor characters) that I haven't even bothered to count how many there are. But my list of MOST significant currently tops out at 166 characters.

But I think listing the top 40 is both pleasantly traditional… and plenty. Or largely. I just want to note a few characters introduced (or revisited) in this set of episodes, who haven't yet or never will make the top 40, but whom I believe are memorable enough to merit honorable mention.

Starting with…

#159, 160 - Nikki the Subway Slayer, The Chinese Slayer. The two Slayers that Spike killed.

#142 - Aggie. An aura-reader friend of Lorne's, played by the same actress, who played a character named Aura in episode #1. The oddness of this struck me.

#140 - The Valet a.k.a. Jeeves. A gatekeeper, who nearly gave Darla a third chance at life. He interested me.

#129 - Olaf the Troll. Anya's ex-boyfriend. His hammer was almost more important than he was. But I liked him.

#127 - Gypsy Man. The guy who cursed Angelus into Angel. Appeared in two separate flashback episodes.

#126 - Monk. The guy who turned the Key into Dawn. He had a lovely death scene.

#125 - Dracula. Want to make the point that Anton Martin, who played Dracula, used to be on the soap All My Children. He and Sarah Michelle Gellar played lovers on that show. (Michelle Trachtenberg is also an AMC alum.)

#122 - The Primitive, i.e. the First Slayer.

#115, 116, 151 - Francine Sharpe, Stephanie Sharp and The Skilosh Demon. Mother and daughter and the Demon that killed them after Angel Investigations cured young Stephanie of her third eye. Appeared in multiple episodes.

#112 - Bethany. A telekinetic that Angel saved from Wolfram & Heart and her abusive father.

#102 - Sandy. Sandy first appeared when the Vamp-Willow came to our universe. She was a victim that Vamp-Willow bit. Then two seasons later, she resurfaces as a vampire, whom Riley allows to feed on him. Riley then stakes her. Again, I love that they used someone with continuity for Riley.

#98 - Judy Kovacs. The woman in the fifties at the hotel that appealed to Angel for help and then sacrificed him to the mob and then wound up feeding a demon for fifty years.

#92 - Major Ellis. Riley's new C.O., who takes him away from Buffy.

#91, 105 - Vardell, George. Gunn's boys. Both appear in a couple episodes. Then George gets killed, and Vardell gives Gunn guilt for leaving the hood behind to join Angel's team.

#88 - Danver. Bookstore owner. Two different actors played this character across fifty years and two different episodes. Played a major/minor role in Angel's redemption.

#83 - Merl. Angel's comic informant.

#82, 131, 135 - Warren Meers, Buffybot, April. Robot builder and his creations. Lots of fun. And who new Warren would turn out to be Warren?

#76, 101, 107, 108, 149 - Crazy #1, Orlando, Crazy #2, Crazy #3, Older Nightwatchman. Victims of Glory that appeared in multiple episodes. As always, I give extra credit whenever the series reuses characters instead of creating new ones. Orlando was a Knight of Byzantium.

#75, 128 - Nathan Reed, Gavin Park. New Wolfram&Heart lawyers. Nathan is a place holding upper management type, who takes over after Holland Manners dies. (The second place-holder after a one-shot appearance by Nicholas Surovy, another AMC alum.) Gavin will wind up being Lilah's new foil now that Lindsey has left town.

#74 - Dr. Kriegel. Joyce's doctor.

#65, 66, 106 - Dreg, Murk, Gronx. Multiple recurring scabby demon servants of Glory. Across the season, each of these minions become prominent for a few eps and then vanish to be replaced by another for no particular reason that I could see. Why they didn't pick one and stick with him or her is beyond me.

#53 - Anne Steel. Anne, played by the same actress, is clearly the same character who originally went by the name Chanterelle and later Lily on Buffy. She then took Buffy's (middle) name Anne and recreated herself as an advocate for teen runaways on Angel. They don't reference the Buffy stuff, but it's clear. Nice to see a character grow from being a dumb vampire wannabe to being a strong woman who helps others.

#50, 70, 71, 81, 86, 147, 148, 153, 154, 155 - Fred, Landoc, Head Priest Psyalas, Groosalugg, Lorne's Mother, Constable Narwak, Numfar, Priest #1/Barshan, the Rebel Leader, Rebel #1. Inhabitants of Pylea that appeared in the multiple Pylean episodes that ended Angel's sophomore season. Fred, of course, became Fred. It's fairly clear in hindsight that Joss and company had planned from her first appearance on making her a regular for Season Three. Landoc is Lorne's warrior cousin. Psyalas is the main baddie. Groo is Cordy's surprising love interest. Lorne's mom, played by a male actor is pretty funny. But Numfar, a cousin of Lorne's, is hilarious. The moreso because he is played by a dancing Joss Whedon.

#48 - Virginia Bryce. Wesley's girlfriend for a number of episodes.

#44 - Doc. Played by Joel Grey, he's the most direct cause of Buffy's death.

And before we start, a fond Top 40 farewell to Larry (#47), Principal Flutie (#46), Ethan Rayne (#45), Percy (#43), Parker (#42) and the Annointed One (#41).

AND NOW THE TOP 40
Abbreviations for previous rankings…
Y1 - Buffy Season 1.
Y2 - Buffy Season 2.
Y3 - Buffy Season 3.
Y4 - Buffy Season 4/Angel Season 5.
NR - Not Ranked that year.

#40 - Mr. Trick. Y4: 33. Y3: 18. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. The Mayor's #2 man drops 7 rankings, but just manages to stay in the top 40. Don't look for him to be here after Y6 ends.

#39 - Willy the Snitch. Y4: 30. Y3: 21. Y2: 24. Y1: NR. Willy falls another nine rankings, as his bar appears without him. At least he's mentioned.

#38 - Amy. Y4: 32. Y3: 27. Y2: 23. Y1: 17. I can't remember seeing the rat this season, though she does get mentioned. She only falls six rankings.

#37 - Jinx. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. #37 with a bullet, Jinx is another of Glory's scabby minions, the one that appears in the most episodes. If they hadn't kept switching minions, i.e. if you added Jinx's appearances to those of Dreg, Murk and Gronx (or even just Dreg's), Jinx might easily have been in the top twenty.

#36 - Holland Manners. Y4: 61. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Holland leaps up 25 rankings to join the top 40. He continued to make a couple of appearances even after Darla ate him. But as the first and best of W&H's upper management types, he's pretty memorable.

#35 - Adam. Y4: 26. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Adam, last year's big bad, falls nine rankings.

#34 - The Master. Y4: 27. Y3: 16. Y2: 13. Y1: 8. Buffy's first Big Bad appeared in an Angel flashback that seemed to contradict the Master's nostalgia for Angel in the first season of Buffy. Nevertheless, this flashback allows him to fall only seven rankings, justly lifting him above Adam again.

#33 - Jonathan. Y4: 24. Y3: 17. Y2: 19. Y1: NR. Jonathan, who didn't appear at all this season, drops nine rankings, but he's poised for a comeback.

#32 - Forrest. Y4: 21. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley's ex-best buddy falls eleven rankings.

#31 - Lilah Morgan. Y4: 31. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lilah maintains the exact same rank a year later.

#30 - Glory. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad is #30 with a bullet. I know Glory isn't anyone's favorite. But I thought she was fun.

#29 - The Mayor. Y4: 19. Y3: 14. Y2: 40. Y1: NR. The Mayor loses 10 rankings. Probably the best of the big bads - unless you count Angelus. But it's inevitable with two series to see even major players like him start to fade when they're not appearing over multiple seasons.

#28 - Graham. Y4: 22. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley Finn's second best friend falls only six rankings, thanks to a couple more appearances this season.

#27 - Maggie Walsh. Y4: 18. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Maggie falls nine rankings, and yet still seems WAY too high up to me. Her top thirty placement above Adam, Glory, the Master, and the Mayor is one of the things that points up a flaw in the system.

#26 - Ben. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Year Five's big bad's alter ego is #26 with a bullet. And here again, a flaw is pointed up. Granted, Ben actually has more screen time than Glory, as he was ALSO part of the Joyce hospital subplot, but it's still stunning.

#25 - Jenny Calendar. Y4: 17. Y3: 13. Y2: 11. Y1: 15. Jenny falls eight rankings, as memory of her begins to fade…

#24 - Lorne, the Host. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Lorne is #24 with a bullet. So much fun. It's amazing it'll take seasons more before he officially becomes a regular.

#23 - Harmony. Y4: 25. Y3: 20. Y2: 26. Y1: 18. Harmony keeps bouncing back and forth, climbing two rankings this year with multiple funny Buffy appearances and one funny Angel that reunited her with Cordelia.

#22 - Kate Lockley. Y4: 23. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Angel's cop friend loses her badge and basically exits the series after a redemptive suicide attempt, but at least she's up one ranking. But she'll peak at 22.

#21 - Lindsey McDonald. Y4: 29. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. On the strength of his relationship with Darla, Lindsey climbs eight ranks before hitting the road in his pick-up. He'll be back in Year Eight.

#20 - Francis Doyle. Y4: 15. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Doyle falls five ranks, but stays in the top twenty - as any regular should.

#19 - Darla. Y4: 28. Y3: 23. Y2: 23. Y1: 11. Darla shoots up nine rankings. Amazing what a couple of resurrections'll do for ya.

#18 - Principal Snyder. Y4: 12. Y3: 9. Y2: 10. Y1: 12. Snyder falls six ranks.

#17 - Faith. Y4: 13. Y3: 10. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Faith loses four rankings, with only a brief prison appearance in the first episode of Angel. After that, I guess Angel loses interest in her.

#16 - Drusilla. Y4: 16. Y3: 11. Y2: 8. Dru maintains the same rank, as she re-sires Darla.

#15 - Tara. Y4: 20. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Tara and Doyle switch places on the chart, as Tara rises five ranks. I'm a Tara fan.

#14 - Dawn Summers. Y4: NR. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Talk about bullets… Dawn "The Key" Summers enters the rankings at #14. Impressive.

#13 - Charles Gunn. Y4: 37. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Gunn climbs 24 ranks to land within the Baker's Dozen of top characters.

#12 - Riley Finn. Y4: 11. Y3: NR. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Riley leaves the show halfway through the season, resulting in a slight drop off of one ranking. But it's qall downhill from here, pal.

#11 - Joyce. Y4: 9. Y3: 8. Y2: 7. Y1: 7. Joyce's powerful farewell season still has her falling two rankings and out of the top ten for the first time.

#10 - Anya. Y4: 14. Y3: 22. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Anya moves up four more ranks as she finally becomes a regular and joins the top ten.

#9 - Oz. Y4: 7. Y3: 7. Y2: 12. Y1: NR. Well, Oz finally starts to dip, falling two ranks.

#8 - Wesley. Y4: 10. Y3: 15. Y2: NR. Y1: NR. Wesley continues his upward mobility, climbing two rungs.

#7 - Spike. Y4: 8. Y3: 12. Y2: 9. Y1: NR. Spike jumps 1 ranking. That may not seem like much but within the top ten, the competition is damn tough. Of course, the current distance between him and #6 is immense. So he may have peaked here.

#6 - Willow. Y4: 6. Y3: 4. Y2: 4. Y1: 4. Willow stays at #6. Again, her being this far below Xander absolutely demonstrates that the system is flawed.

#5 - Cordelia. Y4: 4. Y3: 5. Y2: 5. Y1: 5. Cordelia actually falls one ranking as her boss Angel moves up.

#4 - Angel. Y4: 5. Y3: 6. Y2: 6. Y1: 6. Angel's moving up… Giles better watch his back.

#3 - Giles. Y4: 3. Y3: 2. Y2: 2. Y1: 2. Giles maintains his #3 slot.

#2 - Xander. Y4: 2. Y3: 3. Y2: 3. Y1: 3. Xander maintains his #2 ranking.

#1 - Buffy. Y4: 1. Y3: 1. Y2: 1. Y1: 1. Duh.