Book references in Buffy and Angel

Bram Stoker's Dracula.

I can't actually think of many book references, Real ones, anyway. Is Introduction to Psychology, the ones that were dropped on Riley's head, a real book (at least the version shown; there are real books called that). Plenty of film references, some comic ones I think, but not many books.
 
NotASlayer said:
Bram Stoker's Dracula.

I can't actually think of many book references, Real ones, anyway. Is Introduction to Psychology, the ones that were dropped on Riley's head, a real book (at least the version shown; there are real books called that). Plenty of film references, some comic ones I think, but not many books.
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Buffy checks out a book of Emily Dickinson's poetry when she's interested in Owen.

Several characters quote Shakespeare at various points.

Pedro Pascal's character talks to Buffy about Of Human Bondage, which Buffy mistakes for porn.

There are at least two references to Death of a Salesman.

Jekyll and Hyde is a pretty obvious one from that episode with the school therapist.

Dawn is reading Empire of the Sun for school.
 
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is referenced in 'Crush', plus the discussion between Buffy and the girls is thematically resonant.

Shakespeare is another obvious one; Merchant Of Venice and Othello are subjects of class discussions, as well as being thematically relevant to the episode at hand.
 
There seem to be two main kinds of references. Those where the book itself is mentioned, and those where it isn't, but the book inspired something in an episode (Jekyll & Hyde for instance).

Then there's Dracula which is technically a third category as it falls into both of those, both inspiring an episode and being mentioned in it.
 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Frankenstein, since they did it twice! One could argue that both stories are more inspired by pop culture's understanding of Frankenstein rather than the novel, but I definitely see aspects of the book in both; the basic premise of "Some Assembly Required" is that the "monster" demands a bride, which is taken directly from the novel and is usually only kind of included in adaptations (Bride of Frankenstein inserts a new character who gives the creature the idea of having a bride, and the monster's ability to speak is very limited; he isn't able to do a lot of asking or manipulating beyond what the actual villain instructs him to do), and "Adam" is a name that a lot of readers often give to the creature in the original novel because of his attachment to Milton's Paradise Lost. Adam, being the Big Bad, also does speak pretty eloquently about his opinions on humanity, similar to how the creature has a lot of monologues, although they're very different from the themes in the novel. The fire at the end of "Some Assembly Required" is absolutely a reference to the 1935 film, though, as well as giving the mad scientist an assistant.

I can't think of other specific book references in episodes, but there are two episodes that I can think of where the title is a reference:

The title "I, Robot... You, Jane" is not specifically a book reference, but I think it's worth mentioning. It's definitely a reference to Tarzan, although the line "Me, Tarzan... you, Jane" was never actually said in any of the films or books. It's often attributed to an actor from the 1932 film, but it at least kind of counts, since it wasn't actually in that movie.

"Where the Wild Things Are" is named after a picture book.



And not a book, but Buffy references the play Waiting for Godot in reference to Faith ("she makes Godot look punctual," with the joke being that Godot never actually arrives at the end of the play). I can't remember which episode.
 
CardboardGhost said:
The title "I, Robot... You, Jane" is not specifically a book reference, but I think it's worth mentioning. It's definitely a reference to Tarzan, although the line "Me, Tarzan... you, Jane" was never actually said in any of the films or books. It's often attributed to an actor from the 1932 film, but it at least kind of counts, since it wasn't actually in that movie.
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"I, Robot" is also a science fiction book by Isaac Asimov (and the Will Smith film is loosely based on it).
 
CardboardGhost
CardboardGhost
Good catch! I'm only vaguely familiar with Asimov's work and that one slipped by me.
Joan the Vampire Slayer
Joan the Vampire Slayer
Oh good catch! I missed that.
@Joan the Vampire Slayer @CardboardGhost I did read a lot of SF by Golden Age authors as a kid. Including some that, looking back on them as an adult, I probably shouldn't have been allowed to! (All Heinlein; Stranger in a Strange Land, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, To Sail Beyond the Sunset. None really appropriate for a pre/early teen.)
 
NotASlayer said:
@Joan the Vampire Slayer @CardboardGhost I did read a lot of SF by Golden Age authors as a kid. Including some that, looking back on them as an adult, I probably shouldn't have been allowed to! (All Heinlein; Stranger in a Strange Land, The Number of the Beast, The Cat Who Walks Through Walls, To Sail Beyond the Sunset. None really appropriate for a pre/early teen.)
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I've been meaning to read more. I've been watching a lot of original Star Trek and b-movies but haven't ventured into a lot of SF novels yet due to being busy with assigned reading for classes. I really need to start reading more now that I'm working on a SF project of my own, though. Do you have any favorite recommendations?
 
CardboardGhost said:
I've been meaning to read more. I've been watching a lot of original Star Trek and b-movies but haven't ventured into a lot of SF novels yet due to being busy with assigned reading for classes. I really need to start reading more now that I'm working on a SF project of my own, though. Do you have any favorite recommendations?
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I definitely do!
 
CardboardGhost said:
I've been meaning to read more. I've been watching a lot of original Star Trek and b-movies but haven't ventured into a lot of SF novels yet due to being busy with assigned reading for classes. I really need to start reading more now that I'm working on a SF project of my own, though. Do you have any favorite recommendations?
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It does kind of depend on what sort of SF you're looking for. It covers a wide range, from hard SF where the scientist author provides technical details on how to build the interstellar craft in the book at the end through space opera to Star Wars style science fantasy, plus technohorror ones like Alien.

Classic Golden Age authors include Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, E.E. "Doc" Smith and Larry Niven. There is a definite dearth of strong female characters in the older novels (thank you Ripley!) but sometimes there are somewhat hidden ones. For harder modern SF, Andy Weir's The Martian is a good one.
 
NotASlayer said:
It does kind of depend on what sort of SF you're looking for. It covers a wide range, from hard SF where the scientist author provides technical details on how to build the interstellar craft in the book at the end through space opera to Star Wars style science fantasy, plus technohorror ones like Alien.

Classic Golden Age authors include Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein, Arthur C Clarke, E.E. "Doc" Smith and Larry Niven. There is a definite dearth of strong female characters in the older novels (thank you Ripley!) but sometimes there are somewhat hidden ones. For harder modern SF, Andy Weir's The Martian is a good one.
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I go back and forth on whether I prefer hard SF or space opera. I've recently been leaning towards more grounded stories, but that changes all the time.

I have read all three of Andy Weir's novels and really enjoyed them; I especially enjoyed how much of Project Hail Mary was actually about linguistics, which is more familiar to me than the natural sciences. I also really loved 2001: A Space Odyssey (the movie) and have been considering reading the novel, which I know is by Arthur C. Clarke. Solaris (1972) is another one I really enjoyed that's based on a book I haven't yet read. It's very psychological and about how humans think more so than the science. And my favorite science fiction story of all time is not a book nor a movie but rather an audio drama, Wolf 359, which is also more introspective and about what makes a person, a person.

I tend to like SF and fantasy as vehicles for exploring very personal concepts, not necessarily as worldbuilding in and of itself (although I do appreciate well constructed worldbuilding). That's what I like most about BtVS (and why season seven is kind of exhausting, once it becomes clear that none of the writers actually have any kind of idea for what this villain means on a metaphorical level)--while I wish that magic was perhaps a bit more consistent, the mechanics of it aren't really the point. It's a story about adolescence more than it is a story about magic and monsters.
 
Ooh, the old english major in me is delighted by this thread! Here's what I can think of off the top of my head:

Owen mentions he likes Emily Dickenson's poetry.

The play, Death of a Salesman is referenced in "Restless."

Dawn says something about "not going to Hogwarts?", right? I can't remember what episode though...

And lastly, Spike is reading Of Human Bondage in "As You Were", the same book that Eddie leaves behind in his bedside drawer in "The Freshman."
 
Reason: Clarity
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