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What can we say about Blade Runner? No matter how they end it, it's a great movie and it gets the Wing Commander movie club seal of approval (which is technically a sea lion). Now we've got an unusual one this week, the 1992 comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Buffy seemed like a fun-but-light treat at the time but in the ensuing decades it has developed into quite a popular franchise with multiple tv shows (and a reboot in the works now). You can join us this Friday via Discord to watch along.
But how does a comedy movie about fighting vampires from 1992 impact Wing Commander? Wing Commander does have (F-109) Vampires… but that's not it. This is a convoluted one. Manual readers may recall that Wing Commander Privateer has a very elaborate backstory published as a short prose story, "The Frontiersman: Interview with a Privateer". It details the man character's past including a battle with the Retros and his inheriting his grandpa's Tarsus. None of this is actually referenced in the final game but it's a beloved part of the story to anyone who took the time to read the piece. But none of what you read in the final version involves Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Rather, development documents have revealed a much earlier version which was intended to kick off the game's main story. In this iteration, there's a section after the destruction of Shoel where Brownhair (then called Aaron Burton) is betrayed by a fellow crewman named Jake Rubio. Jake is completely cut from the final version (unless he's one of the renamed Scarab crewmen) but he was part of the plan long enough to be included in the (ultimately unused) manual artwork commissioned from Greg Follender. Here's the art description that Follender received:
Pilot of the Bella Dona on which Aaron Burton obtains passage to Gemini. Jake is a nobody with big ears and an even bigger mouth when it comes to rumors. He is a merchant / smuggler who thinks shipping a gram of brilliance is high risk. He wants to be thought of as a respected street-smart insider but is basically a coward who thinks too small to ever be a threat to anyone.
Appearance: Paul Reubens (the way he looked when taken in for exposure or in Buffy the Vampire Slayer). He tries to dress tough but just looks cheap and kind of skanky. He's a Han Solo wannabe without the requisite ambition or guts. Stutters when you call his bluff, which happens often enough that it's easy to make him lose his composure.You can read all about this cut content here. But as you can see, this character that doesn't actually appear in the game is based on Paul Reubens' Buffy character… so let's watch the movie and compare them! Here's the artwork that includes Jake that we never saw in the manual:
And here's the infamous "taken in for exposure" mug shots referenced in the art description:
There are some funny six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon connections here, too. Buffy would famously go on to spin off a TV show with actress Sarah Michelle Gellar in the title role. Gellar would go on to marry Freddie Prnze Jr., Blair from the Wing Commander movie (but despite the IMDb's claim, the 'Saranya Carr' poster in his quarters in the film is not her). And hey, it also stars Luke Perry… who voiced Sub Zero on the Mortal Kombat Annihilation show that crossed over with Wing Commander Academy.
Where can I find a copy of the movie for the watch party?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is available for rent or purchase on the standard streaming services. If you would like a physical copy, the movie was released on BluRay in 2017 and remains in print around the world. If you are not able to locate a copy please stop by the Discord and ping a CIC staff member before Friday's showing.
How do we watch the movie together?
It's pretty low tech! Simply join the Wing Commander CIC Discord on Friday and we will be chatting (in text) along with the film in the main channel. Everyone who wants to join in should bring their own copy and we will count down to play them together at 10 PM EST. Everyone is welcome and we encourage you to join in the conversation; sharing your thoughts helps make the experience better for everyone!
