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Slayer: A Totally Awesome Collection of Buffy Trivia
Stunning and awesome, a collection of Buffy trivia spanning all seven seasons, with lists and miscellaneous information, Top Tens, Worst Fives, best lines, famous guest stars, body counts, and vampires dusted or the best 'coming back from the dead' bits.
226 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2004
38 people want to read
About the author
Keith Topping
69 books9 followersKeith Andrew Topping is an author, journalist and broadcaster most closely associated with his work relating to the BBC Television series Doctor Who and for writing numerous official and unofficial guide books to a wide variety of television and film series, specifically Buffy the Vampire Slayer.He is also the author of two books of rock music critique. To date, Topping has written over 40 books.
One of the leading players in British Doctor Who fandom's fan-fiction movement during the 1980s, Topping's first published fiction was the BBC Books "Past Doctor Adventure" The Devil Goblins from Neptune in 1997. The novel was co-written with his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Day.
The pair quickly followed this up with the acclaimed novel The Hollow Men in 1998. Following Day's move into TV scripting, Topping wrote the novels The King of Terror (2000) and Byzantium! (2001) solo. The latter novel is the only BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure to be set entirely within one episode of the television series Doctor Who — 1965's The Romans by Dennis Spooner. Topping also wrote the Telos Doctor Who novella Ghost Ship which was published in 2002 and proved so popular that it was one of only two novellas reissued as a paperback edition in 2003.
As well as writing fiction, Topping has also authored numerous programme guides to television series as diverse as The X Files, The Avengers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Sweeney and The Professionals. These were all published by Virgin Books, and co-written with Martin Day and Paul Cornell. Cornell, Day and Topping also collaborated on the popular Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide, published by Virgin Books in 1995 and re-issued, in the US, by MonkeyBrain Books in 2004, a lighthearted guide to the mistakes and incongruities of the television series. The trio had first worked together co-writing two editions of The Guinness Book of Classic British Television (1993 and 1996 respectively).
Subsequently, Topping wrote The Complete Slayer: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Every Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a number of related texts on this popular series as well as guide books to The West Wing (Inside Bartlet's White House), Angel (Hollywood Vampire), 24 (A Day in the Life) and Stargate SG-1 (Beyond the Gate), amongst others. According to the 2003 book Slayer Slang by Michael Adams (Oxford University Press), Topping was the originator of the word 'vampiry' (adj. "exhibiting features of a vampire") in the January 2000 edition of his book Slayer (pg. 26). In addition, Topping is a regular contributor of articles and reviews to several TV and genre titles including TV Zone, Xposé and Shivers and is a former Contributing Editor of Dreamwatch. He also worked as Project Consultant on Charmed: The Complete DVD Collection.
On radio, Topping was the Producer/Presenter of the monthly Book Club (2005-2007) and currently co-presents a daily television review slot, Monday to Friday, on The Simon Logan Show for BBC Newcastle. He has also contributed to the BBC television series' I Love the '70s, Call The Cops and The Perfect Detective and has written for Sounds, the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times Culture Supplement and many other magazines and periodicals.
Topping writes, and occasionally performs, stand-up comedy and has written radio comedy sketches, an (unproduced) stage play and a TV pilot (with Martin Day) that is, currently, stuck in “Development Hell.”
Topping continues to live and work on Tyneside. He achieved a lifetimes ambition in 2005 when his book on The Beatles, Do You Want to Know a Secret was published by Virgin Books.
One of the leading players in British Doctor Who fandom's fan-fiction movement during the 1980s, Topping's first published fiction was the BBC Books "Past Doctor Adventure" The Devil Goblins from Neptune in 1997. The novel was co-written with his friend and frequent collaborator Martin Day.
The pair quickly followed this up with the acclaimed novel The Hollow Men in 1998. Following Day's move into TV scripting, Topping wrote the novels The King of Terror (2000) and Byzantium! (2001) solo. The latter novel is the only BBC Books Past Doctor Adventure to be set entirely within one episode of the television series Doctor Who — 1965's The Romans by Dennis Spooner. Topping also wrote the Telos Doctor Who novella Ghost Ship which was published in 2002 and proved so popular that it was one of only two novellas reissued as a paperback edition in 2003.
As well as writing fiction, Topping has also authored numerous programme guides to television series as diverse as The X Files, The Avengers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, The Sweeney and The Professionals. These were all published by Virgin Books, and co-written with Martin Day and Paul Cornell. Cornell, Day and Topping also collaborated on the popular Doctor Who Discontinuity Guide, published by Virgin Books in 1995 and re-issued, in the US, by MonkeyBrain Books in 2004, a lighthearted guide to the mistakes and incongruities of the television series. The trio had first worked together co-writing two editions of The Guinness Book of Classic British Television (1993 and 1996 respectively).
Subsequently, Topping wrote The Complete Slayer: An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to Every Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a number of related texts on this popular series as well as guide books to The West Wing (Inside Bartlet's White House), Angel (Hollywood Vampire), 24 (A Day in the Life) and Stargate SG-1 (Beyond the Gate), amongst others. According to the 2003 book Slayer Slang by Michael Adams (Oxford University Press), Topping was the originator of the word 'vampiry' (adj. "exhibiting features of a vampire") in the January 2000 edition of his book Slayer (pg. 26). In addition, Topping is a regular contributor of articles and reviews to several TV and genre titles including TV Zone, Xposé and Shivers and is a former Contributing Editor of Dreamwatch. He also worked as Project Consultant on Charmed: The Complete DVD Collection.
On radio, Topping was the Producer/Presenter of the monthly Book Club (2005-2007) and currently co-presents a daily television review slot, Monday to Friday, on The Simon Logan Show for BBC Newcastle. He has also contributed to the BBC television series' I Love the '70s, Call The Cops and The Perfect Detective and has written for Sounds, the Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Times Culture Supplement and many other magazines and periodicals.
Topping writes, and occasionally performs, stand-up comedy and has written radio comedy sketches, an (unproduced) stage play and a TV pilot (with Martin Day) that is, currently, stuck in “Development Hell.”
Topping continues to live and work on Tyneside. He achieved a lifetimes ambition in 2005 when his book on The Beatles, Do You Want to Know a Secret was published by Virgin Books.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 5, 2019
I bought this book recently for only 50p and decided to give it a go as I remember loving Buffy when I first watched it years ago (Around 8 I think)
It was definitely enjoyable, I just don't know how to rate it
I recommend it for any fans of the show, but it does contain many spoilers
It was definitely enjoyable, I just don't know how to rate it
I recommend it for any fans of the show, but it does contain many spoilers
August 13, 2012
Here are the background tidbits and informational flotsam and jetsam that you didn’t know about this television show where the monsters and magics were often metaphors for something else. Buffy continues to engage and fascinate years after the show ended and Mr. Topping has dug out considerable nuggets to please ass the Buffy geeks out there.
You get unknown trivia about the main actors as well as the walk-ons, occasional flubs as well as analysis about some things you may have puzzled about concerning the show itself. While some of the information is common knowledge and rather barren (Joel Gray won an Oscar in 1972 for his role in “Cabaret”. And what? He’s done nothing else before or since then?), there are quite a few bits about scenery, props, the folks working behind the scenes, etc., that are pure gold.
The major flaw with this book—and it’s a big one—is that Mr. Topping has a clear fanboy love for Spike. It’s the same adoration shown by many Spuffys in the Buffy fanverse, people who were convinced that Buffy and Spike belonged together, that theirs was a love that was meant to be if only Buffy would open her eyes and see it. While Angel, the vampire who stood by Buffy during her first three years on the Hellmouth (which many people argue are the best seasons of the show), is given short shrift and barely any mention, Mr. Topping devotes no less than TEN chapters to Angel’s blonde grandchilde. He even ended the book with a note about Spike (where is he NOW?), indicating an obsession I found irritating in the extreme.
Suffice it to say that Mr. Topping beats the same dead horse about Spike that so many of his adherents have: his complexity, his overwhelming ability to love deeply and totally and his bad-boy swagger that covers his frail insecurities, etc., etc., etc. Many feel that it was this misplaced and exaggerated attention to Spike, to the detriment of Buffy’s core support group, that warped the last two seasons almost beyond bearing and made them the worst the viewers had ever seen. I’m one of those people and I was dismayed to see that same attention paid to Spike here. This would have been a better book, and a better show, without such erroneous fawning.
You get unknown trivia about the main actors as well as the walk-ons, occasional flubs as well as analysis about some things you may have puzzled about concerning the show itself. While some of the information is common knowledge and rather barren (Joel Gray won an Oscar in 1972 for his role in “Cabaret”. And what? He’s done nothing else before or since then?), there are quite a few bits about scenery, props, the folks working behind the scenes, etc., that are pure gold.
The major flaw with this book—and it’s a big one—is that Mr. Topping has a clear fanboy love for Spike. It’s the same adoration shown by many Spuffys in the Buffy fanverse, people who were convinced that Buffy and Spike belonged together, that theirs was a love that was meant to be if only Buffy would open her eyes and see it. While Angel, the vampire who stood by Buffy during her first three years on the Hellmouth (which many people argue are the best seasons of the show), is given short shrift and barely any mention, Mr. Topping devotes no less than TEN chapters to Angel’s blonde grandchilde. He even ended the book with a note about Spike (where is he NOW?), indicating an obsession I found irritating in the extreme.
Suffice it to say that Mr. Topping beats the same dead horse about Spike that so many of his adherents have: his complexity, his overwhelming ability to love deeply and totally and his bad-boy swagger that covers his frail insecurities, etc., etc., etc. Many feel that it was this misplaced and exaggerated attention to Spike, to the detriment of Buffy’s core support group, that warped the last two seasons almost beyond bearing and made them the worst the viewers had ever seen. I’m one of those people and I was dismayed to see that same attention paid to Spike here. This would have been a better book, and a better show, without such erroneous fawning.
June 21, 2016
While the lists are a bit too rambling and mostly filled with plot summaries, this is still a fun little trivia book. I enjoyed the quotes, the lists of logical flaws, and especially the chapter about which Big Bad would win in a fight.
April 12, 2008
Buffy - everything you'd enjoy to know!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews