Friday marked the 20th anniversary of the debut of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" on the WB, and to celebrate, star Sarah Michelle Gellar took to Instagram to release a letter to fans.
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As Gellar notes, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" had quite an interesting journey to the small screen. Before the cult television series, there was the 1992 film starring Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland and Luke Perry that met with decidedly mixed critical and commercial success. Yet the WB, then a fledgling network, saw potential, which led creator Joss Whedon to flesh out the character and concept, keeping the core of Buffy the same while adding some slight changes, including the decision to make her a Slayer from the get-go.
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Of course, while the show seemed to find an audience in its first season, those involved had no clue just how important it would continue to be 20 years on. Even with its flaws, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" remains a pivotal series. From its smart writing to the ever-important female relationships to the ability to craft characters fans can care about, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is for many just as important today as it was in 1997.