Slay ride: For 7 seasons, 'Buffy' saved the world . . . a lot

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is one of the biggest little shows in the history of television.

Never a huge, mainstream hit, it's a show that nonetheless entered the national consciousness. Millions of people who have never seen an episode are aware of this blonde girl named Buffy who protects the world from the forces of evil.

People who had never heard of the WB knew about Buffy. And when the show moved to UPN for its final two seasons, that fledgling network got more attention than it has received at any other time in its eight-year history.

"Buffy was designed to be a pop-culture icon," said Joss Whedon, the show's creator and executive producer. "She became that. So she exists beyond her ratings.

"It's true, we've never found an enormous audience. We've never been on one of the more giant-er networks. But at the same time, we've retained our sort of cult status in that our viewership has never been as large as the awareness of it."

The show does have millions of rabid fans who are completely caught up in the mix of comedy, horror, suspense, action and angst. It was the ultimate show for the fan because it was designed that way.

"I write as a fan," Whedon said. "I write as someone who wants to know what's going to happen next on 'Buffy.' "

And the show made a star out of Sarah Michelle Gellar, who brought the perfect presence to Buffy, a typical teen who was suddenly gifted with superhuman powers and superhuman responsibilities. "Into each generation a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, a Chosen One. One born with the strength and skill to fight the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers."

Which is quite a responsibility for anyone, let alone a teenager-turned-twentysomething.

Which is not to say that only teens and twentysomethings were among "Buffy" fans. The show always had wide support among critics (the vast majority of whom are considerably older than the character), and a lot of fans who weren't in the WB's or UPN's young target demographics. (Fairly typical is a recent e-mail from a 46-year-old woman who wrote that she is "embarrassed" to be a fan, but that, "At my house, my family knows not to bother me at all during 'Buffy.' ")

"It's certainly not designed to exclude anybody, because I certainly don't believe in exclusion," Whedon said. "I didn't want to make a teen show that said, 'Look how stupid grown-ups are.' I wanted to make a teen show that said, 'Look how hard it is to do this. To live through this.' "