Hello fellow Watchers — and welcome back after our summer break!

It’s been a strange, heavy year for the world, and 2026 has already taken more familiar faces than any of us were prepared for. We can’t return without acknowledging one of them: the unsung producer behind Buffy and Angel, the indomitable Dolly Parton. Through Sandollar Productions, Dolly brought the money and stability that allowed Buffy to exist at all. She may never have visited the set, but she sent Christmas gifts, kept a close eye on Sarah Michelle Gellar’s passion for the role, and understood the importance of giving young girls a hero to look up to.

Dolly never met the cast, but she had a dream that every child who grew up the way she did could have an icon to inspire them. She became one herself. And to borrow the words of another legend we lost this week: she didn’t just dream it — she lived it. Sometimes it takes an icon to inspire an icon, and Buffy’s run is full of that spirit.

With the sadness honoured, let’s get back to business. This week our Episode Spotlights reach Season Three, covering Anne and Dead Man’s Party in all their excruciating detail. More Firefly stories are on the way, now set after Serenity, and over the summer we’ve thrown ourselves into The Nevers. Its section of the site will be completed as the month continues.

We’ve planned content for the next two years, so we’re not going anywhere — and you’d better believe we’re celebrating when the series hits the big 3‑0 in March. And yes… The Reckoning is almost upon us. We’re crossing off the days.

We kick everything off on 7th September!

Until next time… Be Seeing You.

The Curator