Jennifer Calendar

Jennifer "Jenny" Calendar, born Janna Kalderash, was a computer sciences teacher at Sunnydale High. She was also an ally of the Scooby Gang and the love of Rupert Giles, hiding from all them that she was a member of Clan Kalderash sent to watch over Angel.

Biography


Jenny was a computer science teacher at Sunnydale High whose modern approach did not sit well with the technophobic Rupert Giles. She called herself a Technopagan and was a member of a cyber-coven. Jenny assisted the Scooby Gang and as they worked together against evil, Jenny and Giles gradually fell in love.

Jenny's teaching methods and interests were at odds with, and seemed to infuriate, Giles. Her abilities with computers enabled her and Giles to complete a ritual within the internet to get rid of a demon called Moloch that had infected computers. She later approached Giles after she becomes anxious over several signs of an impending apocalypse she's become aware of. Giles soon told her the truth about the Master's plan and Buffy Summers's true identity. Jenny was present when the Hellmouth was briefly opened during Buffy's battle with the Master.

Jenny's flirtation with Giles gradually became a slow-burning romance. However, the romance was hindered when Giles' past came back to haunt him and Jenny was possessed by a demon Giles had summoned in his youth. In the aftermath, Jenny avoided Giles for some time, but she was eventually ready to forgive Giles and the two of them rekindled their romance.

After Buffy lost her virginity to Angel, Jenny disclosed that she was part of the Clan Kalderash, who had cursed Angel with his soul and years later sent Jenny to watch over him. Jenny was not told that Angel would lose his soul, but the Scooby Gang was still angry that she had concealed her identity. She decided to make it up to Buffy by attempting another restoration and translated the spell using a computer. However, Drusilla sensed Jenny's plan and warned Angelus, who tracked down Jenny, destroyed her computer and printer, and snapped her neck, killing her. Angelus left Jenny's dead body in Giles's bed with a trail of romantic symbols leading to the scene. Giles was devastated and sought revenge by trying to kill Angelus as he felt that he could not live without her. Xander Harris viewed Jenny's murder as evidence that Angel was beyond redemption. After Buffy rescued Giles from his ill-conceived act of revenge and visited the grave of the ill-fated Jenny, Buffy revealed that due to the loss, she was finally ready to slay Angel. However, Willow Rosenberg eventually found Jenny's diskette containing the spell to restore Angel's soul.

Later, Drusilla manipulated a badly tortured Giles into seeing her as Jenny and revealed what was needed to awaken the demon Acathla.

When the Scoobies later discovered that Angel had been resurrected, Xander spitefully reminded Buffy of her failure to stop Angelus from killing Jenny when she had the chance; however, both Buffy and Angel won back some good faith and acceptance among the gang during the subsequent scuffle over the Glove of Myhnegon. At Christmas Eve 1998, the First Evil assumed Jenny's form to torment Angel into killing Buffy or himself.

At some point, Giles sacrificed his memory of the day that they fell in love in order to bind a demon that was possessing a little girl.

Proceeding the destruction of Sunnydale, former Watcher Duncan Fillworthe began feeding the newly activated Slayers to a demon; when confronted by Giles, Duncan insisted that the Slayers, especially Buffy, deserved to die for betraying the Watchers Council, reminding Giles that Buffy's relationship with Angel resulted in Jenny's death.

Behind the Scenes

 * She was portrayed by Robia LaMorte.
 * Despite playing Cordelia Chase's teacher, Robia LaMorte is about the same age as Charisma Carpenter, only older by a few weeks.


 * The character was originally intended to be named "Nikki Calendar", but this was changed to avoid on-set confusion with actor Nicholas Brendon who was commonly called "Nicky".


 * The death of Jenny was never originally meant to occur. The original plan had been for Oz to be the character who met his end at the hands of Angelus, but that plan was changed after the fan reaction to Oz had been so positive. The grisly demise was then dealt to the character of Jenny.
 * Her death was later mirrored in the death of her lover Giles, whose neck was also snapped by Angel.


 * When approached with the returning to play Jenny as a disguise of the First Evil, Robia LaMorte, who is very religious, was very skeptical about the role considering it is basically the Buffyverse equivalent of Satan.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

 * Safe (Only mentioned)
 * Angel & Faith #1 Live Through This, Part I