Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The two versions of the Buffy title card. Seasons 1-2 on the left and Seasons 3-7 on the right.
The following is a picture gallery of each season's title cards for the main actors and actresses, for Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is to show who was credited in the main title credits for each season, and to highlight significant cast changes that occured throughout the series. The only actors and actresses to be credited for all 7 seasons in the opening credits were Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon and Alyson Hannigan. The font used for the title cards is called "Slayer".
Season 1
Season 1 consisted of Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers, Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris, Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg, Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase, and Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles.
Season 2
Season 2 saw the addition of David Boreanaz as Angel/Angelus just after Charisma Carpenter and before Anthony Stewart Head. The opening was very similar to that of the first season, consisting mainly of the same clips from the first season while adding some of the first few episodes from the second season.
Season 3
Season 3 saw major stylistic changes. The music was noticeably smoother, quicker and no longer featured the screech from the previous openings. This version would be continued for the rest of the series. The opening greatly differed visually, including clips from season two with clips of the first few episodes of season three. The sections where each cast member was credited consisted of slightly more clips opposed to the first seasons where there tended to be only one or two clips of the actor and actress during the period in which their name was shown. The main title card underwent slight changes as "Buffy" was changed into the official "Buffied" font instead of the simple, handwritten cursive style used previously. The subheader "the Vampire Slayer" remained in "Slayer" with but slightly smaller with only the first letters in each word capitalized with the word "slayer" not sitting large on the bottom instead with the first "f" of "Buffy" seperating "vampire" from "slayer" .
Also, the ending clip with "Created by Joss Whedon", which featured a moving shot of Buffy from "The Harvest", was changed into another moving shot of Buffy from the season 3 premiere "Anne". The cast was carried over from the previous season with one new addition, this time being Seth Green as Oz placed after David Boreanaz and before Anthony Stewart Head.
Season 4
Season 4 featured the first major change in casting, with David Boreanaz and Charisma Carpenter leaving the show to work on Angel. Seth Green stayed on for 6 episodes, before leaving the main cast. James Marsters (Spike) joined the cast after Green's departure and replaced Green's title card in the credits. Similarly, Marc Blucas (Riley Finn) also joined the main cast, added onto the credits on episode 11, placed before James Marsters and staying for the rest of the season.
Season 5
Season 5 stayed consistent with Season 4, with the addition of Emma Caulfield (Anya Jenkins) and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers). Although Trachtenberg appeared in every episode, she was left off the title credits in the premiere episode, to keep her appearance a surprise. Also, Marc Blucas stayed a regular for the first 10 episodes until his departure, after which he was removed from the title credits for the rest of the series.
Season 6
Season 6 marked a major change in the title credits, with the departure of Anthony Stewart Head (although he would appear fairly consistently as a guest star throughout the remainder of the series). Alyson Hannigan took the "as (character name)" ending credit for the remainder of the series. Amber Benson (Tara) was credited in the titles for only one episode of the season, "Seeing Red", in which her character was killed. Also, after 3 seasons with it, the ending clip with "Created by Joss Whedon" is changed to a shot of the camera zooming on to the Buffybot from the Buffy season 5 final "The Gift.
Season 7
Season 7 was the first season to have stayed consistent with its title credits throughout the entire run since Season 3. All the same actors and actresses from the previous season, with the exception of Amber Benson's single episode credit, were included in the title credits. Also, the ending clip was changed once more, now with a shot of the First Evil in the guise of Buffy from "Lessons".
Notable Exceptions
The Season 4 episode "Superstar" featured an altered opening credit sequence, with a good percentage of the clips featured showed the character Jonathan Levinson in various heroic situations, in tune with the episode's theme. However, despite his character appearing so frequently, the actor Danny Strong is not credited in the main title sequence. Similarly, the Season 6 episode "Once More, With Feeling" has an alternate opening credit sequence, and is the only episode to have a different composition of the main theme, though again, all the same actors actresses are credited therein.
Trivia
- The Complete Cast of the series includes Sarah Michelle Gellar (1-7), Nicholas Brendon (1-7), Alyson Hannigan (1-7), Charisma Carpenter (1-3), David Boreanaz (2-3), Seth Green (3-4), Marc Blucas (4-5), Emma Caulfield (5-7), Michelle Trachtenberg (5-7), Amber Benson (6), James Marsters (4-7), and Anthony Stewart Head as Giles (1-5)
- The title sequence for each episode ends with a power shot of Buffy, with the exception of "Superstar", which uses a similar shot of Jonathan Levinson. Interestingly, the power shots for the Seasons 6 and 7 sequences are not actually shots of Buffy; Season 6 features a shot of Buffybot from "The Gift", and Season 7 uses one of the First Evil in the form of Buffy from "Lessons".
Angel
Angel title card
The following is a picture gallery of each season's title cards for the main actors that appear in the TV series "Angel" (spin-off from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"). Like the gallery above, this is to showcase all the actors and actresses that appear in the title credits of the show and to mark significant cast changes that occured throughout the series. The only actors that are credited for all 5 seasons are David Boreanaz (Angel) and Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce), the latter only not appearing in the first 10 episodes.
Season 1
Season 1 of Angel had the smallest main cast in comparison to the rest of the show. It stars David Boreanaz as Angel/Angelus and Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase. Glenn Quinn (Doyle) appears in the title credits for the first 10 episodes (although he left the show after the 9th episode) before being replaced by Alexis Denisof (Wesley Wyndam-Pryce) for the remainder of the season, and stays in the title credits for the remainder of the series.
Season 2
Season 2 features Boreanaz, Carpenter and Denisof again, with the addition of J. August Richards as Gunn. The background for Alexis Denisof's coloured border also changed from the inside of a building to drawings in a book. Both of these are consistent for the entire season.
Season 3
Season 3 features the same cast from Season 2, with the addition of Amy Acker as Winifred Burkle. This is consistent for the entire season. J August Richards background colour has become a slighter darker shade.
Season 4
Season 4 features the same cast from the previous season. Two new additions include Vincent Kartheiser as Connor (in his sole season as a regular), and Andy Hallett as Lorne (who is added to the title credits in episode 14 and stays for the remainder of the series). Also, Alexis Denisof is now credited with "and" in front of his name.
Season 5
Season 5 features the largest amount of main cast changes. Charisma Carpenter leaves the show, with James Marsters (Spike) being added onto the main cast in her place. Also, starting with episode 17 ("Underneath"), Amy Acker's credit is changed to show her more prominently as portraying Illyria rather than Winifred, and Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall) is added to the title credits for the remainder of the season.
Trivia
- Angel cast member each had a signiture coloured border appearing when they were credited. Colours were sometimes shared by two cast members, though never at the same time.
- Alexis Denisof is the only cast member to have two different backgrounds.
- Charisma Carpenter and Mercedes McNab shared the same background.
- Complete Cast of the series includes David Boreanaz (1-5), Charisma Carpenter (1-4), Glenn Quinn (1), J. August Richards (2-5), Amy Acker (3-5), Vincent Kartheiser (4), Andy Hallett (4-5), James Marsters (5), Mercedes McNab (5), and Alexis Denisof (1-5).
Cyan: David Boreanaz
Green: Charisma Carpenter, Mercedes McNab
Yellow: Glenn Quinn, Alexis Denisof
Red-Orange: J. August Richards
Purple: Amy Acker
Blue: Vincent Kartheiser, James Marsters
Pink: Andy Hallett