As Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a teenage girl with supernatural powers to defeat vampires, demons and the forces of darkness (as well as the patriarchy), Sarah Michelle Gellar’s heroine changed the course of television.

Created by [redacted, for… reasons], the fantasy drama received universal critical acclaim during its seven-season run, with many individual episodes hailed as some of the finest in television history: ‘Hush,’ still spine-chillingly spooky to this day; ‘Once More, with Feeling,’ arguably the best musical to ever air on the small screen; and ‘The Body’, which delivers one of the most realistic depictions of death and loss ever portrayed. (‘Beer Bad’ exists, too.)

Credited with influencing other series in the same genre, such as Charmed, Doctor Who and Lost, Buffy was also lauded for its trailblazing queer representation. Buffy’s resident witches Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara Maclay (Amber Benson) memorably made history as the first long-term lesbian relationship on television, and continue to serve as inspiration for writers and showrunners.

This week marks the 29th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s premiere on The WB, where Buffy made her Sunnydale debut and Darla subverted the damsel-in-distress trope by sinking her fangs into a mischievous hunk. To celebrate Buffy’s enduring feminist and queer legacy – as well as news of the upcoming continuation! – we’re reflecting on the series’ gayest and campest moments, from Buffy ‘coming out’ to her mum to the musical stylings of Sweet.

2×22 – ‘Becoming’

Plot: Buffy teams up with her arch-nemesis Spike to take down Angelus and Drusilla before they unleash the demon Acathla, who aims to “swallow the world” into hell.

Why is it queer? Buffy is forced to reveal that she’s the Slayer to her mother, who… doesn’t take it well. Joyce, confused by Buffy’s calling to thwart vampires, demons, and swamp monsters (what is there to be confused about?), responds like a parent refusing to accept that their child is different. She asks: “Honey, are you sure you’re a Slayer?” “Have you tried not being a Slayer?” “It’s because you didn’t have a strong father figure, isn’t it?” Buffy is then kicked out of her home. Although she doesn’t identify as queer on the show (the comic books explore this differently), Buffy became a champion for LGBTQIA+ youth who felt ostracised because of their identity.