Emma Caulfield Movies

Former Beverly Hills 90210 costars Jason Priestleyand Emma Caulfield are reunited in this frothy made-for-cable romantic comedy. Priestly plays Ryan Banks, a once-popular movie actor whose career is in the toilet, not only because of bad role choices but also because of his unsavory reputation as an irresponsible womanizer. In hopes of revitalizing Ryan's career, his manager and best friend Todd Doherty (Bradley Cooper) comes up with an inspiration: A network reality show called "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks", in which the title character will live in the same house with 15 attractive young women, all of them prospective brides. In fine Mark Burnett tradition, one of the female contestants will be voted out each week by the viewers, with the winner chosen by popular demand. The girl who seems to have the inside track is blue-collar Charlene "Charlie" Norton (Emma Caulfield), who has entered the contest because she needs the prize money. Complications arise when, as the series draws ever nearer to its conclusion, Charlie balks at the notion of wedding Ryan Banks, only to be told that if she doesn't, she'll be sued within an inch of her life--and making things even stickier, Todd Doherty has fallen in love with Charlie himself! Produced for the ABC Family channel, I Want to Marry Ryan Banks was first seen on January 18, 2004. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) again faces off with Caleb (Nathan Fillion), this time armed with a powerful new weapon: the Scythe, which she slides effortlessly from its rocky resting place, Excalibur-style. But before Buffy can deploy her new toy, Caleb reveals that Faith (Eliza Dushku) and the potentials have fallen victim to his latest experiment in demolitions. Buffy rushes off the find Faith grievously injured, several slayerettes dead, and three über-vamps on the loose. Using the Scythe to make quick work of the once seemingly unstoppable fiends, the Slayer rejoins her estranged allies and leads them home. As Faith recovers from her injuries, she and Buffy chew over their tangled past. Elsewhere, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) tries unsuccessfully to spirit Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) away to safety, while Anya (Emma Caulfield) and Andrew (Tom Lenk) ponder the foolish grandeur of their mutual decision to stay and fight. Meanwhile, a weary Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) and a magic-shy Willow (Alyson Hannigan) try to ferret out the origins of Buffy's mysterious new weapon. Their research leads the Slayer -- after a tender interlude with Spike (James Marsters) -- to a mysterious crypt where she meets the last of the Guardians, an ancient order of women sworn to protect the Slayer line not only from the forces of evil, but also from the Shadow Men who created the First Slayer and eventually became the Watchers' Council. The Guardian reveals that the Scythe was forged to destroy the last pure demon who walked the earth, then hidden away for the day when a slayer would need it. Caleb, fresh from an infusion of The First's power, arrives to smite the Guardian and do battle with Buffy. But the Slayer has an unexpected ally: Angel (David Boreanaz), fresh from his assumption of power at Wolfram & Hart (see Angel, "Home"). ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Children have a very good reason to be afraid of the dark in this flashy horror story. Matilda Dixon was a genially eccentric woman who, in the 1850s, lived in a New England town known as Darkness Falls. Matilda was well known to the local children for her habit of paying them for teeth they'd lost, but when two youngsters mysteriously disappeared, Matilda was lynched by an angry mob wrongly convinced that she had murdered the kids. In the year 2002, former Darkness Falls resident Kyle Walsh (Chaney Kley) lives in Las Vegas and is still desperately afraid of the dark since a childhood run-in with the ghost of Matilda Dixon left him severely traumatized. While police and psychiatrists scoffed at Kyle's stories about Matilda's spirit, his childhood friend Caitlin (Emma Caulfield) is alarmed when her nine-year-old brother Michael (Lee Cormie) begins having nightmares very much like those which disturbed Kyle's rest for years. Like Kyle, Michael has little luck convincing most grown-ups that the white-robed specters he sees in the dark are real, so Caitlin asks Kyle to return to Darkness Falls to help get to the bottom of his story. Darkness Falls marked the directorial debut of filmmaker Jonathan Liebesman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

As a broken-down Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) searches for someplace to sleep, Faith (Eliza Dushku) struggles to find her voice as leader of the potentials. Eventually, she assumes the mantle of command and settles on a scheme to kidnap one of The First's weakest breed of minions: the blind, mute acolytes known as Bringers. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) locates a spell to communicate with the captive enemy, who reveals the location of this brethren. Meanwhile, Spike (James Marsters), having learned of Buffy's ouster, locates the distraught Slayer and soothes her wounded psyche. Buffy confesses doubts in her ability to lead, but Spike professes his admiration for her power -- and his undying love. With Sunnydale nearly deserted and the electricity no longer running, the two hole up and share a chaste but tender night together. Back at the house, Kennedy (Iyari Limon) convinces a skittish Willow (Alyson Hannigan) to share an altogether racier evening with her. Faith, too, finds sexual solace -- in the arms of Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside); even exes Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) get in on the act. The next morning, Faith leads a team to the catacombs where the Bringers have sequestered themselves, unaware that a time bomb ticks away at their destination. Meanwhile, Buffy completes the mission the others wouldn't support, but she does so with agility and grace rather than brute strength. Instead of engaging in a slug-fest with Caleb (Nathan Fillion) at his winery, she dances out of his reach and discovers the secret entrance to a chamber where a powerful weapon lies hidden. Originally broadcast May 6, 2003, on UPN, "Touched" marked episode 142 of the cult-favorite series. Fans of the various Buffy comic-book series will recognize the mysterious weapon the Slayer unearths: it is a Scythe, first introduced in a comic called Fray about the adventures of a future vampire slayer. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Now that he's "outed" himself as the son of a slayer, Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside) visits the potential-slayer compound at the Summers home. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) proudly demonstrates the girls' rigorous training program, but her lessons seem too rough for at least one of the potentials. Spurred on by the sinister whisperings of The First, a terrified and depressed Chloe (Lalaine) hangs herself. Her death shatters the other slayerettes' naive illusion that this is all some sort of superhero summer camp. Buffy defiantly warns them that Chloe was stupid and they will be, too, if they give in as easily as the dead girl did. More desperate than ever for answers about her powers, Buffy turns to a gift from Wood: a bag of slayer artifacts passed on from his mother to her Watcher to Wood. Discovering a mysterious box among the items, Buffy opens it and soon finds herself transported to a spirit realm much like the one she visited during her encounters with the specter of the First Slayer (see "Restless" and "Intervention"). This time, however, she communes with the spirits of the three mystics who created the First Slayer back in prehistory. Buffy learns that this was accomplished by chaining a young girl down and filling her with demonic power. The trio offer Buffy the chance for more of this dark magic, but she refuses, unwilling to accept its demonic nature -- and her own. Meanwhile, back on earth, the Scoobies are stuck fighting a demon who switched places with Buffy when she did her disappearing act. Spike (James Marsters) vanquishes the beast, drawing Buffy back to earth, but not before she witnesses a terrifying vision of an entire army of über-vamps like the one she recently almost died defeating (see "Showtime"). Originally broadcast Feb. 18, 2003, on UPN, "Get It Done" marked episode 137 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) each step out for the evening with someone new, but both dates are full of surprise revelations. Xander's rendezvous is with Lissa (pop singer Ashanti), a lovely young lady he meets on his construction job. Buffy's, meanwhile, is with Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside), her boss at Sunnydale High School. Things begin normally enough for Buffy and Robin, but a vamp attack soon nips the fun in the bud. Much to Buffy's astonishment, though, the principal more than holds his own against the attackers. Over dinner, he reveals that he's the son of a slayer and was raised by his mother's watcher after her death. Now a part-time demon-fighter, he was fully aware of Buffy's identity when he hired her as school counselor. Once again the evening is interrupted, this time by a frantic phone call that Xander needs help. With Spike (James Marsters) and Robin in tow, Buffy heads to the school just in time to save her friend from being murdered by Lissa. It turns out Xander has once again romanced a demon, this time one who wants to get in good with The First by bring another Turok-Han to earth. As Xander's rescuers defeat his duplicitous date, Spike puts on his ugly face, revealing to the disgusted Robin that Buffy is in league with a vampire. Later, the specter of Robin's mother -- actually The First in disguise -- appears to him and reveals the identity of her killer. It turns out she's actually the slayer Spike murdered on a New York City subway in the 1970s (see "Fool for Love"). Originally broadcast Feb. 11, 2003, on UPN, "First Date" marked episode 136 of the cult-favorite series. K.D. Aubert here replaces April Weeden-Washington as Robin's mother, the subway Slayer. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

As Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Spike (James Marsters) train the potential slayers and educate them about the life-or-death battle into which they've been thrust, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) learns that another slayerette lurks right there atop Sunnydale's Hellmouth. A locator spell soon reveals the surprising truth: Like her older sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) is a member of the slayer line. Confused by her sudden change in status, Dawn slips outside and bumps into her friend Amanda (Sarah Hagan), who reveals, at the risk of sounding crazy, that she's just been attacked at school by a vampire. Dawn tells her not to worry, that vampires are real, and the girls head to the school so Dawn can test her newfound powers. Unfortunately, the tricky bloodsucker outsmarts them; soon, Dawn is fighting for her life -- and not all that successfully. The First's Bringers interrupt the melee and attempt to kidnap Amanda, revealing to Dawn that it's actually her friend who's the potential. Dawn exhorts Amanda to take out the vamp, which the girl accomplishes as if she were born to do it. Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike show up, fresh from a brutal training exercise with the potentials, and dispatch the agents of The First. Back at the house, Dawn resumes her role as researcher and non-combatant. But Xander (Nicholas Brendon) -- no stranger to being the least powerful member of the team -- consoles her with tender words about the important role they both play. Originally broadcast January 21, 2003, on UPN, "Potential" marked episode 134 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy the Vampire Slayer began its seventh and ultimately final season with a metaphorical return to its roots. Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) enrolling at a rebuilt Sunnydale High School and Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) quickly installing there as a guidance counselor seemed to poise the series for a return to teenage metaphors and a lighter tone after the darkness of the previous season. But when a new villain is announced by taking the form of each season's previous "big bad" villain, Buffy embarks on an extended story line that mirrors America's deepening commitment to the "war on terror" and the post-9/11 invasion of Afghanistan. The continued assaults of the First Evil -- the malevolent but bodiless force from which all other evil springs -- force Buffy to become the general of an ad-hoc army and stage a preemptive strike against the Hellmouth. The resulting story line brings the series to an ultimately hopeful finale, but one suffused with loss. Some fans and critics think that consistently excellent writing was an early casualty of the season. For one thing, series creator Joss Whedon had a full slate executive producing the spin-off Angel and the short-lived Firefly. The introduction of copious new faces in the form of Buffy's new slayer-in-training army didn't leave room for much focus on the show's established characters. When the Scoobies were bestowed with extensive plot lines, they often reflected the season's overarching themes of loneliness and the isolation of power.

Cut off from her friends by returning to the vengeance-demon fold, Anya (Emma Caulfield) finally comes to terms with her search for herself. Meanwhile, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) struggles to redeem herself and master the immense powers that nearly destroyed her. Newly ensouled Spike (James Marsters) finds redemption of his own as Buffy's lieutenant and protector. Geeky former villain Andrew (Tom Lenk) throws in his lot with the good guys who didn't really want him. Dawn and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) struggle with their roles as non-combatants.
Despite a jokey subplot that toyed with the idea that he was an agent of the First, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) tries unsuccessfully to check Buffy's autocratic recklessness. New Sunnydale High Principal Robin Wood (D.B. Woodside) proves an enigmatic presence at first, but the eventual revelation of his ties to Spike and the slayer line adds yet another personality to the Scoobies' rapidly expanding ranks. The return of reformed rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku) for the final five episodes helps fulfill the promise that the seventh season would bring Buffy back to its roots.

Written and directed by Whedon himself, the series finale turns the concept of "the chosen one" on its head. New and beloved characters alike bite the dust, as does the town of Sunnydale itself. But Willow and Spike at long last find their redemption, and the show's feminist themes found an excellent final metaphor. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

While on a routine patrol, Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) encounters Holden Webster (Jonathan M. Woodward), a high-school classmate she barely knew, just as he's rising from the grave as a newborn vamp. The slayer and her foe spend more time talking than fighting; Holden's affable demeanor weakens Buffy's emotional defenses, leading her to articulate her deepest insecurities. The vamp's most interesting insights -- that Buffy has a thing for guys who hurt her, and, when it comes to her closest friends, suffers from both a super-power superiority complex and a moral inferiority complex -- aren't nearly as shocking as the revelation that he was sired by Spike (James Marsters). Back at the Summers' house, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) pigs out and plays with Buffy's weapons until a series of Poltergeist-like scare tactics reveals the assault of an unseen demon. Dawn fights back against the shadowy threat and eventually receives a chilling message from the shade of her own long-dead mother (Kristine Sutherland). Meanwhile, at the library, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) meets Cassie (Azura Skye), Dawn's recently deceased psychic classmate (see "Help"). The melancholy spirit claims to bear messages from Tara, Willow's late lesbian lover, but Willow sniffs something amiss when Cassie counsels her to kill herself before she loses control of her powers again. Suddenly, Cassie morphs into demon form, spits out a few nasty threats, and disappears, revealing herself to be the same shape-shifting demon who has been tormenting poor Spike all season. As for Buffy's bad-boy vampire ex, he does, indeed, appear to be feasting on human blood again. Even more blood is spilled by returning super-nerd Andrew (Tom Lenk), who ritually murders his compatriot Jonathan (Danny Strong) at the urging of a spirit who claims to be slain super-villain Warren (Adam Busch). Originally broadcast November 12, 2002, on the UPN network, "Conversations With Dead People" marked episode 129 of the cult-favorite series. After the events of this episodes, fans finally figured out that the season's shape-shifting villain is none other than the First Evil, who briefly battled Buffy four years earlier (see "Amends"). ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and the Scoobies hole up in the Summers' house and imprison Spike (James Marsters) in hopes of learning more about the unseen adversary who's been manipulating him. On a trip to pick up animal blood for the captive to drink, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) encounters incognito super-nerd Andrew (Tom Lenk), who appears to be the pawn of the same shape-shifting fiend as Spike. Soon, ex-lovers Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) are joyfully interrogating the geek. The terrified Andrew is more than forthcoming about his encounters with the spirit of Warren (Adam Busch) and his murder of equally dorky former ally Jonathan (Danny Strong). But Spike reveals very little -- until another visit from the big bad turns him into a mindless, vamped-out threat. Ultimately, Buffy shackles Spike down in the basement but refuses his pained entreaties for a merciful death. Touched by Spike's true confessions about the tribulations he endured to win back his soul (and, less successfully, her heart), Buffy tells Spike that she can see the better man deep inside him. Just then, robed warriors attack the house. Buffy assists her friends in staving them off upstairs, but it's all a diversion: they make off with Spike, whose own spilled blood soon fuels the spell that Jonathan's murder was incapable of completing. Elsewhere, a zonked-out Principal Wood (D.B. Woodside) buries Jonathan's body, and the headquarters of the Watcher's Council blows up spectacularly. Originally broadcast November 26, 2002, on the UPN network, "Never Leave Me" marked episode 131 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) arrives at the Magic Box and mystically shackles the grief-mad Willow (Alyson Hannigan), then hears from Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) about everything that's gone down since his departure (see "Tabula Rasa"). Their joyful reunion is interrupted, though, when Willow mystically compels Anya (Emma Caulfield) to free her. Luckily, Giles has come to end the Wiccan's rampage, and he's armed with the magicks of an entire coven. They battle epically, but soon Willow drains Giles of his powers and leaves him near-dead. Elsewhere, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) are on the run with surviving super-nerds Jonathan (Danny Strong) and Andrew (Tom Lenk). Willow dispatches the magical equivalent of a guided missile to kill the villains and their reluctant protectors. Buffy manages to save her friends, but in the confusion, Jonathan and Andrew escape; Buffy and Dawn end up in a cavern full of zombies. As for Willow, the influx of Giles' power puts her magically in touch with the pain and suffering of the entire planet; she resolves to burn the Earth to a cinder. Anya warns Xander of the impending apocalypse and he rushes to the rocky bluff where Willow is raising the malign temple of an ancient doomsday cult. Despite Willow's vicious attacks, Xander showers her with love and acceptance, which eventually drains her of black magic and restores her humanity. Meanwhile, after battling side by side with her sister, Buffy finally realizes that she's glad to be alive again. And in a dark cave somewhere in Africa, Spike (James Marsters) completes his quest to be returned to his former self. But his demon taskmaster doesn't remove the chip in Spike's head -- he returns the vampire's soul. Originally broadcast May 21, 2002, on UPN, "Grave" marked episode 122 of the cult-favorite series. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

Her alienation and angst having grown all season, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) finally makes Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) aware of her isolation in a most unexpected time and manner: magically, at her big sister's birthday party. The night of the soiree, Xander (Nicholas Brendon) and Anya (Emma Caulfield) bring a cute romantic prospect for the Slayer. Tara (Amber Benson) also attends, giving her the chance to witness Buffy's clandestine relationship with Spike (James Marsters) firsthand. Conversation between Tara and Willow (Alyson Hannigan) proves stilted, but the ex-lovers get the opportunity to bond when a mysterious spell makes everyone prisoners of the Summers house. Attempting to break the spell with magicks of her own, Tara accidentally unleashes a demon who wounds Buffy's blind date and causes general mayhem. Anya demands that recovering magic addict Willow cast an enchantment to free everyone, but Tara vigorously defends Willow's right to abstain. Eventually, the spell's author turns out to be Halfrek (Kali Rocha), an old vengeance-demon friend of Anya who's been posing as Dawn's guidance counselor. Dawn's innocent wish that none of her friends or family ever leave her again has now manifested itself as an impenetrable barrier around the house. Luckily, after Anya summons her, Halfrek falls victim to her own curse and has no choice but to break it. The guests go home, but Dawn's not off the hook; during her imprisonment, Anya discovered the hoard of jewelry and talismans that Dawn has been pilfering from the magic shop. Originally broadcast February 12, 2002, on UPN, "Older and Far Away" marked episode 114 of the cult-favorite series. A throwaway joke in this episode suggests that Halfrek is none other than Cecily, the Victorian lass Spike ineffectually romanced when he was human (see "Fool for Love"); both characters were portrayed by Kali Rocha. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide