Welcome to the Heckmouth was the first episode of the Peckinpah-poisoned "Buffy" series. Of course, the great DP immediately decreed that the name "Hellmouth" was not family-friendly enough. Basically the story plays out the way it did on our Earth. It's two hours long, it has words that are written and delivered (mostly) in the English language and is broadcast on television. However, many details are different. Let's start out with the characters.

Buffy Summers

David Peckinpah says: "When I first started looking over Joss Whedon(who created the movie and was originally slated to head the show's production team until he was chained up in a basement by Fox execs)'s notes for the characters, I was totally bummed. I mean, he didn't want Buffy to be a ditzy cheerleader, like in the movie? He wanted her to be complicated and have mixed feelings about being a superhero? How boring!! What was he thinking, I thought he was supposed to be some kind of boy genius?? Then I figured it out: it was all in code, like in those secret spy games they had back in the Hundred Years War. Everything in the notes was true to what was supposed to happen, but it was written the opposite of the way it was going to be presented in the script! You know like that alternate world-type thing in 'Batman'. Anyway, we immediately made Buffy a flaky, dumb blond cheerleader who is popular and shallow, per Whedon's instructions. Heh heh, I said 'per'." From the 'Welcome to the Heckmouth' script: Buffy: "Like, wow, this slaying gig is so totally gnarly! Who cares if some of my friends get killed, they knew how dangerous it was when they signed on! Bitchin'!"

Xander Harris

DP: "Well, this one threw me for a loop, too. A character that was supposed to be comic relief did NOT fit in with what Fox and me had in store for the show. Besides, who has the time to come up with a joke for every episode? (Whedon even thought we might use more than one in a single show. The guy just has no sense of how hard it is to write for television.) Instead, we decided Xander would just ride around on motorcycles all the time. After all, when you're fighting vampires, you've got to have a good set of wheels around. Joss wanted this Nick Brendan kid to audition for the part, but I wanted to go for a completely different look for Xander. And I think all the fans (Author's Note: Yeah, all three of them in this screwed up universe) were happy with Kelly Brendan's performance. From the script: Xander: "I hate vampires. But I'm going to have to take a stand and say motorcycles rock!"

Willow Rosenberg

DP: "Another wacky thing about Joss is, he's got all this stuff planned for characters years in advance. Normally, I don't read that boring 'character developmawhatzit' crap, but one word stood out clearly. 'Lesbian'. (Another author's note: Actually, the only note at this point was 'lesbian tendencies', but Peck was clearly running the show on his own terms by this time.) So instead of waiting years to manifest itself like the Whedon kid wanted, I figured why not bring it up from the get-go? So I basically rewrote the script so that every line she says and is said to her, has an intricate double entendre meaning. Now I said entendre, what is with me today? Note to self: stop hanging around with Whedon." From the script: Cordelia: "Nice outfit, Willow. It's good to know you've seen the gayer side of Lilith Fair."

Cordelia Chase

DP: "I wasn't happy with the character of Cordelia from the start. Whedon described her as 'tactless, snobby, rude and completely insensitive' (as if that's a bad thing?). Also, he wanted her to start out as an antagonist to Buffy and her friends, and eventually join them? Can't he ever make up his mind and just pick one or the other? We ended up making her best friends with Buffy right off the bat. After that, the biggest issue was with her name. Once Whedon explained the source, we immediately agreed to introduce Cordelia's cousin Hamlet later in the season and do a whole story arc based on 'Titus Andronicus' that involved her in the near future." From the script: Buffy: Teehee. Cordelia: Oh, stop.

Rupert Giles

DP: "Another character overhaul was necessary when we got to Giles. I was worried that being older, British, and kind of stuffy, he might lose our core demographic. But how could I tie him to popular culture? Of course, when I read he was going to be a Watcher, I knew what we had to do. Whedon was reluctant at first, but after I beat him over the head with a rolling pin a few times, he agreed. Anthony Stewart Head looked really great with a bald head, glowing yellow eyes and that white-and-blue toga thing. The special effects that made him look five times bigger than everybody else was a little time consuming, but well worth it." From the script: Giles: The end is nigh, Fantastic F....I mean, Buffy. Galactus...I mean, the Harvest is coming and the world is in great peril.

Angel

DP: "Angel was by far the best character Whedon created. I mean, a vampire named Angel, it's just so perfect. But the best part was what we got to do with him BEFORE the audience found out he was a vampire. We had scenes where he puts a cross around Buffy's neck, walks around in broad daylight and we even had him in the background near the end repeatedly staking himself through the heart...all with no effect! No one would ever suspect he was a vampire...and we could get away with it because the audience didn't KNOW yet that he was a vampire." From the script: Angel: Don't worry, I won't bite. It's not like I'm a VAMPIRE or anything. Hahahahahahahahaha.

And let's not even discuss what he did with the Master and the Order of Aurelius. But let's just say that vamps in Nazi outfits don't make for quality television.