The Buffy Cast Reunited at ’90s Con — and the Photos Are Everything

Hartford, Connecticut played host this weekend to ‘90s Con, a fan convention celebrating the television and pop culture of the decade, and the Buffy contingent turned out in considerable force. Marc Blucas, Kristine Sutherland, Julie Benz, Claire Kramer, Charisma Carpenter, and James Marsters all appeared — six cast members gathered in one place, which is the kind of thing that produces a particular quality of photograph.

The images circulating from the event have the specific warmth of people who went through something meaningful together and are genuinely pleased to see each other. This is not a given in the reunion convention circuit. It is, here, abundantly evident.

Buffy was not the only ’90s property represented. The weekend also brought together the casts of Charmed, Beverly Hills 90210, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Clueless, All That, and The Wonder Years, among others. Shannen Doherty and Rose McGowan appeared for Charmed. Alicia Silverstone led the Clueless contingent. The full scope of what late-’90s television looked like, assembled in one convention centre in Connecticut, is a genuinely impressive thing to take in.

For the Buffy panel specifically, the combination of Marsters and Carpenter — Spike and Cordelia, one still a fan favourite, one the subject of a long-overdue reassessment of how her character was treated — alongside the more quietly beloved Kristine Sutherland (Joyce) and Julie Benz (Darla) made for a panel that covered considerable ground in the show’s history.

Marc Blucas, who played Riley Finn through seasons four and five, is one of those cast members whose warmth at these events consistently outpaces the fan reception his character tends to receive. Riley has always had a rougher ride in the fandom than the actor deserves, and convention appearances like this one serve as a small but consistent corrective.

The convention circuit has become one of the primary ways that Buffy’s cast maintains contact with its audience. Not all casts from shows of this era still show up for each other. This one largely does. Twenty-six years in, that says something.