The non-broadcast pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was produced by 20th Century Fox Television in 1996 to pitch a series to networks.

[1][2][3] The twenty-five-and-a-half-minute production was written and directed by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, and was expanded upon and re-shot for the first episode of the series.

[6] The plot concerns Buffy Summers' move to Sunnydale after being expelled from a school in Los Angeles.

While a popular bootleg, Whedon has said the pilot episode will not be officially released, as he feels it is of poor quality.

[7] Buffy Summers begins her first day at Berryman High School, where she meets Principal Flutie, Xander Harris, Willow, and the British librarian, Mr. Giles.

The next morning, Giles is unimpressed by Buffy's sloppy fighting and the fact that she allowed others to find out her identity as the Slayer.