The Bronze

The Bronze is a fictional nightclub in Sunnydale, the fictional setting for the television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Of 144 episodes of the series, 66 have at least one scene at the Bronze, not including its appearance in the Unaired Buffy pilot." The shooting location of The Bronze was at the "Buffy" studio lot in Santa Monica, California.

Food, drink, and entertainment

As the lead characters of "Buffy" were in high school during the first three seasons, the Bronze was depicted primarily as a coffee bar that hosts live music and serves as a nightclub. By season three, it became clear that the Bronze has a liquor license, [The Bronze served beer in "Doppelgangland" (3.16).] although the main characters were still usually seen drinking cappuccinos or hot chocolate. [As can be seen from the episode "Beer Bad" (4.05), the program does not encourage drinking. Note that the bar in this episode is not the Bronze itself.]

While the drinking age in California is 21, it is generally ignored in the show other than when it is needed as part of the story. For example:

* In "Doppelgangland" (3.16), Anya asks for beer and the bartender kept insisting she provide proof of age until she gave up and settled for a Coke.
* The fourth-season episode "Something Blue" features Willow (a college freshman) pining after Oz and dancing drunk.
* In "Family", Dawn had to wear a wristband indicating that she was underage, while Buffy (who is only nineteen [Buffy's birthday occurs later that season in "Blood Ties"; her age is not specified, but her previous birthday in "A New Man" was said to be her nineteenth.] ) and her friends do not. (The birthdates of Willow, Xander, and Riley are never given in canon, but it can be assumed that Willow and Xander, who are in the same academic year as Buffy, are also underage.)

The Bronze seems to have an unlimited refurbishment and furniture-replacement budget and, throughout all seven seasons of "Buffy", serves as the venue for most night-time social settings.

That the Bronze plays live music is not only used as a plot device for Oz's band Dingoes Ate My Baby but also as a subtle means for the production team to showcase new bands from the Los Angeles area, as well as more well-known artists and bands such as Aimee Mann, Splendid, Cibo Matto, Angie Hart, Michelle Branch and Nerf Herder.

Dingoes Ate My Baby

Dingoes Ate My Baby (playing the music of the real-life band Four Star Mary) appears at the Bronze more than any other band. It makes the following appearances there:

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.thebronzealternative.com/ The Bronze Alternative - The Bronze Threaded Posting Board Continues]
* [http://www.bronzebeta.com/ Bronze:Beta]