Jane Espenson

Jane Espenson is an American television writer and producer. She scripted and co-executively produced several episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and wrote for many other series, including Firefly, Angel, Tru Calling, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Gilmore Girls, and more.

She co-wrote the 2003 Hugo Award-winning (for Best Short Dramatic Presentation) episode "Conversations with Dead People".

She is currently writing for the series Jake in Progress, and the third season of Battlestar Galactica.

Works

Buffyverse

Buffy TV series

Espenson's humorous episodes from the TV series are so characteristic they are called "Espensodes" or "Espisodes". In addition to writing the 23 episodes below, she worked on many (most? all? from 1998 on) other episodes as executive story editor (1998 to 1999); co-producer (1999 to 2000); producer (2000 to 2001); supervising producer (2001-2002); and co-executive producer (2002).

• "Band Candy" (3x06)
• "Gingerbread" (3x11)
• "Earshot" (3x18)
• "The Harsh Light of Day" (4x03)
• "Pangs" (4x08)
• "Doomed" (4x11) (cowritten by Marti Noxon, David Fury & Jane Espenson)
• "A New Man" (4x12)
• "Superstar" (4x17)
• "The Replacement" (5x03)
• "Triangle" (5x11)
• "Checkpoint" (5x12) (cowritten by Douglas Petrie & Jane Espenson)
• "I Was Made To Love You" (5x15)
• "Intervention" (5x18)
• "After Life" (6x03)
• "Flooded" (6x04) (cowritten by Jane Espenson & Douglas Petrie)
• "Life Serial" (6x05) (cowritten by David Fury & Jane Espenson)
• "Doublemeat Palace" (6x12)
• "Same Time, Same Place" (7x03)
• "Conversations with Dead People" (7x07) (cowritten by Jane Espenson & Drew Goddard, with assistance from Joss Whedon & Marti Noxon; won 2003 Hugo Award for Best Short Dramatic Presentation)
• "Sleeper" (7x08)
• "First Date" (7x14)
• "Storyteller" (7x16)
• "End of Days" (7x21)

Angel TV series

• "Rm w/a Vu" (1999)
• "Guise Will Be Guise" (2000)

comics

• "Father" (Buffyverse comic, in Tales of the Vampires (Espenson wrote story))
• "Spot the Vampire" (Buffyverse comic, in Tales of the Vampires (Espenson wrote story))
• "Dust Bowl" (Buffyverse comic, in Tales of the Vampires (Espenson wrote story))
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Haunted (Buffyverse comic, by Jane Espenson & Cliff Richards. The first appearance of Faith in comics.)

animated series

• three unproduced scripts for "Buffy the Animated Series" ("The Back Room"; "Lunch is Revolting!"; "Teeny")

Firefly

• "Shindig"

Tru Calling

Co-executive producer for 6 episodes in 2005:

• "'Twas the Night Before Christmas ... Again"
• "Enough"
• "Last Good Day"
• "In the Dark"
• "Grace"
• "The Perfect Storm"

ST:DS9

• "Accession" 4x17

Battlestar Galactica

• "The Passage" (3x)
• "Dirty Hands" (3x)
• fourth season (forthcoming)
• "Razor"

The Batman

• An animated Batman kid series; Espenson wrote 2 episodes, as did fellow Buffy-alum Douglas Petrie

Edited SF-related work=

• Editor, Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers (2005)

Non-SFnal work

• "The O.C."
• "Gilmore Girls"
• "The Inside"
• "The Batman"
• "Andy Barker, P.I."
• "Jake in Progress" (co-executive producer)
• "Ellen" ("Like a Virgin", 1997 episode)
• "Nowhere Man" ("Zero Minus Ten", aka "Coma" - 1996 episode of a show that is almost SFnal in its conspiracy/paranoia, like "The Prisoner")
• "The Inside" (co-executive producer & writer for this series that centered on a female character with uncanny, but not apparently supernatural, insight into the minds of violent criminals)

Nonfictionial work

• "The Secret To Selling Sci-Fi" 2007/08/07, The New Republic (essay)

Intertextuality

• In the "24" episode 5x10, Audrey Raines makes a phone call and identifies herself as "Jane Espenson" from Accounting

Further reading

• Jane Espenson's official website and blog
• Wikipedia entry