Remember that time when Doctor Who crossed over with Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Neither do we. But apparently it must’ve happened at some point, because Matt Smith’s Doctor is the unexpected star of a new 2022 Buffy wall calendar.
Joss Whedon’s supernatural drama series celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, and fans still hold it in high regard after all this time ⏤ even if the merchandise surrounding it isn’t always as high-quality as it should be.
As pointed out by Twitter user Alex McLevy, an (obviously) unofficial Buffy wall calendar hilariously features about as big a goof as you can get. The January image showcases all of your favorite Buffyverse characters, including the Slayer herself (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Spike (James Marsters), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Giles (Anthony Head), Xander (Nicholas Brendan), Anya (Emma Caulfield), and, for some reason, Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor.
“I’d like to thank the makers of the 2022 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER calendar for obviously being devoted, passionate fans of the show who can readily identify all the most iconic characters,” McLevy joked.
And, no, this isn’t just a gag, it’s 100% genuine, as you can check out the calendar’s listing on Amazon — where it’s labeled as a “buffy the vapire [sic] slayer calendar.”
If you’re wondering what’s going on here, it turns out that this is a decade-old piece of fan art created back when Smith was still on board the sci-fi series. Artist Andy Lambert confirmed this in a reply to the original tweet in which he expressed frustration that his image is being used without his permission.
Hardcore Doctor Who fans may notice that Smith isn’t the only Whoniverse figure in this artwork. The demon in the background is actually Azal from the 1970s Jon Pertwee story “The Daemons.” Clearly, Lambert did a good enough job with this piece to fool some lazy calendar-makers out there into thinking it was a genuine Buffy promo image.
If you want some official Buffy merch to celebrate this milestone year for the Scoobies, BOOM Studios is releasing Buffy the Vampire Slayer 25th Anniversary Special #1 this March.
