Alison Brie looks like Buffy, and I have proof

by Keith McDuffee

For some time now I've said I thought Alison Brie could pull off playing Buffy Summers, if she were ever given the role. Doubters, prepare to eat your words!

When I first saw NBC’s Community, I hadn’t seen Mad Men or Alison Brie — who plays a character on both shows — before. Shortly after first seeing her in Community, I told Deb I thought she could pull off playing Buffy Summers. She didn’t see what I was talking about, but I think I made a point of telling her that every week that Community was on.

This past weekend, Alison Brie was at the San Diego Comic-Con to support and promote Community, along with most of her castmates. There was a party the night before the Community panel, put on by NBC, where I was able to casually talk to some of the cast. And, of course, I couldn’t help but ask Brie if I was alone in thinking that she resembled Sarah Michelle Gellar.

While I don’t have a direct quote from her, she did tell me that she’s been told she looks like Buffy before and, in fact, was cast as a parody of Buffy in a never-picked-up pilot called Not Another High School Show. Vindicated, at last! I mean, look at her in the photo above — she looks like Buffy, am I right?

I took a look at Brie’s IMDb page and, sure enough, she is credited as “Muffy” in the show. A little more digging around turned up a short trailer, but it doesn’t show Brie’s character. However, it turns out there’s a series on iTunes called “The Lost Pilots” that contains a few shows that never got picked up, including the one for Not Another High School Show. I downloaded the episode to get you the screen shot above, and to see what the deal was with this show.

As far as what the show is all about, let’s just say I’m sure Brie is much happier where she’s at now. The show basically parodies a slew of high school-themed TV shows and movies, including The O.C., Teen Wolf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson’s Creek, Beverly Hills 90210, and a bunch more I’m sure I’m forgetting. It has its funny parts, but a good deal of it is lewd and crass. The first scene Brie was involved in was cringe-inducing. Here’s a hint: just think of the character’s name for a moment. Yeah.

Honestly, if I had known that pilot existed on iTunes, and had watched it before I saw Brie at Comic-Con, I wouldn’t have asked her about it. It’s likely it’s a role she’d rather soon forget. But at least I can stop bugging Deb when Community and Mad Men are on.