Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 10 Things About The Bronze That Make No Sense

Buffy The Vampire Slayer is a classic of genre TV. It also begs a lot of questions, even today. One of them is how on Earth The Bronze ever made any sense. The nightclub was a central location throughout the entire series, a place where the Scoobies hung out, battled, and had some of their greatest and saddest moments. But some things about it don’t add up.

Should the series be rebooted for television, which seems likely at some point, some things about The Bronze might be worth reconsidering. The logic of the club stretched credibility on more than one occasion. Actually, maybe every occasion.

10 It’s The Only Club In Town

Sunnydale is likely the only university town in America with only one nightclub. The Bronze was cited as the town’s only place to hang out for young people which never really made sense. Sure, Sunnydale was a fairly small town with a population estimated at around 38,000 people. Even so, it was home to the University of California at Sunnydale and north of ten different cemeteries (which was just… odd). Then again, the gang did spend a crazy amount of time in Giles’ apartment.

9 In The ‘Bad’ Part Of Town

Another thing that makes no sense about The Bronze as the only hangout is that it’s in the ‘bad part of town.’ This is never really explained, beyond the fact that it’s near shipping docks and railroad tracks. By the way, both of those are indicators of a major industry that should have been reason enough for more than one club. If The Bronze truly was in a part of town that was prone to violence or crime, then it was irresponsible at least for the club to be there and for people to go. But the Scoobies were never famous for their judgment.

8 It’s Massive

Being the only club around, it probably makes sense The Bronze is big. But there is really no justification for how big it is. The club appears to have been built within a former warehouse or factory space, which is sensible enough given its location. But it’s big enough to house the entire population of Sunnydale. In addition to the stage – gigantic relative to similar real-world spaces – the club hosted a dance floor, pool table, balcony, and an entire second floor.

7 Anyone Can Get In

Buffy Summers wasn’t always the best sister to Dawn. More than once she brought Dawn along to The Bronze, which by that point was clearly a hotbed of supernatural activity (more on that in a minute). In her defense, The Bronze admitted minors from the start.

The Bronze didn’t serve alcohol to minors, but that appears not to have been any kind of challenge for them. The club’s demographic is so broad it’s hard to know who it was exactly serving.

6 Like Anyone

The show established pretty quickly that The Bronze wasn’t just a fun place for Sunnydale youth to hang out. It was also a barrel full of fish for vampires and other supernatural creatures to find prey. Minors could get in just fine and so could people who clearly should not have been there. Spike and Drusilla come to mind (it’s where Buffy meets them) but the list of obviously shady individuals who got in is pretty long. Still, it wouldn’t be a supernatural teen drama without it.

5 No Adult Supervision

After Buffy and the Scoobies graduated to college in season 4 they continued to hang out at The Bronze and it became clear the club was sort of a catch-all for the town’s youth. The mix of minors and alcohol should have been enough to require some adult supervision (to say nothing of the high incidence of supernatural violence) but it never was. Adults like Giles and Joyce sometimes hung out there but never in a supervisory capacity, which made no sense at all.

4 Bands Every Night Of The Week

The Bronze showcased more than just big fight scenes. A band played there virtually every time the Scoobies went, including school nights, which is pretty odd. Clubs, especially in small towns, tend to book live entertainment on the weekends or holidays. It seems pretty clear that The Bronze had someone going every single night. That would have been pretty expensive, and probably required a cover. It’s unlikely the Scoobies would have been able to afford that every night.

3 Recognizable Bands

Not only did The Bronze pay for bands to play every night, but they also paid out big for some recognizable (if uncredited) acts. Among the many acts that the show had on in musical cameos were Michelle Branch and rock icon Aimee Mann, responsible for the soundtrack of Magnolia, one of P.T. Anderson’s best movies.

The show showcased numerous real-life bands, including The Breeders, Splendid, Darling Violetta, Cibo Matto, and more. They also showcased many local unsigned bands as well.

2 Fumigation Party

One glaring reason to avoid The Bronze had to do with one of its biggest annual events. Every year, the club held a ‘fumigation party’ to celebrate the yearly attempt to get rid of all of its cockroaches. This didn’t stop people from coming back apparently. It’s odd that the club would make such a big deal out of its big problem but not the very real and very routine problem it had with violence and mayhem. Disasters occurred so commonly at the club it’s hard to see how it stayed open.

1 Remarkable Ability To Rebound

The Bronze featured in the majority of episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and was key to some of its best episodes. That means it was also central to some of its most calamitous moments. Several people were killed, kidnapped, or worse inside the club. The Bronze itself was severely damaged on several occasions, most prominently by a troll who collapsed part of the structure. Still, it rebuilt and reopened, plugging along without any real concern for future violence (or money).

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