I was quite excited about the chance to meet Kristine Sutherland, who played the role of Joyce Summers – aka Buffy’s mom – in the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She starred in 58 episodes of the series through the first five seasons (until her character is killed off), and then returning in the last two seasons in guest roles involving manifestations and flashbacks. The episode The Body, in which Joyce dies in a purely natural way, was one of the most powerful of the series.
Kristine Sutherland hasn’t had a huge film or TV career outside the series, but did star in the original Honey I Shrunk the Kids as Mae Thompson, matriarch of the rival next door neighbors. In any case, through Buffy she has achieved her legacy.
I got my chance to meet her at the Wizard World Comic Con in Louisville, Kentucky (not far from where she attended high school in Lexington), on Friday, March 28, 2014. Part of me expected the very kind Joyce Summers of the TV series, who would welcome us with open arms and pass out free autographs. But then reality set in and I shelled out the $35 for the autograph/photo op combo. She was relatively nice and said that this was the second show she had done. She somewhat reluctantly posed for a picture with Carolyn on the same dime.
I was pretty ecstatic to meet Kristine Sutherland, as my quest for encounters with the major cast members of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel continues to be narrowed.
Celebrity encounters from the 2014 Lexington Wizard World Comic Con will continue…
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