Alyson Hannigan as she appeared in the
1989 ABC "sitcom" Free Spirit
(and I do use the term sitcom
loosely). Sorry, Aly, nothing personal
at all. :-)
On to bigger and much better
things . . . Alyson as she appeared in
the Season 1 opening credits of The WB's
Buffy The Vampire Slayer. (1997)
(Picture ©1997 Twentieth Century Fox
Television and The WB
Television Network.)
Alyson Hannigan could now be considered a veteran television actress. She first appeared on TV screens across America in 1978 (at the tender age of 4) in a commercial for Oreos cookies. During the 1980's, she also was featured in commercials for McDonalds and Six Flags amusement parks. Next followed several guest shots in various television series and movies, most notably her most famous role as Willow Rosenberg--the best friend of Buffy Summers (The Slayer, The Chosen One) in The WB's Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Alyson has also begun to make her mark on the big screen as well.
What follows is a breakdown of Alyson's acting career thus far, including current and upcoming projects. Also, I have included my personal commentary on the things I have seen or have some knowledge of. Most information contained herein is courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
My Stepmother Is An Alien (1988)
(Motion Picture, Columbia TriStar
Pictures)
Role: Jessie Mills
Commentary: Pleasant enough
sci-fi comedy with a 13-14 year-old
Alyson making her feature film debut as
the daughter of Dan Aykroyd. Kim
Basinger is Alyson's new stepmother who
is not of this earth. There is a fine
scene showcasing the fine dramatic
talent of Alyson as she tearfully tries
to convince her father that his new
bride
is not what she seems to be. Also of
note is a little unintentional
foreshadowing with an appearance by her
future Buffy costar and on-screen
romantic interest Seth Green as Jessie's
date Fred Glass. A must-see for Alyson
fans.
Free Spirit (1989)
(TV series, ABC)
Role: Jessie Harper
Commentary: I honestly do not
remember Alyson being in this
(thankfully) short-lived sitcom. I do
remember seeing it when it was on and it
was horrible. Something about witches
(again, unintentional foreshadowing).
Whatever. This was mercifully yanked
after a short run. I'm sure Alyson was
wonderful in it, though, especially
given the material. :-)
Roseanne (1990)
(TV Series, ABC)
Role: Becky's friend #2 (Guest
star)
Episode: "Like, A New Job"
(Episode #3.4; 10/9/90)
Commentary: I finally caught
this on TBS in Dec. '99. Basically,
Alyson is the second of two of Becky's
friends (hence the role name). She
shows up with Becky at the Rodbell
department store restaurant where
Roseanne started working. Alyson has
one speaking line: "Like, duh, Becky."
If you are an Alyson fan, watch for this
third season episode in syndication.
Switched At Birth (1991)
(TV Miniseries, NBC)
Role: Gina Twigg, age 13-16
George (1993)
(TV Series, ABC)
Role: ???? (most likely guest
star)
Commentary: This was George
Foreman's stab at a sitcom. I remember
the show, but not Alyson.
Almost Home (aka The Torkelsons, 1993)
(TV Series, NBC)
Role: Samantha
Episodes: "The Dance" (Episode
#1.10; 4/17/93) and "Hot Ticket"
(Episode #1.12; 6/5/93)
Commentary: In this show, Alyson
played the tomboyish girlfriend of one
of the characters (the name escapes me).
Mylanta commercial (1993)
Commentary: No memory of this at
all. I never knew it existed until I
went to The Clergyman's excellent The
Wonderful Alyson Hannigan site. I
have included it here for the sake of
completeness.
Touched By An Angel (1994)
(TV Series, CBS)
Role: Cassie Peters (Guest Star)
Episode: "Cassie's Choice"
(Episode #1.5; 10/26/94)
Commentary: This is the
only episode of Touched...
I have ever seen. If this episode had
not featured Alyson, I still would have
never seen an episode. I got my friend
Sam to tape this for me from her cable
system since the Bloomington, IN, PAX
affiliate does not have a stong enough
signal to reach me. Anyway, Alyson is
pregnant teen Cassie Peters. Cassie
makes the tough decision to give the
baby up for adoption. After seeing her
baby, however, Cassie second-guesses the
decision and takes off with the baby.
Angel Monica (Roma Downey) poses as a
member of the hospital OB/GYN staff and
guides Cassie along the way. Very
formulaic stuff here, but Alyson puts in
a great performance (I still say she is
one of Hollywood's best criers--take
that Demi Moore!). Two bits of
unintentional foreshadowing here.
Cassie plays the flute (American
Pie) and the baby is eventually
named Faith (Buffy The Vampire
Slayer). Alyson fans should
definitely seek this out on your local
PAX affiliate.
The Stranger Beside Me (1995)
(TV Movie, NBC)
Role: Dana
Picket Fences (1996)
(TV Series, CBS)
Role: Peggy Patterson (Guest
Star)
Episode: "To Forgive Is Divine"
(Episode #4.21; 6/19/96)
Commentary: I only saw a handful
of episodes of Picket Fences and
this is not one of them. Reruns
currently air on Fox's FX network.
Indecent Seduction (1996)
(TV Movie)
Role: Kelly
For My Daughter's Honor (1996)
(TV Movie)
(Picture ©1998 Twentieth Century Fox
Televison and The WB
Television Network.)
Buffy The
Vampire Slayer (1997-present)
(TV Series, The WB)
Role: Willow Rosenberg (Series
Regular)
Commentary: THE role. This is
the role that has put Alyson Hannigan in
the homes of television viewers on a
weekly basis. Alyson plays Willow, the
girl who befriends Buffy Summers on her
first day at Sunnydale (CA) High School.
As Buffy's true nature as the Slayer
(fighter of demons, vampires, and all
things evil) becomes known, Willow
becomes Buffy's best friend and a vital
member of the Slayerettes--a term coined
by Willow herself. The
Slayerettes--which have included at
various times Willow, Xander, Cordelia,
Oz, and Jenny Calendar--along with
Buffy's Watcher Rupert Giles assist
Buffy in her destined fight against the
evil forces. Willow's computer hacking
skills and internet prowess have been
essential in this battle. Willow has
evolved from the shy, backward bookworm
to . . . well, a lesser version of that
who is now a practicing Wiccan.
Throughout it all, she has been one of
the favorites from the show. Willow and
Alyson have a VERY strong and loyal
following on the Internet, as evidenced
by the many tribute websites.
(Picture ©1998 Paramount/MTV Films.)
Dead Man On Campus (1998)
(Motion picture, Paramount/MTV Films)
Role: Lucy
Commentary: There are several
classic college movies. Dead Man On
Campus is not among them. In fact, Alyson herself is not a fan of the movie. She offers her opinion of the film in the October 2000 issue of the British magazine Dreamwatch: "I won't sit here and tell you to see [it] either, because it is a piece of sh*t. I did that film after Season One, when I didn't know if we were even coming back for another season, so you have to take a job if it's offered." It is very predictable, but it does feature
Alyson, though. This film stars
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved By The
Bell) and Tom Everett Scott (That
Thing You Do) as college freshmen
who, after blowing off their classes for
the semester, seek out a suicidal
roommate in hopes of achieving a perfect
4.0 GPA after said roomie offs himself.
Alyson's screentime is very small, but
her charm shines through the mediocre
(at best) material. There are some
funny scenes (like Lucy's hit off a
bong), but this one is best left to the
die-hard Alyson fans (like myself!).
Dead Man On Campus: Cram Session (1998)
(TV Special, MTV)
Commentary: Alyson appears in
this MTV promo for the film. It must
not have helped much as the movie tanked
at the box office.
Loveline (1998)
(TV advice show, MTV)
Air Date: 10/30/98
Commentary: Alyson was a
celebrity guest along with her
Buffy co-star Seth Green. This
call-in show offers advice on love and
sex issues.
Videos That Don't Suck (1998)
(TV special, MTV)
Air Date: 10/31/98
Commentary: Alyson and the rest
of the Buffy cast appear to
promote the show and to count down
videos that . . . don't suck.
The Howie Mandel Show (1998)
(TV talk show, syndicated)
Air Date: 12/8/98
Commentary: Alyson was a guest
on this now-defunct gabfest.
Donny & Marie (1999)
(TV talk show, syndicated)
Air Date: 2/2/99
Commentary: Alyson was a guest
on this show hosted by Utah's most
famous brother-sister team.
Hayley Wagner, Star (1999)
(TV movie, Showtime[?])
Role: Jenna Jakes
MTV Movie Awards (1999)
(TV special, MTV)
Roles: Various
Commentary: Take out the actual
awards dreck and you have the best
parts. Alyson is featured in the Movie
Awards traditional movie spoofs. The
funniest and (depending upon your view)
most intriguing is the introduction to
"Best Kiss" which features Alyson and
Jamie Pressley skewering Sarah Michelle
Gellar's girl-girl kiss in Cruel
Intentions.
(Picture ©1999
Universal Pictures.)
American Pie (1999)
(Motion picture, Universal)
Role: Michelle
Commentary: "This one time, at
band camp . . . " Just when you think
you've seen all (and enough of) the teen
sex comedies and "sons-of-Porky's",
along comes American Pie. The
raunch factor is very high (it had to be
trimmed for theatrical release to avoid
the kiss-of-death NC-17 rating). But it
is also touching at times. And it is
also very funny. The basic premise
centers around the pact four high school
seniors make to lose their virginity by
the end of prom night. After much
humiliation after trying to score with a
gorgeous Czech exchange student, Jim
(Jason Biggs) settles for Michelle, a
band geek (how I hate to use that
description about Aly) with endless
stories of band camp. Alyson literally
steals the movie at the end when we find
out this hidden other side of Michelle,
with two of the most classic lines in
recent movie history (which I cannot put
here, unfortunately--rent or buy the
movie!). This is where I first saw
Alyson and I was IMMEDIATELY awestruck
by her. If you can tolerate a lot of
bathroom-style humor, I recommend this
movie highly.
1999 Women's World Cup Final Draw (1999)
(TV special, ESPN2)
Air Date: Summer 1999
Commentary: Once a soccer player
in her teens, Alyson was on hand to draw
the host country for the 1999 Women's
World Cup.
Late Night With Conan O'Brien (1999)
(TV talk show, NBC)
Air Date: 7/8/99
Commentary: Alyson appeared on
Conan's program during publicity for
American Pie.
(Picture ©1999 WABC-TV.)
Live With Regis and Kathie Lee (1999)
(TV talk show, syndicated)
Air Date: 7/9/99
Commentary: More publicity for
American Pie. According to a
transcript
of the interview I read, Alyson was
wearing a paper dress.
(Picture ©1999 ABC.)
Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher
(1999)
(TV talk show, ABC)
Air Date: 7/12/99
Commentary: Upon the release of
American Pie, Alyson appeared
with co-stars Jason Biggs, Tara Reid,
and Shannon Elizabeth. In keeping with
the theme of AP, much of the
discussion focused on the attitudes
toward sex in America.
100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd (1999)
(Children's TV series, Nickelodeon)
Role: Gigi
Episode: "Dog Day Out" (Episode
#1.4; 11/6/99)
Commentary: Alyson provided the
voice of Gigi in this Nickelodeon
children's show.
Beyond The City Limits (2000)
(Motion picture, Big Picture
Entertainment)
Role: ?????
Commentary: Although this
independent film is reportedly in the
can, no release date has been announced
as of this writing. The most I gather
from this film is that it somehow
involves a casino heist and a lot of
double-crossing. Alyson's character is
reportedly a lesbian, heroin addict with
a child . . . a departure for her. I'll
see it for sure. It is like I once
posted in alt.tv.buffy-v-slayer; I could
watch Alyson in a big floppy straw hat
dancing to jug band music and be
enthralled.
(Picture ©2000 ABC.)
Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher
(2000)
(TV talk show, ABC)
Air Date: 2/14/00
Commentary: Unfortunately,
Alyson really did not get to say too
much on her second PI appearance.
Actress/comedienne Caroline Rhea and
author What's-her-name (it escapes me)
dominated the Valentine's Day-themed
discussion. Aly did, however,
get a couple of zingers in at Bill's
expense as he assumed his role of
antagonist/male chauvanist. I really
would have liked to hear more out of
her, though.
(Picture ©2000 ESPN Networks.)
The 24th Annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity
Race (2000)
(Auto racing, ESPN)
Air Date: 4/30/00 (Air date
5/11/00 on ESPN2)
Commentary: Alyson was a
participant in this annual event, held
in Long Beach, CA, on April 15, 2000.
This is a charity event. Alyson was
joined by such actors as Josh Brolin,
Ashley Judd, Melissa Joan Hart, Joshua
Morrow; football great John Elway; film
genius George Lucas; and racing pros
Derek Daly and Lyn St. James. The
course was 10 laps on a 1.97 mile course
winding through the streets of Long
Beach. Alyson finished 14th in a field
of 17 participants (beating out car
enthusiast Lucas). The celebrity (and
overall) winner was Brolin and Daly took
the top finish among the pros. Way to
go, Alyson! Even though Melissa beat
you, we know that Willow could kick
Sabrina's ass! :-)
Boys and Girls (2000)
(Motion picture, Miramax)
Role: ?????
Commentary: Alyson's latest film
project is this romantic comedy.
Starring Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Meet
Joe Black's Claire Forlani, Alyson
joins American Pie co-star Jason
Biggs and Heather Donahue (The Blair
Witch Project) in the supporting
cast. You can bet I will be seeing
this. I will post a review here after I
see the movie. SCHEDULED TO PREMIERE
JUNE 16, 2000.
Visit another section of The Temple of Alyson Hannigan by clicking below.
Last updated September 24, 2000
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