On Feb. 13 at 7PST, an installment of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was aired on
FX (Channel 16 in Santa Barbara). The plot involved a malevolent Chumash
spirit released by the opening of the mission catacombs during construction.
The spirit goes on to have several violent encounters with the living,
including the hanging and throat- cutting of the modern pastor of the
mission, transforming into a flock of ravens and a black bear, dressing like
an Apache when in human form, and stating that "you worked us to death and
put us in missions to kill us with disease" to the modern characters. The
mission and community is a barely disguised reference to Santa Barbara, the
friar victim is wearing a Franciscan habit, and views of the front of the
mission  appear to be taken at Santa Ines. Is there no end to this kind of
drivel? Is it any wonder that youngsters that see this get an image of early
California that is hard to correct (if at all) in the classroom and that they
carry with them into adult life! The spirit finally enters the local
university museum and murders the faculty curator with a stone knife from one
of the display cases!!!  Has no one ever protested this image? I hope that
the studio paid dearly for the privilege of using the mission backdrop for
their program. Perhaps the owners should have exercised some editorial review
of the content as part of the contract. Is there no end to the autrocities of
"artistic license" against the realities of history? Anyone have a suggestion
about what we can do to see this does not happen again?