Vampire

Buffy The Vampire Slayer on UPN? It could work. Why, there's the episode where Sarah Michelle Gellar's character becomes an XFL cheerleader. Or she could show up on WWF Smackdown! to break up a fight between Stone Cold and The Undertaker. And when the networks announce their schedules in a few weeks, UPN could bring her out chained to four lucky guys looking to make a romantic connection...

Wait a sec. Come to think of it, this makes no sense. Buffy on UPN? What's next, The Sopranos on PAX? After months of bitter negotiations among several media giants, UPN shook the hellmouth out of the TV world when it stole The WB's crown jewel by forking over $2.3 million per episode for Buffy — $500,000 more than The WB's offer and nearly $1.5 million more than was paid for the drama this season.

While shows have switched channels before — The WB and UPN picked up ABC castoffs Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and The Hughleys, respectively — this is the first time in recent TV history that a series has jumped networks purely for financial reasons. ''Given there's so much consolidation in the media industry, it's not all that shocking,'' says analyst Stacey Lynn Koerner of TN Media, noting that Buffy's production company is owned by News Corp., which recently made a deal to acquire eight major UPN affiliates.

So, this isn't just a case of reprogramming your TiVo. Here's how the network swap impacts the Buffysphere.

THE STARS

THE GOOD Gellar & Co. are on board for at least two more years of slaying. And yes, David Boreanaz will still be flashing his Angel eyes. If The WB doesn't renew the Buffy spinoff, UPN is expected to grab the show.
THE BAD Earlier this year, Gellar told E! Online she'd bolt Buffy if it left The WB. Me-ouch! She quickly recanted after lawyers reportedly reminded her of the two years left on her contract.
VERDICT ''Their lives don't change,'' says Buffy creator Joss Whedon. ''They still take orders from me.''

THE SHOW

THE GOOD After a tense stand-off with The WB, Whedon joins a network that prizes his show. ''There's a much greater comfort zone,'' he says, ''and a feeling of being appreciated, that this show is worth something, which was lacking at the highest level at The WB.''
THE BAD No matter how you slice it, Buffy is moving from a network catering to young females to one pumping testosterone.
VERDICT A drop in prestige, but you won't see it on the screen.

UPN

THE GOOD Voila! A network in dire need of a successful drama suddenly has a proven hit — and a critical darling. (Icing on the stake: It expects to launch a new Star Trek spin-off next season, replacing Voyager.) Notes UPN CEO Dean Valentine: ''It sends a good signal to other writers and producers.''
THE BAD Buffy may be past its prime: The five-year-old series has dropped 33 percent of its teen viewers over last season. Plus, Valentine has to live down his reported 1998 dis of The WB's youthful serials like Buffy. ''They're not for us,'' Valentine said. ''I don't want to say to [viewers], 'You know, you're not 19 years old. Your hormones aren't out of whack. Don't come to UPN.'''
VERDICT Buffy puts the also-ran net in the game, but at what price?