CSTS Los Angeles Event to be Broadcast Live Via the Web!

The Can't Stop Serenity 2011 Season is just around the corner with events starting this weekend. We just received amazing news that the Los Angeles CSTS event, which Joss Whedon and Felicia Day will be attending, will be broadcast live via the web! So even if you're not in the LA area on June 25th, you can experience this huge night that's also for an amazing cause.

The event is brought to you by the California Browncoats. ComiCenter Live, the online podcast talk show, will be bringing you every minute of the live events from the stage. There will also be multiple cameras to capture footage from around the event and interviews with attendees. What fun!

IDW WEEK: Interview with Writer and Editor, Mariah Huehner

Next up, we talk with editor and writer on the final series of Angel, Illyria, and Spike stories, Mariah Huehner.  Over the last few years, she's become a stellar voice with the fans, always there to talk about what was happening behind the scenes.  We dig a little deeper with her today, asking some of those questions she couldn't quite answer before the book was still running.
 
Buffyfest: You came in right after the Kelley Armstrong arc was done and a lot of fans were wondering, "Why didn't IDW just tap one of the Angel TV Series writers to work on the book?"

Mariah Huehner: I always like that question because there's no easy answer. We did, of course, approach some people from the show. But everyone was busy or, you know, working on Buffy. :} I'm not in any way knocking Buffy, of course. But we just didn't have the option of tapping someone from the show at the time. Plus, comics is a different medium than TV. Just because you love one doesn't mean you have any interest in the other.

Buffyfest: The other big question that got asked back then (and again, later) was, "Why not a fan writer?" It wasn't unknown that some fans had pitched for the book, that many fans write stories about these characters often. Was that ever considered?

MH: Well, no. And again, not as a knock to fans, the thing is, comics are a lot harder to write than most people realize. You need experienced writers in the medium to construct stories like this. Just loving the show isn't enough. You need to understand this specific form of storytelling, meet deadlines, and be confident you can handle a world of this size and cast this big. The truth is, all the writers we hired were also fans of the show.

Buffyfest: Right. Which brings us to the first set of stories you were editor on, those being written by Bill Willingham and Bill Williams. There was a lot of controversy concerning the characterization of many of the major players at that time, that Spike was acting strangely, that Angel was out of the book for too long. Looking back on it, do you still stand behind those stories? Is there anything you would have wanted to do differently?

MH: I do still stand behind those stories. We wouldn't have published them if we didn't think they were worth telling. I think I probably would have gotten Angel back into the action sooner, for instance. And been maybe a touch more obvious about Spike. But there were reasons for all of that, real story and character reasons, so it's not like anything was done arbitrarily. The argument that characters were acting OOC...that seems to come up no matter who is writing something. I've even seen that about stuff Joss has written. So we couldn't really worry about that too much. It's a bit subjective.

Buffyfest: Once Bill left, you and David took over to complete his arc and move into what would become the final story. How closely did you keep to Bill's original plan and how much was changed? When you were planning out those stories, did you take into account what fans were saying or is it too risky to play into what fans want?

MH: We kept some things and not others. We had to finish the arc up in a way that made sense so obviously certain plot and character points Bill had been building towards were there. But we also had to change some elements to set up the next arc which was something David and I developed on our own. We went in a very different direction with the last arc for obvious reasons. In terms of what fans were saying...that's a tough one. We certainly cared, you want people to enjoy the stories you're telling. But overall, no, we had to tell a story we felt was right for the characters and the kind of ending we thought Angel deserved. Not two fans want the same exact thing so you can't base stories on that.

Buffyfest: When in the process of writing did you find out that the license was reverting back to Dark Horse?

MH: I honestly don't remember. Probably around the time everyone else did. :}

Buffyfest: Did you have a longer narrative in mind originally?

MH: Yeah, David and I had a longer arc planned. It would have been more fleshed out, more detailed and weird.

Buffyfest: What would you like to have done, given more time? Anything in particular? Any other characters you would have liked to focus more on? Would you have wanted to bring in more original characters?

MH: Personally, I would've wanted more stuff with Illyria and her role in that future. We had to cut a lot of that to get Angel back to his present and I was sad to see it go. And I would have liked to do more with Wolfram & Hart, been able to get more into what was going on with them and their reappearance.

I don't think we would've added more new characters, though. That arc was more about the core group and Angel's relationship with Connor. But also about choices and fighting the good fight. We had to pace things very tightly in the last arc, and while I'm pleased with how it turned out, you always wish you had more time with everyone. More moments to let breathe, more character exploration.

Buffyfest: You became a pretty big presence in the IDW forums throughout your time writing and editing. Was it hard going from being a fan who could be critical of the show's narrative to being on the receiving end of that criticism? How did you deal with that shift, especially when you moved from editing to editing AND writing?

MH: Honestly, I really didn't mind any of the criticism unless it was because people were making huge assumptions about what we were doing. In general the IDW forum is constructive and spirited, but not mean. And you can't expect to write something in a world like this and not get criticized. You just can't make story choices based on that.

The transition from editing to co-writing was interesting. I've definitely been critical of some of the show's storylines so David and I would talk about the things we felt worked vs. what we didn't, mostly to avoid being repetitive or getting into narrative sinkholes.

I wanted to be accessible on the forums, though, because I could see how important these characters and stories were to the fans and I wanted to make sure they knew that we cared, too.

At core, I'm a fan of stories. I get emotional over ones I connect to, so I can completely relate to how people feel about this world. The only times that were a real challenge is when some people would insist that their interpretation was -the- interpretation. There's pretty much no such thing. I think there are interpretations that hold up better under analysis than others, but the truth is, if people believe something and feel it deeply, then it's true for them. And I'd rather the stories were layered enough to do that than not.

Buffyfest: And now we're at the end. This week will see the final IDW Angel comic, the Angel Yearbook. Tell us how that came about and what the goal was for these final stories.

MH: Well, Ryall and I talked about doing something after the last issue of the series that would showcase all the folks that had worked on Angel since the beginning. So we asked everyone what characters they'd most like to tell a story about from any point in the series. It was funny because everyone picked someone different and organically came up with these touching, relevant, sincere stories to end with.

The real goal was making it celebratory of Angel and his family.

Buffyfest: Final round up with the work you did on these stories, tell us: Thing you're most proud of, biggest challenge and, if you were to write a story about Angel 20 years from now, where do you think he'd be?

MH: Well, I'm personally most proud of Illyria: Haunted. That story means a lot to me. But I'm also really proud of working with David, Brian, and Bill. I'm proud of the way we ended things and the character moments along the way.

There were so many people who made Angel great. Working with Brian and Franco on Spike was lovely, I think the world of them both. Elena really breathed life into the final two arcs and her work on Illyria is incredible. Scott Tipton, who did so much with these characters, and proofed nearly every issue of the series which is something I don't think he gets credit for. David Messina, who started on these books and was always a joy to work with. Writers like Peter David & Jeff Mariotte who told some wonderful last tales in the Yearbook. Likewise, Stephen Mooney for his great sense of humor and dynamic art. Willingham, for seeing how complex this world could be and being unafraid to take story risks. Jenny Frison, for giving us the most wonderfully gorgeous covers. And last, David Tischman, who really understood the mix of humor, melancholy, and epic heroism of Angel and took the story where it needed to, to go out on a high note.

Biggest challenge: Letting go, I guess. It's extremely sad to see this end for us.

As for Angel in 20 years: Still fighting. I always see him in the alley, sword in hand, ready to face whatever comes next. I can't see him doing anything else.

Buffyfest: What's next for you?

MH: Well, I'm working on an adaption of Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice and David and I are doing the next True Blood story, True Blood: The French Quarter. Servant is this wonderfully rich tale that Anne wrote about a young Babylonian who becomes a kind of demon/ghost. It's really challenging but wonderful to work on. And David and I are having huge amounts of fun with this new True Blood series. We get to take Sookie, Bill, and Eric to New Orleans and they get into all kinds of trouble. So basically, I'm really busy. :}

IDW WEEK: Interview with Writer Scott Tipton

One of the most exciting parts of IDW Week has been finally getting to do a review with long time Angel writer, Scott Tipton. I guarantee that when you read his story for the Angel Yearbook, you'll find yourself wanting to reread (or read for the first time, shame on you) all the other great work he's done.

He also posted a fantastic rundown of every project he worked on, along with the pitches he wrote.  It's absolutely fascinating stuff which you can check out here. But first is the time for interviews, so away we go!

Buffyfest: What is your favorite behind the scene memory since you've been writing for the Whedonverse?

Scott Tipton: Man, there are so many, it’s hard to even narrow it down, Though writing for ANGEL wasn’t the first comics work I ever had published, it was certainly the work that got me noticed, and in a lot of ways I owe my whole career to the square-jawed galoot. I vividly remember being halfway through the script of my first ANGEL project, the SPIKE graphic novel OLD WOUNDS, which was a big 48-page one-shot, and thinking to myself, “Wow. I think I could do this for a living.”

Hearing later through the grapevine that James Marsters liked the book wasn’t too bad either.

The best thing about my ANGEL experience was the people I got to work with, no question, whether it was developing story ideas with Chris Ryall, trading scripts with Brian Lynch, or just hanging out together at Comic-Con meeting the readers. And I couldn’t have asked for better collaborators in artists David Messina, Stephen Mooney and Elena Casagrande. People often ask me what my favorite thing is about writing comics, and the answer is easy: it’s getting those pages back from the artist. Seeing them take your words on the page and bring to life exactly what you envisioned (and often improving it) is insanely rewarding.

When I was first assigned the AULD LANG SYNE miniseries with David, we got to do a bit of a “warmup” with an ILLYRIA short story in the Halloween anthology MASKS, and I was immediately struck by what a pleasure David was to work with. And then when I got the pages back – wow! I knew we were on to something! Little did I know David and I would go on to create over 600 pages together over the course of the next 5 years and six miniseries.

I remember when I was working on my ANGEL miniseries AULD LANG SYNE with David, driving all over Los Angeles, down to Santa Monica and up mid-Wilshire to the LA County Museum of Art, taking dozens of photos of the scenery to send to him so the book could really have that L.A. feel. Getting to write that snarky back-and-forth repartee between Angel and Spike was a real joy; I never got to do enough of it – so when I got to add a few new scenes to SMILE TIME a couple years later, that was a real treat.

But I think the most rewarding experience of the whole run was developing the adaptation of A HOLE IN THE WORLD with Elena. You’d think with an adaptation, you’d find it creatively limiting, but instead, taking those two episodes we loved so much, stripping them down, and finding the best way to make them work in comics was so much fun, and maybe the best actual collaboration I’ve ever had with an artist, in terms of figuring out the pacing, trading cover sketches back and forth (mine much, much, oh-god-so-much worse than hers), agonizing and arguing over what to cut – for ANGEL fans like us, it was a dream job, and we enjoyed every minute of it.



Buffyfest: Which character are you going to miss the most and why?

ST: I get asked this a lot, and my usual answer tends to be Spike, just because he is such a joy to write, and his dialogue and reactions spring so naturally to mind. Sometimes it’s hard to get the voice for Angel right or figure out exactly what Gunn would do, but Spike has always written himself. I just put him in a situation and turn him loose.

But as I’ve thought about it more in the last few weeks as things have been winding down, I realized the first character I ever wrote for in the Angelverse was Fred, in the opening scene of SPIKE: OLD WOUNDS, and she’s also the last, in the final panel of my YEARBOOK story “All the Time in the World.” This feels kind of appropriate, especially as I’ve spent the last three years writing for Fred/Illyria in one form or another. There’s been a steady flow of amazing drawings of Fred and Illyria arriving in my e-mail box regularly since 2008, and It feels very strange not to be receiving them any more. I may have to bribe Elena to draw me the occasional sketch of Illyria going to the market, or picking up the mail, just to quell the cravings.


Buffyfest: Where do you see Angel in 20 years?

ST: Who can say? I’d like to think it will have stepped out of the BUFFY shadow even more, and gotten the acclaim it always deserved as a more serious and thought-provoking show. And if I’m lucky, maybe I’ll be writing it again…

IDW WEEK: Interview with Writer Brian Lynch

We continue IDW week with a writer who's near and dear to all of our hearts. Brian Lynch told us what happened to Angel after his famous last line, "Let's go to work." He brought Spike to new and exciting places and he introduced us to instantly beloved characters like Betta George and Beck. So, without further ado, here's the man himself, looking back at his times at IDW.

Buffyfest: What is your favorite behind the scene memory since you've been writing for the Whedonverse?

Spike: Asylum #1

Brian Lynch: I have a lot of favorite memories working on this book. From getting the job in the first place, THAT was surprising and exciting. It was followed by the pure joy of writing the first issue of SPIKE:ASYLUM, and realizing how much fun I could have with Spike. Seeing Franco Urru's first pictures of Spike, and his first pages of ASYLUM, I remember where I was, what I was doing, what time of day. The man is the best thing that ever happened to me as a Whedonverse writer. He's taken some stuff that was iffy in script form and made it epic, heartbreaking, funnier than I thought possible...he's amazing.

Joss Whedon's email saying he liked ASYLUM and wanted me to do AFTER THE FALL was a stunning moment. Everything kind of changed at that point. It all became...bigger. And it meant I got to work with my hero. That doesn't happen often. Or, really, ever.

Seeing AINT IT COOL put up pages of AFTER THE FALL and reading reader's reactions...good and bad, it was thrilling. The signing we had the day ATF # 1 came out, I was literally going from the signing to the tasting for my wedding, and then boarding a plane to see my Dad who was sick in the hospital, so that day stands out. It was also the day Chris Ryall gave me my wedding present: that stunning "Wedding Edition" ATF # 1 with new artwork by Franco and EVERYBODY'S DEAD artist Dave Crosland.

Ryall, Tipton and Brian Lynch - 2007

Emailing and hanging out with Chris and Scott Tipton. We were always friends but this experience brought us all closer. We were kinda brothers in arms for years. Doing signings with them, hanging out at San Diego Comic Con. Meeting and hearing from all the people that were excited about the series. Definite highpoints.

The perfect storm of awesomeness was going to the New York Comic Con, where we announced the SPIKE series. I not only got to hang out with Scott and Chris, but I finally met Franco in person. Dave Messina, Stephen Mooney and his lovely wife Jacintha. Stephen is another co-creator that elevates any work he touches: he gets the emotion, the impact certain moments are supposed to have...I'm just lucky to know him as a artist and a friend.

Speaking of Mooney, we did the LAST ANGEL IN HELL special together, and seriously, what other comic company would say "you want to do a movie adaptation of a movie that doesn't exist? Okay, go for it!" I'm a lucky man.

Buffyfest with the man himself - 2009

Back to New York Con...I also finally met Pat Shand (another great human being and a talented writer in his own right) and got to thank him for the endless reviews/online conversations about my comics. I also met and was interviewed by you guys at Buffyfest, so there's another friendship that was forged because of this comic. So as you can see, it changed my life in a lot of ways.

I could go on and on. Juliet Landau was great to work with (writing a character with the person who PLAYED the character, wow). Writing issues of a comic book on a movie set made up to look like an Easter Factory (never got that SPIKE/HOP crossover). Getting to know Mariah as an editor and then being amazed at her writing. Working with Scott Allie so we could ease Spike into Buffy's world. Reading reviews of my book every time it came and realizing that people really CARED about these characters like they care about family members.

So, yes, many many good memories. A few bad ones, but WOW, who knew talking to my friend Chris Ryall about doing a five issue limited series about a monster asylum would change my life like it did? I'm really grateful for the experience.

Buffyfest: Which character are you going to miss the most and why?

BL: This is a tough one. Obviously I'm going to miss writing for Angel, and Spike. I've bonded with these characters. But at the same time, the world is a weird place and who knows what will happen in the future. I'm glad for the break now, as I want to play around in other worlds, but I haven't closed the door with these guys. When I was watching ANGEL years ago, I never in a million years thought I'd be asked to continue the series, anything's possible.

Lynch's original characters, Beck & Tok

The original characters are kind of frustrating, because I had really fun next chapters for Beck, Betta George, Jeremy, Non and Tok. I had a lot to say. Doubt I'll get the chance, which is sad. Even if I ever write for Angel and Spike again, I doubt they'll be in a place where it will easy to reunite with my guys. But, who knows.

Buffyfest: Where do you see Angel in 20 years?

BL: Kansas. I'm not sure why. Kidding, I hope there are still new Angel stories being made, that's he on our side, and he's that right mixture of tortured and happy.

Thank you Brian Lynch for talking to us once again and for all you've given to the 'verse. Have a feeling we'll be seeing you around these parts again real soon.

Smidge's 'Ringer' to Air on CW Tuesdays this Fall

So yesterday, The CW confirmed that Sarah Michelle Gellar's new drama Ringer has been picked up on the network and will be aired with 90210 on it's Tuesday night line-up. Listen, between you and me I think these CW peeps are total fanboys and so whole reason they did that was because 90210 films at Torrance High School just like Buffy did for it's Sunnydale High. A little behind-the-scenes fan-drooling, if you will.

Aaanyway, as we've previously shared, SMG will be starring as Bridget, a recovering alcoholic, who after witnessing a murder is on the run from the mob. She hides out by assuming the life of her identical-twin sister named Siobhan, who has disappeared. Bridget soon learns that Siobhan's life was drama-filled and just as problematic as the one she's trying to get away from. Poor Bridget. Smidge is playing both roles at first which is highlighted in the fab photo that The CW released today. See below for that and a few other images and a preview of our girl back in action, where we like her.

Buffyfest Interviews Elisabeth Rohm

As you all full well know, actress, writer and activist Elisabeth Rohm graced our screens as Kate in Angel's first season. We recently caught up with her and she was nice enough to give us a few minutes to chat and catch up on old times.

First and foremost, we wanted to know about how cool working on the freshman year of Angel must have been and how it was working with the cast. "Mostly I just remember how loyal and protective David was....he's such a great person...always had my back."

As far as the character of Kate, if she had remained part of the show, "She would have probably continued being much like she was, but really being an ally to Angel." Ever wonder if she received any hate mail from fans at the time who were afraid that Kate would be Angel's next blond? Rohm confirmed that luckily never happened. See? 'Shippers can be reasonable at times.

Moving on to the present, on Kate's super-skin tight outfits in the comic continuation of Angel, Rohm commented, "I love the comics! She's hotter than I was! I love that! I'm all about being a super hot action hero!"

Elizabeth Rohm is definitely a fan of the Whedonverse, too. She watches reruns of the shows and elaborates " I love Angel, Buffy and all things Joss Whedon. I'm a fan first!" Not only is she a fan of the shows, but she's also inspired by us, her fans who continue to give her support. She spoke to us about her upcoming event at Wizard Annaheim and her in-person interactions with the fan community. "I am so grateful to my fans. I am there for them and they are there for me pushing all of this forward! The fans are awesome and I count on them!" Besides fan events, she's a big fan of Twitter saying, "I love tweeting with fans. I really appreciate having a way to stay connected!"

Elizabeth has a few new projects coming out, including a thriller by John Singleton called Abduction where she shares the screen with another supernatural hottie, Twilight's favorite werewolf, Taylor Lautner. "I'm a huge fan of John Singelton," Rohm shared, "so Abduction was a personal milestone for me. John is such a master! I'm sure it's going to be a great film!"

As if she's not busy enough, she's working on her 2nd novel, Desire which is being released soon. As for the writing process, "Desire has stayed pretty close to my original thought...I hand write and then type. Very slow process!!!"

Thanks again, Elisabeth Rohm!

Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof Make '100 Hottest Couples' List

Watch out Brangelina, you're played out. Aly and Alexis both have the geek-chic thing going on, they're more current, relatable and oh, let's not forget more ginger too. Not to mention adorable Saty will know how to slay a vamp, so watch out Zahara Jolie-Pitt. When they're not hanging out at Brentwood Country Mart, they're either at the beach in Santa Monica or in the case of this week, vacating in here NYC. Check out Zimbio's top 100 Hottest couples list where the Hannigan-Denisofs sit nicely at #89.

The "Hot" couple shops on Madison Avenue in NYC this past weekend. They bought clothes for their daughter Satyana at "Alice + Olivia" and French childrenswear store" Bonpoint".
April 30, 2011 - Photo by PacificCoastNews.com

Cabin in the Woods Has Finally Found a Home!

Thank goodness! We just might get to see this movie yet with news that Lionsgate has reached a distribution deal with MGM for Cabin in the Woods. Let's be cautiously optimistic at this point because you never know, but this article hints that the release could be as soon as October! *Fingers crossed*

Spoiler Alert! Supernatural/Whedonverse Connection!

And that spoiler tag is for you too, fellow 'festers.



That's right, Amber Benson will be returning this week on "The Hotness" (aka Supernatch). Let's get those ratings us, Nielsen people.

Where on Earth is Joss Whedon?

Trying to get that elusive Whedon-spotting but almost feel one step behind the man? Let's do a roundup of his recent whereabouts!

1. Joss was spotted walking down the street in midtown NYC eating a hot dog. But that was March 19th and a lot can happen in a month so let's skip to....

2. Yesterday when Joss made one of his purple posts over at Whedonesque, proclaiming the official start day of filming on The Avengers today. Will it be in LA where there are some Avengers casting assignments underway? Or maybe in NYC? Code named "Group Hug" we knew some filming, possibly second unit, was done in the NYC area as of April 8th. Since we're so unsure of the details, we've had Bitsy combing the streets since then, zig zagging in an east-west direction starting at Wall Street toward uptown. Last I heard he pooped out in Alphabet City, needing to lie down on a discarded mattress on Ave. C at 3rd street. If you see him there, please give him water.

3. Or is Joss filming in Albuquerque, NM today? Well, we know for a fact he was in that area over the weekend as he attended Albuquerque's Alternative Newsweekly, Alibi.com's Spring Social. There's a photo booth photo to prove it. So since it was pretty much totally confirmed that much of The Avengers filming would be done in New Mexico, my money's on Albuquerque...but Bitsy's still on street team duty until further notice.

And that's all we got for today! So Albuquerquians be on the lookout and if anyone else has had a recent Joss Whedon sighting let us know and we'll add it to the map.

TV Pilot Season Round-up: Whedonverse Stars in Upcoming Series

There has been a lot of chatter the past few weeks about upcoming casting amongst our Whedonverse favorites. So we felt a recap was in order.

Sarah Michelle Gellar: Starting off with what is perhaps most anticipated, is Sarah Michelle Gellar's return to television in her upcoming CBS series Ringer, filming in NYC. After the death of her successful twin sister, a woman is on the run and assumes her identity. SMG is playing both sisters.




Eliza Dushku: confirms her casting in a sports radio comedy saying on her Facebook page: "It is with insanest excitement  awesomeness I get to finally fill you guys in: I've JUST landed a new CBS comedy pilot w/ my comic idol Mr. Damon Wayans! Stay tuned, there is a serious happy dance occurring at the moment ;) xx!" More info here.



Michelle Trachtenberg: has been cast as the female lead in CBS' untitled Peter Knight comedy pilot, a workplace ensemble from Sony and Happy Madison revolving around the young-adult employees at a venture capital firm. It centers on Danny, who is shocked when his crush, competitor and fellow trainee Gracie (Trachtenberg) is promoted.



Julie Benz has joined CBS’ untitled supernatural medical drama along with her No Ordinary Family co-star Michael Chiklis.





Amy Acker has been cast in a pilot, USA's Common Law. The cop dramedy also  stars Michael Ealy and Warren Kole as partners who can’t stop bickering, so their captain sends them to couples therapy. Acker will play their therapist.



James Marsters has filmed a pilot for SyFy's Three Inches, still in limbo at the network. The series is about an underachiever who is struck by lightning and develops the ability to move objects with his mind, but only by three inches.





Firefly hottie Sean Maher has been cast as a recurring character in NBC's drama pilot Playboy set in the 1960's.








Dollhouse fan favorite Enver Gjokaj has been cast in a USA pilot Eden as the lead. The show centers on a young hotel worker who, with the help of his escaped con artist cousin Eddie (Gjokaj), gets a job as the concierge at an elite NYC hotel. Together they manage to provide the hotel guests with whatever they desire, at whatever the cost. 

Buffy and Angel writers David Greenwalt and Jim Kouf have created Grimm, a cop drama about a world in which characters inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales exist. The series was greenlit by NBC.

(Spoilers) Exclusive Interview with Buffy S.9 Writer Andrew Chambliss

Cover by Jo Chen
Click to Enlarge

If you've been chomping at the bit for some more Buffy comic news, today's been a good day. Wonder Con's Dark Horse Panel just introduced Andrew Chambliss as writer for Buffy Season 9. We've got a great interview below, where the man himself spills the beans on the direction of Season 9, and more. Check out how his "Geek Street Cred" really shines through this interview!

Buffyfest: Although you've been part of the Whedonverse since Dollhouse was on the air, we want to welcome you to the Buffyverse, Mr. Chambliss! Thanks so much for talking with us. Set the stage for us: How were you approached about writing Buffy Season 9?

Andrew Chambliss: I'd been working with Jed and Mo on the Dollhouse miniseries when I got an e-mail from Joss saying he'd heard good things from them about my “Dollhousery”. He then asked if I'd be at all interested in working on Buffy Season 9 with him. It didn't seem like much of a question to me. The chance to work with Joss? In comics? About Buffy? Umm, yes please. And here I am. Okay, there might have been a few intermediate steps, but that's how it all started.

Buffyfest: Great story! In terms of your intro in the Buffyverse, how did you prepare for Season 9 once you got the news you were writing it?

AC: I'd already read the first three or four trade paperbacks of Season 8 over the past year or so, but I'd fallen behind as my life started to get busier and busier. After Joss emailed me about working with him, I quickly ran out and bought the rest. I read the entire season cover to cover two or three times. I also pulled my Buffy DVD set off the shelf and started watching my favorite episodes -- both to remind myself of the world and to start planting the characters' voices in my heads. Joss also held a Buffy summit at his house with Season 8 writers to brainstorm ideas for Season 9 and the Angel and Faith series. Getting to spend an afternoon with people like Joss, Jane Espenson and Drew Greenberg. Geek heaven.

Buffyfest: Oh, to be a fly on that wall! Now that you're at the helm, which character are you most excited to write and why?

AC: It may seem the obvious choice, but I'm going to have to say Buffy. Going into season 9, she's in a really interesting place – she always thought she was going to die saving the world, but now that she actually survived, she has to face her real life (don't worry, they'll still be lots of slaying). And at the same time, she's watching her friends move on with their lives, and has to deal with the fact that the Scooby Gang might not be there to help her like they used to be.

I'm also excited to write Andrew because I can unabashedly let my inner geek shine through him. And I think this is the first time I will have written a character that shares my name.

Buffyfest: What about a character that you're disappointed you won't get to write with Giles dead, Spike off in his Bug ship and Angel and Faith moving over to the Angel title?

AC: Of course, I'm disappointed that I won't get to write Giles. If I learned anything from writing Adelle on Dollhouse, it's that British characters are fun to write. Maybe it's because you can add completely unnecessary letters to their dialogue, in words like “colour” or “aluminium”. Speaking of British accents, I can safely say that Spike won't be on his bug ship for very long. He'll definitely be a part of Buffy's Season 9 life.

Buffyfest: Let’s go back to Season 8 for a minute. Fans have had a lot to say about Buffy's move to comics. How about you? How did you feel about Buffy Season 8?

AC: I'm a big fan of Season 8. I think comics was the perfect medium to tell a story with the scope that Season 8 needed -- how else would you tell the story of Buffy struggling to lead an army of hundreds of slayers, except in comics? Even though the scope was often bigger than anything that could ever be produced on television, Season 8 still felt like it was the show – the voices were spot on, the writing was clever, and at the end of the day, it always came down to character.

Buffyfest: Okay, let’s talk art. Who’s the Season 9 artist and how has working with him/her been?

AC: Georges is returning for season 9, which makes me all kinds of happy. I loved his work on season 8, and have been impressed with what I've seen for Season 9 so far. The thing that constantly blows me away is how much thought he puts into everything he does. Recently, he sent us rough concept art for one of the covers – not only did he have 8 really cool cover ideas for a single issue, but he also had detailed explanations for each one. Right now, we're just getting started working together, but I know I'm going to love the experience.

Buffyfest: You've written comics for Heroes in the past, talk a little bit about your writing process for comics and the difference between comic writing and television writing.

AC: For me, television writing generally starts with the dialogue and builds from there. It's often an auditory medium before it's a visual medium. How many times do people listen to the TV while doing something else in another room? Comics are always a visual medium first, so I often have to remind myself to think visually just as much as I think about the dialogue. There's as much – if not more – that you can tell the reader through the art than captions or dialogue. Which reminds me of the best part about comic book writing – I never have to worry if anything I write is too expensive to draw. In television, you always end up having to scale back to meet the budget of the episode. But in comics, if you can write it, the artist can draw it. It's really freeing, especially when you're writing about things like demon armies or the post-apocalyptic Los Angeles cityscape.

I'm still fairly new to writing comics, so there's a lot I'm learning along the way. But, luckily, I'm writing under the watchful eye of Scott and Sierra who have been great in helping me figure out what works in comics and what doesn't.

Buffyfest: What about the big man himself? How will the co-writing work with Joss? Will you write all the issues or split the work load with him?

AC: Joss and I have been doing most of the story breaking over e-mail and the phone (I think he's busy with a movie or something). We're splitting the script writing duties at the moment and hope to continue to work that way as we continue to write the season.

Buffyfest: Any spoilers you'd like to share for the Season 9? Please?!

AC: They'll be some new characters introduced early on in the season. I won't give away too much, but one of them includes a hunky demon who served time in a mystical prison.

Buffyfest: That’ll definitely have people talking! With the announcement that there will be two main titles under the banner of Season 9, are you working with the Angel series writer to crossover the two stories?

AC: At the moment, we don't have any large crossovers planned, but we'll most likely send certain characters off to one another between both series.

Buffyfest: Switching to Dollhouse, what's the inside story on how you got the writing job for the show?

AC: I'd met at both Fox and 20th shortly after the WGA strike ended, and the executives there told me that they were sending my material over to Joss to read for Dollhouse. Cue the excitement, nerves, and whatever other neurotic behavior you can imagine. And then nothing. A month later, when I had finally forgotten that Joss might be reading my script, I got a call from my agent telling me that I was meeting with Joss the next afternoon (turns out it took him a while to read my script because he had been busy shooting something called Dr. Horrible). Cue the excitement, nerves all over again. The Dollhouse pilot script was delivered to my house that evening, I read it, and stayed up half the night working on pitches.

I met with Joss, Liz Craft and Sarah Fain the next afternoon. I pitched a bunch of ideas that Joss must have liked (which included Victor/Topher – some thing I was super happy to see land in season two) because I got a phone call from my agent saying they were offering me the job as I was driving home from the Fox lot. Twenty-four hours later, I was working on the show. I can still remember how surreal it felt at the time.

Buffyfest: Wow, that’s an amazing story, but there was obviously not a happy ending. From a writer's perspective, was it frustrating working with the network amidst all the problems at the time?

AC: It's always frustrating to have to change course when you really believe in something. The original Dollhouse pilot (it's on the first season DVD – watch it!) was really cool and set the stage for where Joss ended up taking us with “Man on the Street”, but the network was worried that the pilot came at the premise sideways and wanted something that felt a little more stand-alone.

Buffyfest: What are you most proud of when it comes to your storytelling on Dollhouse?

AC: There are things that I love about every episode of Dollhouse I worked on, but overall I think I'm most proud of the first episode I wrote for the show – “A Spy in the House of Love”. It was such a fun ep to write because each act really was its own self-contained story, and I really got to build to some huge character moments for everyone – Paul's realization that Mellie was a sleeper doll, Adelle opening up for the first time to someone who doesn't even exist, and Echo starting to own her burgeoning individuality. I think the fact that “Spy” was also my first episode of produced television adds to my fondness for it.

I'm also really proud of “Epitaph 2”. I was over the moon when Joss asked me to co-write the script with Jed and Mo. First off, because Jed and Mo are awesome to work with. Secondly, because I was going to have the opportunity to say goodbye to all these characters I had grown to love. And finally, it was post-apocalyptic – and who doesn't want to write a post-apocalyptic script? Everybody does. Especially when you throw in a Mad Max-style semi driven by people called “Freakshows”.

Buffyfest: And what story do you wish you could have told before the show ended?

AC: I would have loved to have been able to tell the story of how Topher ended up working at the Dollhouse. His arc from amoral, arrogant scientist to someone who was willing to give up his life to undue the damage his creations had caused was really interesting to me. I would have loved to have shown where Topher began that journey. I had outlined an episode where Topher had to "brain-nap" his former college mentor, and though we scrapped the episode for some very good reasons, I would have loved to have been able to tell that story in a later season.

Also, a post-robocall season 3 would have been a blast to write for TV. But that's why we have comics!

Buffyfest: You've moved from Dollhouse to the very popular Vampire Diaries. It's no secret that vampires are popular right now, so how do you approach the idea of a "good" vampire?

AC: For me, writing "good" vampires is actually a lot more interesting than writing bad vampires. They're in constant conflict between who they are – someone who wants to be good – and what they are – creatures whose instincts are too kill.

Buffyfest: A lot of people have compared Damon and Stefan to Spike and Angel. Do you see the comparison?

AC: I can see why people make the comparison. Stefan and Angel are both characters who strive to be good despite their dark pasts, and Spike and Damon often want to be bad in spite of the good that can't help but come to the surface.

Buffyfest: Any spoilers or scoops you can give to our Vampire Diaries fans out there?

AC: I'm going to stay tight-lipped, but the end of the season will be epic.

Buffyfest: Okay, we’ll just have to wait and see! So, let's finish with some fun fan questions. How did you get into Buffy?

AC: I remember watching the early seasons of Buffy when I was in high school, and never did the thought cross my mind that I might be writing in that universe at some point in my future. When I started to get interested in television writing a few years later, I began to watch the show much more carefully, and that's when I realized just how incredible it was. At that point, I was hooked.

Buffyfest: Was there a particular moment that made you think, "This is more than just an ordinary TV show”?

AC: There are so many moments, but if I have to pinpoint one, I think I'd say Angel losing his soul in season two.

Buffyfest: What about favorite season of the show?

AC: This is tough, but I think I'm going to say season 6. Spike and Buffy. The Trio. Dark Willow. In fact, I think I'm going to go watch some Season 6 right now.

Buffyfest: Us too! Before you go, though, anything you'd like to say to Buffy fans before Season 9 starts?

AC: Just thank you for welcoming me to all things Buffy!

Buffyfest: Thanks again for taking the time to speak with us. We're looking forward to the story you're going to tell in Season 9!

Alyson Hannigan, Tom Lenk & Lil' Satyana Go to the LA Zoo!

Oh my, really? These pics are way too adorable, it's ridiculous:

Ha!

I'm wondering if that's Lenk's phone with the multi-colored hearts on it or Aly's?

One flamingo?

How about three flamingos?!

"What if..." with Nicholas Brendon

Buffyfest: What if...Sweet, the demon in the musical episode "Once More, With Feeling", made Xander his Queen?

Nicholas Brendon:  Obviously Sweet and I would move to Massachusetts.

And there you have it!

Is Jason Segel Next In Line For A Part In The Whedonverse?

Now that it's officially confirmed that How I Met Your Mother star Cobie Smulders has been cast as Agent Maria Hill in Joss's The Avengers, it's got us thinking: What's up with the HIMYM connection? First, Aly Hannigan gets a part on that show, which started in 2005. Then Neil Patrick Harris, who of course plays the infamous Barney Stinson on HIMYM, becomes crowned king of the Whedonverse (by me) as Dr. Horrible himself. Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Tom Lenk, Morena Baccarin, Danny Strong, and Harry Groener have all played guest roles.

So, since it's obvious that the show is some how cosmically intertwined to our world, is funnyman Jason Segel up next? I say hell yes because he's super-funny, loves vampires (he wrote a vampire musical in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall"), and likes to show his penis. Bring it on, Joss! Just write a part for the man and be done with it.

Kids of the Whedonverse!

Looks like all the little Whedonverse tots and their famous parents were out and about this past weekend. Check out the family portraits!

Whedonverse First Family Alyson Hannigan, Alexis Denisof and 18 month old Satyana were out in Brentwood this weekend. Apparently little Sati's verbal skills are doing quite well. Aly tweeted:

"So this week Sati has been saying "Missed you Mommy" when I come home from work. She fills my heart and breaks it all at the same time!!!"

cute!





Next up is Smidge and Charlotte (who looks exactly like Freddie Prinze, Jr. Seriously, click to enlarge.) When did she get big enough to walk? And speaking of walking, check out her super-fab boots! Sarah Michelle Gellar's fashion sense is sure to rub off on Char.

Finally, we have NPH, his partner David and their twins, Gideon & Harper (wrapped up air-tight strapped to the boys' chests!) Apparently, and amazingly, the twins were biologically fathered by each man. However, it's a mystery as to "whose is whose".

NPH told People magazine last month: "We found an egg donor anonymously through a hilarious process of looking at people's profiles.


"And then we inserted two eggs [via surrogate], one with my sperm, one with David's sperm and they both took.'

Burtka added: 'When we first found out it was fraternal twins, we were thrilled.

"We don't know whose is whose, but it's amazing how different they are already. She is all girl and he is all boy,' he added, before Harris elaborated: 'She is more emotional and verbal. He sleeps and burps a lot."

And there you have it! Modern Science, babies and the Whedonverse.

Spotting!

An email I received last night from my dear friend in Los Angeles:

"I saw Amy Acker and Eliza Dushku at Trader Joe's the other day - there at the same time, but not there together.  I thought of you...because you are one of the only people (the only?) that would even know who Amy Acker is, let alone how random it would be for both of them to be at the same supermarket at the same time."

My response:
"Omg, that's fabulous! Were they both skinny bitches? Hee!"

Lori: "Hee! Amy was thin - Eliza was a skinny bitch - I don't imagine she ever eats and must be in a bad mood from hunger all the time. Amy was with who I assume were her 2 kids - adorable kids."

If you spot a Whedonverse Alum, send us an email at Buffyfest@aim.com

Fanvid Sunday: Interviewing Ripper Edition (Spoilers)

Well, it's not really a fanvid per se, but while the Whedonverse is still reeling from the events of Buffy #39 I thought it made sense to post this little ditty. Bitsy had the honor of interviewing the dashing Anthony Stewart Head about Buffy Season 8 prior to Giles heart wrenching demise in last week's comic. Little did anyone know at that time how melancholy his choice of question would be. Poor Giles.

Hellboy, Hack/Slash and Haikus!!

Devastation.  It's the word Scott Allie used to describe Buffy #39 which comes out this Thursday (damn you, Thanksgiving).  Join us as we continue sweating it out with a week dedicated to Bad Horse's brother from another mother: Dark Horse.  First up, we talk with Super Scott Allie about two projects that are near and dear to his editorial heart:  B.P.R.D. The Dead Remembered, a 3 issue story focusing on Hellboy's Liz Sherman, and "Campfire Stories", a short story which is part of Hack/Slash's Trailer's series.

Also, do you like free stuff?  Well, we're giving away a free copy of Hack/Slash Trailers Part 2 signed by Scott Allie plus a host of Buffyfest goodies to anyone who can create an amazing Dark Horse inspired Haiku.  Here are the rules:

1. Write a haiku about Scott Allie, Buffy Season 8...anything Dark Horse related at all.  Your haiku should be in the form of 17 syllables broken into three lines of five, seven, and five syllables.
2. Post your haiku in the comments section along with what you’re basing it on.
3. Submissions must be received by 1 week from today - Tuesday, Dec 7th - to be part of the contest.

Check out the winner from our previous Haiku contest and see if you have what it takes!  We now give you, Super Scott Allie:

Hellboy

Buffyfest: Hi Scott. Let's get started with your new Hellboy series. How did you and Mike Mignola come up with the idea of focusing on the character of Liz Sherman in the upcoming B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered?

Scott Allie: Short answer—I don't remember. We always talk about various ways to further explore the Hellboy world, and we kill way more ideas than we follow through on, by a huge margin. With this, we were doing the Abe stories, written by Mike, and then written by Mike and John Arcudi, where we explore Abe's early adventures as an agent. After all these years—the character was introduced in 1994, with the idea that his character had been active with the Bureau since the late seventies. But we only started doing stories set in his early years as an agent a few years ago, and to date there are just eight comics. We've done 1946 and 1947, which begin to touch on Hellboy's early years with the Bureau. But it struck me that Liz, brought in as a hazard to herself and the people around her, after her powers caused the deaths of her family and neighbors—her transition from that damaged girl, to a teen runaway, into a full-fledged agent must have been very different from the boys'. We talked about the emotional issues we'd explore there for her, and he felt like I had a good take on it. So then the question was what to do with a Liz story, and Mike and I both felt that we were getting too far from traditional horror stories, so the idea was to do that. I get to return to my hometown once more, and deal with the local lore a bit.

Buffyfest: What intrigues you about the character in general? 

SA: The main thing is honestly that Mike has never written her the way female comics characters are written—even the good ones. The fact that she's a woman is entirely incidental. A romance between Hellboy and Liz would have never occurred to Mike. I love that about her. So what particularly interested me about that was how to do that with a teenaged girl. And I can't deny that a big part of what interested me was her similarities and huge differences from Buffy. A young super-powered girl, but one whose abilities are clearly a curse and a burden. And Liz Sherman never would have been a cheerleader.

Buffyfest: Did it bother you when the movies made Liz and Hellboy a couple or were you expecting the romance angle for a main stream movie? 

SA: No, I think adaptations have to do something different with the material. I just watched episode 5 of Walking Dead, and I love the CDC thing. The movie Hellboy is different from the one I work on, but it helped sell a lot of the ones I work on.

Buffyfest: What about the character of Hellboy? What do you love about him? 

SA: Everything. I love the Byronic aspects of him, the noble monster, and I love that in Hellboy there is no self-consciousness, something Byron and the gothic writers never could have gotten their heads around. I love how he can take the piss out of any situation. If people are gettin' too high falutin, he'll bring it all down to earth, if things are getting tense, he'll crack wise. Cracking wise is not unique among superheroes, and I know Mike learned it from Stan, but the combination of how he does it and to whom he does it is unique.

Buffyfest: Can you give us a little bit about the plot of the upcoming 3 issue story? 

SA: Yeah. The name of the book is B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered. Liz and Broom—the foster father to Hellboy and to a lesser extent her and even Abe—takes her on what seems like a simple mission to New England, where a priest is suffering a haunting. It involves a woman accused of witchcraft and murdered by a lynch mob, and Liz's own feelings of being judged unfairly. Hellboy's in the first issue for a bit, but mostly it's Liz and Broom.

Buffyfest: For those who never picked up a Hellboy comic, what would a new reader need to know in order to jump into the story right now?

SA: Not much. Someone totally unfamiliar will wonder who this big red guy talking to this little girl is, but again, Hellboy's not in it for that long. Beyond that, there's a note on the inside cover setting up briefly who Liz is, why she's with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense—and if the name of the organization doesn't tell you what it is, I don't know what to tell you.

Buffyfest: Let's shift over to the art for a minute. Why did Karl Moline and Jo Chen seem like a good fit for this title?

SA: I love Karl's storytelling, and the thing I'm most frustrated with when I write is when an artist can't pull off the character stuff. That's what was so great working on Buffy #37-39. Georges was great. And Karl does really nice character stuff, and he's great with making young girls both cute and heroic and strong, which is what I wanted for Liz. And there's a teenage boy in this that I knew Karl would do right. And the way it worked, if I remember, is that we were looking for something for Karl to do, and I loved his Liz one-shot for War on Frogs a couple years ago. So this came up and the schedule worked. With Jo, similar thing. Who does characters like this better? Mike's been coveting her work on Buffy. And with Buffy winding up, I wanted to keep working with her, so we segued her right into this off the end of Season 8.

Buffyfest: Is there any Buffy character you would compare Hellboy to?

SA: Hmmm. No. Hellboy hides his emotions. Does anyone in Buffy do that? Doesn't everyone wear their hearts on their sleeves? Can I compare him to Mal?

Buffyfest: Yes, please do!

SA: Oh, sorry, I don't really have anything to say on that, but I think there's something there. Still waters that run deep, real working-class approach to what they do. But Mal's emotions are more complex and repressed, whereas Hellboy's are a lot more simple, not a lot of turmoil in there.

Hack/Slash

Buffyfest: The Vampy Cats earn a mention in your Hack/Slash short "Campfire Stories".  Why were they the Season 8 monster you chose to mention?

Scott Allie: The way it worked is that I was writing the story, and I needed a cheap, quick way to link the Big Bird stuffed animal to the girl. Matching T shirts jumped into my head, and then I thought, "We need an adorable icon to link them." I literally started making up my own Hello Kitty sort of thing, and then a light bulb went off over my head.

Buffyfest: If you could write a Buffy/Cassie crossover story, what would it be about and how do you think these two Last Girls would react to one another?

SA: Buffy would laugh at her. She'd start respecting Faith's fashion choices. She would insist Cassie change her clothes. I don't know. I think such a story would be so postmodern it would throw itself on its stake. I was initially attracted to Hack/Slash by some awesome covers by Joe Quinones and Ross Campbell. But then I was put off by the T&A and gore. Then my girlfriend introduced me to Tim, the creator of the characters, and we hit it off, so I started reading. And I realized Hack/Slash is what I love best in B-movies—a bold and simple original idea executed with conviction, insight, and heart—above all else, heart. That's what made Buffy Season 1 rise to the top the way it did. Tim loves these characters. But he loves them within the confines of a genre that often aims at the lowest common denominator, and Tim does not flinch in going for it. Buffy comes out of a similar tradition, but drifts far, far from it. Joss does not write a lot of love letters to the horror genre. He does his own thing. And he'd have to deconstruct Cassie—or someone would—for these two to make sense in the same room.

Buffyfest: You reference a number of popular horror tropes in your story.  What are your favorites?

SA: None of the ones I touch in the story. My friendship with Tim got me to give slasher stuff a second look, which has led me down a long dark path that included a recent Saw marathon climaxing with me and a couple friends ALONE in a Portland theatre watching Saw 3D. I was a heavy-duty horror geek in the 1980s, but I never saw another one of those movies after Halloween III and Friday the 13th Part 3. I never saw any of the Chucky movies, or even Nightmare on Elm St. But in the last couple years I've gone back to watch a bunch of it. And most of it was really  worth missing. A couple things were interesting. Sleepaway Camp [shudder]. But most of it I was glad I'd missed first time around. The tropes that I was referencing in Hack/Slash were more to do with campfire lore than film. When I was a kid at Camp Rotary in Boxford, Mass, we had very vivid stories, and to a ten-year-old they seemed both true and unique. We had the haunted cabin, the hatchet man, and the giant snapping turtle in the lake. I imagine every camp had similar stories—really similar stories. And they were a lot more interesting to me as a kid thinking that they were unique to my experience, rather than simply being Hollywood cliches. Oh, further to that point, on the first page of "Campfire Stories," I reference some Lovecraftian stuff. That's hometown shit to me too. See, Tim had already brought Lovecraft into Hack/Slash, and he'd done it in a really interesting way—a mashup with Archie Comics. See, Riverdale, the town in Archie, is based on Haverhill, a town near where I grew up, just on the other side of Boxford. Haverhill is also just down the street from Salem, Mass., which Lovecraft called Arkham in his stories—and closer to Newburyport, which Lovecraft refers to by name quite a bit in his stories. So Tim saw a great geographical opportunity to mash Lovecraft and Archie. And Lovecraft, by the way, represents a whole bunch of horror tropes that are very close to my heart, and among my favorites. But in general, my favorites are occult horror, supernatural horror. What I'm doing in the Liz series. 

Buffyfest: Steve Niles, Scottie Young, and Robert Kirkman have all gotten the chop in the Hack/Slash story "Comic Book Carnage".  Is Scott Allie next? 

SA: Tim told me he has an idea if he does another one of those. We shall see.

Buffyfest: Who would kill you and what kind of slasher would you be if you came back from the dead?

SA: Horny teenagers, I assume, whichever ones I stumbled across.

B.P.R.D.: The Dead Remembered #1 will be on shelves 4/6/11. Hack/Slash Trailers Pt. 2 featuring a short by Scott Allie is in stores now.

The 'OG Buffy' Kristy Swanson speaks about this mess!

Now we're talking. Everyone knows how I die for Original Gangsta a.k.a Buffy 1.0 aka Kristy Swanson's Buffy. It didn't make Joss happy (nor should it have) but it is an entertaining mess and has Paul Ruebens, so there. It seems that enough hoopla has surrounded this Whedonless Buffy movie over the past few days that Swanson has finally come out of the woodwork, stating that she'd like to dust off the ole' stake and be involved in the Nuffy reboot (TM The One True B!x).

Swanson tells Entertainment Weekly:
“Let Buffy live. Why not?”

If they wanted me to be a part of it, I think that would be fantastic and that it would be a blast,”

“There are die-hard Joss Whedon fans who absolutely love him to death, and rightly so. He’s a brilliant man, no doubt,” she says. “I love everything Buffy . I don’t care who’s doing it.”

Read the full article at EW.com. Luke Perry, has no comment. I think he's still reeling from this.

How do I feel about this, you, irritated reader ask? Not great. But as much as we all abhor the idea of going Whedonless on Buffy, making, say, a sequel to the 1992 cult classic would almost seem like an admission of guilt and there would be a clear, purposeful separation from our DVDs. It's still money-hungry and a slap in our faces, but it's definitely a softer blow. Now don't get me wrong, it can't be some "The Next Karate Kid" style "The Next Slayer" with mama Kristy Swanson doing a 2-bit cameo, coming in to pass the torch. In my Original Buffy sequel we'd see what happened to that Buffy. How many apocalypse did she face? Did she get a new watcher after Merrick's death? Would she die at the end? Then again, that also would need Joss Whedon to be good. Ugh, the WB just doesn't know this fandom at all, does it...

Just watch a young Joss Whedon's disgusted reaction at the Original Buffy wrap party, stating what we already know: