Buffy back to life
A new season and network await TV's vampire slayer Read no further if you don't want to know anything about the new season of Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
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Buffy comes back from the dead.
Ok, so maybe it wasn't that big of a spoiler.
"It is called Buffy The Vampire Slayer," producer Marti Noxon notes dryly from the show's Los Angeles production offices.
As fans know, the blond bombshell (Sarah Michelle Gellar) who battles demons and bloodsuckers in her spare time, died at the end of last season while saving her sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg) -- and, oh yeah, all of existence -- from an evil god named Glory. (Really, it's no more ridiculous than The Practice.)
Tonight's sixth-season opener -- which debuts on UPN tonight at 6 p.m. -- finds Buffy still six feet under.
By the end of the episode, she's alive -- if not quite herself. "I think our fans will be happy with it," says Noxon, who wrote the episode. "From our end, we just want to earn it. We didn't want to bring her back and brush it off. There will be serious repercussions from it.
"It'll be believable -- you know, despite the metaphysical impossibility of it."
Buffy's other big change -- beyond the whole return from the dead thingee -- is the series' move in the U.S. from The WB network to rival UPN, which is doling out an eye-popping fee of $2M per episode for the show.
The change worried fans, since UPN, home of Star Trek and The WWF, has a predominantly male audience. Would Buffy be butched up to fit in?
"Basically, it's exactly the same. And the network has been very supportive. They obviously believed in the show, and they have pledged not to fix something that isn't broken."
In fact, Noxon says Buffy isn't the only one feeling re-energized these days. "We all feel revitalized."
The network switch does, though, mean that the off-again, on-again romance between Buffy and brooding vampire do-gooder Angel -- who has his own show on The WB -- is definitely off.
"I still get three to four letters a week, asking for Angel and Buffy to get back together. I had one fan burn their poster of Angel and Buffy and send me the ashes," Noxon says. "They're in a whole hooting bucket of denial. I tell them, they're not even on the same channel anymore; they must move on.
"Look at Spike. He's a nice vampire and he's even on the same network."
If that's a hint there's romance in the cards for Buffy and Spike (James Marsters), the acid-tongued vampire who has long nursed a crush on the slayer, Noxon says the two's love-hate rapport isn't changing soon. "There will still be that tension, with Spike mooning over her."
There's also plenty of time to get together -- both Gellar and Marsters are committed to the show for the duration of the show's contract with UPN, which runs through the end of next season. "We're all pretty happy here."
Despite that, the series does lose one of its original cast members this year. Anthony Stewart Head, who plays Buffy's mentor Giles, is headed home to London to be closer to his family, and to star in a proposed Giles spinoff, Watcher, for the BBC.
Of course none of this will surprise anyone who frequents spoiler-heavy Web sites, like Ain't It Cool News, which post Buffy plotlines months before the episodes air.
"Yeah, it bothers me. We all work so hard to surprise the audience and keep it a fresh experience. It's like people ruining a movie for you, but on a much grander scale.
"They've been better lately, but they have a leak and we've been trying to find it, but we haven't been able to."
Could that be the basis of a new reality-TV series. "Yeah," Noxon laughs, "the hunt for the Buffy mole."
Sarah's wedding details?
An American womens' magazine is claiming the scoop on Sarah Michelle Gellar's forthcoming wedding to Freddie Prinze Jnr. Woman's Day report that two years after their engagement, the couple are reportedly spending a fortune on a day no-one will ever forget. "The wedding will be in LA, in August, about a month after their new movie Scooby Doo, opens," an alleged 'close friend' of Sarah reveals. "It will be like the Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston wedding, but for a younger crowd - they know everyone who's anyone." The guest list reads like a who's who of young Hollywood, and includes Drew Barrymore, Britney Spears, Cameron Diaz, Josh Hartnett, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon. Rumour has it that Freddie's best man will be his best friend Matthew Lillard, and Sarah's maid of honour will be her old friend Michelle Trachtenberg, who plays Dawn on Buffy. The ceremony and reception will take place in the backyard of their Hollywood Hills home.
SMG Daphnie Doll
With Scooby-Doo hitting the US theaters in June, Warner Bros. is readying a host of new toys, including a Mystery Machine model kit, a Barbie doll created to look like Daphne (aka Sarah Michelle Gellar...wait, does that mean Freddie Prinze Jr. gets to be Ken?) and a new "mystery-solving Scooby-Doo," replete with Tiki torch.
Buffy / Angel Crossover Maybe Possible Next Year
A crossover show between "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" may still be in the works, even though the two shows air on different networks.
The New York Daily News says the fact that "Buffy" airs on UPN and "Angel" belongs to The WB isn't dissuading series creator Joss Whedon from attempting to convince the networks to bury the hatchet and work out a plot that will criss-cross the networks to both shows. "It's not something we're pursuing this year, but it's something we might get into next year if things have cooled down between the two networks," Whedon told The Daily News. "Buffy" first aired in 1997, with "Angel" spinning off two years later, and both initially aired on The WB. "Buffy" jumped to UPN this season after a dispute between Whedon and the network. "UPN really came out swinging," Whedon told The Daily News. "They really promised and delivered a great deal of support. They put passion in it. Our fan base is not huge, but it is hugely loyal. I knew they would follow us". source allpop.com
Death? Revenge? What will happen on "Buffy"?
"Buffy The Vampire Slayer" fans have to suffer through another rerun this week, but i have some details about future episodes. Executive producer Marti Noxon told that so far the series hasn't had any luck luring Anthony Stewart Head (Giles) back to the U.S. from his U.K. home. But they say that a spy on the show's set says he's already been back. Fans will have to wait and see if Giles does return or not. What will hapen: First of all, there is going to be another death, and it sounds like Tara (Amber Benson) is the one saying goodbye. Then there's angry Anya, who was stood up at the alter by Xander and goes to Spike looking for his help with her revenge plot. The word is that these two get together. Finally, there's Willow, who has flirted with the dark side of magic all season. The rumour is that once Tara dies, Willow goes 100 percent magic crazy and seeks revenge. We'll have to stay tuned to see if our sources are correct.Source Allpop.com
Buffy star deals with love scenes
Buffy's current love interest is finally learning to be comfortable when scantily clad. James Marsters, who plays the vampire Spike on UPN's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer", has recently found himself without clothes as his on-screen relationship with Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) blossoms, scifi.com reports. The actor said his castmate and on-screen love Sarah is helping him deal with the more mature scenes they've had to film lately. According to the TV vampire, James and the actress have "built up trust and friendship" over the course of their "Buffy" years together, which makes shooting intimate scenes a bit easier. James is quick to point out, though, that despite his clothing deficiency, the latest "Buffy" story lines are aren't getting too racy or showing steamy scenes just to create buzz. "The thing that's happening between Spike and Buffy is for a purpose," James told scifi.com. "It's going to say something very painful and truthful about Buffy and her journey towards adulthood. It is a decision that springs from an artistic impulse, not just wanting to put booty on the screen."
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