BtVS in the Media

[illdoc]

Not exactly "Buffy in the Media", but "Buffy actress in the Media": https://tvline.com/2022/10/04/emma-caulfield-ms-multiple-sclerosis-interview-buffy-agatha/

[Halting Hex]

Well, poop!

It turns out that one of the problems with relying on broadcast media is that they actually have to, y'know, broadcast.  I got sloppy last night, and ran out of DVR space during Inca Mummy Girl, but I was all "no problem, I've got a rerun coming up."  And then, today, FUSE goes dark for a few minutes (for whatever unknown reason) and so my copy is missing the top of Act II.

Nothing major (just missing Willow asking Ampata what New York is like, and Xander saying he doesn't like wearing lederhosen…which makes me wonder when he did, exactly?), but this is my First Episode Ever, and I'd like it intact.  Who knows if we'll get another cycle?  (Who knows if they'll complete this one?  PopTv pulled the plug after S3 the last time they did the show.). Grrr, arrgh.

And then, after making room for Reptile Boy on the overnight, I had a similar problem on Halloween. (There was an auto-record for a pre-season hockey game that took me by surprise and I ran out during Act III…while I was asleep.). So wish me better luck at 6.00 than I've had at 4.00, I suppose.

(And Hades help FUSE if they screw Monday, during their one-and-only Innocence airing.  Just saying.  I can send an angry email like nobody's business.)

[Linda956]

I watched Buffy during it's initial run in the 1990's and have the entire series on DVD.  But, I haven't watched the series in years and years.  The cable channel, Fuse, is showing the series, which is rare because I find that hardly any cable channel broadcasts this series (as well as Angel).  So I started watching it again from the beginning and all I've got to say is, "God, this series was just so much fun to watch!?  I really missed it and it took me all of 1 minute to get completely hooked into watching the half dozen or so episodes they run each day.  It''s a shame series like this are no longer around or being done.

[illdoc]

2 hours ago, Linda956 said:

which is rare because I find that hardly any cable channel broadcasts this series (as well as Angel).

Angel is never shown. Comet is currently showing Buffy, however.

[Halting Hex]

I found space on my DVR for all 34 of my 16mm gems from S1-S2, and about half of the S3-S4, to boot.  "Fortunately", I have less interest in what's to come, so I need no longer do so much purging.

(And I just surgically recorded only the "Spike talks himself out of heroics/the Scoobs find Giles singing" part of WtWtA, so it's good to know I can just snip a single scene without needing to grab the whole ep.  Should serve me well for wanting to have the Xillow scene from Empty Places, and nothing else.  Fingers crossed…)

[Halting Hex]

Good news: apparently FUSE thinks the show is slaying in the ratings, at least enough to merit a second go-round.  My guide shows Welcome to the Hellmouth kicking things off again on Monday, November 14, at 5.00 PM Eastern.  So good news for my chances of getting Inca Mummy Girl  without that brief glitch, then.

(I suppose I should check through the other 65 or so eps I'm saving, just to make sure there's nothing else that needs a fresh copy.  It's a lot of work, but these are eps I want to see, so…get on it, lol!)

[illdoc]

First look at the trailer for SMG's new series Wolf Pack: https://tvline.com/2022/12/02/sarah-michelle-gellar-wolf-pack-character-kristin-ramsey-photo/

[watcher1006]

More bad talk about the set of BtVS, this coming from Sarah Michelle Gellar herself:

https://www.thewrap.com/sarah-michelle-gellar-extremely-toxic-male-set-buffy/

This after Charisma Carpenter's revelations. Coming from a show that supposedly broke ground for women in the world of show business, this is very disappointing.

[Halting Hex]

Yes, that's a bummer.  I wonder if part of the reason was that Joss only ever hired one female director, and Ellen S. Pressman's last episode was Inca Mummy Girl.

On the plus side, Sarah looks much better than she did in the Wolf Pack pictures, IMO.  Not that she didn't look attractive in those, but I couldn't see Buffy there.

Whereas this is totally still our Slay Gal:

(I grant you I'm just spoiled because Aly still looks like a Willow who's barely cracked the Dirty Thirties.  So it's probably not fair to grade on that sort of curve.)

[illdoc]

From TVLine: * Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be the recipient of the Icon Award at the 2023 SCAD TVfest, taking place in person from Feb. 9 – 11 in Atlanta.

[Halting Hex]

Next rotation of BtVS on FUSE starts with Welcome to the Hellmouth, today at 2.00 PM, Eastern Time. 

And if you over-ate at lunch, well, Chosen is on right before, to help you toss those cookies.  (Yeesh, only two hours between the desecration of "The Earth is Doomed" and the original, if you're masochistic enough to want to note the contrast.)

[Halting Hex]

We don't have a "Cast Appearances in Real Life" thread as TWoP did once upon a time, but I suppose if a cast member is reported by the media as being at an event, the qualifies as "in the Media", right?

So, let's reminisce:

December 10, 1998.  Sarah and Alyson attend the premiere of Playing by Heart.

March 15, 1998.  Our ladies attend the Paley Center's panel on the show.

[lembergwatcher]

On the first photo the two seem a little bit tipsy...

[illdoc]

Audible Oct 12: https://tvline.com/news/slayers-episode-1-release-date-buffy-spoilers-anya-audible-1235042980/   &  https://tvline.com/news/slayers-buffyverse-story-audible-buffy-reboot-spike-release-date-1235042772/

 

In other news DWTS gets Willow: https://tvline.com/news/alyson-hannigan-dancing-with-the-stars-cobie-smulders-reaction-himym-1235042964/   &  https://tvline.com/lists/dancing-with-the-stars-season-32-cast-full-list-dwts/alyson-hannigan-2/

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by illdoc

[illdoc]

SMG cheers on AH: https://tvline.com/news/alyson-hannigan-dancing-with-the-stars-cast-sarah-michelle-gellar-reaction-1235049636/

[Halting Hex]

Yoicks!  I have zero interest in DwtS, but can I resist Aly's wily Willow charms?

[illdoc]

Quick interview with AB & CC about the Audible series (out Oct 12): https://tvline.com/interviews/slayers-buffyverse-story-cast-reunion-charisma-carpenter-amber-benson-audible-1235058308/

[Halting Hex]

Hey, there, 1990s people!  Let's spend a day with All My Children star Sarah Michelle Gellar!

(Courtesy of Soap Opera Digest, I'm almost certain.   Hence this thread.)

"I'm always on the phone with my friends!", Sarah tells us.

Sarah is a thinker!

But she's still shy!

She started acting at the young age of four, but now Sarah has a nice set of tits!

Er, is all grown up.  "Now Sarah is all grown up", that's what we meant.  Honest!

And Sarah has already won a Daytime Emmy Award!  (Unlike certain loser castmates, hehe!)  No wonder she's all smiles!

Whether walking around town or on her inline skates, Sarah is on a roll!

Someday, she may be lured by the bright lights of Hollywood.  And while we're sure she would slay them all in LA, for right now, she's all about New York, New York!

Edited October 23, 2023 by Halting Hex

[Halting Hex]

Ides of March, 1998, and Sarah is slaying them deader than Julius Caesar, appropriately dressed on the red carpet for the 20th Anniversary re-release of Grease:

[Halting Hex]

"And on the tenth day of the tenth month of 1998, the Slayer shall go to the premiere of a sequel she is not in, and she shall bring a friend from work."

Reasonably certain we have seen this Sarah/Nick pic before, but now that I learned it is from the premiere party for I Still Know What You Did Last Summer on (as noted) October 10, 1998, I thought I would share.

I suppose Sarah went to see her old castmates, but I guess she and Freddy weren't dating yet (they don't get hitched for another three years) or why would she bring Nick?  (Not that it was a date, but showing up with another guy spells "mixed message", I'd think.)

[Halting Hex]

"I told you, Buff, there's nothing to worry about!  Willow and Faith are getting along great!"

Aly and Eliza at the Cruel Intentions premiere, February 25th, 1999.

(Probably right around when they shot Choices.  Hmm.)

[illdoc]

https://tvline.com/news/dancing-with-the-stars-alyson-hannigan-how-i-met-your-mother-yellow-umbrella-dwts-1235065122/  Includes recent photos of Aly & Alexis, if you haven't seen them on anything lately.

Edited October 25, 2023 by illdoc

[aghst]

Slate Culture Gabfest wades a bit into the Buffyverse with a discussion of Slayers, a set of podcasts written and performed by some of the minor cast members.

https://slate.com/podcasts/culture-gabfest/2023/10/is-killers-of-the-flower-moon-scorsese-at-his-best

The clip they play is pretty bad and amateurish, big contrast from how terrific the original series was.

But they go on to see some of the series through the lens of Wheadon's creepy "fantasies" about the young female cast.

I knew there were allegations against Wheadon by a couple of the former female cast members.  It makes it sound like he sexually harassed them but some of it seemed more like tyranny and creating a toxic workplace, making it stressful for Charisma Carpenter and Amber Benson.

 

[BetterButter]

 

[lembergwatcher]

Oz and Dawn after deciding to elope... or not... 

[Halting Hex]

On 10/31/2023 at 1:03 PM, BetterButter said:

 

Honestly, most Honest Trailers are funny, but they tend to provoke a "well, they're stretching that for the joke" or "wow, they took that out of context" at least once in the piece.  This is pretty much the best one I've seen.

Even a couple of points, about how Puberty is the Real Monster (this goes back to Teacher‘s Pet, but it's good to have it enunciated) and that it makes that since Angel is an age creeper (he fell "in love" with a virginal 14/15-year-old Buffy without even speaking to her, then went and peeped through her bathroom window that night, per Becoming, Part 1), that he would dump Buffy as she graduates high school.  No more "get the fruit while it's fresh", eh, Broody?  She's an adult now, and where's the fun in that?

And I did not know that "Dangerous", Marster's song about dangerous MT was to him (what with being all sexy and 15, what's a man to do?), had a lyric about the Trachtentoes, specifically.  Good Lorde.

Thanks.

[wknt3]

Camden Toy, ‘Buffy the Vampire’ Star, Dies at 68

[tv echo]

The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time
By Daniel D'Addario, Kate Aurthur, Clayton Davis, Selome Hailu, Alison Herman, Emily Longeretta, Jennifer Maas, Joe Otterson, Michael Schneider, Jazz Tangcay, Aramide Tinubu, Adam B. Vary    Dec 20, 2023
https://variety.com/lists/greatest-tv-shows-of-all-time/ 

Quote

40  Buffy the Vampire Slayer
...
The WB/UPN
1997-2003

In its moment, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” looked like a quintessential cult-classic TV series. Today, it’s clear: The show’s just a classic. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s performance as a student and loyal friend who stuck it to vampires rather than being sucked dry by them ingrained itself in pop culture, creating a whole new archetype for the horror heroine. Allegations of on-set abuse by series creator Joss Whedon have changed how some see the Sunnydale gang. But at its best, “Buffy” is not about one man’s sensibility but the inspiring power of a singular woman. It’s a monster-fueled coming-of-age story; it’s a metaphor for the loss of innocence and teen angst; it’s a tragic romance. And it’s a common answer to “What’s your favorite TV show?” for many a grown-up whose taste was forged as a ’90s kid.

Edited December 24, 2023 by tv echo

[watcher1006]

My goodness, Hinton Battle, who was the dancing demon in S6 "Once More With Feeling", passed away on January 30. He was only 67.

https://www.playbill.com/person/hinton-battle-vault-0000100485

He was a delight to watch and to hear, with his dancing and wonderful rich voice. So clearly the Broadway performer.

[tv echo]

PGA Awards 2024: ‘Oppenheimer’ Producers Win Top Honor
By Matt Donnelly, Jordan Moreau   Feb 25, 2024
https://variety.com/2024/film/awards/producers-guild-awards-winners-1235919292/ 

Quote

The ceremony also saw several career achievement awards. Sarah Michelle Gellar stepped out to present super-producer Gail Berman, who made the former a star with “Buffy the Vampire Slater,” with a trophy named for Norman Lear.

“When I say that not a single person on this earth was interested in buying that television show, I mean not a single person on earth was interested in buying that television show,” Berman told the crowd at the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood. She persisted and wound up creating an iconic character that empowered young women around the world. Berman dedicated her award to the people who “lift me up when there’s barely any air left in the punching bag,” her husband and children.

Edited February 26 by tv echo

[tv echo]

Former Buffy writers and crew will discuss behind-the-scenes moments at WonderCon on March 29...

https://wondercon2024.sched.com/event/1azdz/buffy-and-firefly-behind-the-scenes 

Quote

Buffy and Firefly: Behind the Scenes

Calling all Browncoats and Scoobies! Come celebrate both shows with candid conversations and reminiscing with some of the behind-the-scenes crew that made your favorite episodes happen. Hear from writers to props people about the behind-the-scenes moments from Buffy and Firefly that made them laugh, cry, and connect with the shows that they made.

Friday March 29, 2024 6:30pm - 7:30pm PDT

Edited March 15 by tv echo

[illdoc]

SMG has a new job: https://tvline.com/news/sarah-michelle-gellar-dexter-prequel-cast-original-sin-1235271725/

[Halting Hex]

SMG loses a best friend;  Shannen Doherty dies of cancer, age 53.  RIP, Shando.

[Halting Hex]

This guy has been doing a series of videos about how Shannen Doherty's co-stars and celeb friends have reacted to her passing.  So here is a nice selection of SMG's SM on the subject of SD (RIP).

I can't say that having bits of SMG's online presence that I had previously ignored pop up in any way mitigates the tragedy of Doherty's passing…but I did enjoy seeing the two of them enjoying a COVID-era "Friendsgiving" in 2020.

Amusing to learn that their mothers are named "Rosa" (Doherty) and "Rosellen" (Gellar) respectively.  And nice to see Sarah still proud of her juggling skills, however they may have lapsed from Hell's Bells.

(But where were Freddie and their children, Charlotte and Rocky?  Hard cheese if Smidge was isolating apart from her family.)

Edited July 22 by Halting Hex

[tv echo]

TV’s 20 Best Musical Episodes, Ranked (Plus the One Absolute Worst)
By Matt Webb Mitovich, Andy Swift, Nick Caruso, Vlada Gelman, Charlie Mason   November 6, 2024
https://tvline.com/lists/musical-episodes-tv-best-worst-watch-buffy-video/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-subspace-rhapsody/ 

Quote

01  BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: ‘Once More, With Feeling’
..
Season 6, Episode 7
Sorry for ending on such an anticlimactic note, but did you really expect another episode to snag the top spot on this list? Nearly every song in this hour-long masterpiece is an earworm, courtesy of series creator Joss Whedon, and performed flawlessly — or at least with a lot of enthusiasm — by the cast. (Plus, it blessed us with “I think this line’s mostly filler,” something we’ve since quoted too many times to count.)

[tv echo]

 TV Roles Almost Played by Someone Else on Big Bang Theory, Lost, Arrow, One Tree Hill, The O.C., Buffy and More
By Vlada Gelman, Rebecca Iannucci, Matt Webb Mitovich   December 1, 2024 
https://tvline.com/lists/tv-actors-almost-played-different-roles/ 

Quote

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER
...
[Melanie] Lynskey confirmed (in an interview with Shut Up Evan: The Newsletter) that she had met with Buffy creator Joss Whedon about potentially playing Willow in the series, a character ultimately portrayed by Alyson Hannigan. Initially, Lynskey was “not sure about doing television at that time” and “wasn’t super into it,” but she and Whedon stayed in touch after she first passed on the opportunity. Later, when original Willow portrayer Riff Regan had to be recast after Buffy‘s pilot, Lynskey did audition, but the role went to Hannigan instead.

Edited December 2 by tv echo

[Halting Hex]

Interesting!  When I worked with Rose Girelli (Hannigan's representative at the time Aly was cast) a few years later (early 2000s, not sure if it was before the series ended), she told me that Joss wanted "a New Zealand actress" to replace Regan, but she never said it was Lynskey.  Did she think I hadn't seen Heavenly Creatures?  Huh.

Girelli said that actress the network preferred was either Jennifer Esposito or Jennifer Morrison and I wish I could clearly recall which.  (I think it might have been Esposito and then I got her mixed up with Giancarlo Esposito and thought she was too "urban" for the network to consider for the part.)  But I did semi-recognize the name when Girelli said it, and she expected me to do so.  Whereas she never mentioned Lynskey's name.  Lol.

So what happened (per Girelli) was the network was all "we don't want to have to deal with [Lynskey] fighting to hide her accent" (rightly so; look how trying to hide her Irish accent handicapped Michelle Ryan in the Bionic Woman reboot) and Joss was all, "listen, Willow is not Jennifer Morrison [or Jennifer Esposito], ffs!" and they went back and forth and Aly had to audition 10 or 12 times (that scene with Buffy at the Bronze) and eventually she got the role as a compromise.

(You may recall that Aly cites the cut lines from that scene as key, which come after Willow says Xander hid her Barbie when was 5:

Quote

BUFFY:  Did you get [the Barbie] back?

WILLOW:  Parts of it.

Aly has said that the key was that the other auditioners played the "parts of it" line as depressing, but she decided that Willow was being glass-half-full and Joss liked that for the role.)

Edited December 7 by Halting Hex