Buffy news

12-08-99

- The movie news website, Dark Horizons has posted lots of news concerning Buffy. Just hi-lite that big black empty space on the page to read the news *WARNING the following containes SEVERAL spoilers*...

- Both Faith (Eliza Dushku) and Oz (Seth Green) are confirmed to be returning later this season.

- Season 3 regular Wesley Wyndham-Price (Alexis Denisof) will be returning, though it will be on "Angel". He'll takeover the 'mentor' role left in the absence of Doyle (Glenn Quinn).

- This week begins the filming of an episode entitled "Hush" which features almost no dialogue.

- Like Paramount did with "Star Trek", 20th Century FOX has begun a crackdown on "Buffy" related fan websites according to Sci-Fi Weekly. Sites which include transcripts and audio/video files are being targeted, while they are being lenient with those just using images.

- Todd McFarlane is about to release it's second set of Austin Powers 2 toys. In this set is a Scott Evil figure. He comes with a skunk and a CD player with headphones, and like the last line, has a sound chip. I think that it looks like the figure could easily be Scott or Oz. Take a look for yourself though...

10-16-99

This book titled, ‘Demons Are A Girl’s Best Friend’, by Mick Mercer can be picked up at the online bookstore, www.fatbrain.com. The season 1 review book can be found in the MUSIC section of their ‘eMatter’. It will be soild begining October 18th for $5. Season Two's review will be up at the end of November. He gave me a copy of a chapter and I thought I'de post it to give ya'll an idea to what this thing is about...

SIGHS MATTERS
Episode 7: Angel

Now we're serious. This is the episode where everything develops, and turns us
inside out, because the introductions are largely over. We know what people are
doing and we know why they're here. We know who is good, and we know who is bad.
So it is time for the actual unfolding of depth.

The initial announcement that Zachary is dead only means farewell to another
vamp underling we never knew. Buffy's patrolling is evidently going well, as the
Master is sincerely piqued by her constant interference. True, he isn't bright
enough to mention any of her able assistants, or maybe he's too arrogant to
consider them worthy of his valuable time, otherwise he might have planned to
deal with them, to lower Buffy's morale. I wonder what he has been doing with
this time before Buffy came to town. He obviously has enough power to frequently
call 'people' to do his bidding, so when there wasn't a Slayer in residence, he
has all but wasted sixty years in which to escape, without so much as one
constructive attempt. Perhaps I am being too hard on him. For all we know, he
has a stamp collection that is the envy of all his peers?

The Anointed One, who is called Colin - something of an unexpected favourite
name among the Undead - comforts him. As far as this wretched creature is
concerned he can do no wrong. He is the ugliest father figure even known. The
two of them bond like glue. The Master's latest great plan is to bring in The
Three, vampire warriors with the same appalling dress sense of Fork-Guy, but big
enough to scare off the lumpen skinheads loitering outside the Bronze, who are,
in secret, scared of the cockroaches inside.

No such problem for Willow, who is happy to slaughter such innocent creatures in
order to get a free drink. An alcoholic in the making, unless she's very
careful, she is chipper, while Buffy is down. Distracted. They're having another
Angel conversation, in which Willow fails to point out how much older he is, and
why should he be creeping around her anyway? Xander is way out of earshot, so
they fear no embarrassment, on which he holds the monopoly. Busily dork-dancing
to his pumping heart's content, and getting on everyone's nerves, he is soon
leaving the floor hurriedly, to avoid being forcibly removed, having outstayed
his welcome. Pausing to insinuate that Cordelia looks like a prostitute in her
off-the-collarbone outfit, he arrives back at the table in time to witness the
savagery that is Willow. SPLOSH! Another cockroach bites the dust beneath her
evil feet, but even this mini-slaying display cannot cheer Buffy. She seeks more
than spiritual solace. She's fed up, and leaves.

On the brief walk home she becomes aware of the footsteps behind her, issues a
jaded challenge, and immediately finds herself confronted by The aforementioned
Three, who seem plenty tough, but her dire situation is made more bearable by
the appearance of Angel, butting in to fight by her side, and even picking up a
slight wound. Mischievously, they leave The Three and run like blazes, even when
they could have finished them off, which is a charitable side of Buffy's nature
that surfaces from time to time.

Vampires can't come in unless invited, so The Three are kept at bay by something
as simple as Buffy and Angel getting indoors first. The Three don't even tarry
long enough to bother Buffy's mum who must be just up the street, not that she
would have noticed anything.  Buffy barely has long enough to gasp, and gaze
longingly at Angel, who has removed his shirt so that she can pretend she knows
what she is doing with a bandage, when Joyce appears. There is the usual feeble
teenager excuse, about Angel helping her with her homework, and then an envious
Joyce decides she is off to bed, and that it is really far too late for Angel to
be here. (Not, 'Who's this lecherous old bugger then?')

Buffy pretends to be talking to him as he leaves, and closes the door, but then,
in a shared spirit of secrecy, he remains inside and they both clump
thunderously upstairs, to stand in Buffy's bedroom having a conversation at a
quite normal volume. The deaf Joyce senses nothing. You'd think he might manage
a whisper, at least. Instead he admits his family is dead, while explaining why
he helps Buffy out. She reckons this is a vengeance thing for him, and he
agrees. Swooning gently, and obviously experiencing pity for the brooding hunk,
Buffy gets changed, without even having a wash, the filthy trollop, and he
sleeps on the floor, while she opts for the bed. Does he snore? Records do not
exist.

Ooh, isn't there a lot to talk about, in a smug, self-satisfied way at the
library next day? Xander is appalled, by what he regards as the indignity of it
all, but the purest of the pure, Willow, is more than a little curious. Giles
just keeps his big trap shut, unless discussing matters of the macabre.  Willow
does ask Giles how he knows all this stuff, because he always knows everything.
(She obviously hasn't been paying attention.) Giles demurs on the side of
accuracy, and admits he was up between midnight and six researching it. Why is
that, then? Buffy came home and was in bed within minutes. She certainly didn't
call him, so he didn't know at all. Doh! (A more virulent English version of
Duh!) There is an explanation of what danger they represent, in that The Three
are warriors, which necessitates Buffy's weapons training being seriously
upgraded, after she has ignored Xander's painful attempt to guarantee her safety
by suggesting she squeeze inside his underwear and he could carry her around,
like a man-size papoose. She has already had this training before with her
former Watcher, as Giles should have known, but while she is battering him, the
Master is teaching the Anointed One about responsibility. Once again, he reveals
a perverse sense of humour, seemingly about to spare The Three, before Darla
gleefully slaughters our devoted failures.

It would be seriously remiss of me to avoid mentioning that there is one very
peculiar thing about the library, where Buffy appears to learn nothing from
Giles and his arsenal. It is obviously a fairly cavernous affair, so sound
carries quite a distance, and that would extend out into the corridors. There
can't be many schools where the sound of persistent violence emanating from
behind closed doors wouldn't actually be reported to some authority figure.

At length, Buffy gets home and whispers in her bedroom for Angel. He emerges
from the gloom. Why he has had to stay there all day we might also never know,
as there seems no reason for it. He wasn't seriously hurt. He isn't dodging The
Three, and Buffy had no problems going to school, so what gives? Up until this
point we have no reason to believe he has any reason to behave this way. He
could have met her somewhere else. It also transpires that Buffy's mum had been
in the room cleaning and hadn't even noticed him. Blind as well as deaf. Buffy
is too busy recovering from the grand embarrassment of assuming he'd been
reading her diary to consider this, and makes matters worse by subtly - if
you'll pause to admire my diplomatic skills - revealing she'd been writing about
him. His is the face of a stoic, so he shows no emotion. You actually wonder
whether he even heard her.

From the hilarity of Buffy's angst-driven burbling over the diary, we switch
into a darker area, as Angel explains why he believes this can't work, and Buffy
nonchalantly tries to hide her disappointment, but what the heck, they kiss
anyway, and there comes two moments. One of happy, sensitive passion for Buffy,
where she is finally getting something that she actually wants. Then, he pulls
away, and stares back at her, revealed finally as a vampire. She screams, we all
fall off our chairs, and the series goes up another notch in our estimation. He
slithers out through the window and away, leaving her shocked, and amazed. It's
mutual, kiddo,

Now, be honest, we all thought that Angel was exactly that. An angel, presumed
fallen. This turn of events was genuinely gruesome, and the series immediately
became all the better or it. Whether they felt they had to give us something to
pity about Buffy to get us to like her more, I don't know, but it is all
beginning to look pretty grim for the girl. To me this was as good as the hand
at the end of Carrie (which was crap second time around, for some reason). For
you it was even better, I'm sure. It was, and is, in terms of this story,
devastating.

At school the next day everyone is a trifle perplexed, and even Xander, to his
credit, doesn't crow about it. He could have thrown that long-necked head of his
back and made all sorts of noise. Instead, he points out the required Slayer
remedy to all things fangey. Willow just wants to curl up inside herself and
disappear, being unable to offer her friend sensible advice, and Giles? Well he
just talks slower. A...vampire...isn't...a...person. They can't, any of them,
work out why he might have been with her.

Over at Angel's gloomy art-deco apartment, he has an unexpected guest. The
strangest trick here is that Angel walks in, relieved to be home, only for Darla
to tease him with her schoolgirl outfit, before she taunts him about living like
'one of them', throwing back the blinds, causing Angel to leap away from the
dangerous sunlight.

Forgetful chap. He's just walked home in this weather, hasn't he? We saw him
arriving at his front door. No worries, things are fairly calm, as Darla lets us
all in on their history, before having a peek in his fridge, observing he's not
exactly living on quiche. She's an over-confident girl, because for all she
knows he might be sleeping on quiche. Not likely, I'll admit, but her arrogance
is plainly insufferable. He is urged to tell Buffy about the 'curse', of which
we know nothing. We certainly don't know how Darla got into his place, without
an invite. It's just one rule for them and one for us, just as you never see
postman delivering babies, do you?

We leave Angel, looking mean and hard, and drift quietly to the library where
Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles are all doing research. Angel is a youthful 240.
He comes to America, shuns the company of vampires and lives by himself. This
makes me wonder how vampires would know where he was, but they do now, because
Darla reports back to The Master, who whimpers, “I miss him”.

Later, in the same quiet library, Willow is once again battling the forces of
the Un-Read. A doomed tutoring exercise, on American History. Unable to
concentrate, Buffy rambles on about Angel, but there is one charming
interjection from the innocent Willow, whose primary fantasy, in transpires, is
nothing more than Xander kissing her. On the lips. Unbeknown to them, there
lurks a human-looking Darla in the stacks, although not for long.

Knock knock, spew's there? Joyce is alone, because Buffy is out gallivanting as
usual, so Darla, all sweetness and light, tricks an invite out of Joyce. Would
she like something to eat? As a matter of fact, she would. A confused Angel is
loitering outside, but is clearly not particularly clued-in, as Darla is already
feeding. He goes in and breaks it up, but is supporting Joyce when Buffy enters.
Seeing him in full vamp look, looking truly revolting - the most
stomach-churning we see him in full vamp attack throughout the first three
seasons, and throws him through the window. He mooches off.

Following a 911, Xander and Willow rush to the hospital. Giles too. He hears
about the 'friend', Darla. An angry Buffy has already gone to the library and
gets the crossbow, determined to end Angel's tenure on this planet. We never see
police around Sunnydale, which is just as well, because she is free to wander
the streets with whatever weaponry she prefers. She will go to The Bronze, where
she expects Angel to find her. Why she is convinced this will happen we can only
guess.
 

Approaching the club, we get to see why this show looks so good. You can only
make out the shape of her hair. This show can be so dark, it's wonderful. Even
'Homicide' wouldn't have dared go with that shot. Giles, now fully aware of the
Darla link, chooses to communicate that to the others, who he now regards as
equals, which is quite cool. They're certainly braver than him. And all have
decided something, without anyone mentioning it. Instead of looking forward to
helping Buffy wipe out two vampires, they are giving Angel the benefit of the
doubt, as we will soon see, because they believe in fair play. Even Xander isn't
casting doubts on Angel's character at this point.

In the club Buffy deliberately doesn't kill him. 'Let's get it done!' he rasps,
before leaping, somewhat bizarrely, up onto a pool table, and thence to the
balcony. She can't see where he's gone, until he slams into her from behind, but
the fighting goes a little flat, and he finds time to recount his story. Go
ahead, he says, tired of his own tale, but she puts the bow down.

Darla can't bear the sob story and steps out of the shadows. There is
wonderfully bitchy dialogue between Buffy, who is truly on top form, despite her
most pressing concern, and then the crotchety Darla shoots Angel, because
bullets may not kill vampires but they hurt. She wants him out of the way. So
hold on, why aren't the gang armed with shotguns, which could actually seriously
disable vampires and make them easier to stake? Get it sorted, Giles!

Willow, now the gang have arrived, makes good with her distraction, which is to
yell. Bullets fly. Onto the pool table goes Darla, in a great action sequence.
Giles then helps with another distraction, which cunningly lights Buffy fully,
making her a wonderfully clear target for Darla, who still misses, despite
having special guns which never require fresh ammunition. Angel then makes up
for everything by killing Darla, the vampire who made him what he is today.

The truth is known, the lines have been drawn, and not just in Giles' forehead.
Angel walks away, a broken man. So, do we empathise? No, not really, because he
hasn't made us care until the fight, when killing Darla reveals his truest
colours. In truth we should pity the poor man. His struggles must be
unimaginable. Even Darla recognises that he hasn't had a moment's peace in 100
years. Then again, she's dead, so what does she know? I regret her passing,
somehow. This is surely a waste of a great character.

As the newly heroic Angel leaves, Buffy has moist eyes, and she is not the only
one experiencing great emotional turbulence. The Master is beside himself,
although not literally. That would be surreal. He's lost Darla! He's easily
mollified, by The Anointed Colin.  And if Darla didn't come back, how do they
know it was Angel, and not Buffy who killed her?

From a vague guy, to evil incarnate, to Mr Acceptable, this is a stormer of an
episode, filled with trust issues. The gang are drawing closer, which they will
need to do before long, and Angel is a fully-fledged character, and we have to
like him now. We still have no reason to trust him but we care about her
happiness, as life is clearly so much harder for her than the rest of the gang.
Up until now she is the fulcrum, with the bouncing Willow and Xander being the
charismatic seesaw she supports. Now Angel is going to make her a fully
believable figure, as in emotional terms she has played second fiddle until this
episode.

It ends wonderfully, at the Bronze. Xander doesn't, he insists, feel threatened.
Beautiful music embraces Buffy and Angel as they make their excuses, then close
in and kiss. Now, I ask you, is she the most forgiving girl in the world, or
what? The last kiss made him a vamp, this one doesn't, but the encounter is even
more touching. Has he got it under control? Has she? Their expressions tell the
true story. This is merely the beginning of something big.

As she walks away, restful but yearning, her crucifix has burnt its image on his
chest, and he has another cross to bear, in more ways than one.

10-1-99

Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (TV): After having big success this summer reprising the role of Scott Evil in the "Austin Powers" sequel, Seth Green is continuing work in features - at the expense of TV work. After working on the first six episodes of the new season of "Buffy", Green has left the series for a role in the John Malkovich black comedy "Knockaround Guys". His absence will be explained, though whether he will be back later in the season depends upon how the storylines of the show go. Thanks to 'TVs Henry'.
 
 

- And for those who want to get them, the Buffy action figures are supposed to be out next week sometime. If ya want to give `em a look, scroll down the page a bit...

9-14-99

"Buffy: The Vampire Slayer - Earshot" - A Review by 'Garth Franklin' (Positive - Very Minor Spoilers)

The third season of "Buffy" was nearly flawless. Great characters, interesting season long storylines and some good emotional drama. Still if there was one problem it was the humour or lack thereof. Whereas dry wit and sarcasm were essential and welcome elements in the first two seasons, it was predominantly absent this year. Only two episodes were of the 'pure comedy' variety - the somewhat disappointing "The Zeppo" involving Xander trying to prove himself and "Band Candy" where the adults of the town consume chocolates which make them act like teenagers.

Despite its reputation, at its core "Earshot" beats both those two to be the funniest episode of the season. The dark element about a school massacre emerges in the last 20 minutes, but the comedy still continues throughout even these scenes.

The plot of the episode has "Buffy" fighting some demons (the best makeup I've seen for demons yet on the show) during which the blood of one of them touches her skin. Seems the blood of these demons can infect others with an aspect of theirs - and Buffy soon learns the ability she gets is telepathy (read other's minds). At first she likes the idea but soon the overload of people's thoughts begin to drive her batty until she hears a single voice among the din of someone planning to kill all the students tomorrow. As Angel tries to find a cure for her condition, the rest of the gang hurries to find the killer amongst the students.

The gags here mostly relate to Buffy hearing others thoughts as well as those who know about her ability trying to avoid thinking about what they usually do (ie. lots of gags about Xander and his fixation on sex). There's the 'continuity' talk about The Mayor and Faith in the first two minutes after the credits sequence, but the rest of the episode is entirely a stand-alone except for a very minor subplot about Buffy who is concerned whether Angel enjoyed kissing Faith during his 'evil ruse' in the previous episode "Enemies". There is two other gag references back to an event in an early episode this season, but I won't spoil it for you as its hilarious (hint: it involves Buffy's mom). There's even a stunt in here which seems like a tip of the hat to the acrobatics on "Xena: Warrior Princess".

The question is, should this episode be banned? In some ways I would tend to agree considering the timing. There's nothing particularly offensive about the 'massacre' subplot except for maybe one scene with the following dialogue:

Xander: "I'm still having trouble with the fact that one of us is going to gun everybody down for no reason"
Cordelia: "Yeah because that never happens in American high schools"

The setup for the 'massacre' resembles the ending of "Higher Learning" far more than the events at Columbine. And the monologue of Buffy in the scene rings very true of the way that everyone in high school, from the babes & jocks to the nerds & geeks, feels alone and has their own pain & emotions to deal with. The writers are very careful with this scene and make sure that in the end it would make anyone who considers the idea to think twice. Airing this in the same week as Columbine would've been a bad idea. Delaying it all the way till September (ie. 5 months) however was a bit drastic though. A July air date would've been more appropriate.

This is an example of "Buffy" at its best. An episode accessible to everyone (newcomers or long time fans), very well-written and slickly paced, gives a large amount of time to all the characters, and gives the best combination in a while of the three things that make this show great - humour, horror and teen angst. All in all 100% guaranteed entertainment.

- On another personal note, I just want to apoligize for not getting up the Angel ad yet. I'm working on it. Tho, Because of Floyd, I'm outta school for two days, so I'll try to put it up ASAP. Also, for those intrested, I got the job at Publix.

9-10-99

1. "The Freshman" (Oct. 5) - Xander goes on his road trip, Buffy starts school and Giles seems to be going
     through a confused stage after losing his job. Interesting developments here for sure.

2. "Living Conditions" (Oct. 12) - Buffy's roommate is introduced. Not much else is known.

3. "Harsh Light of Day" (Oct. 19) - BIG episode. Angel crossover begins here. Buffy falls for someone and
    makes a few mistakes. Spike returns with a mystery vampire that we know well. AND Spike has a mysterious
    gem that makes vampires invincible. We will see him on Angel after this.

4. "Fear, Itself" (Oct. 26) - All we know is it's a Halloween episode and the costumes sound cool.

-In the new ish of Rollingstone, there is an ad for Angel. I'll be sure to scan that up later tonite. But for now, to keep ya'll tied over, Here are some promo pics from the show:
 
 

-On a personal note, even though I'm updating again, the updates probably won't be that freaquent due to the fact that I'm back in school, and I'm also working on my Blink 182 site, and if things go well tomorrow morning, I'll have a job with Publix.
 

6-08-99

The long wait is almost over for Buffy fans everywhere!  The eagerily awaited Buffy the Vampire Slayer line is being solicited in the JUNE Previews catalog for an AUGUST release! Hit your local comic book or specialty store to pre-order yours today!  Also in this months Previews is an EXCLUSIVE Vampiric Angel! Buffy's vampire boy-friend in his vampire form!   Complete coverage   This line will include Buffy, Angel (both sculpted by Clayburn Moore), Willow (sculpted by Moore & by Andre Jaume), and Vampire Master (sculpted by Victor Cane) and can be expected to ship sometime late August/ early September!  Each figure will stand 6" and articulation will be limited, but the sculpt will definitely make up for this!  Buffy will come equipped with a crossbow and stakes.  A Previews Exclusive Vampiric Angel is now being solicited with an EXCLUSIVE Buffy with a rocket launcher possibly planned!  Pricing is to be around $11 and 2 other waves of this spectacular line are tentaively planned! Sure to please the hordes of Buffy fans everywhere!

Solicited in this month's Previews! Buffy's vampire boyfriend Angel (who’s getting his own spin-off series in the fall- don't ya hate that? Should stay on Buffy, he's a big part of the show!), comes to life as this Previews Exclusive! Sculpted by Clayburn Moore himself, this Exclusive figure features Angel in his wicked cool Vampire state. All new re-sculpted head and hands and coming garbed in a new darker colored shirt and duster coat.  In blister card packaging for a SRP of $14.95!

5-31-99

Thanks for visiting,

-Ken, web master of this site
 

5-18-99

-Just found some news on the new Angel series. You can check it out at Backstage Pass, or read the news below. **Warning** This gives spoilers to the first episode:

"Whistler" mysteriously appeared at our door last night with some new information about "Angel".
Work on the first episode, "City Of" has begun.  Angel sets to work trying to help people (a tough job here in LA) and runs across Russell Winters, a vampire who is preying on young starlets.  Of course, once he gets a look at Cordelia she looks like prime vampire vittles and Angel goes into action.
Look for Angel to be a little darker than his current incarnation on "Buffy".   This is a man with a broken heart, using his "mission" to take his mind off of his pain.