Buffy The Vampire Slayer

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR :

What a strange feeling. The new season of television has begun, and while Angel is still dead and kicking on the WB and Eliza Dushku is seeing dead people in Fox’s Tru Calling, it’s the first time in a long while I haven’t set my VCR for Buffy. I don’t like it, but there’s always reruns, I guess. Anyway, to help all my fellow Buffy fanatics get through this tough time, we’ve gathered some quotes overheard on the summer convention circuit to share with you. Not coincidentally, they come from the lips of James Marsters who, as Spike, will continue to bring a little bit of Buffy to everyone this year through his character’s resurrection on Angel. Don’t miss it. See you next month !

Mike Stokes, editor

BUFFY NEWS BITES :

GROOVY WILLOW According to Variety, Alyson Hannigan will be making multiple appearances on Fox’s That ’70s Show this season.

MUSIC TO OUR EARS Radio Sunnydale, a compilation of songs featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes (from various artists including Dashboard Prophets, Nerf Herder and Aimee Mann) will be released Oct. 20th.

BOY CRAZY In the latest Buffy/Angel crossover novel, Cursed, the Slayer is headed to Los Angeles where her two vampire beaus bridge her past and present. It hits shelves in November.

JOHN RITTER (1948-2003) The official Buffy Fan Club expresses its condolences to the family and friends of John Ritter, who died in September. Best known for his role as Jack Tripper in the classic sit-com Three’s Company, Ritter also visited Sunnydale in the memorable role of Ted, the robot/boyfriend of Joyce Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s "Ted" (episode 2.11). He will be missed.

SPECIAL NOTICES :

NEW MERCHANDISE We have a lot of stuff in the pipeline for the next few months, and a few new items made their first appearance recently.

Check out the new Buffy Cast Design T-Shirt and Chosen Design Mousepad that arrived recently.

Coming soon...UCSD Sweatshirt, coffee mugs, a few more mousepads, and some fun surprises.

ANGEL FANS We are now offering four issues of the NEW Angel magazine with an Angel fan club membership. To join in time to have the PREMIERE MAGAZINE ISSUE (sure to be a collector’s item) included as your first issue, go to www.angelfanclub.com and click on Join Club. After the new issue is released, you may not have the chance to find/buy it again. Back copies of the Premiere issues of the magazines don’t make it long in inventory and they can’t be purchased again.

BUFFY TRIVIA :

Sometimes, the most obvious questions are the toughest to answer.

Q : Xander is blind in which eye ? Q : What is the name of the fast food restaurant where Buffy worked ? Q : What band performs the Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme ?

The Answers are listed later in this newsletter.

NAME THE EPISODE :

BUFFY : She has parts that keep growing after they’re detached. She irons her jeans ! She’s evil ! GUILES (to Xander and Oz) : I fear this demon Buffy met in the woods may have possessed her somehow. BUFFY : She has to be destroyed ! Lite FM ! Love songs ! Nothing but love songs !

The Answer is listed later in this newsletter.

SPIKE CONFIDENTIAL, PART B

James Marsters gets candid for convention crowds.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer may be finished, but through the magic of reruns, DVD and video, it’s a good bet that our favorite Slayer will be born into more than just one generation of fans. If interest in summer Buffy conventions is any indication, the show will definitely go on in spirit. For those of you who didn’t make it to a convention this past summer, here are a few James Marsters soundbites you missed about the past, present and future of Spike.

On Joss Whedon vs. William the Bloody : When Joss writes and directs the show, he tends to put Spike to the side, because Spike doesn’t really fit into the structure of Buffy the Vampire Slayer—where there’s the good guys and bad guys. Spike is kind of an ill fit. So whenever Joss comes aboard, he goes back to [the premise] he started with, which is, "How you get through adolescence ?" and "How do you go from being a child to being an adult ?" Spike complicated that.

On His Favorite Episode : The musical. I realize they didn’t nominate that for any kind of award, [but] I called Joss and said that if any episode in the history of television deserves an award...it was that. I feel like I can say that, because I didn’t direct it or write it or anything. I was just there for a couple of days and then I watched it, so I’m as much of a spectator as you are, frankly. I was already enamored of [Joss Whedon], and then he did the musical. You think you’re a real artist, and then you meet Joss Whedon.

On Buffy’s Adieu : That’s the truth [in the final episode when Spike says that he knows Buffy doesn’t love him but appreciates her saying she does]. He shows his manhood by saying that. What the final episode did very well was admit that Buffy really is in love with Angel. The sexual relationship Buffy had with Spike was unhealthy, it was unwise—it was fun to watch, but it wasn’t good for Buffy. [In the end], Buffy was discovering a new level of respect for Spike that she hadn’t felt before. She knew he loved her and she wanted to give him something because he’s about to die. He shows his strength by saying, "Well, no, that’s very kind for you to say, but that’s not true." I’m comfortable with that. I don’t need to be the one I don’t need to be Buffy’s "one."

On Spike the Boyfriend : Spike is evil. They never played Spike as the boyfriend you really want to have. I was having a problem with the character because, you know, the truth in life is, if a guy is a jerk to the rest of the world, he’s going to be a jerk to his girl, too. Nice guys rule !

On Neutering Spike : I didn’t really like the chip. I thought if we wanted to redeem the character, I wanted to see him have to choose good over evil, not be forced to. I had a thought that Spike should fall in love with Buffy, because, after Season Four, I couldn’t keep trying to kill her. If I succeed, we have no show, and if I fail 12-14 times, I become pathetic. I had this in the back of my head, and Joss came to me at the end of Season Four and said he was planning just that. My immediate response was, of course Buffy would never reciprocate, she’s just going to torture him to death, which I thought would be funny. And he said, "Well, we’ll see."

CROSSOVER EVENT ALERT ! You can view Part A of Marsters’ full comments in this month’s Official Angel Fan Club newsletter. If you’re not already receiving it, sign up at www.vipfanclubs.com !

NEXT MONTH : Read the finale of Iyari "Kennedy" Limon’s interview as she discusses her favorite episode, the origin of her name and the surprising link between acting and avocados.

QUOTABLE SLAYER

"Most of us never found the time to get to know you. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t noticed you. We don’t talk about it much, but it’s no secret Sunnydale High isn’t really like other schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here… But whenever there was a problem or something creepy happened, you seemed to show up and stop it. Most of the people here have been saved by you, or helped by you, at one time or another. We’re proud to say that the class of ’99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history."

Jonathan presenting Buffy with the honorary Class Protector parasol in The Prom (episode 3.20) ; written by Marti Noxon

BUFFY TRIVIA ANSWERS

Q : Xander is blind in which eye ? A : Xander lost sight in his left eye when Caleb jammed his evil thumb into it in "Dirty Girls" (episode 7.18).

Q : What is the name of the fast food restaurant where Buffy worked ? A : The Doublemeat Palace ("Doublemeat Palace ;" episode 6.12).

Q : What band performs the Buffy the Vampire Slayer theme ? A : Nerf Herder.

NAME THE EPISODE ANSWER

This all-too-common college roommate meltdown occured in "Living Conditions" (episode 4.2) ; written by Marti Noxon.

NEXT ISSUE :

Check out the long-awaited finale of the Iyari Limon interview to find more inside scoop on the woman who played Kennedy. Also : more trivia, quotes and good times !

Mike Stokes Editor, The Buffy Fan Club Newsletter