Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Buffy Summers, the title character of the long-running hit show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has literally died twice during the course of the show, and both times was resurrected, once through magic and once through ordinary CPR. The show for which she is named, however, breathed it’s last first-run breath this past May on the wrestling-intensive UPN network. For seven years, the show has been going strong, fueled by a loyal cult-following attracted to the monsters, mayhem, sexuality, and above-the-board fine acting and outstanding storytelling. That Buffy was one of the smartest shows on television has long been conceded, a fact camouflaged by its intentionally silly title. It had heart, spirit, wit and intelligence in one episode that most other prime-time shows couldn’t achieve in their entire run.

Buffy ended on a high note, with most of its core cast present for an epic battle of good and evil. There were casualties on the side of the heroes, including the entire town of Sunnydale, which was sucked into the Hellmouth on which it had been built. Many felt that season seven was the right time to end. After five seasons that were relatively lighter in tone, the show made a leap from its home on the WB to the upstart UPN, and with that change came a shift in mood. While keeping to its central theme of "the maturation process is similar to being surrounded by vampires", Buffy and her friends were facing life after high school, trying to find themselves in their "real life", and making bad choices along the way - such as a pseudo-sadomasochistic relationship between Buffy and the villainous vampire, Spike, which ended with his attempted rape of the heroine, a plot point that horrified many fans.

Another reason to call Buffy quits: the show’s star, Sarah Michelle Gellar made the decision to focus on her burgeoning film career. While there was some speculation that series creator, Joss Whedon, would spin off the second "Slayer" character, Faith, that actress, Eliza Dushku, accepted a lead role on another (and oddly similar-themed) series, Tru Believer. Ultimately, Whedon and the UPN network agreed to allow the show to end on an up-note, with a still-solid fan base and a series that had not yet gone stale.

In June of 2003, at the Buffy-themed convention Moonlight Rising in the Catskills, several of the series’ co-stars gathered to meet with fans and reminisce about their time on one of the most popular shows ever to run on television.

Actor and musician Anthony Stewart Head had been with the show from the very beginning, starring as Rupert Giles, Buffy’s stuffy British "Watcher" and mentor. As the show progressed, so did Giles, who, beginning with season three, took a more proactive role in Buffy’s world, moving from teacher to colleague and virtual swashbuckler on some episodes. Head was able to recall the exact moment when he knew the show might click with fans.

"We were working on the very first presentation," he told the convention-goers, "which was the half-hour version of the first episode. It felt like it was going well, but it wasn’t going brilliantly - because Joss had the crew from hell. None of them wanted to be there, they were all mid-season workers who hadn’t been picked up by any of the regular shows, so they all had quite an attitude. But I remember saying to Joss, ’This is going to go. I think it’s a brilliant script and I think [the show] is a goer.’ And Joss said, ’Oh, yeah, it’s going to go. It’s not going to go because the TV people get it.’ Which was certainly true because the WB didn’t get it and Fox definitely didn’t get it. He said, ’The fans are going to get it. It won’t happen immediately, but it will be world-wide and it will slowly build. The word-of-mouth will just spread and spread and spread’. I still get little chills because he’s just such an extraordinary man."

Admiration for Whedon abounds, not only among cast and crew, but the fans as well. The word "brilliant" is tossed around quite a bit when referring to the series creator. James Marsters, who played Spike and became a recurring character early on in the series and a regular beginning in season five, has nothing but admiration for Whedon. "The musical [the season six episode entitled "Once More with Feeling", in which Sunnydale is possessed by a demon that forces everyone around to sing and dance in full-orchestrated numbers.] is one of my favorite episodes. When it didn’t get nominated for an Emmy, I remember calling Joss and saying ’If any episode in the history of television deserved to get nominated, it was that!’ I feel like I can say that because I didn’t write it or direct it or anything, but show up and be in it. I am as much a Buffy spectator as anyone else. I was already enamored of Joss and then he went and wrote the musical episode. You think you’re an artist and then you meet Joss Whedon!"

When asked about his on-screen persona, who was easily one of the show’s most popular characters, Marsters was philosophical. "The words aren’t mine, the camera placement isn’t mine. There are so many things that make me look cool and I’m not doing it."

If Buffy had a singular ground-breaking element, it was the portrayal of the first continuous on-screen lesbian relationship, occurring between the teen witches, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Tara, who was played beautifully by Amber Benson. The relationship, beginning in season four, was heralded by gay and lesbian communities and organizations, and was one of the most tender love affairs ever seen on television. It came to a sudden and violent end, however, at the end of season six when Tara was accidentally shot and killed by the villain, Warren (Adam Busch), who was gunning for Buffy herself. Fans were outraged, and many felt betrayed by Whedon, who had to field accusations of homophobia because of this plot point that was ultimately revealed to be a quite vital turning-point for Willow, who was becoming increasingly more addicted to magic (the supernatural is obviously a metaphor for many things throughout the series).

"I knew a long time into the show what was going to happen with Tara," Benson said. "Joss and I had talked about the whole character and the story. When Joss first told Alyson and I were going to be lovers, we had no idea [the characters were heading in that direction]. Joss came to us and told us that he was friends with this couple, these two women who were in love and he based the relationship on them. I got to meet them, and realized that Willow and Tara cared about each other the same way these two friends of Joss’ did. The bond between them was really strong and really special. And when it came to the point where Tara was killed - Adam Busch is always so apologetic [for killing "Tara"], he’s such a nice guy - it was really about Willow’s addiction. Most people understand about obsession - we all get obsessed with something and the only way to come back down is to have the rug pulled out from under us. And the only way Willow was going to hit bottom was to have her lover, her soulmate, taken away. And as much as we all cried and didn’t want it to happen, story-wise, I knew it was the right thing to do."

Benson continued, "I don’t think Joss really expected the ramifications of it, or that he’d get faxes up to about last week. It didn’t come from a bad place, but a lot of people were really destroyed by it. For me, I didn’t want her to die for selfish reasons. One, I really loved working with everyone and two, I really cared about Tara. When you spend three years as someone, they kind of become part of you. And she really did, in an odd way, Tara was me and I was her. She was special to me. And the day she died it was devastating to me. Actually, the day we shot my last scene, they brought out this cake shaped like a tombstone with ’Tara McClay, Rest In Piece’, and that was the last straw. Sarah lost it, Michelle lost it, I lost it. We were all these girly-girls crying our eyes out. I don’t think anyone on the show realized what the relationship was going to mean to a lot of people out there. I feel really lucky - Alyson felt really lucky - to have set a precedent [for lesbian characters]."

Death is rarely a permanent thing on Buffy - Buffy herself, as it has already been pointed out, has died twice herself, as have many other reoccurring characters. As season seven began, Buffy and friends prepared to do battle with The First, the original force of evil on Earth, who could appear as any dead person. Fans waited to see if Benson’s Tara would appear as an aspect of the villain. It never happened. Tara was referred to, often, as Willow worked through her grief, and the character was still alive in the hearts of many of the other characters, but she never physically appeared. Part of this was due to Benson’s hectic schedule in Great Britain, where she was directing the animated BBC internet series, The Ghosts of Albion, which she co-wrote with author Christopher Golden. But there was another reason.

"I didn’t really watch much of the final season," she said. "I knew what was going to happen, Joss told me the whole story, I knew all the plot twists, and I didn’t want to get sad and cry. It’s the reason I didn’t want to come back as Tara on season seven. I’d really debated, though. I knew that they were having the story with The First, and that Tara would only be back as The First in disguise and I thought that would be very upsetting, for me and the fans. [Tara’s death] was so upsetting, I didn’t want to go through that or put people through that. I was miserable after [Tara died]. People really cared about this character. So in the end, it was mutually decided that it would be easier to just let her, let her rest in piece. Bringing her back in the future is definitely an option - though I don’t think Tara would work real well on Angel. I think she’d just get really annoyed by everybody. [laughs]"

The WB’s Angel is, of course, a spin-off of Buffy, involving her former lover, a vampire with a soul who fights evil, portrayed by David Boreanaz. Angel has grown in its own right, and it’s speculated that many Buffy characters will make frequent appearances on the spin-off. It has already been announced that Marsters has signed a contract with the WB, and that Spike will be a recurring character on Angel - despite the fact - and here it comes again - that he died in the series finale of Buffy.

"There are a lot of good writers over there [on Angel]for Spike," Marsters said. "It’s arguable that the writers on Angel over there now might understand Spike better than ever on Buffy. Not that the Buffy writers aren’t amazing, but they really understand the human world [where the Angel writers are dealing with the demon world]. There are a lot of good writers that can work out good manly violence. I’m very excited about, and I’m really hoping that spike and Angel don’t get along at all!"

The series finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer was apocalyptic in scope, with Buffy and a team of "potential slayers" - other girls from around the world who could inherit the mantle of "Slayer" and all the added strength and dexterity to fight forces of evil - battling pre-historic super-vampires spawned by The First. Having regained his own soul, Spike valiantly sacrificed himself in aiding Buffy deliver the final blow to the vampire army, and he went out in a golden flame of glory just before the entire town was sucked into hell.

"I have a big desire to give Joss what he’s looking for or even more than that. I really wanted to do the final episode and really rip it up for Joss, and I left feeling very much like, ’Damn, I really didn’t nail it’," Marsters said, and many fans present ardently disagreed. "I think what the final episode did was admit that Buffy is really in love with Angel and that the sexual relationship she had with Spike was really unhealthy. It was unwise - it was fun to watch, but not so good for Buffy. She was developing a respect for Spike that she didn’t have before. As a friend, and when he got his soul, she knew he loved her. When she knew he was about to die, she wanted to give him something to say goodbye, so she told him she loved him. And he was like, ’No, that’s not true. That’s very kind for you to say.’ And I’m comfortable with that. I don’t need to be Buffy’s one. And I think thematically, that would have been very strange. Spike was evil. They never played Spike as the boyfriend you really want to have. I was having a problem with the character because if a guy is a jerk to the rest of the world, he’s going to be a jerk to his woman. The problem with Spike was we kept doing stuff that was supposed to appall the fans and they just didn’t care. That’s why there was such a dramatic instance of Spike being such a monster. That’s why they threw in the bathroom [attempted rape of Buffy] scene at the end of season six."

The final few episodes were bittersweet for the cast, as well as many of the guest-starring characters. In season six, a floppy-eared, loose-skinned and pleasant demon named Clem was introduced. He was originally intended to be a one-shot character, one of Spike’s poker-buddies, one who plays for kittens. Clem struck a chord with the fans and he was brought back numerous times throughout season six and seven. As played by James C. Leary, Clem was an opportunity for the improv comedian to guest on one of his own favorite shows and get to deliver some of the show’s funniest lines.

"I had a great time working with everybody. I was a huge fan before I got on, it was my favorite TV show and it was one of the top three shows that I wanted to get on after I moved to LA.," Leary said. "The one thing that shocked me was how nice everybody was. How professional everyone was. I had heard some stories about some people, but once I got on set, everyone was just really nice to me. Sarah Michelle Gellar made me feel very, very comfortable. They were a really close-knit cast, they’d been working together for six years. When you guest on a show, you feel like they’re the cool kids and you’re stuck at the table by yourself. But really, they made me feel like they were pointing to me and inviting them to come play with them.

"For the last episode that I did, I had to come in for a costume-fitting. Sarah came in - and she’d only ever seen me out of make-up maybe three times. Because of the make-up, I have to come in wayyyy earlier than everyone else, and when I’m finally out of make-up at the end of the day, everyone else is gone. But she came in, recognized me, gave me a huge hug, asked about my wife, my son. It was like - I haven’t seen you in a year! You work with guest actors every day, but you’re treating me like an old friend. No one else in Hollywood is like that at all! She was great and I really liked working with her. And it was great to do my last scene with her. It was like, while Clem was saying goodbye to Buffy, I was getting to say goodbye to [Sarah]."

What the actors all agreed upon was that Buffy was a powerful show, and an important one to its fans. Being on the show changed their lives, and in many ways, the show changed the lives of many of its viewers.

"I never expected [Clem] to take off the way he did, and I never expected to make an impression on [the fans]," Leary admitted. "I was really proud to be a part of it. I think that without Buffy, you wouldn’t have Alias, you wouldn’t have Dark Angel, you wouldn’t have these shows and movies with really strong, powerful female characters, and it was really cool to be a part of something like that."

Adam Busch ("Warren" the "Tara"-killer), echoed Leary’s sentiments. "You know, people do guest spots on tv shows all the time - I’ve been doing it my whole life. If you’re not already in the know, you have no idea that Buffy has this intense loyal following. There’s such intense scrutiny on every move you make by this passionate cult out there. You have no idea. You think you’re just going to do another guest-spot on a television show. Nobody tells you that your life is never going to be he same. Doing guest spots my entire life, and nobody ever really, uh, cared. [laughs] You can do Law and Order forever, people just don’t care as much. It’s just an honor to be a part of something that people care so passionately about. Most people just watch shows they don’t care about, or are only moderately interested in because there’s some hot girl or guy in it, but it’s so much more to watch a show that you can actually feel a part of something, creatively and as part of the audience. Look at the history of how many great actors have come through there and how many great storylines there have been. To say that you were just a small cog in this great Whedon wheel!"

From James Marsters: "Buffy changed my personal life very much, actually. I hate to admit it, but I tend to stay indoors a lot. I play in a band and write music. One of the things you try to do as storytellers is allow the audience to live vicariously through you. So the viewers get to slay monsters and do battle with evil through you. What that means is when I kiss Buffy, I’ve kissed a lot of girls! There’s an added energy to people who want to meet me, because they’ve already made out with me. [laughs]"

"I have people constantly coming up to me and telling me how special the show was to them," said Amber Benson. "Being on the show, you don’t realize how many people watch the show and care so much for the characters. Since the show, it’s been really eye-opening to talk to people and hear people’s stories. ’My mom and I sit down and watch Buffy’ ’I met my girlfriend because of Buffy.’ It’s really cool to know that a television show creates a community. It’s amazing. Fans treat each other so well. There’s a little drunken debauchery, but not much [laughs]. I’m really blessed, too, that I can be a part of that community. And I like that the community cares so much and will not let Buffy die. And it has to. Buffy can’t really go away! Come on, how many times has she died and come back? Fifteen?"

Officially, there is no news about a Buffy spin-off. Whedon attempted a science-fiction show on the Fox network called Firefly that was a hit with hard-core sf fans, but it was denied a chance to find its legs by the executives-that-be, and the show was quickly removed from the schedule. In the upcoming fall season, Whedon will concentrate his efforts on Angel and plan for the future. There are rumors of a two-hour movie and potential series focusing on Head’s character, Giles, but nothing has yet been set in stone. In the meantime, expect plenty of guest-stars on Angel.

"I am extremely pleased that there will not be an immediate spin-off," Head admitted. "Firstly, because it wouldn’t have stood up on its own. Everyone would be watching to see if it was Buffy and it couldn’t be. I think there will be something somewhere down the line, in a few years down the line. There will be something. I pitched him a brilliant idea [laughs]!"