Angel

When "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ended its seven year run on TV, I was devastated. "Buffy" featured the sharpest writing on television and fans could always count on creator Joss Whedon to come up with unpredictable plot twists and intriguing characters.

While at the World Premiere of "American Wedding" (starring "Buffy’s" Alyson Hannigan), I caught up with Joss Whedon and had a chance to probe his creative mind for answers to pressing "Buffy" and "Angel" questions.

JOSS WHEDON

How’s work going?

We just started shooting Angel today.

What was today’s shoot like?

Good, pretty good. There was a lot of talking about spanking. I’m not kidding, a lot of spanking. There was one scene about spanking.

There was a script idea floating around the Internet about Spike (James Marsters) becoming the first male slayer.

That will never happen. There will never be a male slayer.

What can you say about bringing Spike into "Angel?"

You know, I’ve had every scenario thrown at me. All I can say about it is that it’s going to shake everything up because he’s Spike, and that’s what he does.

What was the most bizarre suggestion you heard in regards to bringing Spike back?

Not to. I thought that was pretty bizarre. Everyone was like does he have soul, is he going to be a ghost,... I said we were going to bring him back as a mummy. That would really shake things up.

Do you have any plans for "Buffy" cast members to pay visits to "Angel?"

Oh yeah. Sarah will be doing sweep weeks if everything works out. We kind of sort of have our pick. We want them all but we just have to be able to fit them in.

Do you have any story plans for how they work in?

Our plan is for them to say they’d work in - and then to think of a story. We have a few ideas on hold but we’re really waiting for them to give us a nod.

What is the theme of this season on "Angel?"

The theme is corruption because they’ve taken over Wolfram and Hart. The theme is can we do good in an evil world.

Were fans more harsh on season six or season seven of "Buffy?"

You know people always hate the current season for one reason or another. But at the end of the day, season six took a lot of hits. I think season seven came out a little ahead. I think season four took a lot of hits - one of my favorites. Inevitably everybody has their favorites.

Is "Buffy the Musical" going to be made into a Broadway play?

I don’t think so. I don’t think it works as a Broadway play because it’s so integrated into the show. I’ve actually toyed with the notion of doing a Broadway musical of "Buffy," but not of that episode.

What would that involve?

It would involve telling the story as a musical, a whole new story. It would kind of be like "Buffy - Year One."

Year one, not a continuation of the story?

No. You can’t do a musical that’s contingent on somebody knowing something else. You have to retell the story. You have to change things and simplify them and condense them. But it’s kind of an appealing notion because I love that story and it definitely deserves to be song again. But that’s a lot of work (laughing).