Buffy : Season 8

"TASTEFUL" IS SO OVERRATED!

This week at the Fox network’s party during the Television Critics Association’s annual press tour, my career as a lesbian entertainment reporter crashed straight into my life as a fangirl when I managed to corner Buffy creator Joss Whedon between the steak sandwich station and the bar.

After I babbled incoherently about how he’s the only straight man AfterEllen.com would ever interview and he nodded politely (possibly making a mental note to ban me from next week’s set tour of Dollhouse), I pulled myself together and asked him about the Buffy/Satsu story line in the Buffy Season 8 comic.

Buffy and Satsu

AfterEllen.com: I have to ask you about the Buffy/Satsu thing. Why did you decide to have Buffy have a relationship with this woman? She’s never done that before. Joss Whedon: You know, I created the character and she was just there; it seemed natural. [I thought] it would be fun to have the kiss of true love, make people think it was Xander … or Willow, and then say, oh no, it’s neither of them.

So we had this character who was in love with Buffy — Buffy, who’s chronically lonely — and young and open-minded, and we thought, well, we could have some fun with the tension of the thing. ... And ... for Buffy, wondering, well what does this say about me, I’ve never really [been with a woman].

And it was Drew Goddard who said, you know, all of that’s more interesting and funnier after the fact than just doing a big like roll-up to the proving I’m not actually gay by sleeping with a girl, which we’ve seen a lot of. So you know it just came together naturally, and then obviously we plumbed it for the romance, the sexiness, a little pain, and as much French farce as we possibly could.

AE: I loved the reactions of all the other characters, too, when they walked in on them. It was really classic. JW: Everything that’s come from it has just been more fun for us. ... It’s not controversial, really, to anybody who reads it.

AE: So, you told the New York Times that Willow’s going to be naked in an upcoming issue. Can you tell me more about this? JW: There is a scene — it has to do with a dream dimension and ... mystical sexuality. And she happens to be naked in the scene, but you know, it’s always tasteful. [jokingly] Damn it, it’s always tasteful! I hate taste!

Joss was also there to talk about his upcoming Fox series Dollhouse, starring Eliza Dushku, which will premiere in early 2009.

Given Joss’s history of including wonderful lesbian/bisexual characters in all of his projects, I have no doubt that we’ll have something equally delicious to look forward to in Dollhouse. (Really, no doubt. Hint.) Next week — as long as I’m not ejected from the press tour for my fannishness — I’ll try to dig up more info during our visit to the set of Dollhouse.

I’ll just have to manage to not trip over anything in the vicinity of Eliza Dushku. It’s a tough job, but somebody’s gotta do it.