Buffy The Vampire Slayer

"The one thing I’m committed to -the one thing that really jazzes me on TV - is change."  Joss Whedon - SFX Magazine July 2003 

As one door closes, another one opens - or so the saying goes and for some of the actors, writers, producers and directors of the now slayed television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, never a truer word could be said. It is no secret that the last ever episode of the seven-year phenomenon that was Buffy aired over this past spring, nor is it hush-hush that there have been some pretty major changes in personnel over at Camp Angel too. With all the upheaval that has taken place, fans could be forgiven for thinking that the unemployment line at the L.A. Social Service office has become just that little bit longer but thankfully that is not the case. The legacy that has supported the entertaining dramas of both BtVS and Angel lives on in new projects littered all across the movie theatres and television networks. Some faces are instantly recognisable like Sarah Michelle Gellar in Scooby Doo 2 or Alyson Hannigan in American Wedding but others peddle their trade behind the camera or from the smooth planes of a wooden writing desk too. Join us as we follow the paths of these talents to their new adventures.

Tru Calling FOX Thursday 8:00pm Eliza Dushku, Doug Petrie

One of the biggest questions asked over the summer involved what the possibility was of a Faith spin-off being made with Eliza Dushku once again reprising her role as the bad slayer turned good. Although initial rumblings appeared positive, and Eliza was approached with the new show’s concept, she turned it down to become the lead in a new series entitled Tru Calling. Written by Jon Feldman and directed by Phillip Noyce, Tru Calling could be considered a Six Feet Under/The Sixth Sense hybrid. The pilot was aired at the recent San Diego International Comic Convention, where it received an excellent reception. The series also features Shawn Reaves, Jessica Collins, AJ Cook and Zach Galianfinakis alongside Eliza.

A young girl named Tru Davies who as a beautifully, stunning college graduate should have the whole world alive and kicking at her feet, instead has an older brother with gambling problem and an older sister who is a drug addict and after her medical internment falls through, she is forced to take a job at the New York City morgue. One night whilst working the midnight shift, Tru hears the voice of a young murder victim whispering to her, pleading for help. Tru seriously begins to doubt her own sanity, refusing to believe that the dead are talking to her. However, when she wakes up on what should have been the following day, she finds that time has shifted and she now only has 12-hours in which to prevent the beautiful girl from succumbing to her fate. Realising she is the only one that knows the murder is about to take place, Tru feels duty bound to help the girl. Armed only with a name and a morgue report and with time working against her, Tru races across New York City trying to figure out how to prevent the girl’s wrongful death yet at the same time avert her dysfunctional family from pressing their own self-destruct button.

Eliza has been quoted as saying the following about her most infamous character - "Faith is my girl. She’s always been good to me, and she’s been a good friend to me. I love this character, the show, the places we’ve gone and all the different emotions we’ve experimented with. I feel like she’s part of me" - and just as much as Faith has become part of Eliza, Eliza Dushku has become an extremely welcome part of the Buffy and Angel universe. Her portrayal of the leather-clad rogue vampire slayer turned redemption seeker has endeared her into the hearts and the imaginations of the BtVS and Angel faithful. Born in Boston, Eliza has been treading the theatrical boards since first grade, often being seen at the Watertown Children’s Theatre as either performer or signing for the deaf. Her move to the big screen happened in 1992 when, after a 5-month search by producers, she was offered the lead role of Alice in the movie That Night playing opposite Juliet Lewis. She has since gone on to appear in such films as This Boys Life, True Lies, Bring It On, Soul Survivors, Wrong Turn and The Kiss building herself a healthy resume of co-stars along the way.

In 1998, a few months shy of her 18th birthday, Eliza auditioned for and thankfully won the role of Faith the Vampire Slayer. From her first moment on screen, her powerful performance as the rebellious young girl with the kick ass attitude took fans on an emotional roller coaster ride of a journey through Faith’s complex character. From wayward bad girl who danced with evil to remorseful young woman in search of redemption, Eliza portrayed Faith with a perfect blend of aggression, sensuality and almost childlike vulnerability. A key element to that portrayal was the genuine writing talent of Doug Petrie who helped bring Faith to life. He was a driving creative force behind Faith’s voice starting with her appearance in the episode "Revelations" to her return in Season 4 with "Who Are You" and "This Years Girl". Fans who love and admire Petrie’s writing talents will be very impressed and eager to see what he can offer Tru Davies whilst keeping the faith of girl-grit and true-colors for the talented Dushku. Having been a part of the television industry writing for VH-1 and pre-witch [Melissa Joan Hart] Clarissa Explains It All, Pretrie pursued a career in feature film writing with Harriet the Spy (which ironically starred Michelle Trachtenberg) before returning to the small screen for Buffy. From story editor to producer, Petrie has worn all hats during his stint on Buffy where he contributed his own unique blend of comedy and horror. In a recent interview Joss described Faith’s character as an almost perfect foil for Buffy and surely there can be no greater testament than that. Eliza is sure to bring the same excitement to Tru, exploring more facets of her own unique talent and Petrie will help bring that voice to life.

JAKE 2.0 UPN Wednesday 9pm David Greenwalt

Jake 2.0 is the latest project for the man who many consider to be the unsung hero of the Buffy and Angelverse. The admiration that David Greenwalt has for his associate, mentor and friend Joss Whedon is no secret. He recently described their six-year writing and production union as - "the greatest film school of my life" - yet many do not realise just how much involvement David has had with regards to the development and ever increasing entertainment of the fans favourite shows, BtVS and Angel. His career has spun over two decades and he can categorically, without a doubt, add the titles of writer, producer, and director to his extremely talented career bow. David is a West Los Angeles native who always felt that writing would become his vocation more than anything else. He graduated from California’s University of the Redlands with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drama, English and Education, and tried to break into the entertainment industry, which he succeeded to do when he stood in for actor Jeff Bridges. His literary talent has led him to contribute to a variety of small screen successes such as The Wonder Years, Doogie Howser M.D and The X Files.

David was working on perhaps his biggest critically acclaimed success to date, Profit, when he was approached by television network Fox who wanted to know if he would be interested in becoming co-executive producer on their latest pet project. The pet project in question was Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the rest as they say is history. David formed a formidable partnership with Joss and wrote and directed several episodes in the first three seasons of television’s new phenomenon. When Joss came up with the idea of creating a spin-off from his highly successful series, David accepted the role of Executive Producer on Angel in 1999 and it is his inspiration, vision and dedication that has helped to evolve Angel into an equally successful series in its own right. As season three of Angel came to end, David decided to move on to new pastures joining the series Miracles as executive producer and writer although his devoted ties to Angel could not quite be severed as he remained as consulting producer for season four.

Now, David’s latest series in production, Jake 2.0, involves a run of the mill computer technician called Jake Foley who one day, whilst working for the National Security Agency (NSA), accidentally becomes infected by state of the art nano-technology better known as nanites. Nanites can reduce the size of a computer down to a molecular level and once embedded in his body, they infuse Jake with superpowers. In a moment that surprises him as much as anybody, Jake suddenly discovers that he now has incredible strength, his hearing is finely tuned, his vision magnified and that he can communicate with computers telepathically. His newfound abilities do not go unnoticed by the NSA as they soon realise that Jake could be a useful asset to their cause. The NSA enrol Jake into their fold and build a team of Special Operatives around him including some of the best people the agency has to offer. The elite forces working alongside Jake comprise of Sarah Heywood [Marina Black], a congressional staffer, two of the NSA’s senior agents, Kyle Duarte [Philip Anthony-Rodriguez] and Louise Beckett [Judith Scott], a research doctor Diane Hughes [ Keegan Connor Tracy] and Jake’s own roommate Darin [Matt Czuchry]. They must all work together and use their combined talents to face whatever the NSA put in front of them. The young lead actor should look familiar to BtVS fans as Christopher Gorham who plays the role of Jake Foley also featured as James Stanley, the love struck teenager who accidentally shot his teacher and lover in the S2 episode "I Only Have Eyes For You".

Wonderfalls FOX - Mid-Season Tim Minear

The imaginatively named Wonderfalls has former Buffy and Angel scribe Tim Minear as their head-writer. Described as a "funny, provocative and magical one-hour dramedy", Wonderfalls follows the adventures of Jaye Tyler, a twenty-something young woman working in a souvenir shop at Niagara Falls. Most of her life has been filled with non-events and under achieving until one day the unusual happens. Inanimate animal figures, without rhyme nor reason, suddenly start to talk to her! Toys, cartoon images or basically anything that remotely resembles the shape of animal begin doing a Dr. Dolittle on poor Jaye, leaving her with cryptic messages that invariably lead to people in trouble. Jaye does her best to act on the info she is given and injects herself, comically unsuccessful at times, into the lives of the diverse strangers she comes across. Her attempts to help become a journey of discovery, not only about herself but of those around her, including her eccentric family. She soon discovers that the world is a truly magical place and that everything happens for a reason as all the supposedly random events occurring in her life are actually part of a much greater scheme. Caroline Dhavernas has been cast in the lead role and with a supporting crew including Katie Finneran, Tyron Leitso, William Sadler, Diana Scarwid and Adam Scott.

Tim Minear may be a familiar name with fans as he has penned some of the most dramatic Angel episodes that have been put on the small screen. He co-wrote "Hero", "Sanctuary" and "Reunion" before going on to create "Somnambulist, The Prodigal, Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been, Darla, Epiphany, Through The Looking Glass" to name but a few. It isn’t a surprise however, that his literary talent became his breadwinner. He was often chastised as a child for doing his homework whilst watching television and by the age of nine he was making his own super-8 movies in the backyard of his home in California. Like others before him, Tim has worked on countless film and television show productions since his graduation from Cal State University where he studied film. He worked as production assistant then assistant director on such films as Re-Animator, The Men’s Club, Dudes and Platoon before contributing to television shows The New Adventures of Zorro, Robin’s Hoods and Two. One of the shows he became involved with, High Tide, took him over to New Zealand for a year. Prior to his arrival in the Buffy camp, Tim wrote for the successfully light-hearted Lois & Clark and also completed some episodes for The X Files in 1998 before joining Joss’ writing crew the following year. Prior to his appointment on Wonderfalls, Tim continued his working allegiance with Joss by writing several episodes for the ill-fated Firefly.

Still Life FOX - Mid-Season Marti Noxon

Whilst Tim is probably one of the most renowned writers on Angel, Marti Noxon can probably make that same boast on Buffy. A strong determined woman, Marti has risen through the ranks from humble secretary to story editor to co-producer all within her first three seasons despite the fact that writing was pretty much a side gig for her. When first given the opportunity of working with Joss, Marti did the unthinkable - she turned him down! Her doubts about her own abilities, and her fears about the show’s potential coupled with the sceptic opinion of her agent almost caused Marti to turn her back on Buffy but thankfully she was dissuaded otherwise by her sister in law’s brother. Some of Marti’s efforts include: "What’s My Line Parts I and II", "Surprise", "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", "I Only Have Eyes For You", "Beauty and the Beasts", "The Wish", and "The Prom" and there are so many more. Marti has crept out from behind the camera on one infamous occasion during the epic musical episode "Once More With Feeling". For those who watch the episode, they will see her ’character’ pleading with a police officer not to give her a ticket for parking next to a fire hydrant. For anyone who has the soundtrack, they may hear the additional cheeky last line from that song suggesting why the police officer definitely shouldn’t!

Marti’s post Buffy project is as Executive Producer on a series entitled Still Life which tells the story of a young cop, Jake Morgan, who is murdered on his first day on the job. The drama centres around the aftermath of the incident a year after it happens as Jake watches over his family and tells the tale of how his loved ones rebuild their own lives and dreams. Each member of his family has a different story. His mother, renewed and refocused after her son’s death, resumes her desire to run for public office yet his father struggles with his grief finding it difficult to go back to being a detective. He feels that it was his profession that encouraged his son to become a cop in the first place and so he is still overwhelmed with guilt. Jake’s brother, Max, on the other hand does not appear to have such issues as he continues to be involved with the girl that both he and Jake loved. Emily, Jake’s sister and best friend, is hopelessly lost without her brother and struggles to connect with anyone whilst his youngest sister, Daisy, believes that Jake is ’still here’. A touching series that will twist every emotion, it stars Jensen Ackles as Max, David Keith as Ben, Susanna Thompson as Charlotte, Audrey Marie Anderson as Emily, Jeanette Brox as Daisy, and Morena Baccarin as Maggie.

Angel The WB Wednesday 9:00pm David Fury, Steve S. DeKnight, Drew Goddard

The WB is very excited to be receiving the talents David Fury, Drew Goddard and Steven S. DeKnight to the Angel writing team. All three men are making the transition from Buffy this season and with such episodes as "Seeing Red", "Gone", "Lies My Parents Told Me" and "Dead Things" under their belts we can only hope for a continuation of the fantastic story lines, drama and comedy they brought to Buffy. With their well established Buffy history and fantastic literary skills the three are sure to make this season one of the best of both shows.

David Fury is perhaps the perfect example of that old adage, "If at first you don’t succeed then try, try, try again". Originally starting his working life as an actor rather than a writer, David turned down the opportunity of working with Joss on his new found success series BtVS not once but twice. Listening to the advice of his agents and taking work on an alternative show led to David not actually becoming a regular on Buffy until Season 3 where offered his services as a freelance writer as opposed to the usual writing partnership he shared with his wife, Elin Hampton. The first episode he offered as part of his solo package was the pivotal piece "Helpless" from where his reputation grew leading to him becoming Producer and then Co-Executive in a brief three year period. He made his directorial debut with the Season 5 episode "Gone". Writing for Buffy played right into David’s personal love of the comedic and horror genres. Originally born in Denton, Texas but raised in Old Bethpage, New York, David initially pursued an acting career as opposed to putting pen to paper. The comedy troupe Brain Trust he co-founded in Manhattan before taking it to L.A. tested his improvisational skills and soon David found that people were knocking on his door for his literal scripts as opposed to asking him to appear on stage. His early credits include The Jackie Thomas Show, Dream On, House of Buggin’ and the animated hit, Pinky and the Brain. Never one to miss an opportunity to step in front of the camera though David can be seen singing about the joys of the dry cleaners as The Mustard Man in "OMWF" as well as making a cameo appearance in the Angel episode "Reprise" as a goat-sacrificing demon worshipper.

Steven S. DeKnight should be nicknamed Mr. Controversy rather than the affectionate pet name ŒPantsless’ that has affectionately been given to him by the fans of The Bronze Beta Website. Steve has been working on Angel for a season now and is the man responsible for some of the most talked about episodes of Season 4. Whether it be The Beast rising to inflict untold misery, Cordelia bedding Angel’s son or the long awaited return of Angelus, in some way or other, Steve has been a part of some of the most crucial episodes of the year. Yet anyone who follows his work should not be surprised at the twists and turns he has injected into Angel. From his first episode on Buffy, "Blood Ties" to his directorial debut in Angel episode "Inside Out", Steve’s taste for the dramatic has been evident and a far cry from his humble beginnings as a writer on MTV’s Undressed. Just like Fury before him, Steve originally wanted to be in front of the camera rather than behind it but realised early on that that wasn’t where his talents lay. Born and raised in South Jersey, Steve moved to the West Coast but unfortunately found work hard to come by resulting in him taking a job as an ESL (English as a Second Language) at a small Japanese school for a little bit longer then he originally planned. The aforementioned MTV Undressed paid the wages for a while before a Buffy script he penned found its way onto the desk of Whedon and led to an interview initially for the Buffy animated series that never was. He only worked on Buffy for two seasons before moving to Angel where he was given the small task of having to find a way of bringing our hero from the depths of the ocean in the Season 4 premiere!

Don’t let the relatively new name of Drew Goddard mislead your expectations, he single-handedly took out one of the most beloved characters of the Buffy-verse when he killed off Jonathan, a character extra who appeared in the very first episode of Buffy and continued throughout its entire run only to become a key player in the controversial episode "Ear Shot" and the outstanding comedic ep of Season 4, "Superstar". Actor Danny Strong [Jonathan] humorously approached Drew during a Question & Answer panel at the San Diego International Comic Convention to ask, Œhow it felt to be a murderer’, to which Drew jokingly replied, "You know, not that bad." Drew is also responsible for Buffy Season 7 standouts: "Selfless", "Never Leave Me", "Dirty Girls", and the now classic, "Lies My Parents Told Me" which he co-penned with David Fury.

Gilmore Girls The WB Tuesday 8:00pm Jane Espenson

Another name synonymous with the outstanding penship of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes is Jane Espenson who has been a regular writer on the show since the beginning of Season 3. Like Tim Minear before her, Jane knew that writing, specifically writing for television, was a forte that she wanted to indulge in from a very early age. Like the fan fiction writers of today, Jane would often recreate episodes of her favourite shows such a Welcome Back Kotter or Get Smart.

Growing up in Ames, Iowa, Jane graduated from UC Berkley and immediately turned her attention into pursuing her career choice successfully selling a story to Star Trek - The Next Generation with her first attempt. Although her story never actually made it to screen in terms of an actual episode, it set Jane off on her vocation path where she successfully wrote episodes for shows such as Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Monty and Me and The Boys. Jane generally considers herself to be a comedic writer and uses her flair for the funny when writing for situation comedies such as Ellen. When that particular show ended its successful network run, Jane did consider dipping into drama for a while but a meeting with Whedon’s development executives George Snyder and Jeff Bynum changed her way of thinking. Turning down the chance to work on Mad About You, Jane met with Joss to discuss the possibility of working on Buffy taking a couple of story ideas with her. One of the ideas pitched turned into the ever so popular episode "Band Candy" and propelled Jane into the Buffy-verse where she has written some of the funniest episodes aired as well as contributing to fan favourite "Room With A Vu" over on Angel where she collaborated with Tim Minear.

Now that Buffy is over. Jane Espenson joins the team of Gilmore Girls this fall, which adds to her already fantastic resume. Jane has proved her worth as an excellent writer, after all this is the woman who bought us "Superstar", "The Replacement" and many, many more! With her innumerable talents we are sure she will bring many more great stories in to this already well established show. Set in the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, Gilmore Girls follows thirty-something Lorelai Gilmore. She is doing her best to bring up her teenage daughter - and best friend in the world - Rory [Alexis Bledel, Tuck Everlasting] and to make sure she doesn’t follow in her footsteps. Although the two have comparable interests, Rory is more serious than Lorelai, but similarities, especially in the more romantic side of life clearly show she follows in her mother’s footsteps. Lorelai was only Rory’s age when she became pregnant and made the life-changing decision to raise her daughter alone. This bold move caused a split between her and her old-money parents, Emily [Kelly Bishop, Dirty Dancing] and Richard [Edward Herrmann, The Cat’s Meow] a spilt which had to be swiftly reconciled in dire need of funding for Rory’s tuition. Now, in its third season, Rory prepares for college and Lorelai prepares for the trials and misadventures that entails. The perfect platform for Jane and her comedic wit.

Tarzan The WB Sunday 9:00pm Mere Smith

"Gym class was cancelled due to the extreme dead guy in the locker"- An immortal quote taken from the Cordelia Chase manual of classic quips and a defining moment in the creative crossroads of writer Mere Smith’s career path. It was upon hearing those words from Queen C’s lips in the Buffy opening episode "Welcome to the Hellmouth" that Meredyth put pay to her aspirations of being a successful actress and turned her attentions to the world of writing for television instead. Born in Houston, raised in a small Floridian town before living in Brooklyn, New York for a year. Mere has one of those rare privileges that most fans would give their right arm for - she has made the transition from armchair Œdo not disturb me when Buffy’s on’ fan to an actual writer on its sister show Angel! A former poster at the official Buffy web site The Bronze, Smith joined the staff of Angel during Season one as script co-ordinator before moving to full Staff Writer in Season two contributing to some very memorable episodes including her first effort "Untouched" and the critically acclaimed "Redefinition". Her affinity for clever scripts and her ability to keep viewers on the edge of their seat continued into Season three in episodes such as "Fredless", "Birthday" and "Loyalty". Season four continued in a similar vein as she takes credit for episodes "Ground State", "Long Day’s Journey", "Calvary" as well as the excellent face off between Angel and Angelus in "Orpheus".

Tarzan is her latest project and takes a new twist on an old tale. Jump forward two decades from the day the infant John Clayton was abandoned in the jungle and set the scene as New York City. We now find Tarzan defending this new jungle with the primal force, which elevated his status in the Congo. But what is Tarzan without his Jane? For the modern Tarzan she is found in the dedicated police detective Jane Porter, beautiful and tough she spends life fighting her own battle between head and heart. With an unmistakable attraction to Tarzan but a fiancé in the force, Jane is torn between love and loyalty whilst simultaneously fighting the filth that is the crime of the City. Laura Ziskin, producer of Spider-Man and Pretty Woman, brings this epic tale to the small screen in the tradition of Smallville, alongside writer/co-executive producer Eric Kripke, director/executive producer David Nutter [Smallville, Without A Trace] and executive producers David Gerber, P.K. Simonds [Party of Fiv]). Tarzan stars Travis Fimmel Tarzan] and Sarah Wayne Callies [Jane Porter].