Angel

Snippets from latest Dreamwatch

Bought the latest issue of Dreamwatch (love the way that there are random Spike pictures dotted all through the cult magazines these days), for three interviews by TaraDi, or Sarah Thompson, ASH, and Drew Goddard. All very interesting, so thanks, TaraDi, hope you do many more. How about one with JM some time?

Sarah Thompson was obviously around the time of this interview (while Destiny was filming) expecting to be around for longer than six episodes. She says that she `hopes she becomes a regular character as season five unfolds. "I’m pretty much committed to AtS until they tell me otherwise," she states. "I think at the end of the first 13 episodes, I have a series option, where maybe I will be a regular. So I’m crossing my fingers."’ I guess she is talking about AtS here, and not the other series she’s now signed for a recurring role in? If so, I suppose that she must now know she’s not going to be a regular and that’s why she signed for the other show. Wonder how many more episodes she’s going to do?

The interview with ASH is lovely. He doesn’t say anything nasty about Spike (not JM, Spike), confirms that he helped JM with Spike’s accent, and that he attended Alexis and Alyson’s wedding and that Joss was there. Apparently, Joss was still talking about the possibility of `Ripper’ on ASH’s last day on the BtVS set. Wonder if it will ever happen? He also says that he was originally supposed to come back for Xander and Anya’s wedding in Hell’s Bells and to be the one who found Xander after he went AWOL and then give him a good talking to but then Joss said he’d rather save Giles’s return for the finale. Personally, I think I’d like to have seen Giles in Hell’s Bells, and in the end, apart from Spike in Normal Again, no one ever did really call Xander on his behaviour except Anya herself. ASH was asked if it was troubling to him to have a rift develop between Buffy and Giles in season 7, and he says: "No, because to have resolution is way too cozy and Joss is never cozy. He is extremely good at observing conflict and conflict makes for much more interesting drama."

The Drew Goddard interview is also well worth reading. He has this to say about the AtS season 5 arc.

DW: Has the purpose and focus of the season been decided yet or is that still evolving?

DG: There is definitely a season arc in place. If I had to equate it to something, I would probably equate it to season two of Buffy, in terms of structure. If you look at Buffy season two, it had all these great stand-alones but there was this building arc with Angel/Angelus and that is the model we are using. Joss came to us and he has a clear idea of where he wants the season to end up and what he wants these characters to be dealing with and you build that in. When the fans see episode eight, they’ll see that the arc is really kicking in - full speed ahead! The Shanshu prophecy is a key element. There is nothing we could come up with that is better than to have Angel’s world thrown out of whack by Spike showing up and being in a similar position. It’s a no brainer.

I just hope Joss’s brilliant plan doesn’t have to mean that Spike dies again, or goes evil, or ends up back with Harmony, or any of the other things I can think of that I would not like to happen to him.

DW: What’s been most interesting for you to write this season?

DG: I’m like a kid in the candy store writing Angel. There is no one more hard-boiled and tough than Angel and that’s a character we didn’t have on Buffy. I have also been the biggest Wesley fan since the beginning. He went from the mini-Giles to the toughest guy in the Mutant Enemy universe. They asked me what I was interested in writing and I said I wanted to do a story with Wesley because I love that character so much. And of course, having Spike is a comfort level. Spike’s voice is the most fun, and I relate to Spike in that he says the thing that is the most uncouth and I have that smart-ass in me as well. Usually, when I’m writing a scene and I can’t bear how important I’m making myself sound, I have Spike come in and make fun of it.

Then yay! For TaraDi because she asks a question about the mindwipe.

DW: At the end of season four, everyone but Angel had their memories of Connor erased. How is the staff approaching writing the characters when there are some key parts of their histories missing?

DG: We approach it like they have holes in their memories and things aren’t clear. It’s almost like thinking back to your college years, or my college years, where you can sort of remember but the specifics get hazy. They can’t remember anything specifically about Connor. You’ll see as the season progresses, it starts to become problematic because when they start to talk about events, they start to realise something is wrong, and we are going to play off that, starting in episode seven. (I think he means six).

Finally, he confirms that the events of ep11, which he co-wrote with Steve DeKnight, are part of the ramifications of Chosen.

Great interviews, TaraDi. Thanks.