Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Spike TV: This year’s Save One Show campaign—in which readers vote for the one endangered series they want to save—is all about the shows that have been on the air this season. (And by the way, we will reveal the overwhelming winner in just one week, so hang tight!)

But the fact that no Whedon-helmed series is currently on the air didn’t stop nearly 20,000 fans from sending write-in votes: "Bring back the Whedonverse!" Meaning, they want a spinoff or a telepic with the characters from Joss Whedon’s television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Now.

James Marsters Clearly, you want it bad. Especially you Spike (James Marsters) fans. Which explains why I received a lovely floral bouquet (on Valentine’s Day, just to get my hopes up that John Stamos had struck again) and a card that read: "A year ago our heart was broken. We don’t need an Angel to fix it. But James Marsters could get the blood pumping again!"

While discussing his new telepic, Cool Money (airing Mar. 19 on USA), James told me he was stunned to find out about the flowers. "Really? They did that?" he mused. "Wow. Just. Wow. I am speechless."

Thankfully, the words came when asked about the possibility of a Spike spinoff. "Joss and I have talked about [it]," he told me. "I told him I would be very interested in doing it within a five-year time span, but being that the character is a vampire, I didn’t think that I was the guy to play him after that because, with everyone who played a vampire on that show, it was a prime concern that you try to maintain the look that you were hired with, that you really try not to age. Frankly, television will age you. It’s like being the President. It’s some long hours! And one of the coolest things about a vampire is his iconic ability to just not change. I told Joss I would love to work with him, whatever he’s got. So, series TV, direct-to-video, animation, whatever! He’s a good writer, so he tends to attract good writers, so it’s good to work with him."

Joss Whedon And it’s good to watch him. Joss—who is very busy with his Serenity movie these days—declined a request to talk about the possibility of a spinoff. So, here’s what I’m thinkin’: We try and reach him another way. (Especially now that we know the clock is ticking.)

From the emails sent in over the past few months, I’ve come up with the most popular requests/ideas for Whedonverse spinoffs. I want you to vote here for your Whedonverse fave, and I will forward the results to Whedon’s office, as a friendly reminder that the fans want more. I also highly recommend you send this column to your friends, as there is strength in numbers. Tick, tock.

By the by, I checked in with reps for the Buffy and Angel castmembers, and they tell me that though their clients are working on various projects (Alyson Hannigan on Veronica Mars; David Boreanaz on three movies; Amy Acker on a pilot called The Unit with Scott Foley), they would love to work with Joss again.

In the meantime, you can catch James on the aforementioned Cool Money, which is the first chance for many of you to hear him speaking in his real voice, without the British accent. (Swoon.)

The telepic, which airs Mar. 19 on USA, is a slick crime drama with a Guy Ritchie-esque feel and a compelling story. "I play the character Bobby Comfort, who’s based on the real man, Bob Comfort, who spent most of his life in prison," James tells me. "He escaped from prison, got caught, but was able to argue successfully in front of a judge that his original sentence was unjust...and he got off free. And that’s just the beginning."

Ditto for James’ post-Buffy career in television, if the number of auditions he’s been on lately is any indication. "I’m burning myself to a crisp auditioning for pilots, but it’s cool, man," he says.

Former Buffy chief Marti Noxon might disagree, as it kept him from appearing on her Fox series, Point Pleasant. "I guess he’s got a couple of major prospects," she tells me. "And as a result, we weren’t able to bring him in for the last three episodes, which is what we wanted to do. But if we got a second season, we won’t take no for an answer."

Spoken like a true fan.