My Week With Buffy OR How I Played Hooky From Work To Watch “All My Children”

Wednesday, (Sept 21) I took the day off of work to watch Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return to “All My Children” – a series I’ve never seen before and a series I’m not likely to ever watch again. Why? I don’t know. I guess I thought seeing her on the show that she was once a regular on would be a big deal. She was only in the first 7 minutes of the show for about 2 minutes of screen time – BUT IT WAS COOL. She plays a crazy patient who claims she’s Erica Kane’s daughter (the role she originally played in the 90’s) and that she can see vampires (she left the show to be on Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and there’s a bit of funny dialogue about vampires being trendy.

And watching “All My Children” was only the 1^st of 4 times I spent with Sarah Michelle Gellar this week. I watched the first and second episodes of SMG’s new series, “Ringer” and here is a quick review of the series so far:

RINGER REVIEW

Sarah Michelle Gellar is back as Bridget, an ex-stripper who is a recovering addict and the only witness in a high-profile murder trial.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is back as Siobhan, a spoiled socialite with a troubled marriage who is having an affair with her best friend’s husband.

Confused? Don’t worry about it – Bridget and Siobhan are twin sisters. When Siobhan is presumed dead, Bridget takes her place to get out of testifying because she thinks it will make her life safer. Unfortunately someone is after Siobhan so Bridget has to survive assassins and fit into Siobhan’s life at the same time.

While the first episode was jam-packed with things, the second episode really capitalized on it. If you’ve seen it (and if you haven’t SPOILER ALERT) you know what I’m talking about. Bridget tries to bail Siobhan’s life by emptying out her ‘emergency’ account and skipping town but the pesky dead body in a loft she’s having converted is threatening to be discovered so she has to cancel her plans and keep the body hidden just a little longer.

Good: Sarah Michelle Gellar is back. The writers don’t waste much time trying to convince us Siobhan is really dead – she pops up at the end of each episode where she is talking to someone on a phone and trying to coordinate something. Bridget is an engaging character lost in someone else’s life and in over her head – Sarah Michelle Gellar’s return was worth the wait. The series is thrilling – every 15 minutes I’m thinking, “How is she going to get out of this?” In one of the last scenes of the second episode she’s helping Siobhan’s step-daughter ride out a hangover, holding her tight as she cries and decides that she’s not leaving – that she’s finally in a place where people need her.

Bad: I suspect that it will get canceled without an ending – most of the shows I enjoyed last season were. And when the main villain turns up looking to beat up or kidnap Bridget’s sponsor and gives up because someone runs up to talk to him, he looks about as threatening as a muppet (the writers are really going to have to do something to make us think this dude is a threat).

Watch it/Skip it: I’m going to watch it…obsessively. It’s a good show and I’m in for the long haul.

And I read the 1^st issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 9 and here is a quicker review:

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 9 #1

Buffy and the gang are back. Abandoning the Slayer Army she built, Buffy and the Scoobies have set up in San Francisco. But instead of actively looking for danger, the gang are all leading normal lives. Buffy is a waitress at a deli and has two normal roommates.

Good: Joss Whedon is back and he’s brought all the good dialogue with him. It’s great to see the gang interacting with normal people for a change and it’s great to see the gang in general.

Bad: Let’s see…the story jumps around and isn’t clear at times (what did Buffy and Xander do in her room and when was she walking around with Riley (during the party or after?)).

Read it/Skip it: Not a great start for Season 9. I read a few pages of a preview that had a few slayers come after Buffy and she gives them a beat down – that would have been a great way to start season 9. Oh, and I left a fingerprint on the spine of the book – come on Dark Horse, spring for good ink. But I know the next issue will add to this one and all will be made clear – I’m just impatient. If the book came out every week it wouldn’t be fast enough for me.

So my week with Sarah Michelle Gellar was great and I’m looking forward to the rest of season 9 and a (hopefully) full season of Ringer on TV. Welcome back to television SMG!

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Reboot

When the Buffy reboot was announced without Joss Whedon involved, I was still excited. I’m a huge Buffy fan and a huge fan of all Joss Whedon shows. But Joss turned down the opportunity to participate in the movie.

To Joss, it probably seemed like a bad move to create a different version of something he already created twice before (the original movie and the TV series). I imagine that he’s really enjoying creating Buffy Season 8 and Angel Season 6 stories that are cannon and that allow him to continue stories he’s already invested in with characters he loves and hand-picked writers and artists he respects. The thought of having a ton of angry fans screaming at him for reinventing something they consider ‘holy’ probably gave him a migraine. I don’t blame him for passing on the project.

When they revealed the rebooted Buffy’s writer, Whit Anderson (no writing credits and two minor acting credits: Yes Man and Saw: Rebirth), I was still excited. Nothing can damper the excitement I feel about the reboot.

As a comic book fan, I’ve suffered through dozens of ‘reboots’ of storylines, characters coming back to life, characters acting completely different from year to year, even new, alternate universes. As a television/movie fan, I’ve seen:

• Movies I loved turned into crappy television shows (like My Big Fat Greek Wedding)

• Television shows I loved turned into crappy movies (like Dukes of Hazzard)

• Movies I hated turned into fantastic television shows (like Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

• Television shows I hated turned into fantastic films (like Charlie’s Angels)

• Movies I loved turned into fantastic television shows (like Stargate Atlantis)

• Television shows I loved turned into fantastic films (like Serenity)

As a fan, I’ve seen a lot of second or third tries on properties. So what’s the worst that could happen? If the Buffy reboot sucks, you don’t have to pick it up on Blu Ray and they probably won’t make a sequel and you won’t have to worry about another Buffy project for another decade. On the other hand, if it rocks, you’ll have 2 or 3 different versions of Buffy to be a fan of. While all of fandom seems to want to slam it, I’m anxious for more Buffy.

Joss won’t do it and Sarah Michelle Gellar has said on several occasions that she’s not interested in participating in any future Buffy projects. The truth is: Buffy is still popular. Buffy merchandise is still coming out, selling out, and being collected by the fans. Why wouldn’t the studio that owns the property want to take another stab at Buffy the Vampire Slayer, bring new fans in, create more merchandise, and generate interest in past Buffy projects?

Let’s face it, Buffy has been off the air for years and while new fans are still finding it, they’re trickling in. Now imagine you make a killer new Buffy film and while fans are waiting for the blu ray release or waiting for the next film to come out, they’re sating their interest by renting and giving the television series a try.

Joss Whedon sitting this project out is a good idea. That way fans can compare the projects against each other without resenting Joss for ‘selling out’ or ‘ruining it’ if the new film stinks. As far as an untested writer tackling the project, she’s a Buffy fan and a film company believes in it enough to pay to make it. We might not think much of her resume, but none of us have seen her screenplay. Will the new Buffy be similar in tone? Will the new Buffy be similar in spirit? Will the new Buffy have fantastic supporting characters? What will the new Buffy’s origin be? No one knows any of these questions. I love the television show and the comics (the season 8 comics, not the ones that came out during the show’s run) and if the new movie is fantastic, none of the fans will turn their back on the original.

I think that most fans feel like making a new Buffy movie means the chance of ever doing anything with the original property is gone. It is, but it was over when Sarah Michelle-Gellar said she wouldn’t do any Buffy projects, it was over when Ripper failed to get off the ground, it failed when Eliza Dushku turned down a Faith spin-off, it failed when the proposed television movies never got off the ground, and it was over when Joss said he didn’t want to participate in the reboot.

I like Uncanny X-Men but I also like Ultimate X-Men – just because there is a new way to enjoy something you’re already a fan of doesn’t mean you have to hate one to enjoy the other. This reboot is going to happen with or without the support of fans so why not wait and see what happens? Maybe, like the Star Trek reboot, our love of the new movie will reinforce our love of the original. If I’ve learned anything being a geek, it’s that there is plenty of room in fandom for more than one fantastic interpretation of the same property.

In a perfect world, this is what the new Buffy movie would look like.

Bad Fortune

Today I went to Pick Up Stix (it's won-ton Wednesday and I need my fix) and got this in the fortune cookie:

Next time might I suggest gender neutral pronouns. Jerk.

Just for the record - Speedball likes the ladies. In fact, this seems like a good time to write about them.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is my favorite show. For seven seasons I got to know and love these characters as the stakes got higher and the bad guys got closer to killing them all. Of course Buffy isn't the only woman I love from that show, there's also Willow, Faith, Dawn, Anya, Cordy, Tara, and Kennedy.

Alias is one of my favorite shows. Since season two it was always on the brink of cancellation but it kept getting renewed until we had five seasons and a complete story. Sydney Bristow was played to the hilt by Jennifer Garner who picked up an Emmy for best actress in the first season.

No list would be complete without the underappreciated gem, Dark Angel. For two short seasons Max kicked ass and tried to help out her fellow transgenics (the closest thing to having an X-Men TV show). It also introduced geeks to their goddess: Jessica Alba.

Of course there's the amazing women of Firefly/Serenity. Each character is so different but each has the other's back no matter what. As far as the list goes, I've met all four in person and they're so much fun and sweet in person.

Whedon Statue Wishes (aka where Xander and Giles at?)

A few lines of statues for Serenity and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have come out in the last few years. They’ve been great if not complete. What I mean is that while a few statues have been released, not all the main characters have been represented.


Serenity started out with its Diamond Select statues. Each one featured a character in a pose from the movie with a base that matched. For “Inara Strikes,” Inara is standing behind a barrier while taking aim and for “River Trumphant,” she is standing on a base of Reaver bodies just as she was in the film. After the release of these two statues, “Zoe’s Revenge,” was announced and never released. The statues were great even if the actual likenesses weren’t great.

River Triumphant from Diamond Select

Then came Quantum Mechanix’s series, Little Damn Heroes. It’s been about a year since the last maquette, Jayne, came out and no other characters have been announced so I’m guessing that the series has ended. It was an amazing series – affordable, unique, and fun. Each figure was ‘toon’ style on a plain base but all holding or wearing episode specific items like Mal’s trench coat and gun, Kaylee’s overalls (with teddy bear patch) and umbrella, and Jayne’s hat and ‘Vera.’

Kaylee from Little Damn Heroes

For those keeping score at home, if you were to put together the Diamond Select statues with the Little Damn Heroes, you get: River, Inara, Mal, Jayne, and Kaylee. We’re missing Zoe, Wash, Book, and Simon.

Then, from my favorite show of all time, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, we have the “Essence of” series of statues from Diamond Select. These statues showed the characters in situations that weren’t show-specific but very cool (Buffy in action with a vamp being dusted, Willow levitating, etc.) and each one had a unique light-up bases. Unlike the Serenity statues, the “Essence of” statues had great likenesses. But after four great statues, the line ended.

All of the statues from the "Essence of" line

Now we have the ‘Tooned Up’ series from Electric Tiki. This series, I am very happy to say, is ongoing. The statues were ‘toon’ style and is what the highly-anticipated-and-never-delivered cartoon series would have looked like. The Buffy statue comes in two or three different episode-specific outfits (same pose) with different hands that contain a stake, bo staff, and the slayer scythe. Willow comes in ‘Vengence’ (from the time she went after Glory) and ‘Dark Willow’ versions (again, same pose – just different paint jobs). Every statue so far (except for Glory) has had different versions but all have been awesome. The ‘Tooned Up’ version of Faith just came out and has an interchangeable hand so that she can hold a stake or her signature knife.

Buffy, Glory, and Dark Willow from the 'Tooned Up' series

Buffy, Angel, Spike, and Willow each got “Essence of” statues from Diamond Select. Electric Tiki has put out ‘Tooned Up’ versions of Buffy, Willow, Glory, Faith, and has just finished a sculpt for Spike (with a human and vamped-out version).

The forthcoming Spike statue looks awesome

There have been a lot of great statues but no line has lasted long enough to give me the core group of characters from either Serenity or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I’ve already mentioned the characters that are missing from Serenity core characters. As far as Buffy statues, Buffy and Willow are in both series but I want a Xander and Giles statue. Cordelia would be nice too but I’ve always considered Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Giles the core of the series and it would be great to be able to have those four united on a shelf.

The problem with a statue series is that the items come out one at a time and take a month or a few months between releases and don’t last very long before they’re discontinued. Most of the items are limited which means that you have to get the pieces that you’re interested in before they sell out and hope that they come out with other characters you want.

Now Sideshow Collectibles has another Buffy statue series. Their first statue, “Buffy: Throne of the Slayer” is due in September. If I order the first statue, will they eventually release a Willow, Xander, and Giles statue. Probably not, but I still ordered the first statue and will hope for the best.

Sideshow Collectibles' "Throne of the Slayer"