Back
Scheduled
Writers
Latest
Rumors
Analysis from the
Crypt of Decryption
Sources: Jane Espenson and Drew Z. Greenberg (BtVS writers) at Succubus Club ( http://www.geocities.com/succubusclub/archives/interviews/JE010523.html) and Steve DeKnight and Drew Z. Greenberg at the Bronze. Also comments by Jane Espenson at the San Diego ComicCon 2001, posted on the Kitten Board.
Ep#1 Marti Noxon (Part 1
of premiere)
Tentative title:
Bargaining
Unconfirmed 7-29-01
Ep#2 David Fury (Part 2 of premiere)
Ep#3 Jane Espenson
Ep#4 Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie (directed by James Contner) Updated 8-1-01
Ep#5 Steve DeKnight
Ep#7 Joss Whedon (musical episode) Updated 8-8-01
Ep #9 Drew Z. Greenberg
Ep. 15 Steve DeKnight
Updated 8-4-01
Interview with Drew Greenberg on the Succubus Club on 8-8-01
(Cursory transcription/summary by Wendy)
Will Buffy have a love interest this season?
"Buffy is heading for a series of ups and downs."
In which episode is Doc returning?
"My, my, aren't we presumptuous"
Drew said, "I don't know." They keep him in a locked room with a legal pad and a #2 pencil.
What will Spike's relationship be like with other characters?
"Spike is going to have some ups and downs." "There's going to be some fallout." "It's going to be interesting. Nothing is static. Everything evolves. This is a show that is not afraid to make changes."
Is Spike as good/evil a controversy among writers as well as fans?
He wouldn't speak for other writers. He knows some writers have been vocal. The hosts mentioned Fury, and he kind of laughed and didn't say anything specific. He made another comparison to Moonlighting then said "if you're going to do it, you have to do it well." He also said there's a lot to be said for frustrating the fans.
Where do you stand on the B/A saga?
Creatively, the lack of crossovers means there's a good chance for the shows to get some space. He said he was in the minority--not sure if he meant among BtVS staff or among fans.
Then he admits he's trying to be vague.
Is Xander going to get a story this year?
Yes. Then Drew said Xander had one last year, and the hosts laughed at him. He says Joss tells stories over a long time. Stuff is building.
Is Joss committed to telling stories about the core 4 even though one is leaving?
Drew said yes.
Is he writing his script now? Does he have any special talents, comedy, romance, etc?
Only interesting info from this chat: Musical is now probably Ep 7.
Drew is supposed to write #9, but there is something coming up before then that he might have a part in (maybe something experimental?). He mentioned that he broke up the lesbians on Queer as Folk, but they shouldn't find that prophetic.
Who will go through biggest changes this season?
Amy the Rat.
Posted by Steve DeKnight at the Bronze on 8-4-01
white wings: Nope, lots more polishing to do on the Halloween ep. And yes, much foreshadowing of things to come.
Red Crayon: Joss has said that cross overs are still possible, but we're not planning any soon.
@lex H: Yeah, I should be doing commentary on my eps for season 5. Not sure when they'll be out though. The writers haven't done commentary for season 4 yet. Nope, no cameo for me in the musical. Sniff.
Christopher Marlowe: Just done with the first draft of the Halloween ep. Now Joss and Marti will read it, and then I'll redo the whole thing just for laughs. I come back up in the rotation again around episode 15. Until then, I'll be doing some more work on the animated show. I'm also talking to Dark Horse about doing some comic stuff.
Mia: Halloween ep went great. Should be extra cool/creepy/sexy -- just like me!
Posted by Dynagirl on MBTV on 8-6-01
I actually experienced a different spoiler-related dilemma this weekend, because while at GenCon I met a guy whose company is doing some Buffy-related product development. We got to talking about the show, how they develop their products, blah-di-blah, and as discussion of Spike's past starts to segue into speculation about his future, he tells me they've already seen a rough cut of the first episode of S6, and have been given some idea of what's coming.
(I should add that, while it was GenCon and we were at a bar, the guy did not overtly seem to be trying to get into my pants. Or whatever. I was not particularly skeptical of his motives for telling me, is what I mean.)
So my dilemma was this: I want to bring back good spoilers for all of you, but I don't want to be spoiled that much! So here in all their abstractness are the things I was willing to hear without feeling like I'd heard too much. Note that I don't close-read this topic (I usually skim the long posts), so some may be redundant.
- Despite Joss's comments to the contrary, Buffy's apparent deadness at the end of The Gift should be regarded as questionable. (The "or is she?" aspect of the UPN promos, I guess.)
- The Buffy/Spike relationship is increasingly complicated, with the characters becoming "intertwined" in a way that's really surprising and cool.
- Spike is instrumental in "saving" Buffy. I don't think this is necessarily bringing her back from the dead--I got the impression it has more to do with post-return.
- I said, "They won't bring her back as a vampire." He said, "Not completely."
- When he started on "Spike feels so bad about what happened that he--" that's where I stopped him, because I didn't want to know specific plot details.
Besides that, he just said what we all expect, which is that the premiere is amazingly cool and bodes well for a great season. "It will blow your mind" were his exact words.
Posted on Zap2It on 8-8-01
http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?19788
Comments by David Greenwalt
Although separated by different networks -- which makes storyline crossovers fairly impossible this season --"Buffy" and "Angel" remain close companions, with many writers and producers sharing responsibilities and credits on both shows.
So, while Greenwalt's primary focus is "Angel," he keeps up on all the latest at "Buffy," which launches with a two-hour episode on Oct. 2 on UPN. In particular, he's psyched about the musical "Buffy," set for November.
"Wait till you hear the 'Buffy' sixth episode. Oh, my god. I'm telling you ... Tim (" Angel" co-executive producer Tim Minear) and I went to Cape Cod to work with Joss in early July. He had four or five of the songs sort of finished. I mean, we were staggered, just staggered. They're really just what you would expect. It's going to be the amazing show of the year."
Despite intense speculation and polarized opinions on whether Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) should ever reciprocate lovesick vampire Spike's (James Marsters) affections -- after they somehow raise her from the grave she went into at season's end -- Greenwalt's pretty sanguine about the concept.
"It's so wrong," he says with a laugh. "You know the boyfriend you hate, but it's just for the sex, and your friends all hate him, but you can't leave him? It's a natural place for her to go, in this year of her life. She's so troubled. He's the one she can talk to. It's just one of those funny quirks of life. Credit to Joss, he's not doing Sam and Diane of 'Cheers' for five years."
"We've done 100 'Buffys,' and we've done 44 'Angels' now, and I still feel that the shows are very fresh and new. That's hard to say."
Posted by BBOvenGuy on the Kitten Board on 8-9-01
Hi y'all...
The Buffy crew was out in full force tonight at 1335 Willow Street, site of last year's encounter between Buffy and the monk in "No Place Like Home." This year, any resemblance to the factory was purely coincidental. In place of the gated fence and the dagon sphere was a large pile of trash and junked car parts, all rigged to burst into flames at various strategic and photogenic places. Meanwhile, the entire block of Palmetto Street (which runs along behind 1335 Willow) had been blocked off and strewn with more debris - burned-out cars, broken glass, trash barrels, undefinable piles of rubble - which had also been rigged to burst into flames in various spots.
Into this melee we introduce - Dawn, Spike and a motorcycle.
The scene we saw being shot tonight was done in multiple stages. First came the wide-shot, where stunt-Spike and stunt-Dawn ride the motorcycle down Palmetto Street and into the yard with the flaming junk heap. Spike is wearing his typical all-black outfit with black duster and rides helmetless. Dawn is wearing a red long-sleeve turtleneck and jeans, and in place of a motorcycle helment she's wearing an old Los Angeles Rams-style football helmet. (I say "Los Angeles Rams" and not "St. Louis Rams" because the ram-horns on the helmet are white, like they used to be in the 60's and 70's.)
After a few takes with the stunt team, the familiar white van pulls up and out hop James Marsters and Michelle Trachtenberg. Now it's time for the close-ups. Inside the yard there's a torso and head from a mannequin lying on the ground. The mannequin is wearing a blonde wig. Is it supposed to be Buffy? Is it supposed to be the Buffybot? None of us poor spectators were sure. At any rate, James and Michelle climb onto the motorcycle. As the camera rolls, Michelle climbs off, pulls off her helmet (although it got stuck once), goes over to the mannequin and kneels down next to it. We're not sure if she had any lines, but after a moment she then gets up and runs back out of the yard and onto Palmetto Street.
Next it's James's turn. Presumably in a shot that's going to be intercut with Michelle's, James goes over to the trash heap, picks up something (we couldn't tell what) and mutters some line about it not being too difficult to fix. He then looks up, looks around, calls "Little Bit?", looks some more, then yells very loudly "DAWN!!"
While these scenes are being shot, Sarah Michelle Gellar wanders in, with her hair up in curlers and a green poncho over her. She watches for a while, talks to a few people, then disappears.
Next it's back out onto Palmetto Street, where they're filming a "traveling shot" of Dawn running down the street. That is to say, Michelle Trachtenberg runs down the street while a camera mounted on wheels runs alongside her. They do this two or three times. Then we hear a voice over the walkie-talkie saying that James and Michelle will get a break while they do something with one of the motorcycles.
Back in the yard, a group of four to six biker-vamps has gathered. I'm not sure if they were shooting a scene or just rehearsing for later, but at one point the leader of the biker-vamps starts making a big speech. There's a short woman standing there in the middle of the scene - a Buffy stand-in perhaps? I'm not sure. The end of the speech has the head biker-vamp shout very loudly, "So gentlemen start your engines! And bye-bye Slayer!"
Next we go back to Palmetto Street (we spectators did a lot of walking tonight), where whatever needed to be done with the motorcycle has now been done. Except - it's not a motorcycle. It's some kind of strange three-motorcycle conglomeration. One bike is for the driver, one is for a cameraman, and one is for the actors. This is how they do close-up shots of our heroes when they're riding a motorcycle. Now, here's the strange part. The motorcycle-contraption exits Palmetto Street where we're standing and goes around the block, while James and Michelle walk down to the opposite end of the street. I tell you, I wish the Security people hadn't told me I couldn't take any pictures, because the shot of those two walking away through all the lights and fire and everything was really cool. Anyway, the bike meets them down at the far end of the street, Michelle puts her football helmet on, they climb on the bike and come riding toward us. Then, to do a second take, the bike again goes around the block while James and Michelle again walk back to meet them at the other end of the street. Why they simply couldn't all ride around together is beyond me. It was funny to see them walking, though, because they went along hand-in-hand while Michelle was doing all sorts of bows and parade-style waves, all with the silly football helmet still on her head. At any rate, on the second take we could hear dialogue - Michelle says something like "There's something over there!" and James says something like "Where?" and this goes on as they ride. Presumably these are the close-up shots to be cut in with the long-shot the stunt team did earlier.
We also got to talk to the guy in charge of keeping the motorcycles running, and he said there was a lot more motorcycle stunt work to come later tonight. I'm guessing that either Buffy or the Buffybot is going to come up against this biker gang and a big bruhaha will ensue. At one point a couple of biker-vamps are supposed to go flying off their motorcycles and the motorcycles are supposed to keep driving along. It should be a good show.
All in all, it was an excellent shoot - one of the best ones I've been to in terms of stuff being shot and star-visibility. Let's hope this is a sign of good things to come this year. :)
Interview with Joss Whedon in Starburst, #277.
(excerpts)
Another issue for fans is that UPN - the network that now holds the rights to broadcast ‘Buffy’ - and the WB, who still air ‘Angel’, have forbidden any crossovers by characters from one series to the other.
"Well, let me tell you something," Whedon says. "They may be harsh about crossovers right now. And I get it, because ‘Buffy’ had an acrimonious parting from the WB. Maybe they’re ruled out for now. I assumed that they were, and I’m not working towards them. I’m sorta glad because I want the shows to stand on their own. Crossovers are not that important to me, we do them when they’re fun, or convenient, but they can become old."
Which spells trouble for Willow, right? When we last saw her, she was waiting to tell Angel about Buffy’s death. "That scene was in there for a long time, long before this whole thing happened. The show picks up three months later, as always. It doesn’t pick up at the end of that conversation. It was never an issue for me. Willow just stopped by one day three months ago. We are picking up three months later and finding out how Angel reacted to the news - how everybody reacted. And how Fred is back in the real world and all that stuff, so we’re just picking everybody up."
Anthony Stewart Head is leaving. Will you bring in another watcher? Anthony will be on the show on a recurring basis. We’ll be bringing him back a lot because we love him. But the point of this season is that these kids are now entering the grown-up world. And, of course, they will handle it as badly as possible. I want that void. So, no, we won’t be bringing in another watcher.
What will we see in the relationship between Willow and Tara?
The one thing you can expect from any relationship on the show .. trouble. The course of true love never does run smooth, or the show would get really boring. But the relationship is a big part of the show, and it’s a big part of next season.
And what about Xander and Anya?
I will say nothing.
Posted by AnGelX at BC&S on 8-12-01
http://www.angelicslayer.com/tbcs/spoilers.html
Willow, with the others close behind, does use magic at Buffy's grave site. It may have something to do with bringing Buffy back, it may be entirely responsible for bringing Buffy back or it may be a failed attempt. (I'm not saying which cause filming was kept completely private and even some of the script has been said to be deceiving as to what really happens. The magic does happen, but what it actually does, is not completely clear.)
Spike has not gone anywhere after the death of Buffy. In fact, his guilt about not protecting Dawn, keeps him as close to the Scooby Gang and especially Dawn as he can get.
A gang of vampires on motorcycles are the supposed main villains, at least for the premiere. The cocky group wreak havoc in Sunnydale, wounding the Buffybot and interrupting efforts to bring Buffy back.
Cinescape article 8-13-01
Producer Marti Noxon has been addressing a few of the rumors about what lies ahead on the upcoming season of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.
While talking to CINESCAPE's Anthony C. Ferrante, Noxon gave the official word on some recent rumors about her series.
When asked if Shannen Doherty would be guesting on BUFFY, Noxon says, "I am going to refute the rumor. We haven't even talked to Shannen's people - that's a complete myth that she is coming on the show. The only truth to that rumor is that Shannen and Sarah are friends. Someone saw them together I think and started talking nonsense. It's not true and we right now we don't have any plans. We would be interested to have her guest, but there's certainly not a series regular and not now. That's not really happening."
What about those rumors of a villain named "Razor"? Noxon says, "That is a fallacy - I'm refuting that too. That is not our villain this season."
So, if not Razor, what
will the coming season's baddie be? Noxon says, "All I can say is we've never
done this before. It's a very different kind of threat."
Join me in the Crypt of Decryption:
After several weeks of excitement, we've hit a bit of a lull.
The biggest stir this week was created by AtS producer David Greenwalt's comments to Zap2It. His comments about a future Buffy/Spike relationship seemed to take it for granted that it was happening. It's unclear, however, whether he means the relationship will be purely sexual or not. On one hand, he claims Spike is the boyfriend Buffy goes to for sex. On the other hand, he says she goes to him because he's the only one she can talk to. Whatever the case, this was news to legions of BtVS fans. Greenwalt's comments also suggested Buffy will be troubled, which seems to bolster the suicidal Buffy spoilers of Hercules in AICN.
Comments from Drew Greenberg and Joss Whedon again reiterate that there will be no crossovers between AtS and BtVS this year. Marti Noxon dances around the "Razor" issue. She's not denying that Razor exists, but she is saying he is not the season's big villain.
Bob's (of the Kitten Board) report on the location shooting signifies that the Spike/Dawn friendship is still going strong. And for those who love motorcycles, it looks like you'll have plenty to jones about in the first few episodes.
And Dynagirl's truncated, vague spoilers from GenCon come from a suspicious source (beware of guys in bars at sci fi cons), but they are appealing in their promise of Buffy and Spike "intertwining" in a surprising way. This set of spoilers is also interesting in that it revives the Buffy-as-vampire spoilers that have been floating around for months.
Do you want to:
Correct me? Yell at me? Praise me? Send me spoilers or inside info?
E-mail me at ww1614@yahoo.com