Behind the Scenes

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JOSS WHEDON (Creator / Executive Producer):
He always has a few words to say...
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MARTI NOXON (Writer / Executive Producer):
Fear not, all happiness does not remove the tragic from Marti.
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ALEXIS DENISOF (Wesley):
Always the proper gentleman with props to all.
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JEREMY RENNER (Vampire Penn):
So glad he came to party, and not a fang in sight.
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JANE ESPENSON (Writer / Producer):
The ever-spry Jane gives us the scoop on Firefly.
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AMBER BENSON (Tara):
Always speaking from her heart, Amber spreads the love!
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JYMM THOMAS (Darling Violetta):
Jymm tells us 'bout the DV Mirco-tour.
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ROB KRAL (Angel Composer):
Music never sounded so good, but Rob talks topic!
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The Troika and Authors Signing ~

The Evil Troika:
Danny, Adam & Tom

On Saturday afternoon CityofAngel found ourselves once again visiting Sherman Oaks for a signing at the quaint, unique bookstore Dangerous Visions on Ventura Blvd. The nerd herd, known as the 'Troika', was making an appearance from 2pm to 4pm Danny Strong (Jonathan), Adam Busch (Warren), and Tom Lenk (Andrew) all showed up, along with Buffy/Angel novelists Jeff Mariotte, Maryelizabeth Hart, and Nancy Holder.

We arrived around 3 p.m. and the signing was in full swing. A long line of fans (including many Bronzers) were diligently waiting in line for their turn to converse with the authors and actors. There was a considerable selection of Buffy/Angel novels on display as we entered the store, including Jeff's latest novel Haunting. Likewise, an exorbitant amount of science fiction novels, both new and used, lined the walls of Dangerous Visions. The latest CD from Adam Busch's band, Common Rotation, was on sale. Miniature replicas of Jonathan's 'magic bone' were also a hit sale at the signing.

After making our way to the famous trio, CityofAngel was lucky enough to obtain a few comments from the men behind the nerds. Danny Strong immediately came off as the complete antithesis of his character Jonathan. He was very outgoing and confident, laughing as he signed magic bones, and telling jokes to set nervous fans at ease. CityofAngel asked him about his experiences as Jonathan, and how it felt to be the central figure in "Superstar." Now back and evil, Danny is having as great a time as ever. "Well I love being back, and I love being the villain. But I think ultimately I'm gonna be the good guy of the villains. I think, yeah. You know, it's getting a little out of control and I'm getting a little nervous about it, so we'll see what happens," he said. With a wry smile he quickly spouted out, "But I hope they don't kill me off!" invoking a series of laughs around the table.

"I begged and pleaded to be
in [the Buffy musical]!"

Adam Busch, or Warren, the mastermind of the Troika, also appeared to be having a great time with the fans discussing both Buffy and his band Common Rotation. He was eager to comment on the irony of being absent from the Buffy musical episode, despite being in a band, "I begged and pleaded to be in it, and they said no because they heard me sing," he joked. Still, Adam has been brewing up some maniacal plans for his nerdy trio, "I was thinking we should have a boy band. Trio: the musical. Like we are a bad boy band episode with singing and dancing and we take over the world through how bad our music is. Like they'd hate it so much but it'd be so catchy they couldn't stop singing it and we'd just take over the world like that." Regardless if his thoughts come to fruition, Adam wanted to make it known that, "I got ideas; I got plans. No one listens to them but I have them."

Finally, we approached Tom Lenk, who plays the soft-spoken third member of the Troika, Andrew. While not as outspoken as Adam or Danny, Tom was still extremely polite and willing to answer our questions. Like his counterparts, Tom had been on Buffy before, but as a vampire. When asked about how he returned to the show, he happily related his experience. "Actually they had auditions for the part and it was actually supposed to be a different character and the actor wasn't available. They auditioned a lot of people in town and I came back in, and of course they remembered me and just went 'well,' and because I had been in full make-up it was not an issue." As most recurring actors express, Tom was just ecstatic to be back in Joss' world, "I'm just really excited they let me come back."

Maryelizabeth and Jeff
enjoy meeting their fans!

After talking with the Troika we switched gears and conversed with Buffy/Angel writers Jeff Mariotte, Maryelizabeth Hart, and Nancy Holder. As always, Jeff was extremely helpful and willing to talk about his current projects. His most recent Angel novel, Haunting, is not for the weak of heart. The novel finds Cordelia participating in a reality show at a haunted house. Throw in a disturbing vision, along with Wolfram & Hart, and terror ensues. Jeff commented that, "Hopefully they [fans] will be really scared by it. It is the most outright horror of the Angel books I have written." Also coming up is the Angel Casefiles, written by Jeff and his wife, Maryelizabeth Hart. The 'Casefiles' is going to be a companion to Angel much like The Watcher's Guide is to Buffy. Maryelizabeth asserted that her favorite part in writing the guide was, "Interviewing Charisma in her little jingly top."

Nancy Holder, never an
Endangered Species!

Jeff agreed with a laugh. "I didn't get to be there for one, but that would have been my favorite part. But just thinking about it now, it's becoming my favorite part." Lastly we got to briefly talk to Nancy Holder, author of Buffy novels such as The Book of Fours. She managed to whet our appetite with news that she and Jeff are collaborating to write the first Angel hardcover novel.

"[We're] writing the very first Angel hardcover novel together. It's called Endangered Species. We're in the middle of it right now." After talking with the actors and the authors, the CoA crew and fans headed back to Hollywood much wiser to the upcoming works of the authors and the enthusiasm of the actors. It was an exciting afternoon and only a sneak peek of what was to come that night.