Hasta La Vista, Buffy

[Scott W. Davis]

It's official. In news that will sadden pretty much the entire staff of Horror Express ( including myself ), Sarah Michelle-Gellar will leave BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER after this season.

Speculation has run high since last year that the show's seventh season would be it's last. The show would likely not continue without Gellar in the title role.

It's just the latest in a series of instances that have pointed in that direction. Whedon has been looking to end the show for a while now. He was asked whether this would be the end of BUFFY by SFX magazine recently and replied, "God, I hope so." Also, the cast has been looking at other projects.

Gellar will focus on films. First up, she films the SCOOBY-DOO sequel, where she reprises the role of Daphne. Then it's off to do a romantic comedy called, appropriately enough, ROMANTIC COMEDY.

No word on what will happen to the rest of the cast. Speculation is high that one or more will defect to ANGEL or be featured in a completely new BUFFY spin-off. ANGEL will not be ending it's run this season.

Joss Whedon will write and direct the last episode of BUFFY, which expected to air in the U.S. this May.

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[JohnShaft]

For the Love of God. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :unsure:

Damn. Damn. Damn. This is bad news.
Don't know what to else to say.

I sure as hell hope they do do a spinoff. That would at least lessen the loss.
Man, TV sucks enough as it is without losing the best shows :cry:

I've got more to say but now I need sleep (just found this on my last check before bed). :zzz:

Once more, NOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Scott W. Davis]

Originally posted by JohnShaft@Feb 27 2003, 06:39 AM
For the Love of God. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :unsure:



Yep, saw that response coming a mile away. My sentiments exactly. :cry:

It would be nice to see some sort of spin-off though. Joss should be able to handle it since he'll be down to one show on the air again otherwise. FIREFLY bombed huge and it will not be back. It's too bad, because it's actually a very good show. But, it was marketed all wrong and banished to FOX Friday nights - where genre shows go to die.

[JohnShaft]

OK. First of all "what the hell's Firefly?!" :o
Man it sucks being in the UK. Talk about poor relation.

And after a couple of days to think about it Buffy being canned still *utterly* sucks.
As for the spinoff I've just dug up this rumour of a rumour (I'd have posted it but there's nothing to it really) from Dark Horizons-
Dubious Willow Rumour: Craft Christ heard from a 'reliable' source that UPN look set to do a "Willow" series for the 2004 TV season. Alyson Hannigan is apparently attached to play the character again. The studio decided to look into the idea, once the "Faith" spin-off idea bit the dust. It won't be happening instantly but he's told by the Fall they'll be rolling on something. Given that it's the first day of Spring tomorrow in the United States, I reckon this isn't the last we'll hear about this baby.

So maybe all is not lost.
I must be honest though. I'd have much rather seen the Faith spinoff than a Willow one.
And it's not even remotely due to the fact that Faith (Eliza Dushku) is hot enough to set my underwear on fire... :devil:

[Scott W. Davis]

FIREFLY was yet another show by Joss Whedon that aired on FOX here in the states. It's completely unrelated to BUFFY. Instead, it's a science fiction western in the literal sense. You know how say BATTLE BEYOND THE STARS was just THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN in space? Well, this was a real western, with southern accents and all. The first episode aired (but not first shot) even featured a train robbery.

But it wasn't all western stuff. It featured a crew of outlaws on a ship called the Serenity, forced on the edges of the universe by a fascist government much like the Empire. There was also a recurring storyline featuring a mentally-impaired (not by birth) girl, who was experimented on some nasty scientists with blue hands the the power to kill by touch.

FOX screwed this one up. They created hip adds that recalled FARSCAPE, set to the music of Smash Mouth. They threw it on Friday nights, where very few genre shows have survived ( HARSH REALM, BRIMSTONE, etc. ). Also, they didn't air the shows in order. Not trusting in the two episode premiere, they began with the third episode. We were left wondering who the hell this crazy girl was.

FIREFLY was not a great show, but it stood a chance at becoming one. I would love to see the complete run sometime. But FOX cost themselves a fortune (the show was very pricey) when they mishandled it. :(

Oh, and I don't care what gets spun-off as long as it retains the same spirit of the Mutant Enemy shows. B)

[JohnShaft]

Wow that (Firefly) sounds weird even in a short description. It sounds like to disparate story ideas thrown together, I'm curious how they united them. Guess I'll never get to see it here though. They have a habit of showing half completed series though so who knows.
I've been especially demoralised with the whole SF genre of late anyway. Ten too many Andromeda's for my liking. And when Star Trek goes down the pan you know things are in trouble.

You've also just summed up the two things that gall me no end about American series too.
1. How so many of them end due to horrible scheduling.
2. Running series out of order. Man do they *love* doing that over here. Irritates me no end. And I'm not just talking about skipping episodes. I'm talking about showing episodes that come after *before*, even if the thing follows on.

And I'm with you on not really caring what spinoff they decide on, just as long as they decide on one. Who knows, maybe they'll ditch the whole Willow/Faith/Dawn thing and decide to go with something totally new, but in the same 'universe'.