From Wanda http://www.eonline.com/Gossip/Wanda/Arc ... 20329.html Battling a Buffy-Angel Fan Onslaught and Mapping the Future of Our Favorite Slayer
Death threats. Stolen identities. Smear campaigns. Revenge. No, this isn't the latest episode of 24. It's my life.
And honestly, I'm beginning to envy Jack Bauer, because even if he has to wear the same thing for an entire season, at least he isn't facing the wrath of the fiercest faction known to man--Buffy and Angel fans.
As promised in last Monday's chat, I'm going to run chief Slayer Marti Noxon's responses to your biggest Buffy concerns--and some drool-worthy news about an upcoming chat guest. But first, we need to get a few things straight about this battle I've suddenly found myself smack-dab in the thick of.
It started a few weeks ago, when I rattled off a fun-spirited (or so I thought) column about my Top 10 TV Peeves. I asked you to sound off about the funny annoyances from your favorite shows. I figured we'd rant, we'd laugh, we'd hug---we'd move on.
Then something unexpected happened in the die-hard Buffy/Angel community: You went ape-dung. You couldn't stop ranting.
I was bombarded by emails from "Buffy and Angel forever" fans who abhor the Cordelia and Angel pairing, so I gave them a voice in last week's Your Peeves column. That sent the other side--the pro-Cord-Angel fans--reeling.
Now, my inbox has become ground zero for the nastiest finger-pointing battle since Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vince McMahon, with both sides lobbing accusations and multiple email accounts and fake names to "rig" my tally.
And I'm sorry, but I just have to laugh. Who knew there were people in this world who took TV more seriously than I do?
Granted, I can argue Buffy theories until I'm blue in the face, and I've devoted much of the past year to becoming Mrs. Wanda Cooper-Vartan, but I do believe you're crossing the line when you send someone a death threat because they don't agree on whether two fictional characters should do the humpty.
So, I will handle this the only way I know how--by saying something I never, ever thought I would: It's only television, people. Lighten up. This is supposed to be fun. And besides, we should be able to get along, because we're all fans of good TV. I mean, it's not like we're dealing with those yahoos crying over the cancellation of Walker, Texas Ranger or something--they're the ones who deserve a serious ass-whooping! So, what do you say, can we get back to having a little fun around here? Can I get an Amen? Now that that's out of the way, it's time to let Marti Noxon, exec producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, field your concerns about exactly where the show is heading. Read on...
Let's start with the episode that really riled up the fans:
Did Buffy's trip to the mental hospital mean the entire show is just a hallucination?
Noxon: We never meant for it to be a statement of the show. If so, it would have been the very last episode of Buffy. We just wanted to have a little fun and say: "Could it have all been her hallucination?" It was a brain teaser. We believe in the world of Buffy. Wholeheartedly. We didn't want to invalidate her whole journey. It was just kind of a what-if, not a thesis statement, and we're not going to have asylum shows from now on.
Will the show lighten up?
Because of Buffy's mom dying and her dying, this season was darker, since she had to fight back from that. She'll always have travails, but we are looking to bring her back into a heroic stance. We're going to throw Buffy a bone or two. And I think, ultimately, people will be happy with the balance. There's so much cool stuff about to happen--in a way people are not expecting.
Fans have been pretty vocal in their criticism of this season. Does it have an effect?
We do listen, but we wouldn't let fan opinion change us dramatically. Sometimes, the fans are going "no, no, no!" and we know we are heading somewhere they will like.What about the folks who still want Buffy and Angel together?
They call themselves the shippers. These are the people who still have their high school sweetheart's picture in a frame on the wall. They can't seem to let things go. I think Buffy and Angel's relationship was idealized. It was like a fairy tale, in the way young girls dream about--to have this perfect, unattainable man. But you have to throw curve balls. We gave Buffy and Angel a barrier they couldn't surmount. This locks it into a romantic ideal, because they never fought over who has to do the laundry. They were stuck in the first beautifully passionate stage of love, and that's where it will be forever.
Some of the fans want Buffy and Spike together. Does that surprise you?
Sometimes, things don't go the way we intend. It seemed very obvious to us that the Buffy-Spike relationship couldn't work in the long run, so now we need to reiterate why. We need to get in there and show people the difference between loving someone who is good to be around and loving someone who is good. I think people have forgotten the Spike of two seasons ago. I mean, he tried to kill Willow! Can you really see Spike and Buffy in a condo deciding what they should watch on TV that night? That's not our thesis. What we want to show is an independent heroine who is not defined by her relationships.
How much is Joss Whedon involved in the show now?
Very. He works out the storylines, but we do have a little more freedom with the production. Right now, he's working on Firefly and the BBC show--plus Buffy and Angel. So, Joss is very busy, and he loves it. He's like a pig in poo.Okay, E! Onliners, there you have it. Now, allow me to present a peace offering to shippers and non-shippers alike: David Boreanaz will be in the house on May 6. We're chatting on the very same night his son Connor returns (all grown up), so we'll have plenty to talk about.Just promise me you'll play nice.
See you at our next chat--Monday at 6 p.m. ET--for more lip-smacking dish on all your faves.(Oh, and for the record, I was only kidding about the Texas Ranger thing. The show was gawdawful, but the big, brawny, gun-slinging people who watch it are just the coolest ever.)