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Buffy bits 'n pieces from magazines
I'm tired of tidying up the same things for the 100th time, so I thought I'd post these tidbits from a couple of magazines that I've meant to share for ages, but I was concentrating on finishing 'The Summer After' (It's all done! Go read and give me feedback, because otherwise I'll wilt away... please?), so this was more or less forgotten.
Anyway, my brother-in-law bought me the Buffy Magazine some weeks ago (it makes me happy and my husband annoyed, so a double win from b-i-l’s POV!), and I just felt like sharing a few things from that issue (what plans did Joss have for Tara in s7?) and SFX (which I bought myself - but then with a headline like 'How Buffy changed everything' how could I resist?)
First from SFX (Dec 2004, issue #124):
A Joss Whedon quote:
“I designed Buffy to be an icon, to be an emotional experience, to be loved in a way that other shows can’t be loved,” explained Joss Whedon back in 2001. "I wanted her to be a cultural phenomenon. I wanted there to be dolls: Barbie with kung-fu grip. I wanted people to internalise it, and make up fantasies where they were in the story, to take it home with them, for it to exist beyond the tv-show. And we’ve done exactly that.”
Did someone say fanfiction?
Ever wanted to study BtVS in more depth? Well you can here:
The following questions are from the final exam for Middle Tennessee University’s Buffy module. Answer any two questions. Put up you hand if you need more paper.
1. Buffy creator Joss Whedon has spoken of “a religion in narrative” but claims to be an “angry atheist”. Why has BtVS promoted so much interest among the religious?
2. According to Whedon, Buffy always strove for what he calls “psychological realism”. How is Buffy The Vampire Slayer psychologically realistic?
3. I have noted on several occasions moments in BtVS that are quintessentially ”Buffy”. Offer your own definition of the Buffy “signature”.
4. Identify at least three genres BtVS hybridises and show how they manifest themselves in the series.
5. Pick a BtVS writer (see episode guide distributed in class) and offer a brief overview of his/her contribution to the Buffyverse.
6. Argue that “xxxx” is the finest BtVS episode and demonstrate why.
7. Argue that “xxxx” is the worst BtVS episode and demonstrate why.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is both self-referential and intertextual. In an essay demonstrate how.
Wow! Well there are some essay-ideas if anyone is feeling bored...
Just one thing from The Buffy magazine (Dec 2004, issue #67):
AU S7:
Joss Whedon shocked fans at the San Diego Comic Con by revealing that he did have plans to resurrect Tara in Season Seven - and not as The First! As reported by the Mediasharx.com website, Joss explained that, “In one of the final episodes, the third to last episode, Buffy was going to basically get a ‘get out of jail free’ card - one completely reality-altering thing that she could have. She could bring Angel back to her, she could do anything she wanted.” He continued, “At the end of the episode she comes to Willow and says ‘Look at these shoes I got.’ and Willow’s like, ‘What?’ ‘I got these really awesome shoes. I wanted them, and now I have them!’ and Willow’s like ‘You... used... the wish... for shoes?’ and Buffy says ‘Of course not, you idiot,’ and walks out of the room, and Willow turns around and Tara’s standing behind her.”
Meep! The only upside I can think of, is that if this had happened, we wouldn’t have had ‘Touched’, and honestly - I’d rather have Spuffy than W/T. But that doesn’t mean that this can’t be endlessly used in fanfic! A nearly-canon way of bringing Tara back!
Also many thanks to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
fer1213 who bought me 2 more months of icon-space (Squee!) and lillianmorgan who sent me a Christmas card and a lovely mixed cd entitled 'Music To Watch Spuffy To' (more Squee!). Lots of hugs and smooches for both of you!
Anyway, my brother-in-law bought me the Buffy Magazine some weeks ago (it makes me happy and my husband annoyed, so a double win from b-i-l’s POV!), and I just felt like sharing a few things from that issue (what plans did Joss have for Tara in s7?) and SFX (which I bought myself - but then with a headline like 'How Buffy changed everything' how could I resist?)
First from SFX (Dec 2004, issue #124):
A Joss Whedon quote:
“I designed Buffy to be an icon, to be an emotional experience, to be loved in a way that other shows can’t be loved,” explained Joss Whedon back in 2001. "I wanted her to be a cultural phenomenon. I wanted there to be dolls: Barbie with kung-fu grip. I wanted people to internalise it, and make up fantasies where they were in the story, to take it home with them, for it to exist beyond the tv-show. And we’ve done exactly that.”
Did someone say fanfiction?
Ever wanted to study BtVS in more depth? Well you can here:
The following questions are from the final exam for Middle Tennessee University’s Buffy module. Answer any two questions. Put up you hand if you need more paper.
1. Buffy creator Joss Whedon has spoken of “a religion in narrative” but claims to be an “angry atheist”. Why has BtVS promoted so much interest among the religious?
2. According to Whedon, Buffy always strove for what he calls “psychological realism”. How is Buffy The Vampire Slayer psychologically realistic?
3. I have noted on several occasions moments in BtVS that are quintessentially ”Buffy”. Offer your own definition of the Buffy “signature”.
4. Identify at least three genres BtVS hybridises and show how they manifest themselves in the series.
5. Pick a BtVS writer (see episode guide distributed in class) and offer a brief overview of his/her contribution to the Buffyverse.
6. Argue that “xxxx” is the finest BtVS episode and demonstrate why.
7. Argue that “xxxx” is the worst BtVS episode and demonstrate why.
8. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is both self-referential and intertextual. In an essay demonstrate how.
Wow! Well there are some essay-ideas if anyone is feeling bored...
Just one thing from The Buffy magazine (Dec 2004, issue #67):
AU S7:
Joss Whedon shocked fans at the San Diego Comic Con by revealing that he did have plans to resurrect Tara in Season Seven - and not as The First! As reported by the Mediasharx.com website, Joss explained that, “In one of the final episodes, the third to last episode, Buffy was going to basically get a ‘get out of jail free’ card - one completely reality-altering thing that she could have. She could bring Angel back to her, she could do anything she wanted.” He continued, “At the end of the episode she comes to Willow and says ‘Look at these shoes I got.’ and Willow’s like, ‘What?’ ‘I got these really awesome shoes. I wanted them, and now I have them!’ and Willow’s like ‘You... used... the wish... for shoes?’ and Buffy says ‘Of course not, you idiot,’ and walks out of the room, and Willow turns around and Tara’s standing behind her.”
Meep! The only upside I can think of, is that if this had happened, we wouldn’t have had ‘Touched’, and honestly - I’d rather have Spuffy than W/T. But that doesn’t mean that this can’t be endlessly used in fanfic! A nearly-canon way of bringing Tara back!
Also many thanks to
fer1213 who bought me 2 more months of icon-space (Squee!) and lillianmorgan who sent me a Christmas card and a lovely mixed cd entitled 'Music To Watch Spuffy To' (more Squee!). Lots of hugs and smooches for both of you!
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plans to resurrect Tara in Season Seven
Crikey! This was the first I ever heard of this. I remember Amber Benson declined to appear in CWDP - but I wonder how serious this other idea was?
The essay questions make my head hurt.
::smooches back::
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Hee! So, are your fingernails nice and clean then? No seriously, the cd is lovely - as soon as I saw that the first song was by Nick Cave I knew I'd like it!
And re. Tara, I can't believe that I haven't seen that anywhere else!
And those essay-questions are not tempting in the least! (I already have my plate full! But it'll all have to wait until after Christmas!)
Oh - and did you watch 'Stage Beauty' last night? I really liked it.
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::nods vehemently:: Me too, I cried at the end.
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And apart from the 'slash' (which made husband go 'bleugh') it was thoroughly enjoyable and so beautifully shot and staged. Thank you so much for pointing it out! It's been a while since I've watched a really good film!
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No, that's not at all weird. Nope.
My personal feeling is that it was just Joss blowing smoke. AB has said that she didn't want to come back to play the FE because she didn't want Tara thought of that way. If Joss pitched that idea to her, I don't see why she'd say no. Besides, it's wicked lame, IMO. I like S7 bunches, but the whole 'Willow gets to be happy' thing annoyed me. If any scooby other than Buffy deserved happiness, it would have been Xander.
Like you, I'll take Spuffy over W/T any day. ;)
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Heh. I'm not surprised. Although I find it hard to believe that he'd use such a silly trick - and nothing ever comes for free in the Buffy-verse, that's for sure! There would have to be major repercussion of one sort or another! And also what would Tare think of Willow? She murdered Warren and tried to end the world, all because of Tara's death... I doubt they'd live happily ever after.
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And see my answer to
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I think Whedon was talking out his ass, frankly. The man likes to tell stories. He's not a terribly reliable source about what went on behind the scenes on his own shows because he prefers the interesting story to the mundane truth. I'm sure it was an idea he had, but I can't imagine it even got to the stage where the writing team was talking about it. Because for one thing, the idea that Buffy would yank someone else out of heaven after what she went through is ludicrous, and for another, it wouldn't have meshed at all well with any of the rest of the plot and themes they'd been developing all season and that were all coming to a head at the point where Tara would have reappeared. In other words, what
I'm sort of bummed I went to college before Buffy came out, because one of my degrees is mass communications and I did a lot of media study and analysis. At the time, the big thing was Madonna, but now it's Buffy, which would have made me a lot happier.
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Oh, I don't. Joss is no stranger to audience manipulation, but I would agree that there would have to be consequences for it. There is no indication of when this was supposed to happen in the timeline, but if it had happened toward the end, we might not have gotten to see them. But if all this was supposed to occur mid-season, I would have found it very distracting. The show is about Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, not Willow, the hitch-breathed, unstable witch and her awkward relationship issues.
I don't want to sound like I hate Willow because I don't. But I don't find her character the least bit interesting, either.
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I so very nearly wrote that in my reply to
there was much gnashing of teeth across livejournal
What a wonderful image! And yes Buffy would make a fascinating study, although I probably like it too much to be able to do too much analysis.
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But I don't see how that could have fit in S7 either. It could work, but personally I prefer Spuffy too. ;-)
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It seems like Joss thought it was a cool idea, but it obviously never actually got hashed out at all. I've got nothing against Tara, but I'm glad--I actually don't think it would have worked, and the absolute last thing S7 needed was more incoherence and dangling plot threads. :)
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Still say it would've been a bad move, though. And I agree that it wouldn't fit, too jarring. Something like this would've need an overall restructure of S7 (no Kennedy, no EP, etc.), which makes me believe that it was nothing but empty talk.
Merry Christmas! in case I don't *see* you again for a while. :)
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That's a really good point. It probably wouldn't have worked if that wasn't sorted out. And I agree with what you said about it not being hashed out, as it is, it just doesn't fit into what happened and the big fight that the season was building up towards.
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Me too!
And I think stories and storytelling have always been important - in some way Buffy could be seen as a 'fairy-tale' for modern times.
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Having given the whole thing some thought, I think it's Joss' thing for 'good scenes' that came out. He often does things (such as killing Wesley) because of the powerful scenes he can make. And the W/T scene is definitely a good one, but so divorced from what they were doing in s7 that it must have been his own little bit of fanfic! ;-)