* Deadline article on the Buffy Reboot and who is involved

Whedon isn't.
( excerpt )

* Casting News on Buffy Reboot via CBR

( excerpt )

* New Details on Buffy Revival Main Roles

An apparent casting call for young faces to star in the upcoming “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” semi-reboot on Hulu has gone out.

Scooper DanielRPK appears to have obtained a copy of the casting call and confirms rumors that star Sarah Michelle Gellar’s role as Buffy Summers will be taking on a mentor-type role this time.
( about six characters are listed )

Hmmm...didn't know this existed:



And it's not what was on the Buffy DVDs. This is the full documentary of the behind the scenes of the Making of Once More of Feeling - and it goes through almost all the songs and dance numbers, including the planning, direction, etc. If you are into how television shows are made or how they do a musical on a television show - it's well done.

It also reminded me of how much work was put into this show - how brilliantly creative everyone involved was. Once More With Feeling changed television - prior to that, people didn't do musical episodes - it was considered the kiss of death. They also did it on a small budget.

This tells how they made the masks, the props, directed it, and the thinking behind it.

For Buffy Fans, Another Reckoning with the Show's Creator

By Maria Cramer

Feb. 15, 2021, 9:54 a.m. ET

The Whedon Studies Association, a society of academics devoted to studying the works of Joss Whedon, is debating whether to change its name. Fans who grew up with his signature show, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and were planning to introduce it to their children are grappling with what to do.

Some said they are regretting tattoos inspired by “Buffy” and other shows Mr. Whedon created.
( Read more... )

Although I did get everything I needed to get done today, done. So there's that at least. Food order finally came and got unpacked, and they gave me carrots for some reason. (I'm not found of carrots. Although I suppose I could put them in a soup at some point.) Every time I get the food order - they put stuff in that I didn't order - it's very odd. I like Foodkick slightly better, they don't do that. But, they are also much more expensive.

Weather is kind of cold and dreary, with another storm on the way. I've been trying to ignore the Impeachment Hearings, but I keep checking twitter - which is talking about it as it happens, and of course I discussed it briefly with mother. Mother tells me things that piss me off - such as : "If people want to or choose to believe the Republican's spin on this and decide to ignore the rest, they kind of can."

Me: We can choose what to believe in this world. True. But our choices speak to our central character and who we are. If we choose to believe someone like Trump or his lawyers, all evidence to the contrary, and after what they've done. Than that speaks to our central character.

[My difficulty is I know she's right - people will believe whatever suits them. Not often what is true, but what suits their world-view or agenda.]

My mother is liberal. But she lives in South Carolina, and it's not.

Meanwhile I'm kind of lurking on twitter - regarding the whole "Whedon" melt down. It's kind of like watching a boulder roll down hill and pick up stuff as it goes. Let's see how many folks jump on board. To date - half the Buffy cast and now three of the writers (Mere Smith - Angel, Marti Noxon - Buffy, and Jose Molina - Firefly).

Marsters recently posted his support, only to have three annoying fans bring up the song he wrote back in 2003 about Trachenberg. ( rant - it was just a frigging song get over your self-righteous ass-hole selves )

I'm trying to be kind, but people keep pissing me off. I restrained myself from responding to these idiots - he doesn't need me to defend him, he can defend himself, and just liked the person who defended him - post instead.
Twitter is kind of social media on speed. Moves fast and people pile on.

Nick Brendan hasn't posted anything - because his partner has taken over his account after he fell on some ice and seriously injured his back. He can't sit up.

Marti Noxon just tweeted her support of the women who spoke up.

NOX NOX WHO’S WEARING A MASK? -martinoxon
I would like to validate what the women of Buffy are saying
and support them in telling their story. They deserve to be heard.

I understand where allcharisma
, Amber, Michelle and all
the women who have spoken out are coming from.

Kater Gordon and I 1/2

And... How the The TV Industry Can Better Protect Writers From the Next Toxic Showrunner

Oh and...we now have Firefly...

Jose Molina -josemolinatv
"Casually cruel" is a perfect way of describing Joss. He thought being mean was funny. Making female writers cry during a notes session was especially hysterical. He actually liked to boast about the time he made one writer cry twice in one meeting.

The Whedon Studies Association is struggling to rebrand itself. And the Whedonverse has now become the Buffyverse and Beyond.

I was talking to mother today about this, and why it was distracting me so much. ( Read more... )

What also hits me today - is I am oddly glad that my friend embers_log is no longer alive to see this. She loved Joss Whedon. She met him in person and had a photo taken with him. She was a fan. This would have broken her heart. She died in 2010 or thereabouts...of colitis. She was about 62. We'd parted ways - over a fannish disagreement. I was being a tad too critical of Whedon at the time, and she got annoyed with me.

Behind all of this, is ...Free Britney Spears
( the documentary about the singer who has been a victim of a toxic male culture of misogyny and abuse for years )

We seem to have misogyny and racism converging with Fisher, Spears, and others. What's interesting though is Fisher is getting buried beneath the white women voices supporting his.

And behind all of that, the impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump lurking insidiously in the background. We all know the Republicans will do the wrong thing. It's become predictable now. Trump is the epitome of misogyny and racism and casual cruelty. The King of the Insult, the King of the Mean. The child of internet cruelty and negative marketing pizazz. He's the worst impulses of everyone wrapped inside one neat little package. A bloated white man, old, and nasty. Spewing hate and vitriol wherever he goes.

In Promised Land, Chapter 25, I think, Barack Obama talks about preparations the US is making in the event one of our allies is overtaken by a populist movement and their government is overthrown - much like the Arab Spring. "It's unlikely to happen," he opines. "But just in case - we've put emergency procedures in place." I can't help but wonder if while reading this aloud as an audio book - he picked up on the irony of those words? It wasn't our allies who were vulnerable but ourselves.

They can't quite convict Trump, because to do so - they convict themselves. And there's the heart of it...I think. To what degree are we to be held accountable for laughing at a madman?

And once again, I find myself assessing my own dry wit and biting sense of humor. But all humor is cruel - even it only directed at oneself. I try to apply it to situations and myself, and not to others. It's easy to forget, I think. But, then again laughing in pain, works as a great anesthetic.

***



It's a wintry day, and I miss my graveyard. The calm I feel walking through it. So quiet with just the birds tweeting and the breeze. The cars are almost too far away to hear clearly. Occasional ambient conversation - equally blurred by distance. The graveyard gives me peace. It shows me how temporary this all is. That humans are...well temporary things. Here and then gone. With plaques in the ground to commemorate their passing. And for reasons, I cannot quite explain - I find that somehow comforting? All this will end soon enough.

Relationships are temporary too - and constantly changing. Work. Life. Friendship. Family. It is never constant.

I'm told character doesn't change but personalities do. That's true enough - I've seen that with my Dad who has dementia. Or myself. Or mother. Or my brother who mellows with time.

COVID seems to be on the decline, more and more people on my FB page are posting that they got the vaccine. I still am waiting to get mine. I'm thinking March or April? I may try to get an appointment through the State's site next week or the week thereafter. I'd like to get it before I have to do a site tour of substations.

I think I've rambled enough tonight. Thank you for reading, if you've made it this far or even if you haven't.

I watched Zoey's Playlist - which is sweet and message oriented, with nice songs. Floating in one ear and out the other. And I ate one too many cupcakes at lunch - two again. But two...was more than I should.

This is Day #24 of 30 Day Television Challenge

Uhm, a reminder - no rules apply for Day #27, mainly because it is impossible to do with rules.

The prompt is Best or worst kiss or sex/love scene

Eh, this scene from Buffy the Vampire Slayer is kind of why I got obsessed with the series in S6. I'd not seen anyone do that before in a "television" series on a broadcast cable network. (Granted we've seen it now, but this was in 2001.) It blew me away..and I thought, okay, for the first time since S2, I've no clue where the hell are they going with a show. [It's also really hot - and no clothes are taken off during it. And all the way through the female lead remains fully clothed - that just isn't done. They managed to do a really hot sex scene with the characters fully clothed. Well except for the beginning of the next episode - where the guy has no clothes on, and body and chest are on display, he's objectified by the camera, but the woman is fully clothed. At the time male viewers were upset and scandalized, and I was laughing my head off at them - don't really like it when the shoe is on the other foot do you fellas? And so too were the writers - laughing at the male fans. Inside story? The reason you never see Buffy nude or not really nude - is that Gellar had a clause in her contract that prohibited nudity. Marsters did not. Also, it's a violent sex scene - but in a way in which the characters are established as equals. They beat each other up and have sex. Showing how their fight sequences are as Spike alludes in previous episodes as does Faith - foreplay or dancing.]

1. Oh this too good not to share -- I snagged it from yourlibrarian.

Fanfic in Television Writing

( the punch line is at the end... )

2. Creepy Puppet Dance Routine That Has a lot of interesting stuff going on.

3. Apparently Trump Actually Did Try to Buy Greenland from Denmark

( Read more... )

Greenland was not amused. So now, we've pissed off Greenland and Denmark? Really?

I was however amused. Because honestly, at this point...what can one do? The world has gone mad and I'm just living in it.

1. Saw a post about not being that fannish any longer...and I pondered. First of all, have I really been active in any fandom besides Buffy/Angel? Not really. Oh I've fallen in love with other works. But I haven't joined the fandoms. I'm not a serial fan (I always want to call it cereal fan for some reason).

No, the Buffy fandom was the only one that I was ever really active in or really participated in. At one point, I got "BigFanName" status for my Buffy/Angel meta...this was in 2002-2006. It was short lived. Thank god. Found it embarrassing. I don't like being the center of attention. My father and I once had a discussion about becoming a famous novelist and we both decided it would be hell. People are more critical -- I think it's tall poppy syndrome. And they also...well, squee over you and act like they personally know you. Bleach. Go away people. I don't want fans. Of my work, sure, of me? No.

Also, I tend to be highly critical of the things I love. Which is a big turn off for a lot of fans, who just want to worship at the altar of the thing they are fannish about. I, as a general rule, do not "worship" anything. I find it irritating. I don't want to be worshipped and I do not want to worship anything else. Which puts me at odds with fandom on most occasions. Too analytical for the fandom.

Why is this? And more importantly why JUST the Buffy fandom?

( The Answer )

2. Random quotes taken out of context on my correspondence list that made me laugh.

* "The psychologist is a ghost" - from an icon

* "That was Excellent. I'd Bang You Again." - from a greeting card found on SmartBitches. (I'm amazed such a thing exists.

* "Do you have any stationery?

What is stationery?

Paper? Envelopes?

No, why would you need that?

To send a letter.

Why don't you just send an email?"

- from a tweet by Shaun Cassidy who was staying at a hip hotel in NYC, and asked for stationery.

1. If you love Winnie the Pooh, this is just...adorable ... Christopher Robin Trailer -- it's a live action version of Winnie the Pooh, where the animals from Christopher Robin's childhood come and save the adult. Sort of similar to the "Hook" concept, but different. Also it's adorable, and touching, and I want to hug it. (It should be noted that I know nothing about AA Milne or his son's real life, nor do I want to know or particularly care. I just loved the Winnie the Pooh books and Disney Cartoons.

2. I was listening to a Q&A the other day, and the actor said something that...was rather interesting.

Question: What do you think about the fact that Buffy, as a hero, always lied to her friends?

Actor: Well, heroes often are jerks if you think about it. When you go out with the idea that "you" will "save" someone or can save someone. Humility goes out the window. You're a bit on the wrong path right there. In Buffy, the hero was being forced to save people, she didn't want to be a hero, she didn't think she could be one, so she lied to the people around her -- hoping they'd never know, and the show was dealing with the problematic nature of that. How to be humble and be a "hero".

There's something to that age-old quote: "The road to hell is paved with the best of intentions."

After listening to that, I started re-watching Angel episodes from S5 on Hulu and it hit me clear as day...that was a major theme of the series and what it was about, you can't be a "Champion" or a "Hero" by saying your a hero and you're going to save the world -- your ego is dictating the show. If anything, you are a bit of jerk. You have no humility. It's your pride and vanity that is running things. And Angel demonstrated the consequences of that rather well -- depicting the problem with "playing" at being a hero or "thinking" you are one.

It's also shown in The Avengers 1 and The Avengers - Age of Ultron, where the writer undercuts the whole hero thing -- showing how the heroes are as destructive as the villains they fight. In fact all of the Marvel movies question what it is to be a hero. In Avengers:Infinity War --the bad guy, Thanaos, sees himself as "the hero", he's doing what must be done, what is needed to save the Universe. No one else has the strength of character, the resolve to do this thing! This in a way is an echo of the characterization of Angel, who shares a lot in common with Thanaos. It's my destiny to save the world. Only I can do this thing. I was prophesied to do it. Or if not, if prophecies aren't true, then I need to the right thing, the thing no one else can do, because I'm the best choice, I'm the vampire with a soul. I can't accidentally become human and be happy with Buffy -- no, because I haven't earned it with great deeds, I have to save the world! I have a greater purpose. I can't save her otherwise! It's a subversion of the hero trope. Those who set out to be heroes, often destroy what they think they can save, in order to save it, and themselves in the process. Their ego has taken over the show. Most villains see themselves as heroes. From their perspective, they are the hero of the piece. A true hero doesn't see themself as a hero at all.

Also Angel unlike Buffy was a series about regret. And if we can ever quite forgive ourselves for the things we've done that we've regretted. Angel's problem isn't whether other's will forgive him, but whether he can ever forgive himself. Forgiving oneself isn't the same thing as not feeling remorse. Or justifying the acts. It's saying, I did these horrible things. I regret that I did them. I cannot take them back. I forgive myself for being horrible and strive to do better tomorrow. Not forgiving yourself ...tends to land you in a depressive hole, of moping and brooding. The guilt overwhelms and either you fall back on old habits, or just disappear. If you don't forgive others...your hate and need for justice which can easily slide into vengeance takes over and eats away at you, until you very well may become the person you hate. The trick is to let go of both emotions...and that can only be done by forgiving the person, not the act, and letting it go.

Humans are horrible at doing this, because we can't often see past the act and how it feels, and as a result we let the emotions and pain of the act destroy us.

3. Hee...cjlasky decided to expand on my musical meme. This is for music geeks only, if you aren't a music nerd or geek, it will annoy or irritate you. I'm pretty much an all-around cultural nerd. And I find discussing this stuff relaxing and comforting.

*.Sinatra or Bing Crosby
( Read more... )
*. Johnny Cash or Ray Charles

( Read more... )
*. Hendrix or Clapton
( Read more... )

[Leaving the rest of it for another time.]

[Note to Buffy fandom folks -- if you wish to link to my Buffy centric posts, you may. Just not the ones with personal content intermixed. A couple of caveats though, I'm not interested in fighting with shippers. No tolerance for it. The following is my perception of the comics. I'm sure others vary. I won't fight with fellow fans on it. No patience for it. If you hate the comics, think comics are beneath you, or hate any of the characters? Go away. Shoo. No patience for that either. Been feeling crappy lately. Please be respectful of my blood pressure. Thank you muchly. ;-)]

So I've been making my way through the Season 9, Buffy and Angel comics. Not reading all of them.
Skipped over a couple. But, the ones I read were surprisingly good. Exceeded expectations. After the disappointment of S8, I had left the comics far behind. But found a few panels online by accident a week or so ago, and got sucked back in.

The writing and art has improved.

1. Buffy S9 - Welcome to the Team - Vol. #4 focuses on Buffy being approached by Illyria and Koh along with the Magic Council guarding the Deeper Well, to fight Severin, and more importantly protect the Well from Severin.

( spoilers )

2. Buffy S9 - The Core -- focuses on Buffy and Willow trying to save Dawn, while Xander attempts it as well with Severin and Simone, resulting in a potential apocalypse. There are some interesting sight gags in here and metaphors. ( spoilers )


3. Angel and Faith Season 9, Vol. 4 and Vol 5 address the same ideas but in a different way. I actually liked these two stories better, the writing is more on target, as is the art. (Chris Gage and Rebekka Issacs. Note the actors get to approve their likenesses in the comics. Isaacs notes how she had to provide a sketch for Marsters approval. And in one of the Q&A's someone asked that and yes, they do, if they were contract players and it is a clause in the contract. They also get a percentage of the royalties on anything carrying their likeness. Which is why you got to be a bit careful about making money off of fanart.)

Anyhow, this story focuses on two things, similar in a way to the Buffy comics. It focuses on resurrecting Giles, as Buffy is trying to save Dawn, and in preventing someone from unleashing a magical plague using the magic they are trying to use to save Giles.
( Spoilers )

The over-arching them of the Angel series is the same as the Buffy one, it's our connections to each other that matter. It is also the them of the Spike Limited Series. The families we build, the friends we make, the people we care for and about, this matters.

A comforting sentiment in troubling times.

Anyhow as you can see from the above, I was pleasantly surprised by these books and devoured them in one or two sittings. Loved them to pieces. Highly recommend.

Although it does help if you like all the characters and like the Spuffy ship.

So, I read Volume 1 of the Buffy Comics Season 10 by Chris Gage, Nicholas Brendan, and Rebekka Issacs -- this was the arc involving Dracula, reintroducing Giles, who apparently was resurrected by Angel and Faith but as an adolescent, and the idea that the Rules of Magic are being rewritten.

I found the story compelling enough to well...not only continue, but by some back issues to figure out how we got here. Sigh. Down the comic rabbit hole again. I can't focus right now, stressed out and frustrated, also exhausted due to lack of sleep, and beating myself up over it. There are people far worse off than I am, why can't I step up to the plate? I'm extremely good at beating myself up over shit. I have multiple trophies.

So, since I'm back on a Paeolo Diet, which is highly restrictive, and off sugar and chocolate for the most part. Along with dairy, soy, legumes, and grains. I need comfort food. Preferably food that requires little focus -- hence comics. I like Buffy. It's among the few franchises that I liked all the characters in. The only character I'm not crazy about is Andrew, but alas, he's there -- at least he's more tolerable in the comics -- mainly because I can apparently tolerate Andrew more than the actor who portrayed him. (I know there are people reading this that adore Andrew, and that's okay. I like characters you hate, such as Spike and Xander and Willow and Dawn.)

It's become character centric again -- even better, it's addressing unresolved issues from the television series. Which I need to be resolved, and fanfic wasn't doing it for me. Now I'm getting sucked in again -- this means I may actually read people's fanfic on Buffy/Spike/Angel etc again.

( somewhat spoilery review of Buffy Season 10 - Volume I )