Buffy the Vampire Slayer has now been off our TV screens for a staggering 10 years, while Angel disappeared 9 years ago. In an attempt to keep the ‘Buffyverse’ fandom satisfied, supposedly canon continuations (in the form of comic books) have been printed for both shows and for various characters within the shows. But – for reasons we shall look in to further in this list – not everyone is content with this idea.
Now, I’m the first to admit that there are undoubtedly a number of reasons why bringing either show back to TV screens would be incredibly difficult and probably shouldn’t happen, but I’ve always been a ‘glass half-full’ kind of chap, so let’s blissfully ignore those reasons for the sake of our happy faces.
So, whether it’s for a full new season, a spin-off, or even a movie or one-off special, here are 10 reasons why the Buffyverse should be back on screen.
10. Nicholas Brendon
It’s not as though Nicholas Brendon hasn’t had much work since Buffy – he certainly has – it’s just that he has failed to hit the heights of his role as the ever-present and ever-loyal Xander Harris.
He has been limited to roles in films nobody has heard of (The Portal, Big Gay Love, A Golden Christmas) and while he’s appeared in some fairly decent TV shows (Without A Trace, Criminal Minds, Private Practice), these have mostly been brief appearances in a small number of, or even individual, episodes.
This seems a bit of a waste because, as Xander, Brendon was likeable and oozed charisma.
The majority of the rest of the main supporting cast have found success in more high-profile roles. Alyson Hannigan (American Reunion, How I Met Your Mother), James Marsters (Torchwood, Smallville, Dragonball Evolution), Anthony Head (Little Britain, Merlin, The Inbetweeners), Amy Acker (Alias, Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods), Eliza Dushku (Tru Calling, Dollhouse, The Big Bang Theory), Michelle Trachtenberg (Six Feet Under, House, 17 Again, Ice Princess) and Alexis Denisof (How I Met Your Mother, Dollhouse, The Avengers) have all been regularly utilised in well-known, highly-rated TV shows and popular film franchises (however brief their roles may have been).
And nearly all of them have been re-cast by Joss Whedon at some point. It seems a shame that Brendon is missing out. So, for the sake of Nicholas himself, and for the sake of bringing a brilliant character back to life, Nicholas Brendon is one reason to bring the Buffyverse back to the screen.
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22 Comments
Id like to see a Buffy Spike Reunion, never liked Angel, Spike can kill him off, dont care. But still they dont need to get together just a “reunion.” They could be hunted by the government for “destroying” sunnydale?
One thing I’d like to see is a slight incorporation of the comics into a series, especially the first (and possibly greatest) of the Buffy-esque comics, Fray. Combining Sci-Fi with fantasy crashing down around the globe, and new characters could help rejuvenate the series that is starting to sputter in comic form. Great work!
Thanks man! A Fray TV series would be epic.
Angel season six was going to be in a post-apocalyptic Hell-A, with Gunn as a vampire big-bad very much as depicted in the comics. I’ve read David Greenwalt talking about it. After the fall was fantastic, for the most part – a few questionable inclusions sure, but the core story was great and handed to Brian lynch by Joss Whedon. The Angel comics went to the doghouse when that story finished and IDW went off on their own, very bad, stories.
Yeah, I loved IDW “Angel After The Fall” and “Spike After The Fall” and Franco Urru’s art was very good, but the rest of IDW stories wasn’t good enough…
I would LOVE to see a Spike/Buffy reunion and I don’t care for Angel either, but I don’t wanna him die, it would be nice Angel to end up with Cordy and to forget about Buffy forever. I loved his relationship with Cordelia on “Angel” TV show.
Now I’m reading the comics, but the books are a pale substitute of the show and I have problems with the storyline and especially with the art. I like the cover art (Jo Chen is a great artist), the artwork of Angel&Faith comics and Spike mini-series is fine, but the inside artwork of the main Buffy’s tittle is just ugly. Reading the books is just like I’m watching a freak-show version of Buffy with bobbed heads and disproportional bodies. Don’t mention that the all characters look almost alike and you can recognize them only by the hair color…
Great countdown, Kev. I especially want to see how the battle in LA went down. Perhaps a new show with some of the less successful Buffy AND Angel allumni. Xander, Buffy, Gunn (I think I’m one of the few who really like him, not sure though) Lorne. What fun!
Glad you enjoyed it Stephen! I really liked Gunn too :)
Sadly, Andy Hallett who played Lorne actually died in 2009! Real shame because he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and Lorne was a very likeable character.
I didn’t know that. I’m seriously upset by that.
No. I don’t wont it and it will NEVER happen. Joss Whedon finished the series so well and so conclusively that it CAN NOT be continued. Comic Books are nothing, continuing this series on TV will not, and can not work. Spin off’s are a good idea, like maybe in the future with only one slayer again (I have this theory that any children born after Willow’s spell will be born potentials, not slayers, and only the death of Faith will activate them, not any of the other slayers)
Specifically why I said ‘The Buffyverse’ and not ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ or ‘Angel’.
Me and my partner have just finished watching the whole of Buffy n we are nearly at the end of angel with just one season left to go.. And we would both love to see s.m.g back for either one last season or a movie trilogy. I have come up with a some epic ideas but can’t seem to track down mr wheadon to put them on the table. Buffy is very close to my heart and would love to have something to do with one last apocalypse. So joss if you see this please don’t hesitate to get in touch as I can promise you. You wouldn’t be disappointed with what I have to offer.
Do tell Christopher!
Great points all, Kev. Unfortunately, I think the men who played the immortal, un-aging vampires are getting a little long in the tooth (pun intended) to be viable in a Season 8 reunion show. I do think both shows ended pretty well, dangling threads and unanswered questions aside. Still, like you said, there were many unresolved things that might have been interesting to see, and unfortunately the comic books utterly botched them (calling them a “silly” is very gracious of you, methinks.) The official Buffyverse novelizations and comics have mostly left me with that cold, empty feeling of a brisk mugging, and the vast majority of fanfiction, which runs the gamut from “50 Shades of Spike” to “My Cry for Help, Volumes 1-147″, has mostly left me feeling like I need to take ten boiling hot showers (There is *one* pretty amazing, non-gross, well-written, funny, scary, action-y Joss-y fanfic I’ve read that I think covers your Top 10 — and then some — but only the one. It’s since become my default canon, in place of Mecha-Centaur Dawnzilla and all that jazz… but I know fanfiction isn’t for everyone.)
Anyway, yeah, it would be nice to start the Buffyverse motor up again in some way, shape or form, but Joss Whedon is a bigshot Hollywood guy now who might turn into George Lucas any second! Based on the level of WTFery in the comics, do we really want to see a Buffyverse version of the Star Wars prequels? Such a thing might physically kill me.
Haha fair point Melinda!
Perhaps he could hand over the main control to David Greenwalt and Marti Noxon and just have a little bit of creative input.
No one wants spaceships and Tyrannosaurus Rexes…
Interesting article with some interesting points. And while I agree with several of them I fail to see how someone who is so against the post series/comic book canon, which Whedon has been very involved with, can hold out any hope that anything tv series, movie, or what-have-you set in the Buffyverse would be any better. It’s not like Whedon is going to not be involved with anything Buffy related on tv. To me, it stands to reason that if you do not like what is going on in the comics, it is better to let the Buffyverse die as the same people who were involved with the tv series are involved the comic continuation of the series. Perhaps the only reason the tv series was not as overplayed as in the comics is because of budgetary, time and format constraints. Therefore, if anything Buffy were to come back on television, I have no faith that it would be as good as the original series as the realtively low budget and more realistic feel is part of it’s charm. In an era where we have shows like Walking Dead, Supernatural and Ture Blood (not that any of them are bad), I would not want to see what they might do to the Buffyverse in order to compete with modern shows. Better, in my opinion, to leave it be and allow die hard fans who do not want to read the comics think in their own minds of what might have been…
But that, is just my opinion. Thank you for the article. A very interesting and thought provoking read!
I’m not against it, I bought every last one. I just think it got a bit silly. And the reason it got a bit silly is because there’s a hell of a lot more they could do on paper than they could on screen, so it would be nice to see something more ‘Buffyverse-esq’ on TV.
“…there’s a hell of a lot more they could do on paper than they could on screen.”
Yes, I think a simple way of putting this is “art from adversity.” Without all the constraining limitations and pressures of the TV format (budgets, production schedules, actors, advertisers, composers, editors, etc), your just not going to get the same magic in a medium like comic books. At best, they are like a rough sketch of a storyboard that creative people would then hone and pare down, discovering what’s important, what isn’t and what completely sucks. All those clarifying, trial-by-fire parts of the creative process aren’t necessary when everything is on the printed page, and Joss is probably at the stage in his career and ownership now where people aren’t liable to challenge him much when a potentially interesting concept (like the “Twilight” plot, for instance) just isn’t working well in execution. At least, that’s what I think happened.
Kev. As a rabid, avid, fan of all of the Buffyverse and Angel too via the airwaves, I truly wish that we could all go back there, and I agree with nearly all of the 10 reasons that you put forth for discussion.
Having said that,I really think that the original characters are so fixed in most of the fans memories that a “new generation” and a new take on the Slayer myth, would be painful for some of us.
I also think as James himself has said that Spike’s age would not be visually believable, (BIG HUGE SIGH) enough for him to ever return. However I think that the real reason that this verse should probably remain in our imagination, is that just like “I Love Lucy” there will never be a series like those originals!
Just my opinion, but I have yet to see a series spin-off that causes the lightning to strike as effctively as the original. I still watch re-runs of Angel on Netflix and I have all of the Buffy’s, and time stops when watching them. I feel the same way about I Love Lucy.. I’m an eeeclectic nerd. ;-)
Thanks for the forum to still talk about Buffy. Back in the way back machine in another universe, I used to truly enjoy the boards!
You’re very correct about Mr. Marsters, Denise.
Would it be an insult to suggest that they CGI enhance his face for one final hurrah? :D
I will no doubt be writing more Buffy/Angel-based articles in the near future, so feel free to give your input if you happen to see them!
KEv you are the MAN!!!!!!I will definitely be teleporting to your site for anything BUFFY!!!!!!!
This is awesome I feel like a kid again! Oh, man is that a pimple? Have to get my spell book out for a glamour!
Hey! Maybe the CGI thing that you suggested for Mr. Marsters and everyone else except for apparently Allison (how about her expertise with the her anti-aging spell?) can be more effectively solved with an incantation! A’hem, “Goddess of Hecatae hear my plea…
Sorry, didn’t mean to be that Wonky with the “word salad”!
;-Denise
GIve us a SPOILERS warning next time! I’m not up-to-date on my comics, no idea Giles died! Thats horrible.