News - December 1999

Q: What makes your character sexy?
A:If men like my character, they may need to be analyzed. Men like women who may be flaky and who they can wake up to, but I don't know what makes her sexy. I'm a woman, but you can ask a man that.
Charisma Carpenter
The WB's "Angel"

Television spinoffs are usually a dicey proposition--for every Bionic Woman or Frasier there's 10 Joanie Loves Chachis and Flos. Fortunately, fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer can count Angel as one of the few spinoff success stories. Both viewers and critics have been enthralled by the vampire hunk's move to the City of Angels and his unlikely new career as a private eye. They've also admired the growth of Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) from snooty cheerleader to Angel's dependable girl Friday. During a break from her hectic shooting schedule, Carpenter recently called Cinescape up from her Southern California home to talk about the spinoff, the development of her character and her busy life.

Cinescape: Having a lead role in Angel means your workload has increased dramatically. How do you stay sane while working 16-hour days?

Carpenter: I haven't figured it out yet. I'm just throwing myself in it; trying to go with the flow and I guess the adjustment will come.

Cinescape: What are the differences between the Angel and Buffy sets?

Carpenter: There's a lot fewer cast members on Angel and it's a more intimate group of people since there's so few of us and we work so many hours together. It's also a very male-oriented setting. Everyone's male, except for me, the camera operator, script supervisor and the women in wardrobe. There's like four women to every hundred men on the set. There's always boy-talk--"Did you see the game last night?" and stuff like that about baseball and football--so that's all different.

Cinescape: Are there any particular storylines you hope to see Cordelia involved in?

Carpenter: I had answers to that when I was on Buffy, "Oh I want to do more dramatic roles." But honestly on Angel, every single episode I get all this range. I get to be vulnerable, crying, funny, heroic, brave, resilent. I get to do it all. And I think it's probably the best learning ground I could possibly have. When the day comes and this show is over I will feel so much more accomplished as an actor because of the writing by our writers. It's very demanding.

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER (The WB) and ANGEL (The WB) - Like a shrewd blakcjack player, writer-producer Joss Whedon doubled-down this season, splitting Buffy Summers from her love interest by sending the broad-shouldered vampire Angel to fight evil in Los Angeles. The result? A familiar show stepping into fresh territory: college life (and an underground rebel group as interested in vampires and demons as the Slayer is), plus a spin-off full of swirling film-noir promise.

What's going to happen on Angel? Well, Cordy starts dating a guy Angel doesn't really approve of--he goes all father-figure on her--but it turns out he's got good instincts. Cordy sleeps with the guy and wakes up eight-and-a-half-months pregnant with demon babies.

Any news on Wesley's role on Angel? Will he be in any more upcoming episodes? Oh, yeah. He becomes very much a part of the show.

Is Kate coming back to Angel? Yes, and she finds out the truth about Angel and freaks.

What happens when Cordy gets pregnant with the demon babies? Well, they have to kill them, and Cordy knows that, but, like a typical woman--I can say that because I am one--she gets all protective of the tykes.

Anything else on Angel? I can't spill it all at once. But I will tell you that SHE is coming and SHE is gonna be one interesting character. And, yes, her name is actually SHE.

Are we still in the dark about why Doyle (Glenn Quinn) left/was fired from Angel? I am not in the dark. It's a personal matter I have chosen not to discuss. I love Doyle and hope they are able to bring him back someday.

Buffy/Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel: Mulder and Scully may have that cool detachment, hard-to-get thing down pat, but when it comes to blazing chemistry and tortured, teary passion on par with Wuthering Heights, look no further than the WB's Tuesday night tag-team of the Slayer and her Good Vampire ex-boyfriend. This year saw Angel "drinking" Buffy in order to survive, and an inspired crossover in which the doomed lovers learned that they are...yup, doomed, and can never be together. Though it has all the makings of melodramatic, teen-centric cheese, the Buffy/Angel romance still has the power to reduce even the most jaded among us to sighs and sobs.

Genre fans talk about STAR TREK like a TV show. They talk about THE X-FILES like they're digging into the JFK assassination. They talk about the WB's BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER like a book they read, an hour a week, every Tuesday night.

Textured and rich, wicked and ironic (a vampire killer named… you know) BUFFY has taken its place, in the last year or so, among the big three in genre TV. As loyal and huge as certain fan bases are, BUFFY's audience has grown in size and passion enough that it's existence now has to be considered in discussions as the best show in the genre of all time.

Further proof for the un-convinced: ANGEL, the BUFFY spin-off series starting October 4, following David Boreanaz's mythic, murky Angel, vampire with a heart of gold, non-beating of course. With ANGEL, the story of Buffy's greatest love, her dark mirror, a brooding, romantic vampire on the same mission of slaying evil but much creepier than her's, the BUFFY universe matures in a way not even THE X-FILES has accomplished (or even attempted).

It was in this climate, as the premiere of ANGEL grew closer, and fan speculation and eagerness peaked, EON magazine sat down with Marti Noxon, co-producer on BUFFY and consulting producer on ANGEL, to talk about the slayerverse created by Joss Whedon, the future of the twin shows, and what these stories really are underneath all the coolness.

"I think David Boreanaz is such an incredible star," Noxon says, recounting one reason for her eagerness for an ANGEL show. "I really think he has something very few leading men have anymore, which is a real kind of manly, grown up quality. There are a lot of little boys on TV right now. David's got a little bit of George Clooney. He's got a real presence. The character is so fascinating. It was just too tempting."

While many of the same team will be dividing their time between BUFFY and ANGEL this year (including creator Joss Whedon and executive producer and ANGEL co-creator David Greenwalt) Noxon is confident that neither show will suffer creatively despite the added workload for everyone involved. "I think all of the sane things you would consider like we already have so little free-time, we already work so hard," Noxon recalls. "Would BUFFY suffer? Would ANGEL be all it could be since our attentions were somewhat divided? The three of us expend a tremendous amount of energy on BUFFY. Were all of those energies going to be dissipated? We spent a lot of time evaluating whether we thought we could do that. To be honest, though, if we'd spent too much time thinking about it, we probably never would have [made ANGEL]. It's sort of like any large life decision. You just have to do it and see what happens."

But with those fears soon fading in the face of possible ANGEL story arcs and a more adult expansion of the BUFFYverse, Noxon's mind went into overdrive.

"Since the show would be on later in the evening, that he would be in a more grown-up world," Noxon says. "The first things that springs to mind are that the situations could be a little more sophisticated -- more adult. You could take the same type of treatment we give stuff on BUFFY, where you look for a common experience and try to find some kind of genre thing as a metaphor that people can relate to. You can take that same kind of formula and transfer it to ANGEL. It just opened up a whole wider range of experiences. I just find the whole idea of Angel on his own so compelling. He's got such a history and his circumstances are so unique, I was really intrigued with the notion of him encountering people in the big city and trying to help them. The vampire lore is so rich. I like the idea of more grown-up situations. I like to put people in chains… I'm often pushing the envelope, Joss and I in particular, when we get together and break stories and he and I push the envelope content-wise with sexuality -- this was an opportunity to go a little further."

Chalk one up for the bondage fans. But what will the loss of Angel mean for the passionate fans of BUFFY. From the first episode, the twisted, sharp, gothic love affair between slayer Buffy Summers and Angelus, a vampire clawing his way back from soulless evil has been a keystone for the series. "Taking Angel away from Buffy," Noxon considers. "I mean, he was a big, important part of the BUFFY show. What would we lose if that romance shifted and changed? Ultimately I think we all felt that romance had kind of played out all the possibilities and we were getting dangerously close to MOONLIGHTING after Dave and Mattie got together. Where are you going to go from here? In a way, it kind of added a fresh dimension, gave BUFFY new opportunities. We worried about keeping the integrity of BUFFY while at the same time making sure there was a show on ANGEL and it wasn't just a good idea [in theory]."

Far from worrying about Buffy's loss, Noxon sees ANGEL as an opportunity for the rebirth of BUFFY.

"We've seen this season's first episode – it has the freshness and excitement of the first episode of BUFFY ever" she enthuses. "It's a whole new world. They've grown up a little. They're in a whole new environment. The whole show is reinvigorated by that, and I think at a good time because a lot of shows in their fourth and fifth season, you run out of a lot of possibilities. High school, as fun as it is, we were racking our brains about other scenes and other high school metaphors. We're just taking the metaphor to the halls of higher education."

High hopes aside, Noxon is keyed to the fact it might be hard to bring a new romantic interest into Buffy's life.

"It's a tough sell," she admits. "The actor himself knows he's stepping into some pretty big shoes. But he's enormously fat, so I think that'll help. He's a huge, huge 900 pound man. He's 18 feet tall. I think he'll do all right."

Yes, kids, she's joking. What does she really think?

"We probably will not be able to duplicate what we had," she admits. "I think the hardest thing to do is what Joss is trying to do, which is not try to recreate that. We're just trying to approach the whole romance issue with Buffy from a fresh angle and hope that it's fun and exciting for people to see her in a different kind of relationship. Are there surprises built into that that when Joss told me about them got me really excited? Yeah. I can say with assurance people will be intrigued."

While that may be true, what's more intriguing is the possibility of seeing an entire running series centered on BUFFY's most conflicted character. "He has insight into the dark place," she says of Angel. "I mean, he's been there. We certainly played with that a lot on BUFFY but we're going to hit that a lot more in this show. It is the fact this guy has been to the dark side and back that makes him so valuable as a fighter, a do-gooder. He understands that, how those minds work. He understands his own dark impulses. He also understands what goes bump in the night better than anyone else because he used to be the thing that did go bump in the night. Not to be too high faulting, but when we talked about metaphors, we talked about a recovered alcoholic. Someone who's really lived in the darkest night of their soul and then come back and see how they live and how that can inform their life in a positive way."

That informing will be aided by Angel's own prophetic sidekick, Doyle (Glenn Quinn), who works in ways he's not even sure about to help the vampire redeem his dark sins.

"The Doyle character receives visions," Noxon reveals. "He's sort of a messenger in a way because he can see sometimes. Much like Buffy had dreams that were premonitions, Doyle has these visions of people who are in need or in trouble. There are a lot of allusions to The Powers That Be -- that maybe they play a greater scheme in all of this. That was kind of alluded to last year when Angel was spared. Viewers of BUFFY will recognize we're hitting the same stuff when we continue to expand on the idea that both Buffy and Angel are part of a bigger war against evil. They're kind of frontline warriors. We haven't made any radical changes to Angel's mythology. The only thing we're expanding on that people probably suspected is that he's integral to whatever this battle against evil is. He's an unusually important player. There'll be some suggestion that he may someday be able to be like regular men if he fulfills his destiny. Angel has no idea of how that would work."

What else Angel has no idea about, and might hold some interest for those still hoping an Angel/Buffy reunion, is the new, mysterious woman in his life. "I think really the truth about the whole Angel romantic arc, and this is true on BUFFY too, is that they're gone but not forgotten," she says. "That informs the ANGEL show as much as the BUFFY show. Anything that happens romantically will build slowly. The character we have on ANGEL will be a slow build. It will be a full relationship with other components, not just romance. But you know, Angel is more limited in that area than Buffy, if you know what I mean. Plus we're not completely done in that area as far as Buffy and Angel are concerned. It hasn't all been resolved. There will be some major sweeps action. It's pretty early in the season. It's an episode eight crossover. There's still a lot of leftover baggage they've got to deal with.

But for those afraid the loss of familiar romantic possibilities for our two heroes bodes ill for the future of the vampire franchise, Noxon and company still keep in mind the key elements of BUFFY.

"It's about so many different things," she reflects. "On the one I really think it's about young women finding their strength. It's also very much about having our fears manifested and having the things that young people, especially young girls, metaphorized, if that's a word, into monsters so you can have that catharsis of dealing with them. I think that's a thematic heart of any horror story, and of this. I definitely think for me the heart of BUFFY is about creating a girl hero. Creating a young woman who still wants to be a girl and still really identifies with other women. She has being pretty and light, and all the conflicts a real girl has but at the same time can encounter all the things that go bump in the night and can emerge the victor. For me that's such an incredible vision for young women. It definitely drives my passion for the show."

Best Show: Roswell It was neck and neck with Buffy, but ultimately the aliens beat the vamps. Strong showing: Angel.
Best Actor: David Boreanaz Although he's known more for his abs than his acting, you were pretty unanimous on this one. However, Roswell's Jason Behr and Friends' Matthew Perry gave the bruting one a slightly tough time.
Best Sidekick: Angel's Doyle He's gone from the show, but not from your memory. You overwhelmingly picked Glenn Quinn as your guy. Strong showing: Will & Grace's Jack and Karen and Buffy's weepy (of lately) Willow.

From number28: How do you get your hair to look like that? My hair is dyed to within an inch of its life every nine days. I love it. I think it looks great, but getting it dyed stings a little bit. In fact, I'm rubbing scabs right now. My hair is naturally curly, and I've always wanted straight hair, so, finally, I've gotten my dream.

From Raleigh: James, you have 155 Websites devoted to you. How does that feel? Overwhelming. Damn, 155 of them? I gotta get a computer. Man, that's going to make my head swell! That makes me feel great. I've gone on the Net a couple of times--once when I was filming a movie in Missouri, and the assistant director called me over and said, "James, you gotta take a look at this." I gotta check that out. It's incredible!

From lis237: How was it kissing Sarah Michelle Gellar? It was very good. It was easy to go to work that day. Sarah is a great friend, and it was certainly more comfortable than kissing someone you meet two minutes before the scene. My girlfriend is sitting next to me right now, though, so I'm watching my words very carefully.

From julie67: Are you happy with where the storyline is heading? Yes, now that I have filmed a couple more episodes that have been seen. I didn't know how Joss was going to fit me into the whole thing. I was afraid I was going to end up a bed wetter or something. But you haven't seen nothing yet--just wait and see.

From hacker2093: Do you think we'll ever see Dru again? I hope so. They have tried to get Dru back on the show two times now, but she's been very busy doing movies. I hope they keep trying, though, because I miss her.

From jcbuffyfan: If you didn't play Spike, who (on Buffy) would you want to play? Macbeth.

From Danielle: Spike rules! I was wondering what your opinion is on the overwhelmingly positive response to your character, who is essentially (for lack of a better description) an evil, murderous demon? Makes me scared to go out at night. I love it. I was suppossed to be killed after five episodes. And I have to thank everyone who got on it and wrote to Joss. I have a very nice apartment now.

From Tinkerbell: I wanted to know if there's going to be a Spike-and-Willow romance going on... I think they're cooking up someone else for Willow, but she just got burned by Wolf Boy, so I don't know. I've always thought that Spike should flirt with her to catch her off guard, but I haven't heard anything about us getting together. But, you never know.

From lisa: Boxers or briefs? Neither.

From bufaddicted: Hi! Is Spike going to start helping Buffy out with research and stuff? Can Spike read? Hmmm...You know, Spike is still evil, he's just forced into helping Buffy. I don't think he will ever help unless it is for his own selfish benefit.

From mrtrick1: If you could fight anyone on Celebrity Deathmatch, who would it be? Trent Lott. I'd kick his ass. Because he's an evil man.

From energyr: I think you are amazingly talented. Any plans for the future in moonlighting? I'm hoping for a good summer, but they haven't really started casting, and right now I'm busy with Buffy. But I guarantee there will be other projects ahead.

From buffyisdabomb: Are you going to be able to fully function as a vampire again? If sucking blood out of demons is allowed, yes.

From clover21: Hi, James! The comedy is wonderfully performed in the show--a great example is the ep "Something Blue." Have there been any scenes that were hard to get through because people started laughing? There was one scene that hasn't aired yet that everybody had to get their hair fried out for. Generally, there is a lot of joking on the set. But once they roll and it's action, we get down to business.

From stephie: Will you be on Angel again this season? I think so. I'm contracted for at least one more, and I'm really hoping that Spike can hurt vampires, because I'd love to go hurt vampires. I still haven't forgiven him.

From eyewatchtv: Do you think you'd make a good vampire in real life, or would you be more of a slaying kind of guy? I'd make a great vampire. I love the idea of being able to take whatever I want whenever I want.

From goddessbeth: Since Spike is now a regular, are there any plans for you to write another comic book? No. I just got asked the other day, but I'm afraid I'm just too busy. I had a good time writing and learned a lot about what it is to write a comic book. If Spike gets killed, then maybe I'll have time, but...

From eyewatchtv: If you had to be staked, how would you like to go? I don't want to get staked! Anything other than a pencil--I saw that last season, and I thought that is a humiliating way to go.

From heymouse: What is your favorite ep so far? You've had some great lines this season! Anything with a good body count, but, saying that, Spike hasn't had a great body count lately. I would probably say the two crossover episodes. Before those, it was "School Hard."

From pineapple_head: What type of music are you into? A lot. I like Belle & Sebastian, Beck, Catherine Wheel, the Charlatans, The Cure, Digable Planets, Miles Davis, Al Green, Benny Goodman, Arlo Guthrie...I'm rifling through my CD collection right now.

From nicolemn: Do you know if Oz is coming back? I hope so. He went off to do a movie. The door is certainly open in terms of story. I hope so, because I think he's wonderful, and I have yet to be able to work with him.

From heymouse: James, you have totally stolen the show. Anyone getting jealous on the set? No, I don't think we have time for jealousy. Everyone has a full plate. But I think Xander would like to punch a few more people. No, seriously, though, there really isn't any jealousy on the set.

From vslayer414: Who is the weirdest fan who has ever come up to you? Well, there was one day...It was Halloween night, and I had just seen Bringing Out the Dead, which is all about a man dealing with freaks in Hell's Kitchen in New York, and I walked out of the theater, and it was even freakier. This guy walked up to me dressed as me, and he asked his friend to take a picture of me. The friend was dressed as Darth Maul, and he was getting a piece of pizza. So, I had to sit and wait for Darth Maul to get his pizza. It was very surreal, but mostly the fans are great.

From kbuffy: Any upcoming public appearances we should watch for? No, I've cut back on public appearances, because I am trying to get more sleep on the weekends. I did a couple while I was filming and really got burned out. We film 24 hours a day, so I need to catch up on sleep. Maybe more this summer. It's too bad, because it's really a lot of fun.

From trentlover44: James, do you know if Faith is coming back? I have heard rumblings and rumors, but I don't know for sure. They didn't kill her.

From yokelcletus: I'd like to see an episode dedicated to Spike's past. I bet there's a great story to be told on how you became a vampire. I would love to do a story about Spike's past, as long as I don't have to put on the muttonchops David had to for his [past story]. I would love to learn about his past--I imagine he wasn't a very nice guy.

From beequeen: How does it feel to know that, at any given moment, countless females are lusting after you? It feels really good. Makes me all warm and tingly.

From pineapple_head: What movie do you consider to be a "must see"? Bringing Out the Dead, Apocalypse Now and Three Kings.

From adrianna79: What do you like to do in your spare time? I have none. I mean, seriously, I have no spare time. But if I had some extra time, I would like to get back to writing. I would like to spend more time with friends and family...and fix my car--a '65 Ford Mustang, black chrome. It has a carburetor problem.

From tanaqui: Is the accent a pressure or a pleasure for you? Total pleasure. At first a pressure, because I didn't want to embarrass Tony Head and his English friends. But he's told me that I'm doing a good job.

From cfayehill: Have you always wanted to be in show biz, or is it something you just fell into? I'm one of those guys who has wanted to do it since fourth grade, when I played Eeyore in Winnie the Pooh. To do well in school, my mother had to convince me that it somehow related to acting, like chemistry and higher math--that was hard to rationalize.

From vslayer414: James, how did you get the part of Spike? How did Joss find you? They had been looking for a long time and hadn't found what they were looking for. They looked at big names and couldn't find anyone, then started scraping the bottom of the barrel and found me. Frankly, I just think I had the bad accent.

From allieg: Any chance we'll see Spike playing a guitar and singing? Maybe the blues? I don't know. I would love it, as I've been playing the guitar for about 15 years. If they could make it cool, then that would be great. I would love it. But I don't know if they have any plans for that right now.

From liz_lavelle: Are you one of the people who pulls pranks on the set, and, if so, what have you done? No, I don't pull pranks. I damage the set. I really do. I go for it a lot. I went through a wall the other day, and I destroyed some good shrubbery. I tend to really go all out, and sometimes I damage stuff. They are threatening to dock my pay.

From titanicdiva1912: How's that competition for best bod working out between you and Marc? No competition at all--just a mutual-support society. In fact, I was the one who alerted him that he was going to have to take his shirt off. Nothing makes you do more sit-ups.

From stryx: Oh, how irritating are those fangs to wear? Not at all. The first pair that I wore started to warp and cut into my gums, and I had a little bleeding problem, but they made a new set for me. You just have to make sure you don't sound like a sissy with a lisp.

From endorwitch: I read you did, but I'd like to find out from you: Do you answer your fan mail? I sent a letter yesterday, so... I once went halfway through the process, but the postage alone was $7000. I'd like to brag that they pay me that well, but I'm still trying to pay off my student loan. The Buffy people know they don't have to pay much since the writing is so great.

From sweet_tarot: Hi, I met you at a convention recently. I have to say that you are the nicest guy. My question is, do you think Spike will ever (sort of) accept being part of the Scooby Gang? Thank you, and, yes, but only if it gives him what he wants. He will never be a team player. But then I say that, and, of course, Joss will do something else.

From bufandangel: How is the plot with Buffy and Riley going, chemistry-wise? I prefer her and Angel much more! What big shoes for Marc to have to step into. I think he's very fortunate, but he also has a big mountain to climb. I think he's doing very well. As Joss said, "You don't follow a banjo act with a banjo act." But I think the whole Clark Kent thing is working.

From amyj1018: How much creative input do you--or anyone else on the show, for that matter-- have in terms of character development, story ideas, etc.? The only real creative input is what shows out of my eyes and what goes on between my own ears. Which can be substantial, when the camera goes close-up on you, that's all there is for that moment. I have no input as far as story or character development with respect to writing. For example, when Spike was in a wheelchair last season and Dru was climbing all over Angel--sticking her tongue in his ear and stuff--I could have played that a lot of ways, and I chose to play it angry. I could have been sad...

From rainbow21_: Who would you love to star in a movie with--if you had the time? My girlfriend, Liz. We met doing a Shakespeare play--the first time I fell in love with her, she was performing Shakespeare. She's my Lady Macbeth--she's great.

From forget_me_not: Spike's been on the business end of a lot of humiliation this season. What do you think has been his lowest point so far? The stuff you've seen pales in comparison to what he's about to go through, so just wait.

From flowergirlx: How has your life changed since appearing on Buffy? I no longer have to borrow money from anyone. That sounds like a little thing, but it's the world for an actor.

From hoydenish: Would you like to see Spike with Buffy again? Yes. I think that you know you're seriously in the mix when you're either kissing Buffy or hitting her.

From spikegrrl1: Who is your favorite character in Macbeth? I've heard you love the play. Oh, Mac himself. He shows us that we are capable of horrendous evil--that evil is the human condition. And the body count is awesome.

From willow0085: On a dare from my friend, I ask you: Do those leather pants ever cut off your circulation? I haven't gotten leather pants. I'm waiting for them. I was in the same jeans and T-shirt for two years. I got a new costume now. They bought me new jeans and a black shirt. I'd like to wear leather pants, though.

From forget_me_not: What's your favorite TV show (that you're not in, that is)? In Search of History on the History Channel. Very interesting bits of history...body counts, cruelty.

From jcbuffyfan: Does it feel any different to now have your name in the credits? Oh, yeah. People actually believe I'm in the show now. Joss didn't want to put me in the credits at the beginning because he wanted to keep it a secret. So, when I told people I was on the show, they literally called me a liar.

From swoop300: Your fans at the Bronze created a new club: the Horny Spike-Lovers' Association. You, of course, are an honorary member! Say a few words! Well, uh, as much as I would like to take action on being a member of that, I'll let my girlfriend take care of that. But, thank you!

From cara21: Where are your ticklish spots? All over my body.

From moomoo: Do you travel? For Christmas I'm going overseas for the first time in my life--and looking forward to it. I'm going to Spain.

From forget_me_not: At what point did you feel you'd "made it" as an actor? Seeing your name on TV? Buying brand-name groceries instead of generic? It happened before I came to Los Angeles. That's more of a decision that you have to keep to yourself--and it can't be tied to if you're working or not, because as an actor, you're often not working. But it happened for me doing The Tempest in Chicago, which I was naked for.

From taraljc: So, any shirtless make-out scenes in your future? Just filmed one last week--just shirtless!

From kachu: How is the new guy Riley getting along with everyone? Really well. He doesn't want to get killed any more than I do.

From jasmen666: Joss mentioned last night that when he was directing tomorrow's episode, it was very terrifying. What is your view on it? I think it was a profoundly brave thing to do. One of the strongest things about the show is the dialogue. He is one of the best writers of dialogue I have ever worked with, and to completely abandon that is the mark of an artist that will be around for a long time. I haven't seen it yet, but I've heard it is remarkable. I think artists who challenge themselves and go in different directions are the ones to watch.

From runewolf: Do you have a favorite historical period? Oh, so many. I think the Renaissance would have been fabulous when they were unearthing all the Greek culture, and it was reinvigorating all of Europe, but I think I was born in the most exciting time imaginable. I wouldn't change places with anyone in history. The world is spinning fast right now.

From hyper_angel: Do you agree with your "Love's a bitch" speech? Yeah, totally! To be in love is to be vulnerable in that way, and people who try to protect themselves shortchange their experience.

From patshin1: James, what do you think of the WB promos with all the WB stars in them? Did you shoot one yet? I've shot one, but I haven't seen it yet. I think they're cool. They're shot really well, but I'm still waiting for mine. I'm paired with Marc Blucas.

From monique1017: If you could travel in time, would you go to the past or to the future? Good question. I think I would go to the future to either allay or confirm my fears.

From bad_hairday: James, what is your favorite line that you've said in the role of Spike? There are at least 10 every episode, but probably the speech to Buffy and Angel about love, or--in my first episode, killing one of the teachers--saying that I'm a "veal kind of guy and not gonna eat you."

From cloveland: Are you aware of a club called the Spike Girls, with 253 people who watch you religiously? This is Bratty Spike... God bless you, Bratty. Rock on.

From scaleyg: Any more great scenes with Alyson (like "Initiative")? You two were great together. Thank you. She's a great actor. I haven't shot any more yet, but I'm sure there's more to come.

From dru316: Hi, James, are you an animal type of person? I know that you have a cat, but do you like any other types of animals? I like all animals. I think they admit to themselves that they are animals, unlike humans. My cat, Zack, at 14 still kicks butt, but now I can hug him without getting slashed, because he's getting a little older.

From buffy_jen: What's your favorite food? My favorite food? Steak, medium rare.

From kachu: Who is a better kisser, Sarah Michelle or Juliet Landau? Sarah. Or Liz.

From friedlchenail: If you were not an actor, what would your profession be? License-plate maker. They only thing that kept me out of trouble over the years is that, ultimately, I love acting more than any kind of self-destructive or mischievous behavior. I think acting has saved me from going too far.

From geegee_24: What's up with you and Harmony? She kicked me out. I've been dumped by two girls now. She may be back, but, in general, Spike gets burned, and he's bitter, and he's breaking hearts.

From kat_girly: Do you ever hope the writers decide to give Spike a soul? What do you think that would do to the show? Hmmm...that would be interesting, but, ultimately, not right for the show. I think that Spike would change, but he would have a lot less fun. I don't want to become brooding. I enjoy wreaking havoc and chaos.

From tanaqui: How do you think our generation will go down in history? As the saviors of the country. As the ones who got up off the couch. Thanks for showing up online, and, once I get a computer, I promise to come visit.

Plans for Spike
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel writer, Joan Espenson, is dropping big hints about what lies ahead for everyone's favorite bad boy vampire, Spike, on Buffy. What she has to say could be potential spoilers for those of you who would rather not know. If so, move to another story by using a handy link to the right. Still there? You have been warned!
While talking to The 11th Hour, Espenson revealed that during this season, Buffy viewers will see Spike becoming one of the regular members of the Scooby Gang. She explains how this was all part of the plan as season four began, saying, "We knew, and at the point where people watched that episode ['The Harsh Light of Day'], they didn't know that we were going to be emasculating Spike, that we were going to give him his current disability, that he can't bite people. So they may have felt like he was a little brutal for no reason, and in fact we did it very specifically to make him scary so that when he had this done to him, when he had the conditioning happen to him, so that we'd see the contrast. So that he wouldn't seem to have been powerless throughout the whole season, it would be a very nice distinct break between powerful bad-ass Spike and Spike that can't chase the other puppies anymore."
Espenson continues, "He is going to continue to integrate himself into the group, over subsequent episodes… Which is going to be very interesting, because his attitude remains Spike. He's still Spike, and he's still evil. You'll see how we're going to pull him more and more gradually into the group. The episode I just wrote is going to be episode 12, so it appears well into the new year, and Spike is still kind of at the edges; we're still very slowly bringing him in." As it stands, James Marsters, the man who plays Spike, currently has a two-year contract with the series.

Doyle out...and ? In...
With the recent departure of Glenn Quinn (and death of his character Doyle) from Angel, there is a void on the series that would seem to need to be filled soon. Of course, the powers that be have something in the works. What is in the works may be a spoiler to those of you who would rather be surprised. If so, then move along to the next story by using a handy link at the right.
Still there? You have been warned!
While talking to The 11th Hour, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel writer Joan Espenson revealed that plans are afoot to bring in a third character for the series. Hard core fans of both series may have heard rumblings of Alexis Denisof's Buffy Watcher character Wesley Wyndham-Price coming back which Espenson confirms saying, "I was just rewriting something on an Angel, and I got to write a scene with Wesley in it, and we've got a bunch of them now with him in [them]. And it is very fun to write. I think he is just a hoot and a half. He's just so funny. As you write the lines, you picture the actor reading them, and you just crack yourself up because he's just so funny." Espenson also drops hints that Wesley has been through a few changes since we last saw him, saying, "I think a lot of people didn't like Wesley because they didn't like Wesley, [b]ecause he was a sniveling agent of the Watcher's Council, and that's exactly how one should feel about him, but it should be with that kind of delicious guy you love to hate kind of way. And now he's just gonna be a little different. He's gonna have had some stuff happen to him since the last time we saw him." More than that, Espenson would not reveal.

Wanda I heard Faith was making a comeback in eps 15 and 16 on Buffy. Is this true? I'm not sure exactly, but I can tell you this: When Wesley makes his appearance on Angel, he says something to the effect that he's been let go from the watchers' council because one of his slayers went off to college, and the other turned evil and is now in a coma. So, it's definitely true that she's still very much alive.

Wanda, do you have any news about how Wesley will be when he shows up in L.A. to help Angel and Cordy? I hear he's not quite the same... You hear right. He sort of becomes a rogue demon.

How are Angel and Cordelia going to move on after Doyle's death?Good question. Put it this way: When Doyle kissed Cordy, she got more than just his saliva in her mouth. Hmmm...Think about that one for a while.

What do you think that blue light meant during the kiss on Angel? I told you. It meant there was more than saliva being exchanged.

'Angel' Baby - In his Buffy spin-off, David Boreanaz leaves Sunnydale far behind, taking demon battling to a much darker place. by Ken Tucker

THE GREAT THING ABOUT Angel (David Boreanaz) when he was a regular character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer was that he lurked in stark contrast to the rest of the cast. In creator Joss Whedon's conception of the series, Angel was not merely Buffy's love muffin; he was a cursed tragic figure: a demon with a soul, a vampire who loathed his own potential for evil, who knew that every time he gave in to the temptation to peck Buffy on the cheek, he might succumb to the instinct to sink his fangs into her throat.
And so he skulked among the rest of the Buffy crew, a rain cloud of what Charisma Carpenter's Cordelia called "morbid gloom" always floating over his head. Dashing and morose in his black greatcoat, Angel was a bloodthirsty Byron without the gift of poetic garrulousness— a monosyllabic sufferer adrift in the chatty clubhouse atmosphere of Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow (Alyson Hannigan), Xander (Nicholas Brendon), Cordelia, and Giles (Anthony Stewart Head).
In spinning this handsome sad sack off into his own series, Angel, Whedon and cocreator David Greenwalt have reimagined him. Because these guys are serious pop artists working from their hearts and minds in the frivolous horror genre, Whedon and Greenwalt's idea of a spin-off is inevitably different—riskier, more audacious—from the norm. They have therefore taken care to create an atmosphere entirely different from Buffy's.
Angel has been relocated to the City of Angels, where he runs a private-eye agency out of what looks like Sam Spade's leftover office from The Maltese Falcon-only, in addition to appropriately wisecracking girl Friday Cordelia, Angel gets the partner Spade lost—Doyle (Glenn Quinn, in a nicely low-key performance), a half demon who has premonitory visions and whose face breaks out in stubby porcupine quills when he's angered. (Alas, he's rumored to be killed off in episode 9.)
Some weeks, the series works beautifully, moving along like the otherworldly detective show it's meant to be. The Oct. 26 edition, in which a baddie could detach various body parts and send them off to do naughty things (an eyeball is sent to spy on a girl he likes, for instance), was full of crackerjack wit, as was the Nov. 16 show, in which Doyle's brains are nearly eaten by his exwife's new in-laws (Whedon and company excel at gruesome variations on the hellishness of family life).
But other times Angel can tip too far into jokiness—or, worse, come off like a supernatural version of hollow USA Network shows such as Silk Stalkings. Angel's weaknesses were highlighted in the Nov. 23 BuffylAngel crossover, in which Angel briefly regained his soul and, in the words of Cordelia, "got groiny" with Buffy, alternating kitchen-table-clearing make-out scenes with dueling-demon tableaux; it was like Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein for a Last Tango in Paris, yet fully satisfying across a whole range of emotions. Angel's uneven writing and production values need that kind of oomph every week.
The crossover was delightful, but it was also a holding-action event that merely slowed down, for a week, the marvelous situations unfolding on Buffy. There, this season's sporadic guest-star turn by Lindsay Crouse as Maggie Walsh, an imperious college professor, has blossomed into a full-blown X-Files-ish subplot: Walsh, it turns out, is the leader of a literally underground group bent on capturing Sunnydale's demon populace and performing experiments on them. One of the captured included longtime Buffy nemesis Spike (the inspired James Marsters), who has been enlivening Buffy (and Angel) with semi~regular appearances. Case in point: Spike's spectacular scene with Willow in the Nov. 16 episode, in which the always-latent metaphor of vampiric attack as rape was made explicit. That the scene was then defused for Buffy's teen audience by having Spike prove impotent in his attempt to murder Willow did not lessen the power of those moments, nor did they shirk the show's general mandate to humiliate and neuter all aggressors. "Maybe you should wait an hour," she suggested. "It happens sometimes."
In fact, Hannigan gets a preemptive EW Emmy award for best supporting actress this year. Whether weeping over a breakup with her werewolf boyfriend, Oz (Seth Green), or offering dating advice to Buffy suitor Riley Finn ("She likes cheese!"), this Willow does not bend from the challenges she's been handed. But then, neither does Boreanaz as Angel. Faced with the job of doing more than delivering a (again, Cordelia's words) "crabby scowl," he's made his character richer, deeper: a flawed, sometimes flummoxed, always agonized good guy. Buffy: A Angel: B+