The mistake Whedon made with "Buffy," and arguably with "Angel," is naming the show after teh main character. SMG leaving insures the demise of "Buffy" regardless of criticism or ratings. Were David to ever leave "Angel," the same thing would happen.

The most logical thing for a spinoff would be to name the show in a more vague manner, so that regardless of which actors signed on or left, the series itself could continue. "E.R." would have crashed and burned long ago had it not been named after the Emergency Room. Actors come and go, but the main focus of the series remains what goes on inside the emergency room.

However, it can be argued that this didn't help "Firefly," so how could a new M.E. series named say, "Sunnydale" or "Hellmouth" hope to withstand time? Especially since both will probably not... oh, but that would be telling. =)

ZachsMind | March 24, 09:01 CET

wow good point, ZachsMind I never even thought of that, but you're right. I thought "Hellmouth" would have been a stupid name though (that's the name the WB wanted I think).

zixyer | March 24, 13:19 CET

I think "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is the perfect name for the show. As Joss once described it, "Buffy" is an inherently funny name, and it typically belongs to a certain type of girl. It sets up an expectation: comedy, valley girl, what have you. "Vampire" prepares you for the Gothic element of the show, and "Slayer" sets up the drama. It's a fun, odd juxtaposition of connotations and expectations. The WB did want it to be called something less out-there (I actually think their name for it was just "Slayer"), but that's not half as fun as being able to claim devotion to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Also, the show was derived from the cult movie of the same name, so the WB probably wanted at least that small audience already built in due to the recognition factor. And the show is centered around the character of Buffy. The idea for the character was the inspiration for the series (remember? girl chased into an alley by monster, girl kicks monster's ass?) and has always been its focus, even if the surrounding world is interesting enough to allow us to forget that sometimes.

grrarrgh00 | March 24, 19:37 CET

Shallow and lame comment.... I LOVE the way Alyson looks in that picture with the flower. She is just gorgeous.

Cris | March 24, 20:42 CET