November 13 2016
32 fascinating behind the scenes facts about Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Things that you probably already know about Buffy the Vampire Slayer from being a member here, and maybe some that you don't know, and some I'm not convinced are true.
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I have read this precise word for word quotation also applied to Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry on Beverly Hills 90210. I don't believe it for either couple. Series television is a very expensive and time constrained product to produce. Actors who spend their time on set pulling pranks don't stay in the cast. They get bad reps and they never work in this town again.
RobynH | November 13, 01:47 CET
sumogrip | November 13, 11:35 CET
RobynH | November 13, 15:13 CET
(Then there's the immortal Firefly blooper reel, so pranks can totally happen on-set. I actually quote the blooper reel almost as much as I quote the show.)
It does seem that there are a considerable number of stories from BtVS and AtS where a character was rescued from abrupt death by an actor's great performance and Joss liking worth them.
...Considering the shows were on the WB, would anyone have asked Eliza to do nude scenes?
ManEnoughToAdmitIt | November 13, 16:37 CET
without_passion | November 13, 18:34 CET
Good perhaps for Willow et al, not so much for Tara.
Brett | November 13, 19:54 CET
But the way I heard it, it was Joss who decided not to have that happen. And much as I loved loved loved Tara, I think that he made exactly the right choice; it would have been a "jump the shark" moment.
There's a remark that Spike makes at some point--maybe to Dawn, and as I recall it's in front of the Summers house--about how there are ALWAYS consequences. That principle is essential to what makes the show work; it's not a superficial rule that can be bent for sentimental reasons, or surely Joyce would not have died (nor Fred on AtS).
--best regards
[ edited by mozzarellademon on 2016-11-14 02:04 ]
mozzarellademon | November 13, 20:03 CET
But he answered a question from the audience about why Tara never came back, did he even try? He got super contemplative and said that in season seven he had this idea for an episode where Buffy performs this amazing feat (unspecified) and earns a powerful wish in return. This wish could be for anything so she spends the rest of the episode agonizing about what she should do with it. She could bring her mom back to life, try to make it work with Angel, etc. At the end of the episode she goes to find Willow and shows her these amazing shoes. “What do you think? Totally hot, right?” Willow is incredulous. “Is that what you wished for?” Buffy says, “No, you dummy” and steps out of the way to reveal Tara. End credits.
The panel audience gasped. The woman next to me teared up and we grabbed hands, even though we’d only met an hour before, waiting in line for the panel. I don’t remember him saying why it didn’t happen, but I’m sure we can all think of good reasons, but at the time it was incredibly moving.
Prosperina | November 13, 22:11 CET
I feel like this could have been pulled off, if Joss had written and directed it. I wonder if it was cut to focus on the series finale instead.
without_passion | November 14, 02:54 CET
DaddyCatALSO | November 14, 07:51 CET
The closest I can think of to a "free" magical wish is the crossover episode in which Angel and Buffy can finally be together--I recall ice cream in bed. In the end Angel goes to TPTB and gives it all up because of his sense of responsibility to the world. And as an extra layer, he takes all the awareness and grief upon himself. That's a Jossian "resolution"; free happies, and a universe that grants them, are not.
--best regards
mozzarellademon | November 14, 08:54 CET
barboo | November 14, 10:37 CET
Charlie | November 14, 11:11 CET
Or a combination of both. Tara is depressed until she dies saving Willow's life, when she says the thing about now she knows why she was brought back. And then she could say "I'll see you on the other side."
I could totally see those as Jossian scenarios.
[ edited by barboo on 2016-11-14 17:36 ]
barboo | November 14, 11:31 CET
DreamRose311 | November 14, 12:30 CET
@mozzarellademon: I agree, I've always thought that would have been a jump the shark moment that would Disneyfy the show.
@RobynH: I think you're wrong. Hayley Atwell - a very pleasant and well liked actress - and Dominic Cooper (certainly not lacking work opportunities) are well known for pulling pranks on each other on the set of Agent Carter, filming them and posting them on their Twitter and Instagram accounts. Atwell is generally super goofy and also organized things like the "dubsmash" war with the cast of Agents of SHIELD, even getting Chris Evans to come around to participate. The entire cast of Agents of SHIELD are also incredibly goofy and comfortable with each other (just look at their live Facebook Q&A sessions), and they've told stories about pranking each other on set - you can see one such example in one of the blooper reels (I don't remember if it was for season 1 or 2) where Clark Gregg comes up to wake Chloe Bennet who was dozing off, putting on a monster mask on and freaking her out. Bennet and Luke Mitchell (Lincoln) have also told a similar story about eating food just before their kissing scenes. In the show's blooper real for season 3 you can see 2 or 3 shots of the two of them bursting into laughter during their kissing scenes. The producers of the show clearly have never had a problem with actors acting goofy and having fun on set - why not, after all, they work long hours and spend a lot of the year on set. It's much healthier than having a bunch of angry, grumpy people or people who hate each other or have bitter rivalries. The producers of AoS are said to have the "no asshole policy" when it comes to hiring actors.
TimeTravellingBunny | November 14, 20:25 CET
I think what doesn't exist are a lot of pranks that ruin a take or that delay production even momentarily. When you look at the gag reels for a series, you might see 4 or 5 minutes for a full season of 22 episodes, or almost 15 1/2 hours of broadcast. That probably took eleven or twelve hundred hours of work to produce with a cast and crew of fifty or sixty people.
Some moments are unintentionally blown scenes that are funny, a few are pranks that occur in rehearsal. (I'm remembering the Wash, Mal and Zoë mustache scene in Out of Gas), But I am still guessing the number of times that someone decides to prank a live take are few and far between. Let me know if I'm not thinking it through. Thanks!
RobynH | November 15, 02:28 CET
This report could also be somewhat exaggerated. They had just two sex scenes on Buffy and one on Angel, and I don't even think that any of them involved Angel taking off Buffy's clothes, so that part sounds dubious.
TimeTravellingBunny | November 15, 11:54 CET
Tara: Darling! The Powers asked if I wanted to come back and here I am.
Willow: God, I missed you! (hug) (mumbles into Tara's shoulder) I have metastatic brain cancer and only have five months max left.
DaddyCatALSO | November 15, 12:48 CET