I vote for carbonite!

fraying | October 28, 08:11 CET

I hope it is the last season specifically for Buffy. If it carries on with her and the scoobies, the law of diminishing returns will kick in eventually.

Though there's no reason why BtVs can't become like Doctor Who.

New Slayer, new town, new adventures. (And UPN don't you dare steal that tagline)

Simon | October 28, 13:19 CET

Speculation: slaying turns Buffy cold, so cold that when she finally does closes the Hellmouth... she turns to stone, leaving us with a lovely statue. (Going off a WtP remark that the "end of the series is cast in stone")

Caroline | October 28, 14:34 CET

I await Medusa appearing as the big bad. WtP is always entertaining reading :)

Simon | October 28, 15:12 CET

there's a commentary article at EW.com on whether or not this will be the last season.

Can Buffy go on?

Simon | October 28, 16:45 CET

If they go on to a 'new' kind of 'Vampire Slayer' show, just pray that Ted McGinley isn't cast----

The Lady Pele | October 28, 19:53 CET

With hair like that he could only play a minor vampire. Dust before you can say "spin off".

Caroline | October 28, 22:03 CET

Shark? What Sha---- ;)

The Lady Pele | October 28, 22:25 CET

I think maybe Willow can't save the show, and the show can't be Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I'd still love to see a plot arc where eventually, after a bunch of fun plot complications, Buffy's soul and consciousness found herself in Willow's body. I think Alyson Hannigan, playing the role of Buffy in Willow's body, could save the series. Would it jump the shark at that point? Maybe. But even if that happened, it'd be fun to watch it tank. I don't think it would though, because I believe coupled with ingenious writing, Hannigan's a talented enough actress to pull it off.

If they can't somehow keep the character of Buffy alive without jumping the shark, the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer should end when Sarah Michelle Gellar walks off the set. However, the universe that Whedon & his writers have weaved together is too immersive and vibrant to just let go completely. I think Whedon should have a big finale with season seven, and in the finale the Hellmouth opens up and it eventually swallows most of Sunnydale whole, to the point where the city will be at best a ghost town from now on and at worst a crater in the face of the Earth, but Buffy & her friends are ultimately successful in closing the Hellmouth down once & for all. The evil left on this side of the dimension scatters, and Buffy decides to just leave the other Scoobies and continue her mission on her own. She just walks into the shadows and we never see her again.

Then, in 2003, Whedon can opt to tell the story of the remnants left behind. There's still a lot of stories there with Spike, Willow, Giles and Xander. Either separately or together. Perhaps what's really killing Buffy ultimately is being restricted to Sunnydale. Put the characters in new settings with entirely new situations. Make RIPPER happen at the very least for goodness sake. Willow & Giles together in England would be a powerful combination, because what Willow's going through now is where we believe Giles' character was at her age. He's already been there. He knows what it's like when magic gets out of hand. So they can continue to tell Willow's story while revealing more about Giles' past at the same time, and we can see the parallels.

What first inspired the Buffy idea inside Whedon was the idea of an allegedly innocent looking girl walking into an alley and getting jumped by baddies but having the power it takes to defend herself. It's a massive statement of empowerment, not just for women but for all people. One person can make a difference. Granted, Whedon clobbers the audience with his message at times, but he's taken that single image and from that he's managed to create a motion picture and seven seasons of television. That's quite an accomplishment. However, there's a time to move on, move forward, and find new and different images to build upon. I think he's got those images still with the main characters that remain, and I think he should run with it. There's still a story to tell without Buffy, but it can't be called Buffy the Vampire Slayer without SMG.

[ edited by ZachsMind on 2002-10-29 08:54 ]

ZachsMind | October 29, 10:27 CET