Buffy Resurrected! - BtAS - Whedonesque.com

It's not going to replace the shows which had actual actors, but man, I really want this to happen!!

well it would be something nice to have in the interim

Not to betray my age but I'm old enough to remember Star Trek: The Animated Series as a nice place to hang out while waiting for the real deal to come around again. I agree, I want flesh & blood Whedon but animated doesn't suck. Words & action from Team Whedon in almost any form is still better than 95% of everything else on TV. Until Mutant Enemy hangs their sign on HBO, bring it on.

NOLA64 | May 27, 08:49 CET

IMO, the high school years were the best of the whole series so I love the idea that we will be able to revisit that era again. Not so sure how I'll like the presence of Dawn, but I'm giddy at the thought of seeing the Willow/Xander/Buffy/Angel love rectangle presented again. Good times, good times.

Saturn Girl | May 27, 09:00 CET

I'm not a big cartoon person but I am excited about this just because it's Joss Whedon and I know he won't disappoint me. I'm also kind of excited to see how they'll do it and what it will be like to have Dawn in the picture. We never got to see Dawnie mingle with Angel and that should be fun.

I've totally enjoyed the video games and because of that, I think I'll enjoy the animated series too.

Firefly Flanatic | May 27, 09:04 CET

And let's not forget Giles being the father figure & soul of the show once more. Never liked the way the whole Buffy/Giles relationship changed.

NOLA64 | May 27, 09:05 CET

Sorry to everyone who likes this idea but...

OH DEAR GOD NO!!!!!

Does anyone remember Sabrina the Animated Series? That was bad. I love Buffy, but I just doesn't think an animated series is a good idea.

toxiceuphoria | May 27, 09:14 CET

Whether or sucks or not, it's Buffy. At this point.. I'd watch a show just based on Andrew & Lorne! I need my dosage.

Christopher | May 27, 09:20 CET

Yes, more Giles as the father figure the better! I think this could be very good. Joss is invested in this and frankly, was Sabrina the teenaged witch any good to begin with?!! I've read Joss's Fray series and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. It's still Joss's stories and he has a knack for finding great writer's to bring his ideas to fruition.

And yeah, I think I'd watch a show about Andrew & Lorne too just to get a Joss fix. It's funny, someone was talking about how funny it would be to have a Groo spinoff and I immediately pictured that being an animated series. His character would be great for that type of setting.

Firefly Flanatic | May 27, 09:27 CET

I have to believe that Joss would not put out anything but high quality, top notch programming. I think this will be a great cartoon, and not like the crappy Sabrina, I'm hoping.

electricspacegirl | May 27, 09:31 CET

Oh, and Joyce wouldn't be dead! We'd get to see Joyce again!

Firefly Flanatic | May 27, 09:35 CET

"And let's not forget Giles being the father figure & soul of the show once more. Never liked the way the whole Buffy/Giles relationship changed."

Change is good. Change is good. Change is good...

That said... big fat WORD!

Caroline | May 27, 09:41 CET

Fray...what I would not give to see a mini-series, ongoing series or movie based on that.
I'll echo most people here, if Mutant Enemy brings anything to the table, well besides great writing, it is integrity. I have little doubt that a Buffy animated series will raise the bar for animated shows and give everyone a much needed fix of Whedonesque humor & pathos.

NOLA64 | May 27, 09:46 CET

"The truth is true," Loeb replied.

He has spoken to Joss Whedon, and, in Loeb's words, "he'd like me to take point."

A ray of hope in the live-action interim! Oh, how this heartens me. I thought Jeph Loeb was a great choice to head up BtAS. I hope he leaves Smallville to newly-tapped DeKnight and Greenberg and comes back to the animated series.

(In addition to the above, with Bell and Goddard going to Alias and Esperson at Tru Calling and Gilmore Girls, does anyone else notice how it's almost like a quiet revolution is happening? ME people are sneaking into mainstream shows around the dial. Hopefully by this fall, network TV will experience a surprising (not to us) upgrade in quality writing, and the general viewing public won't know what hit 'em.)

Also, yay to Giles-as-father-figure and any geometric-shaped emotional configurations, rectangular or otherwise, among the Scoobies. I'm so glad Angel will be a part of the gang. I guess it'll be set before he goes all Angelus-'grrrr'?

Just imagine: No budget limitations! Magick! Monsters! Mayhem! And lots of witty repartee and super-cute outfits. I'm so looking forward to this.

Edited to add that I'd love to see Fray as some kind of cinematic/animated project as well. I can already see Fairuza Balk as a kick-ass Melaka (she'd transfer well to animation too, I think). Wouldn't a movie of that -- borne on the heels of Serenity's success -- be just dreamy?

[ edited by Wiseblood on 2004-05-27 08:14 ]

Wiseblood | May 27, 10:05 CET

Does anyone remember Sabrina the Animated Series

Just woke up and mis read that as Sopranos the Animated Series. Which would be highly entertaining. I like the idea of a Buffy season one revisited. At this stage, it's the only thing we have at the moment.

Simon | May 27, 10:17 CET

Simon, for some strange reason I just got this semi-unrelated image of Tony Soprano talking over his troubles with Holden the Vampire Psychologist. Wouldn't that be an interesting conversation to listen in on.

Wiseblood | May 27, 10:24 CET

With love in my heart for all things Joss-y, I must reply: Yeah, Sabrina was really cool for several seasons, and only really sucked a few times. The dialogue was especially clever. Featuring Lindsay Sloane (fanboy sigh)! Mary Gross! Gordon Gano! Penn and Teller guest-starred several times, and [topic] Clare Kramer. Coup de grace: talking cat.

I will never again defend Sabrina with this much energy. Signed, bogu_salias.

bogu_salias | May 27, 12:38 CET

>>Edited to add that I'd love to see Fray as some kind of cinematic/animated project as well. I can already see Fairuza Balk as a kick-ass Melaka (she'd transfer well to animation too, I think). Wouldn't a movie of that -- borne on the heels of Serenity's success -- be just dreamy?<<

Fairuza!

What a brilliant suggestion

I'd always pictured Lori Petty in the role... but yes! Fairuza steals it away from her!

aapac | May 27, 12:39 CET

I didn't mind the Sabrina cartoon, loved the Batman ones and loathed the Stargate cartoon (words fail me on how bad that was).

Simon | May 27, 12:49 CET

I was thinking an 'Angel' animated series, with its more adulty look and flavour, could be really interesting.

Caroline | May 27, 13:20 CET

Anything with Classic Scooby action gets a hearty nod and thumbs up from Flair!

Flair | May 27, 15:24 CET

I'm going with 10% trepidation, 20% "I liked the high school years the most," 30% "Joss has great stories so I'm sure it will be good," and 40% "I need my Buffy/Angel fix."

Still wish they'd pick Sherilyn Fenn to do Buffy's voice. Any word on who is doing Angel?

Ocular | May 27, 17:41 CET

Can you imagine the discussion boards for BtAS?

"It becomes clear that, after BtAS 1.4, Whedon is once again delving into the original series' existential roots. Buffy, Willow, and Xander continually defy conventional authority, represented by Snyder, and are confronted with the Sartrean burden of their choices..." -- cjl

"Hi, my name is Katie and I'm 7 years old. Buffy is so cool! I think Zander is cute, but he shuld be nicer to Wilow. Angel is cute, too, but he turns into a vampire, and he's icky." -- Katie

Nonetheless--new high school era Buffy? Vintage Scoobiness? Joyce as the mom we've always loved, and li'l Dawnie? Let's get this puppy rolling!

cjl | May 27, 17:56 CET

Ocular: Last I heard it was Nina.

prufrock | May 27, 18:09 CET

I think this is an excellent way to keep the "Buffy" momentum going. I'm very excited to see the whole gang as they were at their most together-y-ness.

And heh heh, prufrock.

[ edited by marmoset on 2004-05-27 16:37 ]

marmoset | May 27, 18:37 CET

From what I read, Joss said a long while back that the series was in a serious cartoon vein, like Batman: The Animated Series. I don't think we have to worry about the series being silly or making a mockery of our show. I think it'll actually be very cool. Plus, you can do things with animation that are too expensive to do with CGI.

My number one wish? We get to see Andrew and his demon-monkeys. ;-)

Rob | May 27, 19:21 CET

Oh, I'd love to see Andrew's demon monkeys attacking the school play! "Run Juliet!" That'd be the best.

Though I do have to be in the minority and say that I probably liked the high school years less than years 4-7. I don't find myself revisiting those nearly as often on DVD as I do the later years of the series. But still, setting it in high school makes the most sense for an animated series, and I can't wait to see what Dawn adds to the mix.

MindPieces | May 27, 20:14 CET

Though I do have to be in the minority and say that I probably liked the high school years less than years 4-7.

Same here, and the interesting thing is most people assume that whether you like the earlier or later years better depends on when you started watching. But I started in the second season, and still prefer the latter ones, 5 being my favorite.

Rob | May 27, 20:38 CET

It's really difficult for me to pick a favorite season. I think its just so amazing how these characters grew so perfectly and consistently over the years. And that we were privy to it all.

By perfectly I don't by mean that they were perfect people, far from it, but isn't that the main reason they were so dear to us? Because they absolutely weren't perfect?

No, I mean that I can't imagine Joss guiding them any other way. I know some took exception to the Willow/magic storyline, but I loved it. Even the sweetest of the sweet, the "goodest of the good" went bad. For a while.

There will never be another television 'verse like it. Ever. And that is what is making me so sad in the aftermath of Angel's demise. There might be movies, specials even, but it will never ever come together again in this fashion. I hate that. And it even makes me a little scared.

Willowy | May 27, 21:17 CET

I've written extensively elsewhere about how it would be plausible to retell Buffy's high school years with Dawn in the mix, with the knowledge of all that transpires in the seven years. Where might Ben have been in season one? What if The Mayor was running for re-election Buffy's first year? What if The Initiative were to place Riley in Buffy's life three years early? Keep Anya a member of the Cordettes from day one, as a sleeper cell for D'Hoffryn. The mind boggles.

It's doubtful they can properly explore all this in an animated series format, but at least if Dawn's in the mix, we can see what things would have been like had Joss thought that far ahead from day one.

ZachsMind | May 28, 01:55 CET

I always thought it would've been cool if they had thought that far ahead and had hired MT to do some scenes right along with the other filming that we wouldn't see until she arrived on the scene and then we'd see her in "flashbacks" along with the rest of the cast a few years younger. That would've been something to see a flashback of her and Angel interacting or Spike kidnapping her along with Buffy on Halloween (Dawn could've wanted to be like big sis and dressed as someone from out of the past). And even some scenes of her and Joyce tied together on the bed when Faith was holding them as hostages waiting for Buffy to come for the body switch episode.

Firefly Flanatic | May 28, 02:24 CET

If this is going to be Saturday morning fare I am wondering how they will deal with the vampire staking (I think will be a no-no on Sat morning tv), also from cartoons in the past vampires were never shown biting necks and drinking blood on Sat morning cartoons either (maybe considered too frightening for small children?).

Unless this is being planned as a prime time cartoon like the Simpsons, it might be severly limited in any sort of violence, even Batman the Animated Series never showed people dying, so I am curious how Vamps killing and drinking blood will be handled.

Nuke | May 28, 03:49 CET

I can't wait for this to be finalized. My only question would be what network would carry this show? Also I don't think this would be anywhere near as bad as that Sabrina: The animated series. Maybe if this is a success Joss could talk with a big network like HBO and have a Fray series developed, does anyone remember HBO's Spawn animated series? It could be like that , or maybe it could be a regular cartoon. It's so cool, maybe now that Joss has one cartoon series in the works, a few others will follow.

Gio | May 28, 03:55 CET

I think the dusting would pass muster. Its not bloody or gory, just cool. And they show beasts baring their big fangs all the time. The drinking blood thing might be an issue, though, gotta give you that.

Gio, whaddya think of Fray being done like Aeon Flux? Wouldn't that be GREAT? Go, Melaka!

Willowy | May 28, 05:13 CET

TOM AND JERRY HELLO?

They do things that would get children killed, thus a slayer getting a evil soulness vampire to protect other humans can be morally jusitified, there's violence enough in morning cartoons as it is.

SeanValen | May 28, 06:23 CET

Not sure I follow SeanValen... as for airtime, we don't have any info on that, let alone what network. It may not air with other kiddie shows, who knows?

Anyway, I'm very psyched to see the kind of ideas the writers will have without the restrictions of real-world physics and sets/stunts budgets to hold them back.

gingeriffic | May 28, 20:44 CET

With the benefit of animation and the ability to show monsters, worlds, alternate dimensions and SFX that could never be done in the original series does anyone think we may get to see the world of shrimp?

zz9 | May 29, 03:04 CET

May 27 2004