I Was a Buffy Tragedy back in the summer of 1997, when Channel 7 premiered these episodes as part of what used to be a tradition of low-risk summer programming in December and January.
In walked a tough American teenager who could crack a joke with as much verve as she could kick a vampire’s ass.
The whole “high school from hell” metaphor resonated, but what I really enjoyed was the witty writing and fun pacing of the show.
With that love and devotion, there was almost a worship of Buffy creator and head writer Joss Whedon.
I’ve followed every project of his, from his black-and-white version of Much Ado About Nothing and the online music series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog to, of course, Firefly, the sci-fi show about a ragtag team on the underdog side of the war.
Whedon was then exposed as a mega-horror.
First his ex-wife, who alleged numerous instances of infidelity and gaslighting, and then those who worked with him, including Charisma Carpenter, who said Whedon fired her from Angel because she was pregnant.
She also accused him of toxic workplace behavior and bullying, and this was supported by Buffy co-stars including Amber Benson and Michelle Trachtenberg, while others such as David Boreanaz, James Marsters and writer Marti Noxon publicly supported women.
Sarah Michelle Gellar, who portrayed the titular character for seven years, wrote on Instagram: “While I am proud to have my name associated with Buffy Summers, I do not want my name to be forever associated with Joss Whedon’s.”
Whedon was cancelled.
Like many fans, this whole affair left me deeply uneasy about my own relationship with Buffy, a show that is, without exaggeration, the reason I now obsess over screen culture for a living.
Just like I can’t watch Woody Allen movies, listen to Michael Jackson songs, or buy Butterbeer at a theme park without feeling internally confused, now it’s Buffy.
Of course, it’s never that binary. Commercial art is almost always collaborative. There are sound engineers who worked on Chris Brown’s music, editors of JK Rowling’s books, and actors in Luc Besson’s films.
In the same vein, one might imagine that Charisma Carpenter wouldn’t want all Buffy fans to give up and never watch what is still her best work again because of Whedon’s intransigence.
Now, at least with Buffy, there’s a way to dive back into that entire narrative universe without it being tainted by Whedon’s actions. It’s called Slayers: A Buffyverse Story and is an audiobook sequel on Audible that features characters and actors from the original series.
Notably, it stars Carpenter, who reprises her role as Cordelia Chase, and was co-written and directed by Benson, who also voices the role of Tara. They will be joined by Anthony Head as Giles, Marsters as Spike, Emma Caulfield as Anya, Juliet Landau as Drusilla, James C. Leary as Clem and Danny Strong as Jonathan.
Benson’s co-author is Christopher Golden, who Buffy obsessives know as the author of the official Buffy companion guide (I still have my copy, in fact I have two copies) and a bunch of non-canon Buffy books.
The eight-hour audio production takes place 10 years after the finale of Buffy and begins with Spike before introducing alternate universe versions of Cordelia, Anya and Tara (fans may remember that the original versions of the character met a messy end).
Cordelia comes from a version of reality where Buffy never existed and she is the only killer. Now this world is under threat from the Big Bad (a still gleefully maniacal Drusilla), and she needs the help of our universe’s Scooby Gang or the remnants of it.
It’s a fun nostalgia trip in a different medium, and while it’s a little messy and the actors have varying levels of success becoming voice-only actors (newcomer Laya DeLeon Hayes stands out, and Head and Landau are among the strongest), it’s just enjoyable. return to that world without moral difficulties.
According to Variety, Whedon gave permission for the characters to be used in the production, and he may have received financial compensation for it somehow, but this is an audio series owned by actors who didn’t have much experience creating a show that brought joy to many people.
In an interview with Variety, Carpenter said, “One of the most important things to me about Slayers is the opportunity to give the Buffyverse fandom permission to enjoy the show, to enjoy these characters again, with perseverance. work ethic, family.”
And Benson added that the author’s theory – the idea that Buffy is Whedon and Whedon alone – does not apply here. She said: “I have always found it difficult to go to conventions and not be honest in certain situations. And now that all of this is kind of grist for the mill, I feel relieved that I can love this world and these characters and have some tiny, tiny bit of ownership in them.
“I love this world, I love my family because of it. I love the fans I have in my life. The show is not always just the person who comes up with the show. For us, the show is a Slayers collaboration.”
It really feels like permission to love the show again. If Carpenter and Benson can play in this world again, does that mean the rest of us can too?