BuffyTheVampireSlayer

Joss Whedon's Dollhouse has closed for good, moving from a mediocre-at-best Eliza Dushku variety show to a slow-plotted and intriguing drama, to an absolute whirlwind of OMG moments hurtling towards an apocalypse. Watching the final wrap-up episodes, I was intrigued and increasingly drawn in, glad to be rid of the boring and flat assignments and into the intricacies of the Dollhouse system, Enver Gjokaj showing Dushku how an actor truly morphs, and an all-too-brief taste of Ray Wise.

And then came "Epitaph 2: Return," an episode that was rife with deja vu. It's a shame Whedon and Co. didn't use that final episode's 40 minutes to give the whirlwind plot path a little more room to play out -- ease the last episodes' rush a little. Instead, we got Buffy the Vampire Slayer's "Chosen," plus a few other Slayer perks, done Dollhouse-style.

Are you aware that Joss Whedon is the best thing since sliced bread? 'Cause he is. Apparently the Producers Guild of America agrees, since they've selected him to receive the Vanguard Award, which "recognizes achievements in new media and technology."

Okay, so I'm admittedly a total Whedon fanboy and am completely aware that this places me in the most rabid and terrifying fanbase roaming the interwebs. Ever bear witness to a Browncoat vsTrekkie debate? I'm having an aneurysm just thinking about it. However, when you are the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, you've earned my undying devotion (and my forgiveness for scripting the appalling Alien: Resurrection).

The reason for the award, though, definitely appears to be Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog, which, in addition to being the best science fiction musical about a mad scientist yearning for love ever made, proved that web-based media could not only look and sound professional, but could become a sensation beyond a niche audience and could be financially viable. Considering that Whedon has a Gilliam-esque penchant for disaster when he works within the studio system, new media represents an opportunity for him to make what he wants, when he wants and deliver it straight to his audience via the magical power of the internet.

These are exciting times and Whedon is a trailblazer. The next decade is going to see more and more exciting work being created strictly for internet consumption; how content is made and how we view it are going to change dramatically.

And Joss Whedon gets a plaque or a trophy or something come January 24th, so hoorah!

Be forewarned, this is not the hold-the-presses announcement you have been waiting for (or dreading) on the proposed Joss Whedon-less Buffy The Vampire Slayer big-screen reboot. But for fans hungry for anything Buffy, we have some exciting news, nonetheless.

According to Sci Fi Wire, the Dark Horse comic series Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season Eight will be getting the motion comic treatment as a webisode series. A casting sheet from casting director Jeff Shuter reveals the inclusion of Big Bad Twilight, Slug Queen and Daniel Craig (yes, it appears they want someone to fill in for the actor's voice as a guest star), along with the rest of the Season Eight gang. It's unclear how much of the series the webisodes will cover, and since there's no complete cast, there's no release date yet.

What is clear, though, is that someone has learned a valuable lesson from the Watchmen motion comics and decided it might be a good idea to recruit an actual voice cast rather than pay one man to voice an entire animated comic book. No offense to Tom Stechsculte, who does some real nice work on the Watchmen series, but his Sally Jupiter was a bit too much like Mrs. Doubtfire to be taken seriously. Shudder at the thought of any man trying to match Eliza Dushku's voice for Faith.

Below is the full casting notice sent out on Shuter's behalf. We encourage you to flood our comments section with your dream voice cast. In the meantime, dig out those Season Eight books and start imagining how cool it will be when Buffy and the gang (sort of) come to life again.

Spots for the Battlestar Galactica prequel Caprica have been popping up online for a week or so now. Most of the clips feature stars Eric Stoltz and Esai Morales at odds with each other, trying to keep their families together. The latest trailer finally gives us a peek at James Marsters as bad guy Barnabas Greeley.

He was one of Buffy's biggest bads, he manipulated Clark Kent as Brainiac on Smallville, and he single-handedly kicked off Torchwood's second season with a bang. Now, Mr. Marsters is set to enter the BSG universe as a complicated and dangerous terrorist leader ... who gets smacked around by girls half his size?

Head after the jump to view the trailer.

Fans of Joss Whedon's Buffy: Season Eight comic probably have a lot of questions about what's going on with Willow, Buffy's Wiccan gal pal. The comic book version of the geek turned goddess now has the ability to fly, teleport, and she might even be immortal. And she seems to be involved in a budding sexual relationship with a lesbian snake demon person thing.

The upcoming Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow one-shot comic should help shed a little light on the mystery surrounding the character. Whedon and Fray co-creator Karl Moline are teaming up for the issue, which will feature two very different covers. The first, by Moline, features a fully clothed Willow ready to get her Raiden on. The second, by Jo Chen, shows a naked Willow wrapped up in snake lady's slimy embrace. (I wonder which one will be more popular?) Head after the jump to view both covers.

I'm behind on my Buffy comics, so I have no idea why Angel and Spike appear to be preparing for a massive make out session in the panel posted up top. Something tells me a demon from a hell dimension, or some vocal slash fiction fans, are behind this. (Or maybe the writers were inspired by James Marsters visit to Torchwood last year.)

The panel comes from the July edition of Dark Horse Presents. It's part of a three-page short comic called "Always Darkest" that also features the return of Caleb (Nathan Fillion's baddie from Buffy's season seven) and a scene where Buffy marries Skinless Warren. Looks like Joss Whedon and crew aren't done torturing our favorite vampire slayer yet.



[Via: Robot 6]

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

- Here's more evidence of Robert Downey Jr's awesomess: The dude reportedly saved an extra from rampaging robots on the set of Iron Man 2 over the weekend.

- Michael Bay' second Transformers movie made $201.2 million, the second-largest amount over a five-day period after The Dark Knight. Also, it's awfulness made me sterile.

- A sci-fi-tinged comedy with Tina Fey, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Jennifer Garner and starring/written/co-directed by Ricky Gervais? You must watch the trailer for The Invention of Lying and read more after the jump:

Those fans all up in arms over the planned big-screen Buffy the Vampire Slayer remake will either find comfort or disgust in learning that Joss Whedon was offered a chance to reboot his own original idea, and he turned it down presumably after already learning his lesson on the first film. Entertainment Weekly reports the news alongside direct quotes from Whedon and a poll announcing that only 3% of EW readers would want to see a new Buffy movie without Whedon in charge.

Says Whedon, "I believe [the producers] did ultimately reach out to my agent after the news broke. I think that's something better left untouched by me. So, I wish them luck."

It's funny, too, because this time around I feel Whedon would've had more control over the movie and I imagine he would've produced something cool and scary and bloody and found a way to get Neil Patrick Harris involved, too. Without Whedon, though, we'll probably get a more generic vampire movie that won't stand out from the pack unless they cast someone like Megan Fox in the lead role -- and while that rumor is certainly flying around, there's no way she'd sign on to do this. She's not the right type for a vampire slayer named Buffy, anyway.

Then again, who is?

More: Is 'Buffy' Better Off Without Joss Whedon?

Above: An image from the Random Star Wars collection featured in the post underneath this one.

Welcome to Captain's Log -- your (semi) daily round-up of sci-fi randomness from around the web. Here's what's happening today:

For some odd (and hilarious) reason, Todd McFarlane thinks he can get Leonardo DiCaprio to star in a new Spawn movie. Only DiCaprio wouldn't be playing Spawn; instead, he'd be the guy chasing Spawn. McFarlane compares the film to everything from Jaws to The Godfather. Keep dreaming ... [MTV]

Battlestar Galactica star Richard Hatch spoke to Moviehole about the potential big-screen movie, saying he thinks Universal should take a cue from Paramount's Star Trek reboot. He thinks they "should go further back" in time for the setting, like the recent Trek film, and even admits that the show ain't done yet. ""It's never the end if fans want more. It's a money game. If they realize people want more, believe me, they'll make more of them - they did it with Babylon 5, and a number of other sci-fi shows. Battlestar is not done yet, it's just a question of how and when it'll come back.'' {Moviehole]

Though the first Kick-Ass film won't arrive in theaters until next year, Mark Millar is positive a sequel will happen -- so much so that he's already plotting one out. He tells SciFi Wire, "Kick-Ass 2 is already being plotted out. "We're planning it, because all the actors are quite young and we have to make it relatively quickly. So we'll definitely do that inside the next 18 to 24 months." [SciFi Wire]

There's a rumor going around that Megan Fox is on the shortlist to star as Buffy in a new Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie. I'd say the chances of that happening are slim to fuggedaboutit. [CineFools]

More stories after the jump

When it comes to iconic sci-fi heroines, I believe there are only two rules: 1) Kick ass and 2) Look good while you're kicking ass. Since these ladies will no doubt be up against the strange and the freaky, we're looking for a gal who's no-nonsense and ready to go to blows at a moments notice. Total Sci-Fi has taken on the task of counting down the 25 most important science fiction and fantasy heroines of all time, and in the number one spot is Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Alien, Aliens, Alien 3 and Alien Resurrection.

Calling her "one of the most iconic characters in cinema history," the site adds that she brings "an appealing combination of toughness, self-reliance, vulnerability and sexiness" to a character that desperately needs all of that (well, except maybe the sexiness) if she's going to survive amongst those wicked, slimy beings from another planet. Somewhat surprisingly, there are three TV heroines in the top five -- including Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Starbuck (Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica) and
Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson, The X-Files), with Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton, Terminator) rounding out the top five. All five of these women just barely edged out Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher, Star Wars), who placed a disappointing sixth.

Discuss: Is Sigourney Weaver really the most iconic sci-fi woman of all time? Or is someone like, say, Princess Leia just a tad more important and popular?