A review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer

From March 10, 1997 to May 20, 2003, a pop culture phenomenon, that was considered to be one of the best television shows to hit the air waves, graced us on the small screen. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a mix of horror, comedy, romance, and melodrama. It spanned for seven seasons and the witty dialogue of the show continues in comic book form to this day.

 

"Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer."

Buffy Summers, portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar, appears to be a normal high school student, except for the fact that she wields the power of the Slayer, an ancient line of female heroines who are chosen to fight demonic forces. After being kicked out of her old high school she relocates to Sunnydale, CA with her mom in hopes of pursuing a normal life in a town where nobody knows them. Unfortunately, Sunnydale happens to be located on a Hellmouth. A center of mystical convergence the Hellmouth attracts all sorts of supernatural beings and dark forces to it.

Though the Chosen One spends most of her time in cemeteries, and saving the world from the newest impending apocalypse, she's not the only one fighting the unhallowed beings of Sunnydale. Buffy has gathered around her a group of friends, that are referred to as the Scooby Gang. Willow (Alyson Hannigan) who becomes a very powerful witch, Xander (Nicolas Brendon), and Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) join forces with the Slayer and her Watcher, Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). As the Scoobies grow and change, so do the members of the group, adding to the mix Oz (Seth Green) who happens to be a werewolf, a former vengeance demon, Anya (Emma Caulfield), Tara (Amber Benson) another powerful witch, and Buffy's mystical kid sister, Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg), each one bringing a little something new to the table. Also joining the Scoobies are two unlikely demon fighters, vampires with a soul, Angel (David Boreanaz) and Spike (James Marsters).

Throughout the series you quickly come to realize that Buffy isn't only about fighting demons and evil forces, but also deals with the everyday life of a teenager who is struggling against her destiny. The Slayer and her friends deal with the struggles in life including love, romance, life and death. Combining everyday battles with characters that fans can easily relate to, and stellar dialogue, secured the show as one of the most memorable, and most quoted, of our time.

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 Buffy has had some of the most well-written episodes, among those are my top three favorite ones.

"Can't even shout

Can't even cry

The Gentlemen are coming by

Looking in windows

Knocking on doors

They need to take seven

And they might take yours

Can't call to mom

Can't say a word

You're gonna die screaming

But you won't be heard"

Show creator, Joss Whedon, received response from critics claiming that the show's success was due, largely in part, to its dialogue. In order to prove the critics wrong, Whedon wrote the episode Hush. With twenty-seven minutes of no dialogue and a riveting musical score, Hush was highly praised and went on to be nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a drama series. Hush takes place when a group of fairytale monsters, known as The Gentlemen, steal all the voices from the inhabitants of Sunnydale. The Slayer, along with the Scoobies, are left to figure out how to return the town to normal and restore everyone’s voice. 

This episode also introduces a new face to the Scooby Gang. Amber Benson would go on to play Willow's girlfriend Tara, who played a pivotal role in the series for the show's progression and fans alike.

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On the opposite end of the spectrum from Hush, an episode that's primary focus was on the music and interactions between the actors, was season five's episode The Body. Described as one of the most heart-wrenching and best episodes ever broadcast, The Body dealt with Buffy and the Scoobies coping with the real life loss of Buffy's mom, Joyce Summers.

The emotion throughout the episode is palpable as the Slayer and the gang deal with death, something that was an everyday occurrence for them, except this time, it was real and not by mystical means. The emotions that Whedon evoked from the actors were raw and believable. These same emotions lead to one of the most groundbreaking scenes for the gay and lesbian community. In an effort to comfort Willow, Tara kisses her, presenting the first onscreen kiss for the couple. Whedon was met with resistance from the WB network, who did not want the kiss in the episode. Whedon threatened to quit if the network didn't allow it, and them giving him the go ahead to do so, allowed the glass ceiling to finally shatter. Those among the LGBT community have often stated that the relationship between Willow and Tara was one of the reasons that they chose to come out, or why they hadn't taken their own lives, because they realized that it was okay to be who they are. This episode was just one more step in the growing up process of both the show, the network, and the characters.

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Season six set the stage for one of the most loved episodes of the show by fans and cast members alike. The episode Once More With Feeling goes through the motions of an average day in the life of the Scooby Gang, but with singing and dancing.

 

After Xander summons a dancing demon named Sweet, the entire town of Sunnydale bursts into song and dance. The Scoobies end up revealing their deepest secrets and worse fears in song, which gives us a chance to hear the actors display their vocal capabilities. Each piece of music was written by Joss Whedon and diversifies anywhere from retro pastiche, to breakaway pop-hit, to lyrical ballad, to down right Rockabilly. This particular episode is not only fun for the audience, but also allows the Scoobies the ability to come to the realization that they may not have things figured out as well as they think. 

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These, along with so many other episodes, have made Buffy one of the most loved television shows ever to air. It has become one of those classics that people won't soon forget. In fact, people of all ages are still discovering it, and will be continuing to do so for years to come.

After surviving as a mid-season replacement, something which almost never survives in a prime time lineup, as well as surviving a network jump, and continuing onward in a series of Dark Horse comics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has more than stood the test of time

Written by Liliana Costa and Trista Holmes.

This review was originally written for and published in Kings River Life Magazine in the October 12, 2013 issue. You can find it by clicking here.

Be sure to like my Buffy fan page on Facebook. Buffy: The Fan Experience.

Follow us on Twitter @BuffyTheFanExp
 

*All images used belong to their respective owners. I do not own them*

LITERARY DEATH MATCH with authors Amber Benson, Cecil Castellucci, Nick Antosca and Brian Finkelstein.

*Photo from NerdMelt events page

August 3, 2013

A recap of Saturday nights Literary Death Match which was held at the Nerd Melt Showroom inside of Meltdown comics in Los Angeles, CA.

What is a Literary Death Match you may ask?

(from the NerdMelt event page):

"Literary Death Match, now in 48 cities worldwide, was called "the most entertaining reading series ever" by the LA Times. The live show brings together four authors to read their most electric writing for seven minutes or less before a panel of three all-star judges. After each pair of readers, the judges take turns spouting hilarious, off-the-wall commentary — in the categories of literary merit, performance and intangibles — then select their favorite to advance to the finals. The two finalists then compete in a vaguely literary competition to determine who takes home the Literary Death Match crown.
The night will feature four writers reading their own wonderful tales for seven minutes or less, judged by three all-star judges. Two finalists will be chosen to compete in the Literary Death Match finale, a vaguely-literary game that will steal your affection and make your heart pound."


          Hosted by Literary Death Match creator: 
          Adrian Todd Zuniga. @atzuniga
 
 














THE JUDGES:

Judging intangibles: Sara Benincasa is an award-winning comedian and author of the memoir Agorafabulous! Dispatches From My Bedroom. @SaraJBenincasa

Judging performance: Dr. Andrea Letamendi has a Ph.D in Clinical Psychology and writes and lectures about the psychology of fictional characters from comic books and science fiction. in 2013 she became known in the DC Universe as Bat Girl's therapist. @ArkhamAsylumDoc

Judging literary Merit: Will McCormack is an actor, producer and co-writer of Celeste and Jesse Forever from Sony Pictures Classics. He's producing TV for Warner Brothers. @skillzwill

THE READERS

Round 1: 

Nick Antosca is a novelist and screenwriter. His short story collection, The Girlfriend Game, is out now, and he also writes for the JJ Abrams and Alfonso Cuaron show Believe, coming to NBC next March.  Follow Nick on Twitter @nickantosca

 

 Nick was the first to compete reading his story from his new book titled The Rat Beast about the trauma of being a teenage boy.

Brian Finkelstein is a comedian and a regular performer at The UCB Theater as well as a regular storyteller and  host of the Moth. He's an Emmy-nominated writer for his work om The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Follow Brian on Twitter @bsfinkelstein

Next up was Brian who read his story titled The Hope Ring which is a true story about a fake engagement.

After the judges critiqued each author they huddled together to decide that the winner of the first round was Brian Finkelstein.

Round 2:

 
Cecil Castellucci is an award-winning graphic/young adult novelist for books including Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool, The Plain Janes and First Day on Earth. She's the YA editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, Children's Correspondence Coordinator for The Rumpus and a two time Macdowell Fellow.
Follow Cecil on Twitter @misscecil.





Cecil came out on stage wearing a shirt supporting fellow writer, Amber Benson, that read "Team Amber" on it which I found to be very amusing.

Cecil read an excerpt from her sci-fi novel Tin Star.

Amber Benson is a multi-talented individual. She is an actress, writer, director and producer. Amber refers to herself as "a maker of things" and she is damn good at making things, in my opinion anyway but I'm sure a lot of her fans would agree with me.
She wrote the five book Calliope Reaper-Jones urban fantasy series and is currently writing her new series with the first book, Witches of Echo Park, due to be released next year. She co-directed the Slamdance feature Drones and co-wrote/directed the BBC animated series, The Ghosts of Albion.
Amber spent three years as Tara Maclay on the hit TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer.
Amber supports 826LA.
Follow Amber on Twitter @amber_benson.

 Like Cecil, Amber came on stage supporting her competition wearing a "Team Cecil" t-shirt.

Amber read her unpublished piece which I'm sure made quite a few of us blush a bit. If you know Amber then you know she has a naughty side. Amber held back nothing with her very graphic story that I cannot even repeat. My brain needed to be bleached after listening to that, lol.

"I told you it was bad" she said to me afterwards.

After critiquing the authors, the judges decided the winner of round 2 to be........ Cecil Castellucci.

Cecil and Brian went on to compete against each other in round 3 of the competition which consisted of three parts in which they had to draw each of the judges individually.

Host, Adrian Todd Zuniga, selected three audience members, dubbed them "art critics", and made them sit in the corner facing the wall. They would be the judges this time.

The first part, Cecil and Brian had 20 seconds to draw their best rendition of Will McCormack.

Second part, 15 seconds to draw Dr. Andrea Letamendi.

The final part they had 30 seconds to draw Sara Benincasa blindfolded.

 

Each selected audience member chose the drawing they felt was best.

Cecil took the first point with her drawing of Will McCormack.

Brian took the next two points with his drawing of Andrea Letamendi.

The final drawing, and three points, of Sara Benincasa went to Cecil.

In the end the winner of the Literary Death Match was Cecil Castellucci who won 4-2 and received a Literary Death Match medal.

It was such an enjoyable night and I am looking forward to the next Literary Death Match.

Amber and I after the show. 

                                     

                                            

*All images were taken by and belong to me except as noted*

**MEDIA ALERT** BLOOD KISS SIGNING WITH AMBER BENSON, MICHAEL REAVES AND SURPRISE GUESTS

  

Hollywood – July 11, 2013 – Last month, actress Amber Benson, Whoopi Goldberg, noted writer Neil Gaiman, and a number of entertainment industry veterans rallied behind ailing filmmaker Michael Reaves’ feature film “Blood Kiss” helping it to exceed funding goals on the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter.

The project achieved national attention with coverage by Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria, and was featured in George Pennacchio’s entertainment spotlight on the ABC-7 11:00 News.

Now, the highly anticipated Vamp Noir feature film which stars Neil Gaiman in his acting debut alongside Amber Benson will be appearing at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 for an autograph signing and press opportunities.

Michael Reaves, who is in the advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease, is known for his prolific writing and producing which included scripts for such shows as “Batman The Animated Series”, “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Sliders,” “The Flash,” “Father Dowling Mysteries,” “He-Man”, “Dungeons and Dragons”, “Gargoyles” and many others. He has received an Emmy Award, a Howie Award, and many other nominations.

Blood Kiss, set in 1940s Hollywood, is the classic film noir tale of a sexy jazz singer in distress and a Private Investigator who takes on a little more than he bargained for when he discovers this case involves the murder of multiple Vampires.

Award-winning writer/producer Neil Gaiman will be making his acting debut in the film as eccentric movie director, “Julian Cross”. “I'm willing to pretend that the prospect of acting doesn't terrify me in order to help Michael Reaves make his film.” said Gaiman, known for his work on “Dr. Who”, “The Sandman,” “Coraline”, “American Gods,” and more.

  

 Actress Amber Benson is slated to play the lead role of “Ruby Day”, the sexy jazz singer in Blood Kiss. “Michael has been a great supporter of not just his friends, but many, many others in the industry, with his encouragement, advice and his hands-on help,” said Benson who is known for her work on the series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” “Supernatural,” and others, “but now is our turn to give back and make Michael’s dream of making his passion film a reality.”

 

Michael Reaves (Batman, Star Trek) Amber Benson (Buffy, Supernatural), producer Daniela Di Mase, Co-Producer Leah Cevoli (Robot Chicken, Deadwood) and composer David Raiklen (Worth) will be on-hand to sign exclusive Blood Kiss posters from artists Tom Mandrake (Batman, Martian Manhunter) and Christopher D. Salmon.

 

Please confirm your attendance with the press contacts listed below.

FRIDAY,   JULY 19th

What: Blood Kiss Autograph Signing

When: 4:00M-5:00PM      Where: Booth 3919 Geekscape

PRESS INQUIRIES:

Contact David or Leah
BloodKissMovie2013@Gmail.com

www.BloodKissMovie.com

www.Facebook.com/BloodKissMovie

www.twitter.com/BloodKissMovie
www.youtube.com/OfficialBloodKiss

*All information contained in this post belongs to Blood Kiss and was used by permission. I do not not own anything. All images belong to their respective owners*

Rachel Caine's MORGANVILLE: The Web TV Series Kickstarter

Rachel Caine is a New York Times best selling author of more than 30 novels. Among them is the highly acclaimed Vampire series, Morganville.

 

The Morganville novels follow a young Claire Danvers who moves to Morganville, Texas for college only to discover the town is run by vampires.

There are currently fourteen books in the series with book number fifteen set to be released in November.


Over the past few years fans have been asking for a Morganville movie. Now, thanks to kickstarter, the Morganville Vampires are coming to life as a web TV series. With the help of fans across the world they have reached their initial goal of $75,000 and with only hours left in the campaign they currently stand at over $80,000. The more they raise the better the series will be. The series will currently be made into episodes 10-15 minutes in length.

It's not too late for YOU to be a part of Morganville, literally. With plenty of rewards to choose from including being a "virtual guest". Pledges range anywhere from $5 and up to $10,000 or more. You can pick up perks like digital downloads, dvds, posters, Morganville jewelry and even bunny vampire slippers. Not to mention a signed head shot of Amelie played by Amber Benson. Oh, did I forget to mention that? YES...THE Amber Benson will be playing Amelie, the founder of Morganville.

Amber Benson and Rachel Caine at SDCC 2012

Amber Benson is no stranger to vampires having played Tara Maclay for three seasons on the hit TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer AND playing the vampire named Lenore on two episodes of Supernatural. Also, just recently funded on kickstarter as well, she will be starring in Blood Kiss, a vampire noir set in 1940's Hollywood.




So what are you waiting for. Head over to the Kickstarter page and make a pledge.