Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy

by Havens, Candace

  BUFFY: I already did. I quit, remember? Pay attention!

  GILES: Buffy, if the Master rises . . .

  BUFFY: (yanks the cross from her neck) I don’t care! (calms down) I don’t care. Giles, I’m sixteen years old. I don’t wanna die.

  In this scene Gellar first demonstrated a powerful emotional intensity which would become a core strength of the series, particularly in season two.

  Professor Basinger, talking about Prophecy Girl, relates, “I remember a moment, I think it was the first season where Buffy is in her prom dress with a leather jacket. She rises up and starts to walk with her crossbow down into the bowels of the earth to confront the evil. There’s something about it. Whenever someone asks, ‘Why is Buffy great?’ that comes to my mind. There is something so elegant, noble, mythic and astonishing that you are watching your TV set and you are seeing this. This is a high school girl, but she’s like a warrior woman. It’s funny that she’s in her prom dress at the same time it is masterfully frightening. That’s Joss.”

  Sarah Michelle Gellar and Charisma Carpenter. Who gets your vote for homecoming queen?

  In Prophecy Girl, Whedon demonstrated that, despite his origins as a writer, he makes a credible director, a demonstration that would become more impressive as the series wore on. Whedon would later go on to allow a number of his writers to direct, including Marti Noxon, Douglas Petrie and David Fury, further validating his view that excellent writers often have what it takes to become excellent directors.

  This is a high school girl, but she’s like a warrior woman. It’s funny that she’s in her prom dress at the same time it is masterfully frightening. That’s Joss.

  —Professor Basinger

  Season two

  In season two Buffy cemented its place in the hearts of both fans and critics. Whedon had hit his stride and the series succeeded at every level—wonderful comedy, genuine horror, fantastic action and, most of all, awesomely intense drama. Joss was fully immersed in the show, carefully reviewing every script and every scene. He wrote and directed five episodes in season two and co-wrote one as well.

  In season two Whedon expanded and deepened the importance of the story arc. Unlike in season one, many season two episodes are fully devoted to the on-going story arc and character evolution. This shift played to the strengths of the series.

  Joss wrote and directed the first episode of the season, When She Was Bad. This episode was a wonderful follow-up on Prophecy Girl. Joss again broke convention by showing the dark side of Buffy, which, as it emerges, is a reaction to the intensity of fear she experienced in facing the Master. This episode, in showing a victory that has consequences and a superhero with scars, is part of Whedon’s on-going efforts to remind the viewer that Buffy remains human and vulnerable, however strong she may be.

  Alyson Hannigan (Willow)

  One of Joss’ most critical insights in creating Buffy was his portrayal of Willow. It would have been easy to make Willow the mousy, brainy sidekick so frequently seen on TV and in the movies. But Joss’ Willow is as complex a character as Buffy—meek but courageous, smart but sensitive, intensely vulnerable but surprisingly tough. The role of Willow has turned out to be central to the series and it’s hard to imagine a better Willow than Alyson Hannigan. No character on Buffy has evolved as much as Willow, but Hannigan manages each transition—from shy virgin to werewolfdating Wicca to lesbian addict to ‘evil Willow’—with aplomb.

  “There was a certain innocent strength about Alyson that came through when she was reading for the part,” Whedon says. “She seemed confident one minute and the next she was so vulnerable. Of course it took us a while to see how good she would be in the role. Much like Sarah we put Alyson through hell. The network had their pick and we had ours and it was a big push and pull kind of thing.”

  Alyson Hannigan hangs out with boyfriend Alexis Denisof.

  “I seriously thought there was no way I was going to get the role. We auditioned and auditioned,” says Hannigan. “It got down to just a few of us and I didn’t think I had a prayer. ”

  A few weeks later she got the call that she had won the role.

  “I know everyone says this, but I really was shocked,” Hannigan laughs. “I couldn’t wait to start work. I was just so excited.”

  From the beginning Hannigan felt a kinship with the Willow character. “In some of those early shows Willow is afraid to speak out and I know just how she feels,” says Hannigan. “I’m better now, but there were times in my life when I just couldn’t speak because I was so afraid. Do I understand that whole not fitting into high school thing? Yes! ”

  “We, Willow and I, have a great deal in common. I’m incredibly shy and worry about what others might think. That is so much of what Willow was about in those early days. I like that she was smart and sort of bookish. She’s also had a chance to experience life in a way that most people don’t, and as an actress I’ve had that same thing. So there’s a lot of me in her and vice versa.”

  There’s something else the character and actress share. “You aren’t expecting anything and then all off the sudden Ally says something that makes you bend over laughing,” says Brendon. “Let’s just say for such a sweet woman she can say some pretty wild stuff.”

  Like Gellar, Hannigan has been in the acting business since she was a toddler, when she began doing commercials for Oreos and McDonalds. When the Washington D.C. native was 11, her family moved from Atlanta to Los Angeles where she appeared in the films My Stepmother is an Alien and on the television shows Almost Home, The Torkelsons and George. On Buffy Hannigan has made the best of the skills she’d honed in her early acting career, and over the seasons she enlarged her character into a complex, multi-faceted individual. As a result, fans have watched Willow evolve from a mousy doormat to sexy powerful Wiccan.

  “You know I’ve grown up too,” laughs Hannigan. “I used to worry all the time that I’d do or say the wrong thing. I was always putting my foot in my mouth. Now I’m used to the taste of feet. And, like my character, I’m a lot better about speaking my mind.”

  Let’s just say for such a sweet woman she can say some pretty wild stuff.

  —Nicholas Brendon

  Joss having fun with Alyson Hannigan and Seth Green.

  Season two introduces Spike, a vampire villain, and Oz, a character Whedon based on someone he knew. “I just knew a guy named Oz. Kinda short. Played lead guitar for a band. He had this incredible cool about him; he wore bowling shirts before anybody else did.” Fans were initially cool to Oz, but ultimately he became a very important part of the series.

  One of Joss’ favorite episodes, and certainly one of the greatest episodes of the series, is Innocence, which Joss wrote and directed. This is the episode where Angel becomes Angelus as a result of the consummation of his relationship with Buffy Innocence was notable in any number of ways, including featuring the first sex scenes between Buffy and Angel.

  These were the first sex scenes Joss had ever directed and he was embarrassed. “I felt very awkward. The actors, however, both extraordinary pros and good friends, were fine. They were laughing and scratching, and just sort of, you know, put my hand where and do what and what do you need? I think they were sort of amused by how embarrassed I was.”

  Perhaps the most powerful scene in Innocence is the first confrontation between Buffy and Angel after he loses his soul. It’s a scene of great emotional power and exquisite cruelty. Initially filmed outside, Whedon quickly realized that the scene should take place in the bedroom. The result is brilliant and the episode shows how much Whedon had grown as both a writer and director.

  In Innocence Angel turns bad, and a few episodes later, in Passion, we see just how bad. In this episode Angelus ruthlessly hunts down and kills Jenny Calendar. The scene is brutal and it’s classic Joss. On one level, it’s a riveting scene, truly horrific. On another level it accomplishes a larger objective; it shows that Angel is truly evil, “not pretending, not a little bad.” It also served as a
warning to the cast—be good because everyone is expendable.

  “It keeps you on your toes,” says James Marsters. “You never know what might happen next, so you damn well better come in here and be a professional about the whole thing. If they don’t like you, and a lot of times even if they do, you could wind up gone.”

  The two-part season finale, Becoming, was written and directed by Whedon. These episodes accomplish the seemingly impossible task of pushing up the emotional intensity yet another notch. Joss plays the Willow card again, putting her in mortal peril and, interestingly, giving the audience a hint of the power she would some day possess. All the stops are pulled out as Buffy’s support network is taken away one piece at a time; as she lost Angel, she now loses her place in school and her home. Ultimately, she is forced to kill Angel, no longer evil and very much the love of her life, in order to save the world. The episodes conclude with Buffy, looking like nothing so much as another runaway teenager, getting on a bus out of town. It’s a heartbreaking ending.

  I think they were sort of amused by how embarrassed I was.

  —Joss

  if they don’t like you, and a lot of times even if they do, you could wind up gone.

  —James Marsters

  Season three

  By season three Buffy was running smoothly and Whedon, while still involved in every aspect of production, could emerge from the details, knowing that his team would do things the way he wanted them. Joss again wrote and directed five episodes and began planning an Angel spin-off that would launch in Buffy’s fourth season.

  Nicholas Brendon (Xander)

  As one of the original cast members, Brendon has fought by Buffy’s side since the beginning. Brendon has a great deal in common with his character. They are both nice guys with a quick dry wit. And they are both incredibly silly at times.

  It’s easy to see the common theme that drew the Buffy cast together. Like Joss, Sarah and Alyson, Brendon (who stuttered and was painfully shy) had a horrible time in high school. “I think sometimes that the shy people become actors because it gives us a chance to express ourselves in ways we never imagined,” Brendon says. “In high school I could have never imagined getting to be a part of something like this.”

  Brendon’s early aspirations were to be a professional athlete, but he was sidetracked after an injury and began studying acting. With the help of a speech pathologist he was able to lose the stutter and life began to improve. Before joining Buffy, Brendon worked a variety of jobs including being a plumber’s assistant and script delivery boy.

  “There were times in the beginning where I seriously wondered if I was ever going to make enough money to eat being an actor, but it was just something I had to do. Getting a role like this on such a great show doesn’t happen to many people and I know how damn lucky I am,” says the actor.

  While his resume has a quite a few credits listed, Buffy was his first significant acting job. When he won the role, the Los Angeles native was working as a waiter and it was a tough time financially. Then this magical role appeared and he knew he had to do whatever it took to get it.

  “Joss created this guy we could all relate to in some way. For the most part he was invisible to everyone except Buffy and Willow. That’s why, years after high school, he is still so devoted to them both. They cared about him when no one else did.”

  “What am I going to say about him,” says Whedon of Xander. “He’s the guy. We all know that guy from high school; some of us were him. Then he grows up and he isn’t sure what he wants to be. As he matures he realizes what it is he doesn’t want to be. The thing about this character is loyalty.

  He’s the guy. We all know that guy from high school; some of us were him.—Joss

  Nicholas Brendon answers questions for fans.

  He sticks with his friends, many times to the detriment of his relationships with other people.”

  As for comparisons between himself and the character he plays, Brendon believes there are quite a few. “In some ways I’m just like him and in others we have nothing in common,” says Brendon. “We’ve both grown and matured through the years. He still has a lot of problems with his relationships, and thankfully I’ve grown past a lot of that. He’s seen what his parents have become. Sort of his own demons, and now he’s afraid of the whole settling down thing.

  “I on the other hand am loving married life.”

  Oh and about that dance thing Xander does. Was that something the writers created for him or did he make it up himself?

  “Yes, um, well that’s me. I was doing these crazy dances all the time and they just sort of wrote it into the show. Hey, whatever it takes for the laugh, right?”

  Season three introduced some wonderful plot developments—Wil—low and Xander’s budding romance, the fastidious mayor and his henchmen, the introduction of Faith and her descent into evil, and Buffy’s flirtation with the dark side of slayerdom. While matching the intensity of season two was a challenge, season three comes close, with perhaps the biggest contribution made by Eliza Dushku as the electrifying but troubled new slayer.

  Joss opened season three with Buffy as a runaway waitress in Los Angeles. In Anne, which Joss wrote and directed, Buffy again faces the conflict between her desire to flee her responsibilities and her deep sense of duty. Again Buffy presents a real-life theme in fantasy guise. A runaway flees her family problems only to find life on the streets a living hell. Of course in Buffy, the hell is real.

  Buffy returns to Sunnydale and reconciles with her friends and family. Angel returns, first in an animal-like mental state, but soon regaining his wits and sanity. It’s typical of Joss that he doesn’t simply return Angel to the relatively cuddly good vampire role he plays in season one and early season two. The audience has seen too much and Angel has gone too far to be easily forgiven. How can the audience ever embrace Angel again after what he has done? In Amends Joss wrote and directed an episode designed specifically to address this problem. Angel is tormented by voices driving him towards evil and he is losing the power to resist. Rather than yield, he chooses suicide. The guilt and pain are too much for him. In a scene of incredible intensity Buffy begs him to continue fighting. In the ambiguous ending, it seems Angel’s life is saved through divine intervention. Angel’s suffering wins a place for him back in our hearts. Equally importantly, Angel finds his purpose—to make amends for his past—and here Joss is also helping to set up for the Angel spinoff.

  For sheer fun, it’s hard to beat Doppelgangland (also written and directed by Joss). In this episode, Joss stepped back from the intensity of his last few scripts to deliver some unadulterated fun. Having spotted a good thing in the alternative universe’s vampire Willow from the episode Wish, he found an (admittedly feeble) excuse to bring her to Sunnydale. This episode previews a darker side of Willow that would emerge in season six. It also foreshadows Willow’s lesbianism, which would emerge in season four.

  The second half of season three focuses on Faith’s decent into evil. Faith shifts from a troubled slayer to a human monster as scary as any latex creation. But as scary as Faith becomes she remains fully human, and her relationship with the Mayor is truly touching. “One of my favorite moments,” Whedon relates, “was when Harry Groener who was playing the mayor asked me if he was supposed to care about Faith or if he was just using her. I had not considered that question before and it led to a very beautiful, completely twisted father-daughter relationship that I thought was one of the loveliest things we did on the show. I knew where they were going as to who was going to live and who was going to die, but I didn’t know that [the Mayor and Faith would have a loving relationship]. Having the space to find that as you go is what makes a season a wonderful thing to create.”

  Despite Whedon’s unassuming style, there was no question that he was fully in charge of every aspect of the series. Unlike some productions, which seemed to be run by committee, there was no conflicting authority or confused decision making on Buffy—Joss was the boss
. At the same time Joss remained receptive to his production team and actors. For example, Joss was receptive when Gellar struggled with the direction the plot was taking in season three. Faith was clearly moving toward the dark side and, to Gellar’s thinking, Buffy should have picked up Faith’s duplicity

  The elctrifying Eliza Dushku. Faith is back for a number of episodes in Buffy’s season seven, and there has been speculation that she could permanently join the series if Gellar leaves after the season’s end.

  Faith the Vampire Slayer?

  Anthony Head (Giles)

  Giles was the father figure Buffy so desperately needed. Brilliant but naive, brave but clumsy, stiff but loving, Giles was the perfect foil to Buffy’s impetuosity.

  “I’ve always seen him as the trustworthy sort and a very calm person,” says Head. “There were times through the years when he certainly lost his temper, but for the most part he was the calming force of the group. He began as this sort of bookish librarian who had a great deal of knowledge about vampires and monsters but had never run across them. He knew nothing of real life.

  “At the same time, we know that he has a rather disreputable past and is more or less atoning for his sins by helping the slayer. There was a time when he was quite the wild man.”

  Before Buffy, most Americans knew Head, if at all, from his romantic Taster’s Choice commercials. But Head’s been a successful actor for years. Born in Camden Town, England, in 1954, Head began acting on stage and was in productions of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Julius Caesar, The Heiress, Chess, Yonasab, and Rope. In 1977, he took on a series of guest roles on British television. The actor’s first full-time acting job was on the series Enemy at the Door. He went on to do several more series and starred in the films Lady Chatterley’s Lover, A Prayer for the Dying, and Devil’s Hill.