TVSquad

Lately when people discuss Joss Whedon, it's having to do with his comic book writing and, of course, the upcoming new series, Dollhouse. What seems to have slipped off the radar is any discussion about the made-for-BBC Rupert Giles-centric, Buffy spin-off, Ripper. We get bits and pieces and clues here and there regarding the show's current state, but nothing seems very concrete.

In a recent interview with Digital Spy, Anthony Stewart Head discusses his newest project on BBC One, The Invisibles, but he also drops an update on the state of Ripper and posts his thoughts on the Buffy Season Eight comic.

From March 14th to March 27th, The Paley Center for Media is presenting the twentieth-fifth annual William S. Paley Television Festival. The Paley Center, formerly the Museum of Television and Radio, says that the festival celebrates "television's rich and diverse programming and the creative process behind the medium." This year the festival includes Chuck, Friday Night Lights, Pushing Daisies, and Gossip Girl among others.

Last night, I attended the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion. For what happened during the panel discussion and some pictures, read on past the jump...

When you want to conjure up some ratings magic, a special guest star always helps. And if you can get the star to commit for a few episodes during May sweeps, well that's even better. With that in mind, the CW has signed Michelle Trachtenberg for a multi-episode arc on Gossip Girl.

The coffee at Luke's Diner is perking again. Well, sort of. The WB television network is being resurrected it as a new web site. The WB, tentatively called wb.com, will offer free streaming episodes of Gilmore Girls, Everwood and What I Like About You, to start.

Those are all shows that were WB-produced during 1995-2006, before the WB merged with UPN to become the CW. It has yet to be determined if other series, including Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Felicity and Dawson's Creek are slated for the wb.com stream. Like other online streaming venues that allow people to watch for free, the shows will be paid for by ads. In addition to the shows, the site is also going to create new, short (approximately five minute) vignettes targeting the old WB audience, primarily women 12-34.

(S08I12) I never really cared for the Dracula episode of Buffy. It definitely had its funny moments, but having Dracula thrown into the Buffyverse lore was hard to stomach. Not to mention this ass had an easy time of wooing Buffy. Oh, and Xander too.

That said, this was a great issue. It marks the first of a series of issues written by TV Buffy writer Drew Goddard, and the feeling from the show is captured perfectly. For some reason I wasn't able to say that as much before, but here I feel right at home.

It's been a while since my last review of a Buffy season eight comic, and since then there's been other developments in the TV-on-comics front (we should have a category for that). Rather than dedicate separate posts to this news, I'll round everything up here, at least this time around.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - season eight - Issues #10 & #11
These were stand-alone "episodes," unlike 'The Long Way Home' and 'No Future for You'. A few things are revealed here that help keep the Big Bad of this season in play. Willow has even more power than we could have realized in past seasons, and an unexpected person has a crush on Buffy. I really liked 'A Beautiful Sunset' (#11) more than any other issue, with a great moment where one of the main, masked antagonists is almost revealed. Classic Joss writing.

A new multi-part series kicks off March 5, written by veteran Drew Goddard.

Did you really think Captain Jack wouldn't be back? Now in its second series/season in both the UK and the US, we're going to do things a little differently with our Torchwood reviews this year. The fine folks on both sides of the pond finally got things squared away so that new episodes air much closer in the US to their initial UK airing. The third episode airs this Saturday, February 9, on BBC America, which is a little more than a week after the UK airing. To minimize any "spoilery" concerns, the episode reviews will follow the US airings.

But before we can get to that, we need to play a little bit of catch up, so look for an overview of the first two episodes of Series/Season Two after the jump. And about that image up there spoiling the first episode? Hey, that might just be a flashback sequence. That's right, I got you there.

When one of our favorite TV shows goes off the air, it can be devastating. However, many times, the cancellation is the birth of a spinoff. Sometimes it can be a great thing (Frasier) and sometimes not so much (AfterM*A*S*H). Here are some this month's spinoff ideas that I would love to see.

McCormack & Van Lowe: At Your Service
When Keith Mars becomes sheriff of Neptune and his daughter Veronica joins the FBI, Vinnie Van Lowe emerges as the county's number one private detective. His new caseload is so overwhelming and his moral compass is so out of whack that he's forced to employ attorney Cliff McCormack on a permanent basis. Together with the help of their excitable intern (Alia Shawkat), they bring their distinctive style of crime-solving to the citizens of Neptune.

Hopefully the gelt you received this past holiday season hasn't been all used up on paying your credit card bills for the gifts you gave this holiday season. That's because there are a number of books about television that you could be using that free money towards. There are books about TV shows, books about TV characters, books written by TV characters, and just general television history books. There are so many books about television already out or about to be released that you could easily spend countless hours reading them on the steps of your local library after the nuclear holocaust.

Just don't break your glasses.

So, here are eight titles to get you started.

(S08I08 & S08I09) I'm a bit late for both of these issues, but better late than never, right? Thankfully, for me, I was still able to get the first printing of both issues. For most people that doesn't mean squat, but I'm anal that way about the very few comics I buy these days.

Anyway, let's start with the first issue of this two-part review, which is actually the third part of the third story, and is the eighth issue.

OK, that sure was confusing ...

Everyone's got their own idea of what's truly frightening. I'm not talking about people or things who just are scary because they're dangerous or despicable. I mean things that truly keep you awake at night, afraid to turn out the lights. Afraid to be home alone. Afraid to fly on a plane. There are a few characters on television over the years who've stuck out more than others as being truly frightening to a handful of us TV Squadders, and we've put together a list (surprise!) of characters who have haunted us for years. If we're digging up old unforgotten nightmares of your own, well, sorry about that.

The list is numbered, but it doesn't necessarily mean these are ordered. Like I said -- we all have a different definition of what truly frightens us. Make sure you list your own in the comments. Click on a number below to get started.

#10 #9 #8 #7 #6 #5 #4 #3 #2 #1

(S08I07) This issue starts out with the longest - and perhaps first - foray into flashback territory for this "season." I guess I could have gone through my well overplayed DVDs and checked the referred-to episode for accuracy, but it seemed pretty dead-on to me.

Y'know, I love Giles and all, and I especially appreciate that he's a presence in this series, but I'm not really digging how cookie-cutter he seems, particularly in these last two issues. Is it just me or does he drink tea and clean his spectacles way too (stereotypically) often?

So let's say you had an extra $900 lying around and you really loved science fiction shows. What DVDs would you buy?

Amazon is making your decision a little bit easier for you. They have a special bundle for sale, nine different FOX/MGM shows at 49% off. OK, it's still a little pricey at $900 (you could probably put that money toward your rent), but look at what you get: the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer Collector's Set, The Angel Collector's Set, The X-Files Ultimate Collection, all ten Stargate: SG-1 seasons and all three Stargate Atlantis seasons, all four seasons of The Pretender (plus the movies), all three seasons of Roswell, both seasons of Dark Angel, and Firefly: The Complete Series. Holy crap!

(S08I06) Even though this isse wasn't written by Joss, the capable hands of Brian K. Vaughan pulled off what I think feels very true to the Buffyverse. Faith was always one of my favorite characters from Buffy and Angel, and it's great to see her back again. And scenes with Giles? Even better.

It's been so long since I'd watched the last couple of seasons of Buffy that I completely forgot that Principal Wood had a thing with Faith. Here we see that Wood is fully involved in the big baddiness of the world, and he and Faith are still quite a thing.

(S08I05) It seems the readers have spoken ... written ... voted, and I will continue to review the "episodes" of Buffy season 8. I agree with some of the sentiments left in the comments, though. While this is meant to be a canonical continuation of the TV series, it's not a TV series. This is a comic, and it feels like one. It can't replace the direction and the acting we saw on the small screen, and I don't believe it was ever meant to.

When one of your friends heads off to a faraway land and sends you a letter every week, it's not the same as them being there with you, but it sure is comforting to have them around, so-to-speak. It's like that, only not as desperate sounding.