Woes of the Buffyverse

When The WB canceled Angel in February 2004, a lot of fans felt it was a mistake. After all, it was the frog networks 2nd most popular show. Still, they were planning a remake of Dark Shadows and Lost in Space for the 2004-2005 TV season, so they felt they did not need two vampire shows and space opera. But when both pilots failed to make it, it became clear that the WB probably had made a mistake in pulling the plug on the vampire detective. They went even so far as to makel fans know- maybe- an Angel TV movies could be made. But over the last year, Joss Whedon’s shut down his TV arm of Mutant Enemy to concentrate on the big screen verison of his FOX show Firefly and begin work on Warner Bros. version of Wonder Woman. Still, rumors have persisted that there will be a movie. But since Sarah Michelle Geller is off doing The Grudge 2 and David Boreanaz returning in a new FOX series in the fall (along with other fellow alumni, see below) who would return? Well, the one potential returnee to the Buffyverse might be Spike. This telemovie idea has been around since Angel got the ax, but the WB has been resistant to confirm any possible movement on it. At the recent Upfronts, TV Guide’s Mike Ausiello asked the WB president David Janollari about its fate. Well, Janollari insisted a William the Bloody telepic was most definitely not a lost cause, adding that it remains a "project of interest" for him. Asked what was holding it up, he told Ausiello that Joss Whedon has yet to pick up the phone to discuss the matter with him. But back in March Whedon hinted to the TV Guide reporter that he was thisclose to putting some feelers out to Janollari about Spike. Long story short: the ball's in Joss' court, folks.

With the 2005-06 season somewhat settled, look for a few former Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel cast member to return to TV. Alyson Hannigan -Willow the witch - will star in the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, a comedy about an older couple from the future who tell their children stories of how they got together, via flashbacks to 2005. Amy Acker, Fred from Angel, returns with a midseason actioner The Unit, from wordsmith David Mamet. Buffy’s Xander (Nicholas Brendon) is back as one crew of cooks in FOX TV’s loose adaptation of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. Also on FOX, Angel star David Boreanaz returns as an investigator who believes the science of crime solving is not all in Bones. But he’s teamed up with a female forensic anthropologist who has a knack for solving old crimes, in this darkly comic series. It is based on real-life novelist Kathy Reichs colorful medical career.