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Now in its fifth season, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will celebrate its landmark 100th
episode this spring. The action-packed drama, cleverly laced with comedy and horror,
recently garnered an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Drama
Series for creator Joss Whedon's groundbreaking episode "Hush." He was also honored with
the Founder's Award from Viewers for Quality Television.
Emmy Award winner Sarah Michelle Gellar ("Cruel Intentions") stars as Buffy Summers, a
quick-witted heroine whose birthright as the sole vampire slayer of her generation is to
protect the world from the undead; yet she pines to be normal. Trying to balance young
adulthood with saving the world, Buffy remains cheerful and fierce throughout, even as her
hometown of Sunnydale, California sits atop a Hellmouth, a mystical portal where all the
demons of the netherworld converge.
Spike, one of the demons, played by James Marsters, is a surly English vampire who has
fallen in love with Buffy. This brings great emotional strain to Spike, as well as Buffy
and her friends, affectionately dubbed the "Scooby" gang. This clique of friends consists
of Willow (Alyson Hannigan, "American Pie"), her girlfriend, Tara (Amber Benson), Xander
(Nicholas Brendon, "Pinata"), his ex-demon girlfriend, Anya (Emma Caulfield), and the
latest addition to the cast, Buffy's non-human sister, Dawn (Michelle
Trachtenberg).
Since "Buffy the Vampire Slayer's" debut as a television series, a following of cult fans
pursue the television show with everything from dedicated websites to fanfic (fan-written
fiction stories using the characters from the show) . "I love vampires and horror," says
Pam Timmons, a Buffy watcher from the beginning, "so the fact that it has all of these
elements, suspense, and great acting, is what draws me to it." Pam's favorite goody-two-shoes character is Buffy, but her favorite bad-boy is Spike, "because he
provides a little bit of humor, he's somewhat of a villain -- not a true one. He adds
some spice to the show. And, I love his accent, and he's cute!"
James Marsters is delighted to have landed the part of Spike -- a role that he plays so
deviously well. Since Spike had a chip implanted in his head and is unable to feed on
humans, he's turned to helping Buffy and the Scooby Gang rid Sunnydale of all evil.
James' work schedule is mostly at night. "I'm always usually around for the midnight
killing of the demons," he chuckles. But it's the fight and special effects scenes that
really lift his spirits. In a recent episode involving a robot-girl, Spike is lifted over
the robot-girl's head and thrown through a window. James explains how the special effects
for this scene were done: "We did the initial lift with me in a wire harness. Later, the
computer erased the wire, and cut away to Stunt Spike -- Maniac Madman Tartiala (the
stuntman's nickname). Basically, if you see my face, and my arms are waving around and I'm
trying to look cool, that's me. If you see Spike being thrown about or through a window,
that's the stuntman. You can tell if you freeze frame it."
For a more recent scene, James recalls, "We were fighting on the set yesterday. It was
supposed to be the cemetery but it was actually cement. They laid down fake grass over
the cement." Ow...sounds like a backbreaking experience to me!
Another issue is Spike's bleached-blonde hair. "The hair is less and less of a problem
now. At first nobody cared since I wasn't a regular [on the series]. It hurts. [The
hair dying] happens every 10 days and I just hope there are no pretty girls in the makeup
room at that time," James laughs, with a twinkle in his eye!
Pretty girls and guys are in high abundance on "Buffy." Also running in the high numbers
are the emotions and intertwined relationships within the "Buffyverse." However, the
viewers eat up this type of excitement. The writers are always throwing in yet "one more"
evil character, who always blends into the emotional and physical mix, such as Glory, the
sinful god in search of a key that will illuminate her existence.
What do the fans dream about? If Pam Timmons were on the show, she would be "...a vampire
of course! An evil vampire. One of a higher magnitude -- beyond Dracula -- like the
Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice -- like the mother of all vampires. Someone who could
kick Glory's butt instantly!"
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"Behind the Buffy Scenes with James Marsters (Spike)"
