Buffy's Origin Retold

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by Andy Lee
webdate: 11/27/98

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of television's hippest horror-comedy-dramas. And while it seems to have something for every audience, it wasn't always that way. When Buffy the Vampire Slayer came out as a movie, starring Kristy Swanson and Donald Sutherland, it had series' creator Joss Whedon's script, but that was about it. The film was straight, campy comedy with some action thrown in. It's easy to see that something didn't gel in the movie that did on the set of the television series, which Whedon wields nearly total creative control over.

Writer Christopher Golden describes the project, "Buffy the Origin is actually a really unique project. The cool thing about it is that we are taking Joss Whedon's original script for the movie, not the TV series, but the movie, which is slightly different from the movie that was made, and we are altering it with Joss' input and approval to meet the criteria established by the television series. It's essentially the origin of Buffy, how she meets her first Watcher, how she becomes a slayer. It is the only place that this story has been told!"

Golden says that Buffy's parents were horrible, thoughtless and unattentive parents in the movie, unlike the caring, though imperfect parents, Hank and Joyce Summers, in the TV series. Revamping the origin has allowed Golden to leave the door open on another thread from the movie, namely the co-star of the movie, Pike.

"Pike, the Luke Perry character, and Buffy were hanging out when the movie was over. When the origin comic is over, Pike and Buffy are left "together." So, we've made Pike into a mystery in Buffy's life, we don't know what happened to Pike and why their relationship didn't work out."

The origin comic won't feature Buffy mainstays Willow, Xander and Giles, except in the epilogue, and the Buffy in the origin comic will be very different from her current slayer-self. Says Golden, "Buffy at that point was Cordelia! Buffy was a shallow, pretty, conceited, beautiful … bitch! And she didn't even know it. Her friends were the same way. She was little nicer than they were, but not that much."

It's clear from viewing Buffy the TV series and Buffy the movie that the movie was not entirely what Joss Whedon had in mind. Is there a bit of catharsis in the origin comic for Whedon? Golden responds. "This comic is much more faithful to Joss' original idea (than the movie). I'd like to think that maybe it was easier for him to say yes to this because there may have been a little catharsis there."

Golden continues, "The thing about the movie is that Paul Ruebens' death scene was really, really funny, but beyond that all of the elements that make the TV series so great are in the movie, but they just didn't gel in the execution. If you read the screenplay on its own, it's wonderful. If you see it in the movie, it's fun, but it just doesn't work. The minute I saw the first 15 minutes of the pilot I said, 'Wow!' I think that's definitely because there's so much more of Joss in the TV series than there was in the movie."

With six Buffy novels, an episode guide called The Watcher's Guide, and a number of Buffy comic book projects, Golden is reaching a level of comfort with the Buffy-verse. Says Golden, "The amazing thing is…and I feel really fortunate in this way, is that I think that we've reached the point where Joss and the people over there at Mutant Enemy (Buffy's production company) have a little bit of faith in…not even my work per se, but hopefully they have some faith in my understanding of the show and its basic concepts, because so many people really just don't get the show. They see it and they enjoy it, but they just don't get it."

While Golden's keyboard is firmly entrenched in the Buffy World, vampires aren't new to him. Golden has just released the third book in his own vampire series. Following his first two books, Of Saints and Shadows, and Angel Hearts and Devil Souls, Golden has written Of Masques and Martyrs. The third book finds Golden's vampire hero, Peter Octavian, struggling to redeem and save his vampire race. While Golden's vampire is a hero and described as "the Michael Corleone from the Godfather" of his vampire coven, Golden cites some common ground between his vampire world and Buffy's. Says Golden, "The amazing thing is that there are a number of similarities between my book series and the TV show, which is reflective of the fact that Joss Whedon and I grew up on the same stuff. Joss' favorite comic book artist is my favorite comic book artist, Gene Colan. His favorite comics as a kid were Tomb of Dracula, and so were mine. Suffice it to say that we have some of the same influences and I think that comes through in the work. The major difference is that in Joss' world, vampires are corpses of humans, which are inhabited by demons. In my vampire world, the vampires are something altogether different. They are human beings who have been completely and totally altered by both divine and infernal influences. The one thing that is the same beyond certain characteristics is that they're both very action-oriented!"

Beyond the origin story, Golden's plate is full of Buffy projects. Golden has an eight-page Angel story coming up in Dark Horse Presents, a five-page Buffy story appearing in TV Guide's November 21st issue, a Spike and Drusilla one- shot, and an Angel mini-series.

Spike and Drusilla are two of Buffy's most popular villains from season two. The Spike and Drusilla one shot is co-written with James Marsters, the actor who plays Spike. Golden describes the project, "It's a 26-page one-shot called 'Paint the Town Red'. It deals with the emotional ramifications of Drusilla's obsession with Angel and it deals with those issues violently between Spike and Drusilla. The lovers are at odds for pretty much the duration of the story."

Next Spring's three-issue Angel mini-series takes a different look at Angel, pitting him against a demon called the Hollower. The story takes place in the past and present as the old evil Angel goes up against this demon a hundred years ago, and present day good Angel finds himself facing the same threat. Says Golden, "There are two reasons why I'm so excited about this. First, it presents Angel with a kind of moral challenge that's really interesting to see him go through. More importantly, I think the idea that I had for the demon, called the Hollower, is something that's really cool and unique and could only be done in the Buffy-verse. The big question is: If Evil Angel wanted it dead, why would good Angel want it dead?"

With writing partner, Nancy Holder, Golden has completed two young adult novels, Blooded and Halloween Rain, as well as the first Buffy adult novel, Child of the Hunt. Early next year, the first Buffy trilogy of Adult novels will be released. Out of Madhouse, Ghost Roads and Sons of Entropy comprise the Gatekeeper Trilogy. Golden describes the project, "It is this absolutely massive 1100-page adventure which takes the characters all over the world and pits them against several ancient evil, but more importantly about a hundred different monsters over the course of the books. There's a significant appearance in the second book by Spike and Dru. There's a significant appearance in book three by Ethan Rayne. You'll see several other characters, who have had important roles in the series, in cameos, including some dead characters. That was really fun. We're almost done and I'll be glad when we're done because it's been such an exhaustive process."

But writing in and about the Buffy world isn't all work. Golden and Holder recently completed Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Watcher's Guide, a look behind the scenes of the show, with an in depth episode guide and look at the cast. With the phenomonal success of the first book, Golden says that they will probably do a second volume at the end of the fourth season. Says Golden, "Amazingly enough it only took us a few months because that's all we had. We had an amazing time visiting the set for three days! It was just extraordinary. We saw the finale being filmed. That's how I met James Marsters and how we ended up doing the comic together. It was a once in a lifetime experience, although I'm hoping it will be twice in a lifetime."

Golden has also pitched a solo Buffy novel that "would be really different." But would only coyly offer this description of the project, "Neil Gaiman suggested I call it 'The Last Buffy Story'."

But with all this Buffy experience, Golden still humbly admits, "Nancy and I were really nervous about how the fans would take our work. We've been greatly gratified by the response to all of it. The fans watch you like a hawk. They want to make sure that you're not going to screw up their favorite characters. Nancy and I have wanted to work on this license from the moment we saw the two-hour pilot. We're just as enamored of the show as anyone else out there. We're doing our best!"

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