McLean Stevenson (M*A*S*H), Terry O'Quinn (Lost), Leslie Hope (24)
We really should've known better. We waited two weeks for Brothers & Sisters' "shocking death," when all along we should have realized that what the network had been teasing for weeks (months even, among insiders) in the end wasn't all that shocking — especially when it didn't even really happen.
Oh well, maybe we're all patsies. But to make ourselves feel better, after the jump are the TV deaths that actually delivered a gutshot and had us talking about a character's demise the next day — for all the right reasons.
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In this last part of our four-part video series with Joss Whedon, the creator of Fox's Dollhouse (Fridays at 9 pm/ET) fields more TVGuide.com reader questions — including one that asks whether the "father of such strong female characters as Buffy fancies himself a feminist." Joss' short answer is yes, though he suspects "a lot of the people who watch Dollhouse will be challenged by that."
Also in this video Q&A:
• Does Whedon have an "ultimate project" he'd like to tackle one day? (I suspect his answer will send minds reeling.)
• Why doesn't Joss shop his shows to Sci Fi Channel versus the networks?
• Who does Joss Whedon gush over the same way that people gush over Joss Whedon?
• Might Joss work with Sarah Michelle Gellar again? (Also: the final word on her "Horrible" cameo.)
• Which
Buffy episode does Joss admit was actually made
better by network input?
Watch and discuss Whedon's answers after the jump.
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Did Britney Spears really almost appear on Buffy the Vampire Slayer?
Why was Anya afraid of rabbits?
Was Drusilla a potential slayer?
Will Buffy reunite with Angel anytime soon?
And how are things looking for a Serenity 2 movie?
I brought your questions about Buffy, Angel and Firefly to Joss Whedon, when he dropped by to talk up his new Fox series, Dollhouse. Make the jump to see what Joss had to share about the above topics and others.
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Joss Whedon with Dollhouse star Eliza Dushku
Joss Whedon, the singular mind who in the past has given us Buffy, Angel, "Captain Tightpants" and Dr. Horrible soon will introduce television viewers to another memorable (if "forgetful" character) — Dollhouse's Echo, played by Eliza Dushku. Echo is an "active," a kind of a robot-hooker hybrid whose native personality and memories have been erased, allowing her to be programmed with the specific skills or characteristics that any "engagement" — or client with a robust checkbook — requires.
As the Feb. 13 series premiere of Fox's Dollhouse nears, Whedon will be dropping by TVGuide.com HQ to answer not just our questions but many of yours. So take a moment, give it some thought and offer up the one thing you would ask Joss — on any topic — after the jump.
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Amber Benson
First, there was Amy Acker (aka Angel's "Fred"). She guest-starred on Private Practice's Season 2 premiere (and next can be seen on Fox's upcoming Dollhouse).
More recently (and as first reported by me), you got Alexis Denisof/"Wesley."
Who will be the next former denizen of the Buffyverse to make an appointment with the doctors of Oceanside Wellness? It's Amber Benson, I can tell you exclusively.
What brings Buffy's Tara to Addison's work digs? Sources tell me ...
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Angel courtesy 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
The WB is coming back — in Web form.TheWB.com, currently in beta, will officially launch on Aug. 27 and will stream a combo of defunct favorites and original Web series, the Hollywood Reporter reports.The online network is aiming to appeal to the same youth demographic as the broadcast network — which merged with UPN to form the CW two years ago — once did and will populate the site with old goodies like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friends, The O.C., Gilmore Girls, Angel and Roswell.But one can't just dwell in the past. Original Web skeins will roll out over the course of the next few months, beginning with two on the launch date: Blue Water High, about six Australian teens making waves at a surf academy, and A Boy Wearing Makeup, a video diary in which Mathiew Francis doles out beauty and fashion advice.The O.C. and Chuck honcho Josh Schwartz is slated to get in on the action too. He will create an as-yet-untitled music show about a fictional Hollywood rock club, while...
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About four years ago, Buffy writer Jane Epstein dabbled with the idea of creating an animated series chronicling her The Slayer's high school days at Sunnydale High where several of the original cast members, including Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon and Anthony Head, lent their voices to reprise their roles. Though the show never quite came to be, four minutes of the aborted series is now sweeping the internet. And we apologize in advance for opening old wounds with this video. Your take: Do you think this series had potential or were they right to slay it so soon?
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Amber Benson by Jean-Paul Aussenard/WireImage.com
In recent weeks, MTV announced it would start accepting ad dollars for political spots for the first time. Now that an ad — an anti-Barack Obama commercial called "Both Ways Barack" — has made its debut, Buffy alum Amber Benson teamed up with MoveOn.org to release a response in support of Obama. According to the New York Times, Boy Meets World alum Rider Strong joined her for "It Could Happen to You," which is running on Comedy Central. The ad spoofs other commercial styles, including one specific spot that should be familiar to anyone who had a TV in the 1980s.Is Benson's foray in political messaging effective, or does it fall flat? Watch here and weigh in. — Anna DimondRelated:• Christina Aguilera Rocks the Vote – Extended Version!• John Cusack Gets Political in Anti-McCain Ad
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Question: Is there any hope for smaller TV shows to ever get big Emmy nominations? It was a struggle for Buffy, Angel, Gilmore Girls and Everwood, all as great and brilliant as the "big shows," to get nominations, but do you ever think there will come a day when the Academy sees some things outside of the box? The CW is a frustrating network, but there are potential Emmy nominees in Supernatural and Reaper. More than just for sound editing and the like.
Answer: In the case of shows like these, their Emmy invisibility has at least as much to do with a general bias against the genres of so-called "family" and "fantasy/sci-fi" programming. But it's a fact, one we've discussed at length over the years, that the CW (and the WB and UPN before it) just doesn't seem to register with the Emmy voters, as if it simply doesn't exist. The relative smallness of the audience doesn't seem to be as big a factor, when you consider this year's triumphs of Mad Men and Damages — which arguably play bette ...
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Neil Patrick Harris in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along screen grab courtesy Mutant Enemy Productions
Two of my favorite things in all of show business— musical comedy and Joss Whedon — combine in the funniest, freshest TV special of the summer, which happens to be available only on your computer starting in mid-July.I had the great good fortune late last week to get a sneak peek at all 42 minutes of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Whedon's stylishly scrappy, lovably cheesy and insanely tuneful return to the form for which he showed such incredible aptitude in the classic "Once More, With Feeling" episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.Dr. Horrible, written during the writers' strike and filmed in six days this spring "on favors and waivers" by a crew of longtime Whedon loyalists, will be streamed for free in what Whedon cheerfully calls an "Internet miniseries event" on the show's official website (www.drhorrible.com) in three chapters. Part 1 will be available Tuesday, July 15, with the following segments (each roughly 14 minutes) available July 17 and 19. All three parts...
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