Anthony Head - did he want out of the show?

[Dazza]

His absence for most of season 6 and some of season 7.

Can anyone explain what was going on there?

It seemed to me like he must have wanted out, but they convinced him to come back for s7 on the grounds that it was the last season.

 

[VisionGirl]

He wanted more time with his family in England, which is why he's not in every episode.

 

[SnoopDoug]

In addition, Joss Whedon was also in talks with the BBC at the time to do a Giles spin-off called "Ripper." The idea was to create a mini-series in 2001, which would have been right after Buffy S5. Sadly, we have yet to see anything come of it.

 

[BuffyElevated]

He wanted more time with his family in England, which is why he's not in every episode.

In addition, Joss Whedon was also in talks with the BBC at the time to do a Giles spin-off called "Ripper." The idea was to create a mini-series in 2001, which would have been right after Buffy S5. Sadly, we have yet to see anything come of it.

There's your explanation... I still wish we would have gotten to see "Ripper", although it would have been weird to see Giles acting like a badass demon hunter instead of the conservative, quiet librarian he was for most of BtVS... Although the glimpses we got of Giles' alter ego were definitely badass moments, themselves!

 

[Mischlings]

There's your explanation... I still wish we would have gotten to see "Ripper", although it would have been weird to see Giles acting like a badass demon hunter instead of the conservative, quiet librarian he was for most of BtVS... Although the glimpses we got of Giles' alter ego were definitely badass moments, themselves!

Though the demon hunter aspect isn't really there (and I'm not entirely sure that it was ever a part of the pitch for Ripper), they've used a good amount of background for him in the Angel & Faith comics, so that might be of interest to you.

 

[Dazza]

He wanted more time with his family in England, which is why he's not in every episode.

Thanks 🙂

In addition, Joss Whedon was also in talks with the BBC at the time to do a Giles spin-off called "Ripper." The idea was to create a mini-series in 2001, which would have been right after Buffy S5. Sadly, we have yet to see anything come of it.

So if this had taken off, it seems like he would have been like Angel with only the occasional cameo on Buffy from time to time?

Or was it just intended as a one-off mini series?

 

[SnoopDoug]

It's not entirely clear if this was going to be limited to a mini-series or not. There were talks about that, as well as a full show, and even the occasional made-for-TV film. If I had to guess, I'd say Giles probably would have made fewer appearances on Buffy had Ripper been made in whichever form, much like Angel as you mention.