UPN Polishes Off 'Buffy'
Thu, Feb 27, 2003 04:09 PM PDT
by Rick Porter
Zap2it, TV News
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - She saved the world ... a lot. And now she's done.
Making official what has been pretty much a foregone conclusion, UPN announced Thursday (Feb. 27) that "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will end its seven-season run on Tuesday, May 20. Creator Joss Whedon will write and direct the final episode.
Earlier this week, Zap2it.com and other news outlets reported that star Sarah Michelle Gellar would leave the show at the end of the season. And while UPN, Whedon and 20th Century Fox, which produces the show, are talking about a spin-off, "Buffy" as we know it will end with Gellar's departure.
"I'm just glad I can say we did our best on every single episode. We didn't always succeed, but we never slacked, and I'm immensely proud of my writers, actors and crew for that," Whedon says.
Of course, the voluble and sometimes goofy Whedon has more. He jokingly adds, "I'm proud of what this show means (except for that whole weird 'Feminist' thing people attached to it. What was that all about? Girls are stupid.) I truly believe that in years to come, people will look back and say 'That was a show that was on TV.' Yessir. I truly do."
"Buffy" premiered in March 1997 on The WB, re-inventing and greatly deepening the character Whedon first wrote for a 1992 feature film. It moved to UPN last season.
Over the course of what will be 144 episodes, the show became the definition of a cult hit, developing an intensely loyal audience and having an impact on pop culture larger than its usually small viewership. Although it was usually overlooked by awards voters, it did earn a handful of Emmy nominations, winning twice in 1998 for makeup and music composition. Whedon was nominated for writing the 1999 episode "Hush."
The show is scheduled to be in repeats for the next several weeks. The final original episodes will show Buffy and Co. battling the ultimate evil known as The First.
Beyond that, no one is saying anything definite. "We're still in discussions [with Whedon], and they've ranged in many different places, many different directions," UPN Entertainment President Dawn Ostroff says of spin-off discussions. "But we're not prepared to announce anything yet."
The most prevalent rumor has concerned a new show built around rogue slayer Faith (Eliza Dushku), who will appear in the final "Buffy" episodes. Dushku, however, has signed to star in the drama pilot "Heroine" for FOX that could quash the idea.