(What If) Buffy's 8th had happend on tv?

V

Vannis

Townie
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Hello everyone,

this is my first post here on this forum. I'm not exactly sure why, but it took me quit awhile to find a decent active Buffy board. I finally (luckily) ended up here. I'm not sure if there has already been a topic like this one before, but I'll take my chances.

I was wondering what people think would've happend if the there had been an 8th season of Buffy aired on television? I wonder if they would've changed the last few episodes from the seventh season and what would happen in the 8th? Just wondering. I've been looking for something that Joss might have said in an interview or something about his potential plans for season 8, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
 
W
wehappyfew
welcome :)
Well, they would needed a bigger budget to handle what's going on in S8, that's for sure. The pages of a comic are limitless - a TV budget isn't.

Also, I don't know if they'd have killed off Spike knowing there would have been a 8th season. I guess that sacrifice was important to his redemptive journey, though. Huh.

Good question.
 
I'm guessing they'll drop the Dawn storyline if it were on TV, and Willow would fly less, but other than that, everything can be manageable.
 
C
charmingslayer
[No message]
I think im gonna side with David Fury (from that interview Joan? posted). Joss went with the whole 'yey were not constrained by a budget, we can go wild!'. And the result is a comic that is absolutely NOT grounded in reality.

This is a fairly humrous comment from a show dealing with vampires and demons with magic but i can very much say that these concepts were very much grounded in reality in the show. The concept of the underworld very much existed in-the-dark. We could actually believe that these things are happening.

S8? Its Buffy without this constraint of believability. Believability and Budget seem to go very much in hand when we talk about letting things go wild and its a shame.

So to answer your question, S8 on TV just wouldnt happen. A) because it would cost too much and B) it would seem so rediculous as a season of Buffy it would easily lose half its audience including us fans. An example of this is giant dawn, imagine seeing that on TV and tell me you wouldnt IMMEDIATELY turn off the tv. It may sortof work for a comic world where giant dawn exists within only a few panels but TV is a very different medium which not only is forced to have budgetary constrains but imo REQUIRES them.
 
S
Selig
Couldn't put it any better.
I
itsxpaperdoll
Me neither ;)
E
eunsoma
completely agree
I agree that a lot, if not all of the Dawn stuff would have been shelved. I don't see them being able to turn Michelle into a Giant, centaur or
doll
every week. I do think a lot of the other stuff would have been ok, maybe minus Willow flying all over the place. The flying cars in Fray's time might have been difficult, but not impossible. However, there's one aspect of this new season that I can never see happening had S8 continued on TV.

I really doubt SMG would have agreed to Buffy's relationship with Satsu. She was shocked when a fan told her about the storyline at the Paleyfest, and I don't think she would have let that fly. I'm not saying SMG is in any homophobic, I would never say that without proof. It's just that she is kind of protective of Buffy, and I think she would have reacted like the rest of us did...it was just too out of character for Buffy to jump into bed with Satsu, especially considering the previous issue when she told the younger Slayer that there was no chance of them being together.
 
E
eunsoma
yup i understand exactly what you mean and i agree
Just for the Dawn thing, I don't see how that would be an issue.

Giant - well thats basic green screen.
Centaur - well no different to demoning up someone else
Other - there are two episodes, one in season 1 Buffy and one in season 5 Angel that would go towards it.

IF they dealt with these individual aspects in separate episodes its not that big an issue.

As for Willow flying - that is a very cheap special effect - see all Superman series!
 
C
charmingslayer
[No message]
Y
yellowcrayon
Also Felicia Day in Legend of Neil which has even less of a budget.
I don't think the Buffy/Satsu storyline would have even been considered if this season had been on TV. And not because of Sarah's objections, nor the network's.

The Time of Your Life arc would have been very difficult to pull off with a limited TV budget. Parts of Wolves at the Gate would have been hard too. And the pacing of a TV show is different from that of a comics series.

I think a TV season 8 would have resembled the comic only in that it would have dealt with the repercussions of Buffy having to run a global organization rather than a small local band of vampire hunters. The element of Slayers being seen as a threat to society would have been intact. The specifics would have been different.
 
Edmund Blackadder said:
Just for the Dawn thing, I don't see how that would be an issue.

Giant - well thats basic green screen.
Centaur - well no different to demoning up someone else
Other - there are two episodes, one in season 1 Buffy and one in season 5 Angel that would go towards it.

IF they dealt with these individual aspects in separate episodes its not that big an issue.

As for Willow flying - that is a very cheap special effect - see all Superman series!
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It's not so much the fact that they can do it, as whether they can do it and get away with it. I mean, look at the last giant we had on Angel. The big sewer monster. Worst. Effect. Ever. And centaur Dawn would be really very difficult. I've never actually seen a centaur that isn't fully cg that looked any good. And most of those looked crappy as well.

More importantly, these effects just wouldn't feel right. Giant Dawn was such a WTH?!? moment, but it only took a couple of frames. They couldn't do that for a TV show, it wouldn't be over in seconds. It would need to be much more sustainable.
 
H
Harley
[No message]
Lindsey McDonald said:
It's not so much the fact that they can do it, as whether they can do it and get away with it. I mean, look at the last giant we had on Angel. The big sewer monster. Worst. Effect. Ever. And centaur Dawn would be really very difficult. I've never actually seen a centaur that isn't fully cg that looked any good. And most of those looked crappy as well.

More importantly, these effects just wouldn't feel right. Giant Dawn was such a WTH?!? moment, but it only took a couple of frames. They couldn't do that for a TV show, it wouldn't be over in seconds. It would need to be much more sustainable.
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i was just about to reply to EB but you already said it. S8 is within the realms of TV, although it would have to be spread over multiple episodes.

Do you guys remember the Chosen finale with Buffy leaping off the HS onto the bus?... that was a "oh my, im watching TV" moment. I dont see S8 being much better.

Sure they could make things work, and blue/green screen stuff but how much could they do of that? It would get extreme without a huge special effects budget. Another example is the talking trees (LOTR managed this, but again, MASSIVE SFX budget).

My point is still that S8 would not work on the TV medium. Not becuse of budget (although this was my point A). But because its not suitible for TV. Comic books can do stupid stuff because that stupid stuff (giant Dawn) encapsulates a few panels and then the story progresses. TV is much more immersive and specific that it requires much more thought-out and realistic/tangible plot lines. S8 is not this.

The unfortunate thing is that we're subject to our favourite story being taken in wild directions simply because 'it can'.

That said, i must say i do 'enjoy' S8 when i view it on its own merits, but i do see a disconnect between this and the series.
 
Lindsey McDonald said:
It's not so much the fact that they can do it, as whether they can do it and get away with it. I mean, look at the last giant we had on Angel. The big sewer monster. Worst. Effect. Ever. And centaur Dawn would be really very difficult. I've never actually seen a centaur that isn't fully cg that looked any good. And most of those looked crappy as well.

More importantly, these effects just wouldn't feel right. Giant Dawn was such a WTH?!? moment, but it only took a couple of frames. They couldn't do that for a TV show, it wouldn't be over in seconds. It would need to be much more sustainable.
Click to expand...

There is an absolute difference between some secondary monster getting a bit of screen time and them dedicating time and effort into making one of the main cast members look realistic.

Apart from a couple of times, the effects have been pretty decent on Buffy and to be honest, if the story is strong enough then I don't mind if they aren't perfect.
 
Edmund Blackadder said:
Apart from a couple of times, the effects have been pretty decent on Buffy and to be honest, if the story is strong enough then I don't mind if they aren't perfect.
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Totally agree. The question is, is S8 strong enough for TV?
 
Silum said:
Totally agree. The question is, is S8 strong enough for TV?
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I haven't read the comics, the whole idea of it seems rather silly and alot of people I trust have been 'let down' by it.

My point wasn't that anything SHOULD be done more that it could feasibly BE done.

On top of that, at least it would have given Dawn something to do.
 
I just don't think they would have kept the same storyline for Tv and comic form. Obviously there's the budget like you all mention but mainly I think veiwers would have poorly responded to s8 on tv if it would have been the same storyline.

I do enjoy the comics because it is on paper and not on TV. everything seems to go by because it's in comic form. Still I am such a big fan that they could do almost anything and I would still watch/read it because it's Buffy.

I could see the first 9 or 10 issue of the comics be made for TV, It would still make sense (except maybe giant Dawn) but after that, it gets a bit to much out of line, even for Buffy

I would have love to see the Satsu relationship on TV though, everyone says that it was out of charater but I think SMG would have pulled it of as something that Buffy would actually do

-Blaze-
 
S
Silum
agreed, though im one of those who never saw Satsu out of line. Sexuality in the bufferverse is very versitile. Think willow in S4, biggest relationship in the verse followed by Tara by season end.
Blaze said:
I just don't think they would have kept the same storyline for Tv and comic form.
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I think Joss would agree with you

Joss Whedon said:
The miniseries is called Angel: After The Fall. It is much huger in scope, and Brian has brought a lot of new ideas to the table. It is oddly more like what we had planned for season six than Buffy: Season Eight is.
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I think if that were the case season 7 would be totally different. I think they knew Sarah was quitting wayy in advance so they set up the first as big bad.

My theory is that if Sarah didnt quit she would at least go for 9 seasons before stopping. And for season 7 D ' Hoffryn would have probably been the big bad. season 8 something new and the season 9 the first as big bad.
 
Thanks for all of your quick replies. I'm glad to finally be on a Buffy board where people actually know what they're talking about!🙂 I like season 8 about just as much as every other Buffy fan out there. It's a little off at sometimes, but it takes some adjusting mostly. Also it's a little farfetched but I can imagine Joss wanting to go all the way this time, considering there's no budget to take into consideration anymore.

But aside from the current season 8 in comic book form, I actually meant what you think season 8 would have been like if the show had been renewed for another year (maybe more). So forget about what you've seen in the current comics. We would have never know about it had there been an 8th season on tv.

I was wondering what you think/would like to see in a potential season 8. I was mostly wondering if they would've changed the last few episodes of the seventh season, so it would'nt feel so farewell-ish. I'm not sure if I'd be so keen on the Scoobies leaving Sunnydale behind for a last season. But then again, I wasn't too keen on them leaving the familiar high school which was an obvious must and I found the magic box (and maybe even UCSD) to be a good replacement.

I was wondering if they would have kept Spike alive (though I think him crossing over to Angel was a good step, for the character and both shows). If Spike were to leave at the end of season 7, it might open new doorways to the Slayers love-life and practicle storyline. Also, I read in an interview that Joss intended to bring Tara back. At the end of season 7 Buffy would be granted a life-altering wish, and Joss intended for Buffy to wish for Tara to come back. It would've been something along the lines of Buffy telling Willow she almost wished for these really great shoes she always wanted. With Willow replying with complete disbelieve "you waisted your ONE life-altering wish on shoes?" Only to have Tara come walking in from behind Buffy. I'm not sure if I would've liked that or not, either way it would have been a good way to bring Willow some much deserved peace.

Also, I would love to see Oz come back. For some reason. I realise Oz' story has been played over and over. And as much as I love all the femininity on the show, I think it's starting to lack a little testostoron. Also, some new characters could be introduced. I wonder if they'd still kill off Anya if there had been an eight season. And if they'd finally address Hank Summers a bit. I always had my speculation on him being Twilight, especially due to his major absense in the past couple of seasons of Buffy.

To be honest, I always found "The Gift" a better ending to the show than "Chosen". Wow I'm really babling, sorry. Just really looking forward to hearing you thoughts.
 
S
Silum
Welcome to BB!
Someone said SMG was shocked to find out about the Buffy/Satsu thing, well it is pretty sad if you are Buffy and you do not take the time to even read your own comics. Second, I agree with her because I find it just wrong. So i guess I agree and also am angry with Sarah for her lack of care about Buffy.
 
I don't see the big deal where Buffy/Satsu is concered, it was obviously just sex for Buffy. I'm straight, and sometimes I wonder what it's like to have sex with women, and maybe I'll try it one day out of curiousty, that doesn't mean I'm gay.
 
Sarah was not "shocked" as much as she was surprised because she didn't know what was going on (she's not Buffy, it's not "her" comic. So far as anyone has said, only a couple of the actors are really following the comic, it's not just Sarah). Here's the gist of the conversation, and a link where you can see the whole thing:

Seth Green: "I totally want to be Buffy; in the comic, she seems to be getting some pretty hot ladies, so..."
Sarah: "What?"
Seth: "What?"
(Sarah looks at camera, smiles, and shrugs.)
Interviewer: "...a little female-on-female thing going on right now."
Seth: "You haven't heard any of that?" he said. "The comic Joss is writing."
Sarah: "Is it with Willow?"
Seth: "Oh my gosh, "We'll have to ???? I'll get you some back-issues." (whispers something in her ear.)
Sarah: "Buffy's getting some action? Nice, good for her."

Buffy's Lesbianism News To Sarah Michelle Gellar| News Video | MTV
 
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