Throwback Tuesday: 'The History of the Slayer' 1997 promotional clip

Oh god! The OG Willow...Ha! This awesome vid has been making the rounds. Most of the below is taken from the original Buffy unaired pilot. It was created back in the day to promote the then upcoming series and revealed the activities of certain Slayers in the United States between 1845 and Buffy.

A loving homage/review of Doctor Horrible? Yes, please!

Recently, friend and Channel Awesome producer, Paw Dugan, decided it was time to bring something... Horrible to his review series, Music Movies.  The result is a super fun video that I was fortunate enough to play a very small part in making.  Guest appearances also from the Nostalgia Chick's nerd girl, Nella, and everyone's favorite maestro of video game parodies, brentalfloss.

So sit back, relax, laugh maniacally to yourself, and enjoy!

Happy 5 year Anniversary, Buffyfest!

Hard to believe that it was 5 years ago this week that our little band of buggered started this here Buffyfest blog. It's gone through some changes over time, but it's still a part of who we are and still reflects the heart of others like us, this fandom we belong to. 

Happy Anniversary guys!

Angel is a Cheese Doodle

Before you go scratching your heads, please let me explain. You see, I was having a conversation with my fellow bloggers about the direction Angel's character has taken in Season 8 and the discussion ended with this quote by me: "Angel has become the cheese doodle that fell into the couch cushion, could have been enjoyed, but destroyed by the asses that now sit upon him."

It's a simple analogy really and comes with a kind of light heartedness that can only derive from (hyperbolic) loss and pain. I was a huge Angel fan. I loved everything about this character - story, conflicts, hotness. Even when Angel was at his worst, he was at his best to me. It was the hope that kept me hanging on. I liked that no matter what line was crossed, Angel the Vampire was ready to dust off his duster and try again. It was life in a nutshell to me - the idea that we all have a chance to do better the next time. Angel made a lot of mistakes, sometimes for the greater good and sometimes for his own selfish reasons, just like we do. Yet, he strived to be a better man from the moment he first met Buffy in an alleyway to the moment he faced off with hoards of demons in yet another alleyway.

Please take notice of the past tense here. That's because I'm not sure how to feel about Angel right now. Trust me, it feels like horrible betrayal as I write this. I'm an Angel fan - I'm supposed to stick by his side, right? Well, for some reason, I can't quite stay on board with the character this time. Do I feel sympathy for him? Sure. Do I think he got himself wrapped up in yet another fate vs. free will mess? You betcha. But, there's a difference here...I'm not sure I care anymore. Maybe it has to do with Giles' death or maybe it's something else that will come to me later, but all I know is I've just become apathetic and this my friends is worse than hatred.

Now, I could easily blame Mr. Whedon for this debacle and claim that "My Angel" would never do that, but that's not how I view fiction. To me, Angel is Joss and therefore, he would do that and anything else his creator inks on the page. I'm just holding on to the hope that Angel's new book can change my mind. I'm hoping I can love Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody again. If not, I'll just resign myself to remembering when....

So, here I am. Instead of eating a delicious, bright orange, finger-staining cheese doodle, I'm stuck looking for itty-bitty crumbs hidden under the sofa cushion. Sigh.

Discount Code for Buffy "Sunnydale Lumber" Tshirt!

Ever wonder who supplies the all of the much needed wood used for Buffy's stakes, crucifixes, and of course Xander's many construction jobs? Well this "Sunnydale Lumber" shirt from www.othertees.com gives us an answer, at last. Designed by NerdsterDesign, the shirt comes in two colors: Red and Charcoal. It's available until November 8th for the wallet friendly price of $13USD (8GBP/9.5EUR if you're across the pond) and we're happy to announce that Other Tees has extended a further $1 off discount just for Buffyfest readers!

Maybe get an early start for the Whedonites on your Holiday shopping list? Simply use code buffyfest at checkout for $1 off!

Alyson Hannigan and Family Ring in the New Year!!

Happy 2013 from Buffyfest! Hope all of our dear readers had an amazing Holiday season.

Kicking off the year is the Whedonverse Royal Family (sans Alexis)! Alyson Hannigan, 7 month old baby Keeva and a ridonkulously dressed Satyana took a stroll in their Brentwood neighborhood just before the end of 2012. How cute is Saty in that outfit! She's got an Abby Cadabby hat, a Purple and Pink number with some tie dye thrown in, green ballet flats, and is that a stick she fashioned into a magic wand?! She's like a cracked out, fuzzy fairy godmother. And check her out, hamming it up for the paparazzi. Saty's an old pro by now. Happy New Year guys :)

Images via Daily Mail

2012 Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap Recap!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's 5th Annual Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap! I'm so glad we've been doing this all this time. Over the years we've collected some gorgeous handmade creations and personally, gracing my tree with this fandom fun is such a joyful experience.

This year was another huge success with some truly remarkable ornaments. If you didn't participate, check out some photos below.

Swappers: if you haven't yet posted your pictures to the Flickr group page, please do when you get the chance. And see you next year!



This was my ornament, it has a sound effect (Thanks Kaaren for uploading the vid!):

 

And here are the images from our ever-growing Flickr Group:

Happy Holidays from Buffyfest!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays fellow Whedonites! Hope the rest of the year is full of joy and fun and you all have the best of luck in 2013!

I'm pretty sure we've shared this before, but it's so amazing, let's post it again:

It's a Xmas Miracle! Buffy & Angel Together Again.

The King & Queen of the Whedonverse - Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz natch - were reunited this past weekend at the "Santa's Secret Workshop" Event at the Andaz Hotel in West Hollywood.

The event benefited L.A. Family Housing, whose mission is to help families transition out of homelessness and poverty through a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services. Smidge went solo but Boreano brought his wife Jaime Bergman and their two children Bella and Jaden. Looks like it was a crafty time!

Reminder: Last day to sign up for the Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap!

If you'd like to join this year's 5th anniversary of our beloved Whedonverse themed ornament swap, follow the instructions below before midnight tonight! We'll be sorting the groups immediately and you'll receive your list of recipients over the weekend.

If you're not sure what this is about, read full details here. To sign up for the swap, send an email with the subject "MERRY WHEDON" and the following information to buffyfest@aim.com before midnight tonight PDT:

- name
- address
- whether your are willing to ship internationally

Spoliers - Live Twitter #EspensonChat Recap

Well, last night's live twitter chat with Jane Espenson was hard core! And we're happy to report that the hashtag became a trending topic later in the night. Fandom in full effect.

During the chat, we were lucky enough to have special guests Drew Z. Greenburg of Whedonverse fame and Husband's co-creator Brad Bell (aka Cheeks) on board as well! For anyone who missed it, please see a full recap below of all questions that were answered:

**Please be warned. There are a slew of spoilers on here for all types of things including, but not limited to: Husbands, Warehouse 13, Buffy, Buffy Season 9 and a LOT of Once Upon a Time discussion. If you want to remain spoiler-free for any of those titles, we'd strongly suggest diverting your eyes for this one.**

buffyfest ‏@buffyfest

Hello tweeps! Please give a warm welcome to Whedonverse greats@JaneEspenson & @DrewZachary and @GoCheeksGo of 'Husbands' fame #EspensonChat

Jane Espenson ‏@JaneEspenson

CHAT! Ask me, @DrewZachary &/or @GoCheeksGo, but use the hashtag #EspensonChat We'll respond directly to you, so search the tag to see all.

Jane Espenson ‏@JaneEspenson

To refresh -- @Drewzachary wrote Buffy, Warehouse 13, and writes Buffy comics with me including today's new "Billy issue".#EspensonChat

Drew Z. Greenberg ‏@DrewZachary

Hello, all. I am ready for my #espensonchat. Which I assume is where we talk about French cats who resemble @JaneEspenson. cc@GoCheeksGo

Cheeks ‏@GoCheeksGo

Are we #espensonchat ing? I was on a writing sprint. Talk to me lovelies. How does the evening find you?

Read more »

Wednesday: Live Twitter Chat with Jane Espenson! #EspensonChat

**UPDATE please note new time and hashtag**

Got questions for Jane Espenson? Well you're in luck! We're happy to annouce that tomorrow night, Wed, Nov. 14th at 7 PDT/10 PM EST, Buffyfest will be hosting a live Twitter Chat with Jane courtesy of Dark Horse Comics! Whether you're wondering about her hit web-sitcom Husbands, the Billy the Vampire Slayer arc currently taking place in the Buffy Season 9 comics or something from deep in her past.

Jane has been writing for the Whedonverse stories since 1998 with some of the best episodes of the show under her belt ("Pangs", "Superstar", and "A New Man"...just to name a fabulous few) and has written a slew of comics for Dark Horse. She has also written and produced for over a dozen hit TV shows including Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse, Tru Calling, Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Torchwood, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Game of Thrones, Once Upon a Time and many more. But you knew that!

So gather your questions and join us tomorrow at 9:30! Make sure to use the hashtag #EspensonChat to join the fun.

'Browncoats Unite' was a Ratings Darling - More Firefly in the Future?

Not only did it bring us all to tears, but it looks like Firefly: Browncoats Unite was a huge winner for the Science Channel! They scored their highest ratings ever among coveted ages 25-54. Shiny! Now go ahead and be good boys and girls, Sci Channel, and get some new episodes made. We've been very, very patient and it's about time now isn't it?

Until then, don't worry if you missed the event...Sci Channel is showing Browncoats Unite again almost every day this week. So check your local schedule.

See below for the full official press release:

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SCIENCE CHANNEL’S SPECIAL EVENT FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE

SKYROCKETS TO OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD RATINGS ON SUNDAY NIGHT

--1.2 Million Unique Viewers P2+ Tuned-In to the FIREFLY 10^th Anniversary Special--

-- The Night Was the Network’s Most-Watched Sunday Ever among P25-54--

(Silver Spring, Md.)—FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE–Science Channel’s long-awaited 10^th anniversary celebration of the cult hit series FIREFLY–earned stellar ratings on Sunday night at 10PM/ET, and was the network’s most-watched Sunday night  ever among P25-54. FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE garnered 1.2 million unique viewers across the evening and was the network’s second-highest-rated telecast of 2012 among P25-54 and M25-54. The special delivered a 0.7HH rating and a 0.5 rating among P25-54. 

The excitement for FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE also was seen on Twitter with the network’s "Flock to Unlock" campaign, where fans had a chance to unlock deleted scenes and cutting room floor footage from the special. On Sunday, Firefly ranked tenth in Twitter TV Ratings in Cable (according to SocialGuide) with more than 25,000 tweets generating 26 million impressions. 

The FIREFLY grassroots movement began this past July, when Science Channel’s reunion panel became the most-buzzed about television event at San Diego Comic-Con.  This was followed up by Nathan Fillion’s surprise appearance at New York Comic-Con this past October, which accompanied a sneak preview of footage from the special.

On air, Science Channel’s FIREFLY extravaganza began Sunday morning with an all-day marathon of the series. That evening, at 8PM ET/PT, the final two episodes were enhanced and presented as FIREFLY: SPECIAL EDITION where executive story editor Jose Molina gave fans unique insight into the inner workings of the series by revealing FIREFLY facts and behind-the-scenes info. FIREFLY: BROWNCOATS UNITE premiered at 10PM ET/PT.

Today's the day! Call it a "Fireflyfest" if You Will...

Rise and shine! It's November 11th. And in about 5 minutes, starting at 7 a.m. EST, the Science Channel will begin airing a marathon of all 14 glorious "Firefly" episodes to mark the 10th anniversary of the show. Following the 'thon they will air the hourlong special "Firefly 10th Anniversary: Browncoats Unite" at 10 p.m. EST tonight!

From the Press Release: 
"Science Channel reunites Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion and the entire renegade crew of the Serenity for the first time ever to provide the complete oral history on the franchise that continues to explode in popularity — despite meeting its end a decade ago. The 60-minute special includes secrets from the set, exclusive cast interviews, and footage from this year's colossal Comic-Con panel that dominated the pop culture conversation."

So get up and get ready! in 5...4...3...2...

The 5th Annual Whedonverse Ornament Swap!

Happy Holidays, crafty people! We're so happy to announce the 5th anniversary of our Whedonverse Holiday Ornament Swap. We love this event and every year we are reminded of the fantastic creativity of this fandom. See for yourself the several hundred photos of festive craftiness from years past:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap/

Aren't they amazeballs? If you're just hearing about this for the first time, the event entails creating ornaments with a Whedonverse theme and sending them to 4-6 different recipients. In return you will receive 4-6 completely different handmade ornaments from around the world. As you can see from the photos, you really can make them out of anything: Wood, knit, sew, paint, draw, sculpt, paper craft, recycle old ornaments (earth friendly!) And you'll have a much more Whedoney Holiday time.

If you'd like to join us, sign-ups begin right now and will end next Friday, November 16th at 11:59 PM U.S. EST. And pretty please make super sure you're willing to go through with this entire process before signing up! Deadbeats ruin the holiday fun. Here are the guidelines in 6 easy steps:

1. Sign up by sending an email with the subject "MERRY WHEDON" and the following information to buffyfest@aim.com by Friday, November 16th.
- name
- address
- whether your are willing to ship internationally*

2. On November 17th you'll receive an email from us containing the addresses and email addresses of 4-6 swap participants for you to send your ornaments to. Since you'll have each other's personal info, please contact each other with any questions, disputes or praise.

3. Design and create the multiple Whedon themed ornaments! You'll have 3 weeks to make them.

4. Package your ornaments well (especially if you create something fragile) and send one ornament to each person on the list of swap participants in your group by Saturday, December 8th.

5. Sit back and relax as you wait to receive 4-6 lovely Whedonverse ornaments in the mail!

6. Then don't forget to share photos of the ornaments you make and receive by uploading to the swap flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/buffyfestholidayswap. You will need a flickr account to upload photos, which is easy to set up.

*A note on international shipping: Please only select international shipping if you are willing to ship at least 2-3 of your ornaments overseas. Take the cost of shipping into account when you design your ornament. Lighter and more compact ornaments are cheaper to ship, but chances are you cannot send any food or plant life.

Any questions? Email buffyfest@aim.com