Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine #14

Date: November 2000
Price: £2.75
Page Count: 52
Editor: Martin Eden

Stake Out
The bad girls took over the news this month, with reports that Buffy’s latest arch enemy was to be played by Clare Kramer. Although her character name isn’t revealed, the show’s producers warned she would give Buffy plenty of trouble in the months ahead. The producers also updated us on their negotiations with actress Juliet Landau, which were looking good: “I can’t make any promises,” said Joss Whedon, aware of the character’s intense fanbase, “but we are definitely investigating the idea.”

By next issue, Drusilla would be confirmed to be returning to both shows… and she wouldn’t be alone.

Now, with the seasons about to air on American television, and with the BBC viewers now only half a season behind, Buffy Season 4 and Angel Season 1 were being released onto VHS. DVDs of the series was still some time away…

The Life of Riley by Mike Stokes
Conducted just at the start of his role on the show, Marc Blucas discusses his audition for Buffy and how it feels to follow one of the greatest TV couples of all time…

Marc Blucas is living proof that good things happen to good people. He’s the kind of guy Buffy deserves to be dating – personable, funny and full of stories from his days playing college basketball at Wake Forrest and professionally in Europe. But perhaps more than anything, Blucas loves to talk about the friends and family in his hometown of Girard, PA, on the shore of Lake Erie – all the stuff that keeps him grounded in an otherwise fairy tale life.
    “I’m kind of that small-town guy,” he says. “I love the energy of my town. I love being there. My first winter in L.A., I’m driving around with the windows down, sunglasses on and singing ‘Jingle Bells’. It just wasn’t doing it for me, so I got on a plane and flew back home. Now every year at church on Christmas Eve, it seems like the whole town is there, and we’re holding candles and singing ‘Silent Night,’ That first year back, I leaned over to my mom right before it was starting and said, “This is the best five minutes of the year.”
    The best time of Blucas’ already amazing life, however, is definitely yet to come. After living out most of his hoop dreams (a tour in the NBA would have been the icing on the cake), he’s moving on to his second passion, one that has been left on the back burner for 15 years. And while he recognises that a spot in the Buffy lineup is a huge break, Blucas is simply anxious to continue learning and improving as an actor.
    “I’m the first to recognise that in order to have a good senior year, you have to struggle in your freshman year,” Blucas says. “I believe in that work ethic where you work hard and go to the school of hard-knocks for a while and hopefully you come out with something positive at the end. But at the same time, being a freshman sucks. I hate it. I hate not being in the game. Basically, I’m not patient, and the patience is the hardest thing for me. And it takes time. I haven’t been here that long, but I feel like I’m on the fast track, especially with a break like this.
    “I’m having the time of my life,” he adds. “I’ve never been happier. I’ve gotten to this unbelievable spot in a short amount of time, but I’ve worked hard, and I believe things happen for a reason.”

It took quite a while to cast the role of Riley. Where were you when you found out that you were about to become the newest member of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast?
It was 9:15 at night Saturday, 26 June – I will not forget this day. I had just flown home that morning, back to Girard, PA and that afternoon, my manager called and said, “Hey Joss Whedon wants to talk to you just to give you an update, so I gave him your home and cell phone numbers. It’s not going to be an official yes or no, because that would come through me.” Well, I didn’t hear from him all afternoon, so I went out with my parents and did my thing, and then I was at a barbeque that night with about 30 of my high school friends, and my cell phone rang. It was Joss. He said, “Hey is this a bad time?” and I said, “I’m at a party with 30 of my friends, it’s a really good time. How are you?” He said, “I just wanted to let you know you’re my guy, I want you on the show.”

When you least expect it, expect it. You must have been blown away.
It’s very rare that I’m rendered speechless – I can pretty much talk to a lamp shade. I can’t tell you how excited and thrilled I was. It’s hard to explain the feeling. The feeling just overtakes you. You’re just overrun with emotion. It’s like getting hit in the nose. Your eyes water, your hair stands up all over your body.

How was the role described to you when nyou first auditioned?
I’m still waiting to hear about that. [laughs] To be honest, there wasn’t much description other than pretty much the opposite of Angel. [laughs] They’ve told me that Riley is a nice, charming guy, and there’s going to be some kind of dichotomy, some kind of double role going on. We’re on a need-to-know basis.

Do you feel any sort of pressure, stepping into David Boreanaz’ shoes as Buffy’s new love interest?
I always put so much pressure on myself. I’m my toughest critic. Nothing’s ever good enough for me. The day I start looking at it as a replacement for him, in my own mind that just starts a downhill battle. David’s a great actor, and the chemistry he and Sarah had was great. I can only hope to have his kind of following.

As the new guy joining such a close-knit cast, did the others accept you right away or do you spend your lunchtimes eating alone? Did they put you through any sort of initiation process?
Sarah is fantastic. Now, Alyson Hannigan on the other hand, [laughs] she definitely gives me rookie stuff – there’s no question I get that from her in a very fun-loving way. Everyone has been so nice and open-armed to me, I keep thinking I’m being set-up, like I’m gonna be in a coma next episode. They are being way too nice. It’s the perfect situation for me. That doesn’t mean it’s easy and there isn’t pressure, but it’s new for a lot of people. There are new cast members and new sets. Hopefully, that generates some new excitement for returning cast members as well. They know the ropes and what they’re doing, so selfishly, that makes it an easier transition for me.

How did you do in Psychology 101 when you were in college?
I think I got an A. Can you believe it? Those are the fun required courses – psych and sociology.

Death Becomes Her by Matt Springer
A very brief, one-page piece with Mercedes McNab, discussing Harmony’s new status as a vampire.

As you might expect from warfare with a man-eating demon snake, graduation day was a time for goodbyes, not just those fake “see you on break” farewells that we’ve all lived through but a few more permanent ones as well. We saw the last we’ll ever see of Larry the football player, for example, and our final glimpse of the perennially confused Harmony was just as she was becoming dinner for a hungry vamp.
    By now, we should know never to trust what we see on Buffy, because what we expect is usually the last thing we’re gonna get. True to form, the writers of Buffy had more in store for Harmony, so they killed her off – and allowed her to return in Season Four, as a newly-sired vampiress.
    “I get to be nocturnal; I get to stay up all night and drink lots of blood,” says Mercedes McNab, Harmony’s daylight alter ego. “I get to be plain old Harmony, like really dumb, and I also get to be Harmony as a vampire, which is very angry and manipulative. I get to beat people up – what more can you ask for?”
    The nocturnal incarnation of Harmony made her Buffy debut in Season Four’s ‘The Harsh Light of Day’, which also featured the return of James Marsters as the diabolical Spike. Unlike Spike’s former flame Drusilla, who shared his hunger for power and destruction, Harmony makes an odd fit with William the Bloody. While he’s consumed with searching for the Gem of Amarra, she’s more obsessed with getting to Paris and doing some shopping than she is with slaying the Slayer.
    “I got to do so many different things,” says McNab of her Buffy return. “I tried to kill Willow. And Spike and I have this little thing going. I get to do three hours of make-up and teeth and everything.”
    Unlike many bloodsuckers who have run-ins with the Slayer, Harmony survived her vamp debut, so the way is paved for the character’s return in Season Five. “It looks that way, but we don’t want to jinx it, do we?” reveals McNab, ironically knocking on wood as she utters the words. “It all works out in the end. I don’t get vampire-killed.”

Harmony would outlast Buffy to become a series regular on Angel. No, Mercedes, you don’t get vampire-killed.

Roommate From Hell by Matt Springer
Continuing Season 4 coverage, this interview is with Kathy Newman, aka actress Dagney Kerr.

“I feel sorry for Celine Dion in a way, just because she’s the butt of so many jokes,” confesses Dagney Kerr, the actress who played Kathy in this season’s first two episodes. And how did Buffy know that Kathy was a demon from Hell? Because she liked Celine Dion. Naturally.
    “I guess it was her first CD that ever came out – I don’t know how old I was, I was pretty young – but I used to do ballet to her songs. You know, you dream about your boyfriends and ballet. I’m sure I’m not the only one who does that.”
    As you discuss Buffy with Kerr, only her easy going manner and sense of humour convince you that her allegiance to Celine doesn’t make her a demon herself. Fortunately, her past fandom of Ms. Dion isn’t a tip-off to any dual-identity – it was only a helpful motivation for the 25-year-old actress portraying such a convincing Hellspawn on Buffy. She also found inspiration in her own horrifying roommate stories, which gave her plenty of experience to draw on in bringing Kathy to life.
    As a long-time fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer herself, Kerr was beyond thrilled to be bunking with the Slayer in her brief run on the show. “I was so happy to be there,” she remarks. “People probably could have been throwing knives at each other behind my back, and I’d be like, this is the best set ever! I was having such a good time, because when you’re a fan of the show, it’s mindblowing. The thing I liked about Buffy is that it was a really close-knit group. Everyone was really friendly and very laid-back.”
    Her passion for the show left Kerr a bit more anxious about her first appearance on the set than she might have been otherwise. You try facing off against the Slayer on home turf, and see how many butterflies invade your stomach. “My first day, I remember it was a Saturday, which is kind of unusual, and we just jumped right into things,” recalled Kerr. “I’ve seen pretty much every episode, so I was really nervous. I was like, ‘;’Oh my God, I get to meet Buffy and Willow.’ But it was nice, and they’re such long days that it almost becomes a little family.”
    Kerr survived her early jitters in production as well as her run in with the Slayer, leaving the door open for a return visit on Buffy and Kathy’s reappearance in out dimension. That is, if the the neighbourhood kids don’t get to her first. After her memorable Buffy episodes, Kerr learned first-hand the dangerous existence as a teenage demon trying to make life work on the mortal coil.
    “I scared a couple of kids that live in our building,” says Kerr. “I saw them whisper, “I think that’s the girl, the girl that beat up Buffy!” They were totally scared of me; I said ‘Hi’ and they went running! But I’m really nice, really. I don’t really have eyes like that!”

Hall Pass: Buffy’s Dorm Room

Episode Spotlight
A new regular feature that begins in this issue. Each entry is a one-page ‘dossier file’ on a particular episode. This month, it’s Fear Itself.

Comic
Reprinting Paint the Town Red (Part 1) from Spike & Dru: Paint the Town Red. A caveat, as the strip itself, apart from exploring the post-Sunnydale history of Spike and Drusilla, is also written by actor James Marsters.

Men Behaving Badly by Todd McIntosh
Special-effects and demon prosthetic creator Todd McIntosh takes a step-by-step look at transforming college frat boys into primordial cavemen! He also talks at length about the make-up process used on Seth Green to make him up as werewolf Oz.