Angel

The Naked Truth: The rumor mill says James Marsters (formerly of Buffy) may do a scene in the nude this season on the WB’s Angel. So, naturally, as a seasoned reporter who upholds the highest standards of journalistic integrity, I had to get to the, um, bottom of this.

Which is why, during E! News Live on Wed., Oct. 1, I’ll be coming to you live from the Angel set, hopefully rubbing elbows and various other things—like Lotto scratchers!—with James and David Boreanaz. Mark your day planners.

In the meantime, in case you’ve been wondering how James is adjusting to his "Los Angeles" digs, he took a minute to chat while filming Angel’s fourth episode of the season, which sounds pretty spoooky.

"It’s crazy here!" he said. "I take care of my niece, and I like to take pictures on set and show them to her. But I can’t take any photos today, because people’s eyeballs are hanging out, fingers are spread all over the place. The 9 p.m. time slot is weird for me. This is not something we would do on Buffy—ever. Angel is just edgier. There’s less talking about your feelings and a little more action. That, and they have better coffee."

Seems as though the new kid is fitting right in—much to Angel’s dismay, apparently.

"They can’t stand each other," James says of the relationship between Angel and Spike. "Spike knows Buffy really loves Angel and not him. So, he hates Angel, of course. And Angel knows Spike’s been there more recently, so he’s going to hate Spike. At the same time, it’s complicated, because there’s a lot of love down there, too."

Fans wondering whether Spike will look any different can be assured by this—James was still dressed in his signature black coat, still pale and blond and, apparently, happy to stay that way: "The bleach makes my hair straight, which is nice because my hair was curly before—actually an Afro. However, this season, Spikey’s attitude is different.

"Over on the other show, Spike was at the end very heartfelt, sincere, trying hard to gain redemption," James said. "And that’s still true underneath it, but the main thing here is Spike is just making life very difficult for Angel. I get to be very funny and snide and just an absolute jerk and completely selfish—and that’s just wonderful to play."

Sounds like they’re spritzing on a little Old Spike, no? "I’ve heard a lot [from fans] that they wanted the old Spike," James said. "They wanted a lot more flavor of the bad boy, and that’s right where we’re living now. So, anybody who was tired of Spike being lovey-dovey and all sorry for the bad things he did, tune in to Angel. You’re gonna get your Spike back."

Still, don’t forget that Spike is still different. When he shows up in Angel’s ’hood, he’ll be something of a ghost. "Yeah, for a bit," James said of his Casper status. "The main thing is I always lean against walls ’cause it looks cool—and it’s easier than standing up, which in a 16-hour day becomes a big deal. I can’t do that as a ghost." He paused for a moment to laugh at his own self-pity. "I tell you, it’s really hard work here. I have to stand up."

James, who just finished touring Europe with his band, Ghost of the Robot, also revealed the Angel producers are "cooking up" a love interest for him, but "they haven’t decided who, and they’re really not asking my advice." Other than that, he’s understandably mute about upcoming details (the bosses no likey spoilers) but did say this: "This show is going to hell."

Clearly, with James on the scene, that’s scoop and not a judgment call.