Dollhouse, Firefly, Angel, Buffy : news, photos & videos

Joss Whedon - "Dollhouse" Tv Series expands cast

Webmaster — 2008-03-29T10:58:09Z

"Battlestar Galactica" co-star Tahmoh Penikett, Fran Kranz ("Welcome to the Captain"), Australian Dichen Lachman and Enver Gjokaj have moved into Joss Whedon's "Dollhouse." The four join Eliza Dushku on the 20th Century Fox TV-produced drama, which received a seven-episode order shortly before the strike.

"Dollhouse" revolves around a group of young men and women, aka "Dolls," who are imprinted with different personalities for different assignments. They have no memories of their previous lives, until Echo (Dushku) begins to try to find out who she was.

Penikett will play Paul Smith, an FBI field agent obsessed with the urban myth of Dollhouse and a twisted romantic foil for Echo. Kranz will play Topher Brink, a twentysomething genius programr responsible for imprinting the dolls. Lachman will play Sierra, a doll like Echo and her friend, who has every personality in the world but her own. Gjokaj will play Victor, also a doll and a friend of Echo's, who is childlike when he's inactive, and everything from Errol Flynn to young DeNiro when he's active.

'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' Stars Hold Out Hope For Big-Screen Resurrection - Including Some Girl-On-Girl Action

Webmaster — 2008-03-24T21:59:26Z

'Because we already were a movie that wasn't successful, I think it makes it that much tougher for us to go out there,' Sarah Michelle Gellar says of original 'Buffy' flick.

If the "Buffy" boys have their say, any future big-screen adaptation of the movie-turned-TV show-turned comic book would have to feature the recent events of the "Season Eight" comic books — in which the vampire slayer gets some girl-on-girl action — as a jumping-off point.

"I don't know if Sarah [Michelle Gellar] wants to be kissing girls, so for Sarah's sake, we'd say, start from the TV show," said Nicholas Brendon, who played Xander. "But I think for everyone else, start from the comic book. I want to see Sarah kissing girls."

As the original "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" cast and creators gathered for a reunion Thursday for the first time in four years, talk of a possible movie was in the air — even if no script or studio was in place "as far as we know," said Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia. "No one's been formally asked to do it, but I'm sure it would be very popular."

After all, no one was expecting a show that was intended as "a midseason replacement on a network no one had heard of, based on a movie that wasn't ... all that," as Gellar put it, to take off like it did. But being a success despite everything could actually count against them in the end, she pointed out. "We have two strikes against us," she told MTV News. "Because we already were a movie that wasn't successful, I think it makes it that much tougher for us to go out there. One of the reasons that the show succeeded [where the original movie did not] was that it wasn't a two-hour story, but a story you have to develop over time."

Still, the cast has faith in show creator Joss Whedon to come up with a script that delivers. "I'd sign up for him reading the phone book, he's that good," said Emma Caufield, who played Anya.

So what loose ends would the cast like to see developed should there be a two-hour version ? Most of the actors wanted to see their characters resurrected — literally.

"I'd like to come back from heaven, obviously, so I can have a part," laughed Carpenter, whose character had moved on to a higher plane on the spinoff "Angel." "Otherwise, I'd want Angel and Buffy to be together and Buffy and Cordelia to finally be friends."

"I'd like to see Joyce [played by Kristine Sutherland] come back," said Amber Benson, who played Tara. "Have the mom return. And I'd like to see the Tara/Willow stuff regenerate."

"I think most of the characters on the show have died and come back," said Caufield, "so I would think Joss would come up with a creative way to resurrect them, to incorporate that aspect. I mean, Anya just died — an ax, and you're cut in half, and there it is, no period for mourning. I'd like her to be singing somewhere, since Joss is very talented at writing musicals. Maybe they can all burst into song, in a war-torn country or something."

Besides having more songs, there were also votes for more action. "I would like to fight a little more," said Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn. "I say that only because bikini season is coming up, and I got to train. I don't like to work out, but if I have to do it for work, I can."

"There should be bigger snakes," Brendon said. "Next time, if [Buffy] could fight a snake the size of Nevada, that would be great. More guns, less sex. Isn't that what America's about ?"

Wait — wasn't he the guy cheering Buffy's lesbian romance ? Perhaps that should be "more guns, more sex." And if Buffy's allowed a "little lady-loving action," as Tom Lenk, who played Andrew, put it, couldn't Andrew finally be allowed some action as well ? "It became a running joke, the question of his sexual preference," Lenk said. "Sort of how you never saw the guy's face on 'Home Improvement' or never saw Karen Walker's husband on 'Will & Grace.' And it might be nice to see him hook up one way or the other, to make some decisions for Andrew in that department. To just say [whether he's straight or gay]."

That all depends on whether the movie would pick up after the TV show ended or after the events of the comic book. "It would be cool to see what happens directly when the TV show ends, when they drive off on the bus," Lenk said, "because the comic book picks up after awhile. I'd like to see how they start building that network of slayers."

A lot of fans would too, and that fan pressure would be key to making it happen, predicted Seth Green, who played Oz. "You saw 'Serenity' get made" as a movie, after initially airing as Whedon's TV show "Firefly," said Green. "If the fans were excited enough, it's possible."

As Whedon said on the panel, "many stars" would have to align — not the least of which would be a certain lead actress wanting to participate. "But if I had to shoot down everything that we're doing in the comics because we're doing a film," Whedon said, "I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it."

Buffy The Vampire Slayer Cast, Creators Reunite To Debate Angel Vs. Spike, Buffy's Same-Sex Romance

Webmaster — 2008-03-24T12:22:58Z

"Final analysis, final verdict," TV Guide scribe Matt Roush said to the assembled panel of Buffy the Vampire Slayer castmembers and creators. "Angel or Spike ?"

As Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, looked amused but shocked — and James Marsters, who played Spike, wriggled uncomfortably in his chair — only Nicholas Brendan, who played Xander, had the nerve to pipe up and rephrase the age-old question : "Given the comic book, I think Willow."

Ten years after the unlikely show hit the air, the Buffy cast and creators reunited Thursday for the first time since the show ended in 2004 at Hollywood's Cinerama Dome as part of Paley Fest. The Buffy event was at full capacity, and some tickets were sold for 10 times their face value on eBay. "Sarah and Seth [Green, who played Oz] and I are planning a song-and-dance number with jazz hands for it," Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Dawn, joked on the red carpet. "We have mermaid costumes and everything. We're the 'Jazz-Hands Buffy Brigade.' "

That was, in part, a reference to one of the things that has kept the show alive during the years it's been off the air : Buffyoke, performed to the tune of the show's "Once More With Feeling" musical episode, which was shown prior to the panel at the Cinerama Dome. Since the sing-alongs had been stalled, Gellar and Green told MTV News that they should stage their own, saying they could hold them at Green's home and call it a "Hot Musical Evening ... And Some Pizza." "I just heard [about the sing-alongs getting killed]," Gellar said. "That's so sad. That makes me mad. I'd go to one !"

But though Gellar was up to speed on the sing-alongs, she was definitely not up on the other form her character Buffy had been resurrected — via the Season Eight comic book series spearheaded by show creator Joss Whedon.

"I want to be Buffy ; she's getting some pretty hot ladies," Green joked on the red carpet prior to the event, to Gellar's puzzlement.

"What ?" she asked.

"You haven't heard any of that ?" he said. "The comic Joss is writing. Oh my gosh, she's totally making out with a girl."

"Is it with Willow ?" Gellar asked.

"No, but she's smoking-hot," Green said. "I have to get you the back-issues."

"Buffy's getting some action ?" Gellar asked. "Nice, good for her."

And so when the Angel/Spike choice came up on the panel a few minutes later, Gellar was prepared to address the big news that had rocked Buffy's world earlier this month — barely. "Wait !" she said, putting her hands up. "I did not know about this until five minutes ago. Someone says to me, 'How do you feel about Buffy's new relationship ? She's with a woman.' And I'm like, 'She's with Willow ?' "

Marsters gasped, "What ?"

That's what reunions are for, folks — catching up. Whedon and the cast also waxed nostalgic on how hard it was to make the "Hush" and "Once More With Feeling" episodes (the shows during which they couldn't speak and had to break out into song, respectively) and speculated on the possibilities of turning Buffy into a Broadway musical ("I'm a song-and-dance man," Green offered) or another movie, since that's where the story started out in the first place (though even Whedon conceded the original movie wasn't "all that"). But where would the story go from here ?

"You could call it 'Xander the One-Eyed Monster,' " joked Brendan, referring to his character's eye patch. Whedon and Gellar, trying hard not to burst out laughing, couldn't help themselves. Gellar stifled a tear and exclaimed, "This is why this [reunion] hasn't happened in four years !"

Paley Fest Buffy Reunion - Cnn.com Report

Webmaster — 2008-03-22T14:42:56Z

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" was resurrected for one night only.

The cast of the popular supernatural series, which ran from 1997 to 2003 on The WB and then UPN, were in good spirits Thursday while reuniting for a panel discussion at the William S. Paley Television Festival.

That doesn't mean fans should expect the gang to get back together on screen.

"So many stars would have to align," creator Joss Whedon said about the possibility of a new "Buffy" project.

For seven seasons, the slayer and company battled vampires, demons, werewolves, high school and other forces of darkness with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer," based on the movie of the same name, was never lauded with many awards, but it has been cited by many critics as being one of the most influential shows in TV history.

Sarah Michelle Gellar said she was surprised to find out moments before the reunion that her character recently had her first sexual tryst with a woman in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight," a comic book series that picks up where the show ended. Gellar also reminisced about auditioning 11 times before landing the role of Buffy Summers.

"All my friends felt sorry for me because I was on a midseason replacement on a network no one had heard of on a show based on a movie that wasn't all that," the 30-year-old actress said.

Before the panel, audience members watched the sixth-season musical episode "Once More, With Feeling." Other cast members at the reunion were Amber Benson, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Seth Green, James Marsters and Michelle Trachtenberg, who played Buffy's surprise sister Dawn and will join the cast of The CW's "Gossip Girl" this fall.

2008 Paley Center Buffy Reunion - Tvguide.com Report

Webmaster — 2008-03-21T12:20:23Z

If there was any doubt that the panel for Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the most eagerly-anticipated event at Paley Fest '08, it was erased by the mile-long line of fans that snaked around Hollywood's Cinerama Dome last night. Luckily, the event — which reunited the cast for the first time since the show ended in 2004 — more than lived up to the hype. Of course, that's not to say there weren't a few hiccups...

Participants : Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Charisma Carpenter, Emma Caulfield, Seth Green, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Michelle Trachtenberg, David Greenwalt, Marti Noxon, Joss Whedon and TV Guide's own Matt Roush.

MIA : Alyson Hannigan ( ?!?), Eliza Dushku, Anthony Stewart Head and David Boreanaz (so much for that taped message).

Applause Meter : Whedon, natch, got the most enthusiastic reception from the packed house, followed by Gellar, Marsters and Carpenter.

Party Crasher : Less than five minutes in, it was painfully obvious that Brendon had suffered a recurrence of ericbalfourism, an affliction that causes actors to hijack panel discussions with erratic behavior and unfunny banter. (Brendon was first diagnosed with the debilitating disease at the 2005 summer press tour while promoting Kitchen Confidential.) The first sign of the relapse came while Gellar was eloquently discussing the positive influence her alter ego had on young women – including her. Just as she was wrapping up her remarks, Brendon jumped in with this doozy : "You mean it wasn't Susan Lucci ?" If Gellar had a stake, I'm pretty sure she would've driven it through his heart.

Music to our ears : Whedon said he's spent "time daydreaming" about bringing Buffy to the Great White Way someday.

Dark Buffy : Gellar admitted that both Whedon and Noxon had to "talk her down off the ledge" a few times during the controversial sixth season, which saw Buffy morph from a butt-kicking heroine into a dark, bitter basket case. Ultimately, Whedon agreed that the real Buffy had "been gone to long" that season.

Quote of the day : Summing up the appeal of writing for a show like Buffy, Greenwalt said, "There's nothing like taking all your pain and misery and shoving it into good-looking people's mouths."

Nickname game : Unbeknownst to Gellar, Whedon and Greenwalt would refer to her as "Jimmy Stewart" in the writers' room. Whedon leaned over to tell a confused-looking Gellar that the nickname "was a compliment."

Choose or lose : Roush asked Gellar to once and for all choose between Angel and Spike, to which Brendon cracked, "Given the comic book, I think Willow." OK, I'll give him that one. Speaking of Buffy's lesbian tryst in the recently-published Season 8 comic book, Whedon said "it's not a giant life change. It's not Willow. It's someone who is young… with a lot of time on her hands."

Behind the tears : Caulfield at long last revealed what was going through her mind when she delivered that gut-wrenching monologue in the acclaimed "Body" episode : "I had to go to the bathroom !"

Unsung hero : Gellar agreed with Whedon's assessment of Kristine Sutherland (aka Buffy's mom) being one "of the most underrated" actresses working today.

Same-sex hysterics : Greenwalt revealed that shortly after word leaked that Willow was going to be coming out of the closet, he got a call from an unnamed WB exec who said, "Is [Joss] really going to do this gay thing ?" Whedon threatened to quit when the network asked him to leave Willow and Tara's first kiss on the cutting room floor. "It's the one time I pulled that out," he said. "And they were like, 'No, it's OK. Leave it in.'"

The infamous Emmy snub : Whedon reminded everyone that "you don't put a show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the WB and think, 'I'm going to win Emmys !'" Gellar added : "We made the show for the fans." Cue painfully unfunny knee-slapper from Brendon involving an empty trophy case and eBay.

Good taste : Gellar Reads TV Guide ! She just referred to our list of TV's Top Ten Steamiest Love Scenes, in which Buffy and Spike's inaugural roll in the hay was named No. 1 !

Show killer : The audience Q&A portion of the show got off to a disastrous start when a fan asked the entire panel to reveal both their favorite movie of all time and what they're currently listening to on their iPod. What resulted was the most excruciating 20 minutes in Paley Fest history. Brendon spent three of those minutes inventing fake movie titles and berating Gellar for not adequately answering the iPod portion of the question. (For the record, she did. She's listening to the soundtrack from South Park : Bigger, Longer, Uncut.)

Um, awkward : Asked to reveal the real reason she refused Whedon's offer to return in Season 7 as a demonic version of Tara, Benson joked that she was too busy "making love to Marlon Brando." All kidding aside, she wanted fans to remember Tara as the sweet innocent lesbian she was, and not some nasty evil beast. Judging by Whedon's body language during all this, I'm sensing he may still harbor some hurt feelings over the snub. I could be wrong.

Potty mouth : What does Green miss most about his Buffy days ? Arriving to work "to find that David Boreanaz had pooped in my trailer."

More Buffy : Whedon acknowledged that "so many stars would have to allign" in order to pull off a Buffy movie. "But," he added, "I think it would be really cool."

Spike and Buffy are #1 list of American TV Guides' Hottest Love Scenes

Webmaster — 2008-03-18T20:58:35Z

Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters' lovemaking scene in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer' has been named TV's hottest ever love scenes.

According to American TV guide editors, who have put together the top ten list of steamy TV scenes, second was Evangeline Lilly and Josh Holloway's romp in a cage scene from ‘Lost,' Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey made it to the third spot with their exam room scene in ‘Grey's Anatomy.'

At number four is Richard Chamberlain and Rachel Ward's scene in ‘The Thorn Birds', where the pair gets intimate on the beach.

Rounding off the top five was Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis' sensuous scene in ‘Moonlighting.'

The list of TV's top ten hottest scenes :

1. Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Spike (James Marsters) in ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (2001).

2. Kate (Evangeline Lilly) and Sawyer (Josh Holloway) make love in cage on a steamy ‘Lost' episode (2006).

3. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Derek (Patrick Dempsey) in an exam room on ‘Grey's Anatomy' (2006).

4. Father Ralph (Richard Chamberlain) and Meggie (Rachel Ward) do some sinning and scorch the beach in ‘The Thorn Birds' (1983).

5. Maddie (Cybill Shepherd) and David (Bruce Willis) in ‘Moonlighting' (1987).

6. Holly Hunter and Kenny Johnson in the first scene of ‘Saving Grace' (2007).

7. David Caruso and Amy Brenneman in the premiere episode of ‘NYPD Blue' (1993).

8. Number Six (Tricia Helfer) in a sexual encounter with Dr. Baltar (James Callis) on ‘Battlestar Galactica' (2004).

9. Amanda (Heather Locklear) and Jake (Grant Show) on her office desk in ‘Melrose Place' (1994).

10. Cherie (Rosanna Arquette) and Shane (Katherine Moennig) get hot and heavy for a Sapphic poolside romp on ‘The L Word' (2007).

Joss Whedon - "Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" Musical Web Series - The project is revealed !

Webmaster — 2008-03-16T21:44:36Z

So.....

The bag is catless.

During the strike I started writing a musical intended as a limited internet series, 3 episodes of approximately 10 minutes each. Writing with me was my brother Jed, his fiancee Maurissa, and my other brother Zack. To my shock and surprise, we finished it. To my greater shock and surprise, we managed (with the help of many people I'll be praising at length soon) to drag it into preproduction (yes, just as DOLLHOUSE was given a start date two months away and all my comics were due.) And today, after a grueling week of writing everything ever while trying to be a producer, I got to start shooting. A musical.

This much I will say : It's the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he's too shy to talk to. And I'm having the time of my life.

"DOCTOR HORRIBLE'S SING-ALONG BLOG"

Neil Patrick Harris.....as Dr. Horrible
Nathan Fillion..........as Captain Hammer
Felicia Day.............as Penny

And a cast of Dozens !

Coming soon.

Buffy joins long line of lesbian/bi comic characters

Webmaster — 2008-03-16T14:10:58Z

Gay comics ‘a reflection on how we want to see ourselves'

“Wow” was all she said.

Buffy Summers, also known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, had that one simple comment after a steamy night of sex with fellow slayer Satsu in the comic book version of the popular television series.

And Satsu, that lesbian vixen who can convince even the toughest straight girl into the sack, responds similarly.

“‘That was ‘wow'' pretty much covers it,” Satsu answered, beads of sweat dripping from her forehead.

The tryst is how the latest installment of Joss Whedon's Season Eight, the comic book that follows Buffy's post TV life, got even the New York Times to take notice in a story published March 5 — the same day the comic's issue No. 12, titled “Wolves at the Gate Part I,” was released.

“I knew it would create not a ripple, but a wave,” says Georges Jeanty of Atlanta, who pencils the Buffy comic series by executive producer Whedon, the genius behind the wildly popular TV series that ran from 1997-2003. The comic book is put out by Dark Horse Comics.

“I had breakfast with Joss last year, and he was telling me what was going to happen. I'm thinking, that's cool, that's cool. And then he says Buffy sleeps with Satsu,” Jeanty says. “And then I'm thinking, ‘What ?'”

She's at that age where she's experimenting and curious, Whedon explained to Jeanty, who became a true fan of the show after getting the gig to pencil the comic more than a year ago.

“I asked, ‘Are you serious ? You're going to have a lot of people upset, people who would not believe Buffy would do this,” Jeanty says he told Whedon.

But, as Whedon told him, we all have done something in our past, our youth, that was experimental. And, no, Buffy is not going to become a card-carrying Sapphic slayer because of this apparent one-night stand with Satsu.

“Buffy makes it very clear about her feelings and that she is not going to become gay, Jeanty says. “We'll also see Willow [Buffy's best friend and a lesbian] be inquisitive and even a bit jealous.”

Oscar Ramirez, 29, a gay man living in Fort Lauderdale and formerly of Atlanta, started reading comic books when he was 10, but stopped in high school. He decided to pick the hobby back up after Whedon started writing “Astonishing X-Men” in 2004.

The story about Buffy, Ramirez says, had a lot to do with the shock value and to do something different with Buffy.

“You could tell from how the panels were framed with the first panel focusing on them in bed right after sex that you were supposed to say, ‘Wait ! … Hold on ! … Is that ? No … this is a dream … ohmygod, it's not a dream … ohmygod they had sex … And she liked it !”

“I can see how a lot of fans might think this is out of character for Buffy,” he adds. “But she's had sex with a formerly evil vampire in the middle of a packed nightclub. I feel like she's always liked the nooky and is really just having fun.”

Jeanty promises fallout for the Buffy character will play out in future issues, but there is already plenty of backlash from Christian handwringers and hard-core Buffy buffs, acknowledges Season Eight Editor Scott Allie.

“All of Joss' fans were freaking out,” he says.

Allie blames media coverage for some of the furor. The initial negative reaction was based on the New York Times article, he says. “But then people read the comic book and … moved on.”

An ABC News story looked at the story as a way for Dark Horse Comics to make money off a gimmick. “ABC News was looking for a way to stir up shit, provoke reaction,” Allie says.

The majority of protesters were “hardcore Christians” quoting scripture about how it was “hurting” young people reading the Buffy comic, he says. And fan mail has been a “mixed bag,” some saying, “Buffy wouldn't have done this, totally out of character,” Allie admits.

But Buffy hasn't grown up, he says, calling the story “natural and truthful.”

“This has everything to do with the points in their life they're at,” Allie says.

Buffy joins a long line of lesbian and bisexual women in mainstream comics. Batwoman garnered headlines in 2006 when she was came out as a lesbian in the popular DC “52” series.

Andy Mangels, an award-winning comic book anthology editor who runs the website www.andymangels.com, has been in the business as a journalist and comic writer for 14 years. He has written for just about every comic company. In June 1988, he wrote an article titled, “Out of the Closet and Into the Comics.”

“At that time there were no openly gay creators in mainstream comics,” he says. “At the end of the article, I became that.”

Some considered Mangels' article the “Stonewall movement” for gay comics. Since that time, homophobia has been frowned upon in most comics.

“In any other form of medium — like ‘Will & Grace,' ‘Ellen,' ‘Queer Eye' — gays are all over TV and film. But in the comic world, they are still relegated to minor supporting roles,” Mangels says. “Or used as titillating female hot lipstick lesbians to turn on heterosexual fans and bring in sales.”

So was Buffy just being titillating to bring in new fans ?

“No,” Mangels answers. “[The comic] is following the template of the TV series. [The TV show] explored all characters' sexuality. Many questioned their sexuality, experimented.”

Still, lesbians in comics are much more visible sexually than gay men, Mangels says.

“Gay male characters exist as political statements, a victim, or sexless. There are the rare exceptions,” he says. “Lesbians are allowed to be sexy, ultraconfident, emasculating or be in a relationship.”

And, yes, there are transgender characters, but often they are tokens and exist to make a statement, according to Mangels. Rarely intrinsic to the story, trans characters “are an unusual addition to the storyline,” he says.

Allie, the Dark Horse editor, says comics like his exist on the fringe, which allows a certain freedom.

“We can do what you can't do with Superman or Wonder Woman,” he says. “They gotta sell lunchboxes.”

Ramirez says he wishes for more sexual gay male characters. He remembers picking up comics again after learning Marvel Comics made Northstar, a member of Alpha Flight, gay.

“The first thing I thought of was, ‘Oh, that's great' and then ‘I don't think they could have picked a bigger douche,'” he says.

The comic industry has experimented with gay characters but there still is no popular gay character that you can expect to see every month, Ramirez says.

“I feel that the inclusion of the gay characters lately has been more about publicity with some exceptions. So this means — the lesbians are everywhere !” Ramirez says. “I do feel however that in many cases the lesbian relationships are oversexualized as if the publisher is saying ‘It's OK, girl-on-girl sex is hot ! Look at them touch each other naked !'”

And, this, frankly, leads many gay male comic fans unsatisfied.

“Where's my naked guy with only a tiny puff of smoke covering his naughty bits ?” Ramirez asks.

Marvel's Young Avengers series had a teenage gay couple, Wiccan and Hulkling, and the duo had a whole issue devoted to them coming out as superheroes but getting confused that they were being outed as a couple, Ramirez says.

“It was very cute and very real,” he says. “I literally teared up when they held each other.”

Joe Palmer, who runs the website gayleague.com, admits being a bit shocked by Buffy in bed with another woman, but he's interested to see how the experience impacts the character.

“The awkwardness Buffy experiences seems very natural to me, and I trust Whedon to intelligently explore Buffy's sexuality in a way that makes sense for the character,” Palmer says.

Even as recent gay characters are relegated to supporting roles that come and go, Palmer adds that there are a few that received more attention. Apollo and Midnighter (from DC/Wildstorm) are a married couple on their fictional Earth.

Midnighter is the only gay character to date with a continuing series, though how well his sexuality is depicted is arguable, according to Palmer.

But stories of heroes and superheroes hiding their identities resonate deeply with gay fans, he says.

“Comics sparked my imagination and they also became the primary means that stories were conveyed to me,” he says. “I was also beginning to understand I was very different from the other boys at school and church.”

And keeping people informed on their storylines is a passion.

“I didn't want these characters and their stories to be forgotten,” Palmer says. “Despite being pop culture, they're an important reflection on how others have viewed homosexuals and also how we want to see ourselves.”

Rob Beck contributed to this report.

"Dollhouse" Tv Series - New casting rumors !

Webmaster — 2008-03-13T20:45:14Z

Click on the link :
http://www.dollverse.com/index.php/Dollverse-Blogs/49-Casting-process-rumours.html - News / Best News, Tv Series 2008-09-01 : "Dollhouse"

Eliza Dushku is dating Seth MacFarlane

Webmaster — 2008-03-10T22:06:03Z

Unlike many young Hollywood actresses, who flaunt their new relationships in public at any given opportunity, Eliza Dushku has managed to keep her love life private — even her relationship with former beau, baseball player Brad Penny, was something she rarely commented on.

Now OK ! has learned that the 27-year-old beauty, most famous for her role as Faith on the hit TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has recently started dating Seth MacFarlane, the oddball genius behind two animated Fox hits, Family Guy and American Dad.

"They met through mutual friends," a source close to the new couple tells OK !. "They're enjoying each other's company so far. He makes her laugh a lot and she really enjoys good laughs and good conversation."