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SMG to star in Buffy sequel series from Chloé Zhao

Hulu felt the show "played too young" and focused too much on its new lead? Ugh, even networks are infected by this tiresome assumption that pandering to nostalgia junkies is more important than welcoming in a new generation of fans. Why shouldn't the show play young? The original show was aimed at teenage and college-age viewers.

FreezeC77 said:
Wikipedia and IMDB are just user generated input though... Until you get something official.
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Which is why I said "I'm not sure." In the absence of definitive information, the only rational thing is to assume nothing.
 
Christopher said:
I'm not sure of that. The Wikipedia entry lists Gellar as the first-billed main cast member, and IMDb lists her as second-billed after Ryan Kiera Armstrong. It's hardly unprecedented for a main-cast regular to appear only briefly in the pilot episode.
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Maybe. But it was reported later that her character would only be recurring. Yeah I was not surprised when I read the script that she was at the end of it to reintroduce her. But I'm thinking her character would have been more like Giles and not in every scene or a focus. I don't think she was going to be slaying like she used to.

Still I'm puzzled why they would even call the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.
 
Christopher said:
Hulu felt the show "played too young" and focused too much on its new lead? Ugh, even networks are infected by this tiresome assumption that pandering to nostalgia junkies is more important than welcoming in a new generation of fans. Why shouldn't the show play young? The original show was aimed at teenage and college-age viewers.



Which is why I said "I'm not sure." In the absence of definitive information, the only rational thing is to assume nothing.
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Then the creators of this pilot should not have framed it as BTVS. Why even do that if the show is mainly about a new Slayer with a totally different name??
 
Dar70 said:
Then the creators of this pilot should not have framed it as BTVS. Why even do that if the show is mainly about a new Slayer with a totally different name??
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Name recognition, that's all it comes down to. Would Nova the Vampire Slayer have excited people, would people have even noticed? Who knows but, rightly or wrongly, that's the reason.
 
See, that's why you never name your show (or God forbid, your franchise) after a specific featured character or object. What happens when you want to have a Buffy TV show without Buffy, when Blake (or, anyone, I guess) leaves Blake's Seven, or you're making a Halo video game that's not on a Halo? We wouldn't be having this problem if the show had just been called "Hellmouth High" or something.

Anyway, I read the leaked script (which, I guess, isn't what they actually shot, go figure). It seemed pretty good to me. I thought some of the teen culture was a little excessively stereotyped but, while I wasn't an avid fan of Buffy, I'm aware of it and have seen enough episodes here and there to know the '90s teen characterizations weren't exactly documentary-grade authentic there, either.
 
Christopher said:
The Wikipedia entry lists Gellar as the first-billed main cast member, and IMDb lists her as second-billed after Ryan Kiera Armstrong.
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Wikipedia does not ask you to order cast in credited appearance, that's up to a user.

IMDb (lowercase "b" -- Database) does not have Geller second-billed. You are confused about what you are seeing. There are two things you are seeing. You are looking at the main page which sorts how it wants to, usually from highest amount of credits to lowest, but since there is only a pilot, it sorts how it wants to. The billing order would be on individual episodes, but if you click on the pilot and them click on correct/change cast (if you have an account), you will see NONE of the cast has billing order numbers (in order credited on screen in other words), so IMDb is sorting as it wants to.
 
I'm surprised that people thought this was going to be different. It seemed to me from the start that we'd follow a new slayer with Buffy in some type of mentor support role. Never thought this was going to be a continuation focused on Buffy.

While it all comes down to execution I was intrigued to give it a shot but alas. At least more so than the latest Trek and Marvel offerings which I haven't yet been bored enough to dabble. Maybe one day the pilot will leak online.
 
David cgc said:
See, that's why you never name your show (or God forbid, your franchise) after a specific featured character or object. What happens when you want to have a Buffy TV show without Buffy, when Blake (or, anyone, I guess) leaves Blake's Seven, or you're making a Halo video game that's not on a Halo? We wouldn't be having this problem if the show had just been called "Hellmouth High" or something.

Anyway, I read the leaked script (which, I guess, isn't what they actually shot, go figure). It seemed pretty good to me. I thought some of the teen culture was a little excessively stereotyped but, while I wasn't an avid fan of Buffy, I'm aware of it and have seen enough episodes here and there to know the '90s teen characterizations weren't exactly documentary-grade authentic there, either.
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When Blake leaves you continue to call it Blakes 7 and no one really minds (not to mention some dubious maths being used to even have 7 characters: Zen counts until Orac comes along at which point he ceases to count, until Gan dies at which point he counts again :lol:)
 
Dar70 said:
Still I'm puzzled why they would even call the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer: New Sunnydale.
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Maybe it was a working title, to let potential buyers know that it was a sequel to BTVS. Its final title might have been different.

The whole point of development and pilots is that things are still being tried out to see if they work. A pilot is an audition, a prototype, a trial balloon. Anything can change.


Mr. Adventure said:
I'm surprised that people thought this was going to be different. It seemed to me from the start that we'd follow a new slayer with Buffy in some type of mentor support role. Never thought this was going to be a continuation focused on Buffy.
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Yeah. I mean, it seems obvious to me that a next-generation Slayer series would focus on a new Slayer and her friends, with any returning characters just being there to support them.

And personally, I was more excited by the prospect of seeing Star Wars: Skeleton Crew's breakout actress Ryan Kiera Armstrong as a Slayer than I was by the prospect of seeing a middle-aged Buffy Summers. As long as it didn't keep her too busy to do a second season of Skeleton Crew, which is very much on my wish list.
 
David cgc said:
See, that's why you never name your show (or God forbid, your franchise) after a specific featured character or object. What happens when you want to have a Buffy TV show without Buffy, when Blake (or, anyone, I guess) leaves Blake's Seven, or you're making a Halo video game that's not on a Halo? We wouldn't be having this problem if the show had just been called "Hellmouth High" or something.
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I think if "Picard" had not been named "Picard" the show might have had some more life in it but Patrick Stewart is getting much too old to do a 5 or 7 season series again so they had to end it.

To continue your idea. Imagine if Jerry Seinfeld left the show due to pay disputes.

Best recent example is Rosanne Barr quiting/leaving her show and them renaming it "The Connors"
 
I never thought the new series would be on Buffy herself. We saw how the original series ended. We unfortunately saw what Joss wanted to do via the then canon season eight and plus comics. to me it was always obvious what would happen, but this pilot wanted to go back in time and relive the original series beginnings.

What is obvious to me:

Buffy is the final Slayer to have formal training (with some assistance from the now defunct Watcher's Council) and a formally trained Watcher. She fought The First, Ubervamps, and more -- she is now the defacto "Watcher" and has the skills and knowledge to train and lead Slayers worldwide, which is what should have been happening. Some come to them (online rumors and so forth), others they have to find. Buffy is not the lead of the show, but she's as much a lead (if not more so) than Giles was in the original cast.
 
Samurai8472 said:
I think if "Picard" had not been named "Picard" the show might have had some more life in it but Patrick Stewart is getting much too old to do a 5 or 7 season series again so they had to end it.
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I don't think it was originally intended to be more than a one-season limited series, though of course the option to continue it would have always been there. As it turned out, I consider it to be three separate limited series that have little to do with each other.
 
Christopher said:
Hulu felt the show "played too young" and focused too much on its new lead?
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Hollywood is at a crossroads where they have zero idea what they want or who they want to target as an audience.
They want every show to cater to everyone in [/i]every way[/i].
Sometimes they do succeed, most times they fail miserably.
Christopher said:
Ugh, even networks are infected by this tiresome assumption that pandering to nostalgia junkies is more important than welcoming in a new generation of fans.
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Yup, perfect assumption. After risking everything chasing "streaming" they are now risk averse to anything new or fresh.

Christopher said:
Why shouldn't the show play young? The original show was aimed at teenage and college-age viewers.
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I think partly because they know anyone under 25 are hooked on their primary screens which are their smartphones.
Matt Damon discussed about it.

But my argument is that younger viewers are getting better entertainment through live streams of their fav streamers, if Hollywood gives them a good entertaining show they'll put the phone down.
 
Samurai8472 said:
To continue your idea. Imagine if Jerry Seinfeld left the show due to pay disputes.
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Back in the day I used to watch Valerie. Then Valerie Harper left because of money and it became Valerie's Family. Then later later it became The Hogans.
 
Tosk said:
Back in the day I used to watch Valerie. Then Valerie Harper left because of money and it became Valerie's Family. Then later later it became The Hogans.
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Rather, it was Valerie in seasons 1-2, then Valerie's Family: The Hogans in season 3, and finally The Hogan Family in seasons 4-6.
 
Tosk said:
Considering I was going off of childhood memories, that's pretty close. ;)
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I'm sure there's a drunk out there willing to argue that Sandy Duncan took over for Valerie Harper half way through the run of Mary Tyler-Moore. :D

You're doing good.
 
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