Buh-Bye, Buffy?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's creator is about to drive a stake through the hearts of the show's diehard fans: According to Joss Whedon, the Chosen One and her trusty gang of Scoobies will likely call it a doomsday in May. "I'm beginning to suspect that it may be [Buffy's] last season," he tells TV Guide Online. "Nothing's official, but it's starting to feel possible. The way people are talking, there's a finality to it."

Might the folks with whom Whedon's been conferring work at A.C. Nielsen? Compared to this time last year, Buffy's ratings are off an alarming 16 percent. In fact, last week more viewers watched Buffy's bloody brilliant spinoff Angel than the mother show itself. "It had a really good seven-year run and it's time to call it quits," implores Mediaweek columnist Marc Berman. "Leave with some dignity."

For his part, Whedon insists his gut instinct is not numbers-driven. "I never check Buffy's ratings," he says. "It doesn't really affect me. It may affect the network." Responds a UPN spokeswoman: "Buffy is an extremely important franchise to UPN. There are a lot of options, whether it be bringing the show back, bringing it back in a different form, possibly doing a spinoff... But really, it's just way too soon to say what's going to happen. We just started our conversations with the producers and the studio." (The rep also points out that ratings for last season's Buffy premiere were inflated because of the show's much-hyped move from the WB to UPN, thus a year-to-year comparison is unfair.)

Another factor that may be influencing Whedon's vibe: Sarah Michelle Gellar's contract expires in May, and the Scooby-Doo star has thus far expressed ambivalence about slaying on. "Everything is one day at a time," she told TV Guide Online last May. "That [decision] is about everyone sitting down and [evaluating whether] there's story to tell and if I think it'll be, you know... interesting." Fast forwarding to present day, Whedon says Gellar remains undecided. "She hasn't told me one way or another, but I know she has movies she wants to do. She has been doing [Buffy] for seven years, so if she did decide that this was her last year, it's certainly a decision I'd respect."

Whether or not Whedon's vampire saga bites the dust, the workaholic says this season's plots will not be impacted. "It doesn't really make a difference to me creatively, because I build every season to be self-contained," he explains. "I do think where we're heading this year is kind of monumental. It's going to be a big finish in May, so that if it is the last season, that's great. And if it's not, if Buffy continues or some incarnation of Buffy continues, it will serve that as well. There's always more stories to tell."

In other words, it's probably no small coincidence that Eliza Dushku will reprise her role as Buffy's Slayer nemesis at season's end. Speculation has it that should Gellar opt to hang up her stakes in May, Dushku may be recruited to headline a spinoff. "That possibility exists," confirms Whedon, adding cryptically, "It's one of many."
— Michael Ausiello

Edited: to change the title

I think it's better than going into season 8 and doing a Mulder. They are really pushing Dawn into a bigger role and I don't see it lasting that way. Just make Spike not crazy, get Buffy a good job, let Willow move on, make Anya human again, and tell me if Dawn is still the key.

If they cannot do this, I would like to have a visit from Anthony Head so that he can explain to me in great detail why it will not be possible. And that might be difficult, so send James Marsters along to help.

I have heard from many sources, and articles that everyone but Sarah and Emma (Caulfield) are signed on for a season eight. I don't think it will be as interesting without Sarah, but who knows? She's still not POSITIVE, or so I've read... I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

Just for the record, I'd rather see a spinoff with Faith than Dawn. But still, it wouldn't be as good without Sarah.

From Zap2It.com

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Gellar Will Exit 'Buffy' in May
Tue, Feb 25, 2003 05:39 PM PDT

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Concluding months of Internet speculation, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" star Sarah Michelle Gellar will indeed be hanging up her wooden stakes come May at the conclusion of the show's seventh season.

While Gellar has given Entertainment Weekly an exclusive regarding her departure for its March 7 issue, sources close to the UPN series confirm to Zap2it.com that the actress will not be part of the cast should "Buffy" return in the fall.

Much about the fate of the show remains up in the air. Core cast members Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon have both said they believe it's the final year for the show, but no official word has come down from "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon, UPN or producer 20th Century Fox.

Rumors of a possible spin-off still run rampant, although the most likely candidate -- based on the character of Buffy's fellow slayer Faith -- now seems iffy at best since actress Eliza Dushku (who plays the recurring role on both "Buffy" and "Angel") has signed on for the FOX drama pilot "Heroine" about a young woman who finds that she can go back in time and relive single days.

Gellar's last appearance, and for now, the season finale, of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will air at 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday, May 20.

From Eonline.com

"Buffy" Laid to Rest
Thu Feb 27, 2:45 PM ET Add Entertainment - E! Online to My Yahoo!

By Lia Haberman

The demons of Sunnydale don't have Buffy the Vampire Slayer to kick around anymore.

UPN has officially announced the cancellation of the series, as star Sarah Michelle Gellar leaves to concentrate on her big-screen career.

Earlier this week, it was announced that Gellar was close to signing on to the feature film Romantic Comedy. Production on the lovestruck spoof starts in August, ostensibly when Buffy would start filming on its eighth season. The casting news put a stake through Gellar's return to the UPN series.

Then word leaked of Gellar's come-clean interview in Entertainment Weekly's March 7 issue. "Buffy, in this incarnation, is over," said the actress, whose contract expires at the end of this season.

Finally on Thursday, 20th Century Fox Television and UPN confirmed what insiders already knew, production on the series would end this April after seven seasons and 144 shows.

The series finale will air May 20. While Eliza Dushku and Alyson Hannigan are both making crossover appearance on Angel and Buffy, this season there's no word if the titular lovers seperated by destiny, several hundred years and network rivals will finally reunite for the last episode.

"It's hard to believe it's over," said creator Joss Whedon in a written statement released through UPN Thursday. "Well, it's hard to think at all, or stand, or form vowel sounds, so maybe it's time to take a break. I'm just glad I can say we did our best on every single episode. We didn't always succeed, but we never slacked, and I'm immensely proud of my writers, actors and crew for that.

"And I'm proud of what this show means...I truly believe that in years to come, people will look back and say 'that was a show that was on TV.' Yessir. I truly do," said Whedon, who received an Emmy nomination for the creepy classic episode "Hush."

The eulogies were echoed by execs at 20th Century Fox and UPN. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer (news - Y! TV) will go down in history as one of television's best shows and an enduring testament to the vision and genius of its creator Joss Whedon," said 20th Century Fox Television prez Dana Walden. "For seven years, Joss, his team of writers led by Marti Noxon and an extraordinary cast led by Sarah Michelle Gellar (news) captured the cultural zeitgeist and effortlessly combined drama, action and humor. Without question, Buffy will live on for generations to come."

"We have been very fortunate to be the home to such a landmark series, always brilliantly written and acted," chimed in Dawn Ostroff UPN's entertainment boss. "I'd like to send a special thanks to the remarkably talented actors, producers, writers and crew who worked tirelessly through the years."

Gellar won the role of the Chosen One back in 1997 when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was nothing more than a punchline, based on the box-office bomb starring Kristy Swanson (news) and Luke Perry (news) (how bummed are they not to have signed on for the series?).

Prior to Buffy, Gellar was best known for her sudsy role as Kendall Hart, daughter of scheming Erica Kane (Susan Lucci (news)) on All My Children, for which she won a Daytime Emmy.

Despite its dedicated fan base, Buffy would never win the thespian an Emmy (or even a nomination, though she was nominated for a Best Actress Golden Globe), but during her seven-season tenure Gellar managed to add multiple credits to her résumé. While pulling double duty as wisecracking schoolgirl and vampire slayer, Gellar also moonlighted during her hiatus in movies like Scream 2, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Cruel Intentions, Simply Irresistible and Scooby-Doo.

Gellar's break-neck schedule won't slow down, with the actress slated to begin production on Scooby-Doo Too with husband Freddie Prinze (news) Jr. as soon as Buffy wraps. Warner Bros. is eyeing a summer 2004 release for the sequel with a script already in the works for the third installment of the franchise.

Rumors of Gellar's departure began lurking on the Internet last summer, when news that Buffy's sister Dawn (Michelle Trachtenberg (news)) would have a larger role in the seventh season, prompting speculation that the demon-battling heroine would pass the stake on to her little sis.

Most recently, Dushku's name was put forward as a possible slayer sub for a potential spinoff series. Dushku joined the Scooby gang in the third season as rogue Slayer Faith, but an alliance with the dark side put an end to her time in Sunnydale.

Ultimately, the Hellmouth could go unprotected since a rep for the actress just confirmed she's inked a pilot deal with Fox for an untitled project from writer John Feldman, which would see Dushku as a morgue employee who talks to the dead instead of staking them. The corpses tell Dushku's character how they were murdered and every morning she relives the same day, hoping to set things right.

In addition, Buffy's executive producer Noxon has already been tapped for a new one-hour drama next season, leaving the fate of Sunnydale uncertain.

Still producers maintain the possibility that the slayer mythology lives on. According to the statement from 20th Century Fox and UPN: "Discussions regarding the future of the Buffy franchise and a possible spinoff are ongoing."