If SMG was NOT out of town during the wrap party, then her not showing would actually move me away from believing she is outright primadonna scum (what a great, all encompassing descriptor).

True primadonna scum would have shown up, hogged the spotlight and made everyone else miserable. I respect cranky people who keep it to themselves.

Primadonna may be the wrong word then, as what I'm referencing wasn't so much a case of attention seeking as being outraged at the presence of a worthless peon. But the story pings me as being so perfectly designed to make everyone have a "What a BITCH!" reaction that I'm suspicious, and it didn't come from someone whose honesty I have a personal feel for.

She pings me as a person who doesn't like socializing within her industry, for whom acting what she does, not who she is. (In other words, she doesn't seem to be uber-passionate about the craft and whatnot.) No judgement on her for that, but that would inform her actions w/r/t things like wrap parties, especially for a show she was more than ready to walk away from. However, this is an opinon completely formed from my derriere.

I wish I had julianna's derriere, but I have the same opinion. I bet she feels about wrap parties like I feel about my office Christmas party.

being outraged at the presence of a worthless peon

Nope, that definitely qualifies as prima-behavior. The very definition of it. And really sad. When people are so insecure, or so 'privileged' as to be able to waste energy being offended by the existence of others? issues t /Clem

I bet she feels about wrap parties like I feel about my office Christmas party.

Exactly. Gods know there's been more than one closing-night party that I really haven't wanted to go to because I knew everyone would be all sad and weepy about the show closing while I was so very over the show and looking forward to/working on my next project. I can only imagine what it would be like after a 7-year run.

I bet she feels about wrap parties like I feel about my office Christmas party.

That's exactly the comparison I thought of, Sophia. You couldn't drag me to those things.

My Kremlinology on SMG suggests the following: She's very private and values her privacy; she can be a bit cool and standoffish; She's not cold and bitchy though; She has formed some close friendships with fellow cast members, particularly with AH early on (then there seems to have been some kind of falling out), and with MT later; She's still friends with Seth because he's had her on Robot Chicken several times; She's very professional on the set and took her responsibility as the star very seriously; That this was in part a reaction to dealing with Susan Lucci's more insanely abusive divas gestures; DB, Charisma and Marc Blucas all specifically noted how generous she was in teaching them the craft of TV acting which was new to them; that there was a breech between her and Joss towards the end of the run; that she pissed off DB by not appearing in Angel when he'd specifically come back for BtVS; that except for MT she was pretty cool with the rest of the cast in the last couple seasons; but that she also had a bit of a renewal in her relationship with Nick towards the end and advocated having larger roles for him (at a time when the writing staff felt like his drinking was an issue and they were reluctant to give Xander a big arc).

Those are the bits I remember. Also, having watched the outtakes (at least from the early seasons), you see that she's very focused but definitely has fun on the set with her co-actors. You appreciate the full implications of her professionalism as a positive, instead of seeing it as a coded word for "kinda cold."

I liked Dad and Provider and Angel being a dad. So there.

Maybe the Angel being a dad choice (which I thought strange but was okay with) was something that the writer(s) needed to say. Buffy was all about adolescence from the adolescent's perspective. Yes, we get Joyce and Giles but only glimpses of how they feel. The Connor thing let us see adolescence from a parent's perspective. You have this sweet darling baby that you love madly and to whom you are all the world, and then WHAM! one day you have this pubescent monster that you barely recognize and who resents you. You love him just as much as you ever did, but you can't connect with him. It's a way over the top metaphor, of course, but there's some truth to it. By the way, I can't say much about favorite episodes, but one of my favorite moments is Angel shouting, "I love you" even as Connor is sealing him in his watery tomb. Melodramatic? Yes, but authentic. That's what parents do and DB was great.