Hi Helen!

Does anyone have a wank for why Willow couldn't just cast the spell before they went into the pit?

Less dramatic?

IIRC, there was some kind of statement that Anya and Andrew were set to guard a place which they didn't expect trouble at.

They put the two most experienced (and least damaged) fighters (Giles and Wood) at what they considered the most crucial and vulnerable spot.

Does anyone have a wank for why Willow couldn't just cast the spell before they went into the pit?

The first UV knew to go for Buffy, and various stripes of demons have been shown to recognize or detect her presence. I'd say they wanted to make sure they were in place to block the UV's from getting loose on the town before they did anything to rouse them.

Spoiler question...

I'm reading the NAFDA Angel thread, and there are certain casting spoilers for Season 5 that are no longer considered to be spoily in that context. Does that go for this thread as well?

EDIT... Never mind, I just read the Press announcement: "within their respective show threads only".

"A wrap party was held in Los Angeles on 18 April ... Buffy cast-members past and present attended the party, but star Sarah Michelle Gellar was absent. Husband Freddie Prinze Jr states, 'A lot of people owe Sarah a lot for doing that show, and she doesn't always get the credit she deserves. She deals with a lot of nonsense, and instead of that nonsense she should be thanked -- and she's not. That's the reason she won't be coming back.' Gellar and Prinze are currently shooting Scooby 2."

Dreamwatch, July 2003, #106.

IJTIOT

'A lot of people owe Sarah a lot for doing that show, and she doesn't always get the credit she deserves. She deals with a lot of nonsense, and instead of that nonsense she should be thanked -- and she's not. That's the reason she won't be coming back.'

Wow. Way to make your wife look like a jerk, Mr Junior. Or way to make yourself look like a jerk, Mrs Junior. Either way, the girl got the lion's share of the publicity for the show over seven years. She did some good, and some excellent work on it, fair play to her, but it's not like everyone else was having to be carried along by her tour de force performance in each episode. The core cast does not suck. And, frankly, even if the core cast did suck, slating them for it isn't particularly smart.

I like calling them Mr. & Mrs. Junior.

I wonder if he wasn't responding to some of the anti-SMG stuff that's out - - the SMG-unlove the surfaces now and then.

I guess one shouldn't even speculate, given only such a wee crumb of information/hearsay -- but the lead failing to attend a wrap party that the rest of the cast went to, if that is indeed what happened, does come across as a big snub to me. Not big with the class. But, as I said, hush my mouth -- not fair to speculate on so little info.

Joss specifically reponded to that comment in the big IGN Film Force article whose link I don't have handy. Not that he says anything particularly striking or inflammatory, but he was definitely familiar with that comment.

a quick search and ....

IGNFF: There was a recent interview that came out with Freddy Prinze, Jr. ...

WHEDON: The thing about the nonsense? He was quoted as saying, "Sarah had to deal with a lot of nonsense," and I was like, "Okay, Fred. I never saw you on set, so I'm not really sure what you're referring to, but bless ya. Bless ya. By the way, I still know what you did last summer, buddy."

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