Amber Benson may be best known for playing Tara on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but she has spent her post-Whedon years writing comics, novels and scripts. Benson's latest project is a trilogy of urban fantasy stories. The first, Death's Daughter (Ace, $7.99), is in stores now.
The story follows Calliope Reaper-Jones, a girl who is literally the daughter of Death (aka the CEO of Death, Inc.). When Calliope's father and sister are kidnapped, she must rescue them and maintain control of the family business.
The books seem like a good pick for folks who were into Dead Like Me and other bits of dark humor. Below I've included an excerpt from the first chapter, and you should check out this interview to learn more.
Benson is also working on a children's book, which will be published later this year. A film she co-directed, Drones, is slated for a 2009 release as well.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
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Monday, May 4, 2009
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Bogie Awards 2009 results
Without the Fugly Awards around, the Sydney Morning Herald’s today published the ‘winners’ of columnist David Dale’s annual Bogie Awards.
While 226 responses isn’t a a scientific result, they nonetheless show a bit love for Dexter, Scrubs and The Chaser.
Not faring too well were Richard Wilkins, David Koch, Ajay Rochester, Two and a Half Men, Today Tonight and Kyle Sandilands.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
While 226 responses isn’t a a scientific result, they nonetheless show a bit love for Dexter, Scrubs and The Chaser.
Not faring too well were Richard Wilkins, David Koch, Ajay Rochester, Two and a Half Men, Today Tonight and Kyle Sandilands.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
Volition Staffers Top 5 Best and Worst TV Picks; Did We Miss Any?
TOP 5 TV PICKS … WHAT ARE YOURS?
Michael Stayner (Volition staffer) Picks:
1. Band of Brothers
2. Entourage
3. The Simpsons (seasons 1-13)
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (original cartoon)
5. Nature series on KBYU
Honorable Mention: Rob and Big
Chad Phillips (Volition editor) Picks:
1. Mad Men
2. Big Love
3. Breaking Bad
4. 30 Rock
5. True Blood
Honorable Mentions: Dexter, Flight of the Conchords, Freaks and Geeks, Golden Girls, Mighty Max (cartoon), Veronica Mars, and Solitary (greatest reality show ever).
Read the Rest of this entry to view the what made our worst TV shows!
Top Five Worst TV shows:
Stayner Picks:
Stayners all time least favorite show
1. Mash (miserable music makes me sick)
2. Tyler Perry’s any crappy show he puts out
3. Real World (if it was titled, Most Worthless People Ever Under One Roof, it would rock)
4. Life With Ryan. (just bugs me that kid turns out to be such a pantie waste)
5. TRL I hated that shit
Honorable Mentions: All other MTV shows!
Phillips' least favorite pick ... to quote a friends father when describing the movie "Twilight" it is "purely awful."
Phillips Picks:
1. Leverage (TNT series)
2. Tyler Perry anything and everything!
3. VH1 celebrity date shows (Bret Michaels, Flavor Flave, list goes on and on!)
4. TMZ (paparazzi television … Bo-oring!)
5. Reality Talent shows (American Idol, Americas Got Talent, Last comic standing, etc.)
Honorable Mention: Soccer games, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Jay Leno’s Tonight show.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
Michael Stayner (Volition staffer) Picks:
1. Band of Brothers
2. Entourage
3. The Simpsons (seasons 1-13)
4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (original cartoon)
5. Nature series on KBYU
Honorable Mention: Rob and Big
Chad Phillips (Volition editor) Picks:
1. Mad Men
2. Big Love
3. Breaking Bad
4. 30 Rock
5. True Blood
Honorable Mentions: Dexter, Flight of the Conchords, Freaks and Geeks, Golden Girls, Mighty Max (cartoon), Veronica Mars, and Solitary (greatest reality show ever).
Read the Rest of this entry to view the what made our worst TV shows!
Top Five Worst TV shows:
Stayner Picks:
Stayners all time least favorite show
1. Mash (miserable music makes me sick)
2. Tyler Perry’s any crappy show he puts out
3. Real World (if it was titled, Most Worthless People Ever Under One Roof, it would rock)
4. Life With Ryan. (just bugs me that kid turns out to be such a pantie waste)
5. TRL I hated that shit
Honorable Mentions: All other MTV shows!
Phillips' least favorite pick ... to quote a friends father when describing the movie "Twilight" it is "purely awful."
Phillips Picks:
1. Leverage (TNT series)
2. Tyler Perry anything and everything!
3. VH1 celebrity date shows (Bret Michaels, Flavor Flave, list goes on and on!)
4. TMZ (paparazzi television … Bo-oring!)
5. Reality Talent shows (American Idol, Americas Got Talent, Last comic standing, etc.)
Honorable Mention: Soccer games, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Jay Leno’s Tonight show.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
Changing Sides
Anya - Buffy The Vampire Slayer
The demon Anya made her first appearance in Buffy's third season and granted grumpy Cordelia her wish that Buffy had never set foot in Sunnydale. Subsequently, history was rewritten and the town was overrun by evil spewed out from the Hellmouth. Beloved characters like Xander and Buffy were killed but Giles managed to reverse the spell.
Before long, Anya returned to Sunnydale a reformed character and developed human feelings plus a massive crush on goofball Xander - yet still had an endearing absence of tact. Despite her evil origins, she became a popular member of the Scooby Gang.
Brad Bellick - Prison Break
The self-loathing slob operated on both sides of the law before his unfortunate water-related demise earlier this season in a final act of redemption. Bellick first came to prominence as the bullying Captain of Fox River Prison, serving as the antagonist to the heroic Scofield and even acting as a bounty hunter once his enemy escaped.
However, he was dumped in Sona Prison alongside the fugitives once T-Bag framed him for a murder and before sacrificing his life to help their cause, he slowly struck up an unlikely friendship with the inmates he once took such pride in taunting.
Zachary Smith - Lost In Space
The cunning and cowardly Smith didn’t care much about the benevolent Robinson family and ensured his own survival at all costs, whether that meant hijacking the ship at gunpoint or offering Will Robinson's brain to aliens. Egocentric with no just cause, Smith was utterly amoral when it came to making sure his own basic needs and safety were assured.
Yet he began to display a more human, empathic side as the show continued. From his genuine tears on inadvertently turning the youngest Robinson daughter, Penny, into platinum, to his efforts to save eldest daughter Judy from a tragic death, his ambiguous “not all bad” character traits brought an intriguing depth to the show.
The demon Anya made her first appearance in Buffy's third season and granted grumpy Cordelia her wish that Buffy had never set foot in Sunnydale. Subsequently, history was rewritten and the town was overrun by evil spewed out from the Hellmouth. Beloved characters like Xander and Buffy were killed but Giles managed to reverse the spell.
Before long, Anya returned to Sunnydale a reformed character and developed human feelings plus a massive crush on goofball Xander - yet still had an endearing absence of tact. Despite her evil origins, she became a popular member of the Scooby Gang.
Brad Bellick - Prison Break
The self-loathing slob operated on both sides of the law before his unfortunate water-related demise earlier this season in a final act of redemption. Bellick first came to prominence as the bullying Captain of Fox River Prison, serving as the antagonist to the heroic Scofield and even acting as a bounty hunter once his enemy escaped.
However, he was dumped in Sona Prison alongside the fugitives once T-Bag framed him for a murder and before sacrificing his life to help their cause, he slowly struck up an unlikely friendship with the inmates he once took such pride in taunting.
Zachary Smith - Lost In Space
The cunning and cowardly Smith didn’t care much about the benevolent Robinson family and ensured his own survival at all costs, whether that meant hijacking the ship at gunpoint or offering Will Robinson's brain to aliens. Egocentric with no just cause, Smith was utterly amoral when it came to making sure his own basic needs and safety were assured.
Yet he began to display a more human, empathic side as the show continued. From his genuine tears on inadvertently turning the youngest Robinson daughter, Penny, into platinum, to his efforts to save eldest daughter Judy from a tragic death, his ambiguous “not all bad” character traits brought an intriguing depth to the show.
Recommended: Wolves at the Gate (Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8, Volume 3)
Wolves at the Gate is actually the third “Season Eight” tale (the show concluded after seven seasons, but the story continues!); the first arc was written by Buffy creator Joss Whedon, number two focused on Faith and was written by my old pal Brian K. Vaughan, and Wolves at the Gate comes to us from Lost / Alias / Cloverfield / Angel / and of course Buffy writer Drew Goddard.
As I said in the podcast, Wolves at the Gate is one of the ten best graphic novels I have ever read. No, you don’t need to know very much about Buffy’s universe to enjoy this story. All you really need to know is that there is a super powered girl named Buffy who, you know, slays vampires and that she is currently training a stack of other super powered girls to fight the good fight.
The other major character in this story is Dracula, the vampire of legend, who opposed Buffy at one point on her television program but fights on the side of the slayers in Wolves at the Gate thanks to his friendship with Buffy’s lieutenant Xander.
Dracula is scary and capable… and hilariously racist in this volume.
I think that one of the things that I really liked about Wolves at the Gate is how successfully Drew Goddard maintained the witty banter of the television Buffy in his storytelling.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
As I said in the podcast, Wolves at the Gate is one of the ten best graphic novels I have ever read. No, you don’t need to know very much about Buffy’s universe to enjoy this story. All you really need to know is that there is a super powered girl named Buffy who, you know, slays vampires and that she is currently training a stack of other super powered girls to fight the good fight.
The other major character in this story is Dracula, the vampire of legend, who opposed Buffy at one point on her television program but fights on the side of the slayers in Wolves at the Gate thanks to his friendship with Buffy’s lieutenant Xander.
Dracula is scary and capable… and hilariously racist in this volume.
I think that one of the things that I really liked about Wolves at the Gate is how successfully Drew Goddard maintained the witty banter of the television Buffy in his storytelling.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
What TV show did you start watching late in the game?
I've read a couple of recent posts on TV Squad from a woman named Jane Boursaw about her experiences having just finished watching "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" for the first time. Almost six years since "Buffy" went off the air and 12 since it premiered, she sat down and watched all seven seasons on DVD. It's not that surprising that she hadn't watched much of "Buffy" before then -- there are obviously millions of people who have never seen an episode -- but that she took the time to watch all seven seasons at this point. This made me think about TV shows that people started watching either years after they went off the air, or after they've already been on the air for several seasons.
What makes you decide to watch now? And if those shows were cult favorites, did they live up to the hype? For example, I have never seen an episode of the recent "Battlestar Gallactica" series. The show's seasons are in my Netflix queue and I fully intend to watch, but just haven't yet. At this point, it probably just makes sense to wait until the final season is out on DVD; unfortunately, I found out the identity of the fifth Cylon. I also didn't watch "Jericho" or "Dead Like Me" until they were off the air, and I really enjoyed both.
So what shows did you just discover? I wonder if there's anyone who thought, 'Huh, that 'ER' show is going off the air after 15 years, I wonder what that's all about?" OK, that's probably a pretty extreme example, but I still remember being shocked when a co-worker told me he'd never seen more than a minute of a single episode of "Friends." I would have been more surprised if he'd told me he was a huge fan of "Friend," but it's one of the shows that you can't walk without tripping over, so I don't know how he managed not to catch even 10 minutes of it. I have friends who have never seen "House" or "Lost" and going back to "Buffy," one friend whose "Buffy" experience is forever frozen at the end of Season 5 when the reruns she was watching stopped going in order and went back to the earlier seasons.
There is a dangerous amount of TV on the air right now, and an endless amount of ways to catch up on older shows or early seasons of shows, so missing out on a lot of shows isn't a surprise. It just comes down to, how did you decide which show to finally watch? Were any of the major plot points ruined for you or did you manage to avoid having it spoiled? And was the experience different watching it after most people were already done?
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
What makes you decide to watch now? And if those shows were cult favorites, did they live up to the hype? For example, I have never seen an episode of the recent "Battlestar Gallactica" series. The show's seasons are in my Netflix queue and I fully intend to watch, but just haven't yet. At this point, it probably just makes sense to wait until the final season is out on DVD; unfortunately, I found out the identity of the fifth Cylon. I also didn't watch "Jericho" or "Dead Like Me" until they were off the air, and I really enjoyed both.
So what shows did you just discover? I wonder if there's anyone who thought, 'Huh, that 'ER' show is going off the air after 15 years, I wonder what that's all about?" OK, that's probably a pretty extreme example, but I still remember being shocked when a co-worker told me he'd never seen more than a minute of a single episode of "Friends." I would have been more surprised if he'd told me he was a huge fan of "Friend," but it's one of the shows that you can't walk without tripping over, so I don't know how he managed not to catch even 10 minutes of it. I have friends who have never seen "House" or "Lost" and going back to "Buffy," one friend whose "Buffy" experience is forever frozen at the end of Season 5 when the reruns she was watching stopped going in order and went back to the earlier seasons.
There is a dangerous amount of TV on the air right now, and an endless amount of ways to catch up on older shows or early seasons of shows, so missing out on a lot of shows isn't a surprise. It just comes down to, how did you decide which show to finally watch? Were any of the major plot points ruined for you or did you manage to avoid having it spoiled? And was the experience different watching it after most people were already done?
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
The Popdose Interview: Amber Benson
First things first: Buffy the Vampire Slayer — the movie with Luke Perry and Kristy Swanson — had its moments, but ultimately sucked. When Buffy the Vampire Slayer made its debut as a TV series in 1997, it was the best thing to happen to TV until, well, Ronald Moore and David Eick’s “reimagined” version of Battlestar Galactica in 2003. It’s not hard to see why. Both series took stock fantasy/sci-fi narratives (i.e., vampires wreaking havoc on a community or humans trying to escape a relentless robotic enemy in space) and turned them on their heads to spotlight characters and stories where identity, morality, sexuality, gender, race and class were in flux. In the case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the growth of the main characters was often spurred by the introduction of someone new. For the bookish Willow Rosenberg (as played by Alyson Hannigan), her character really started getting interesting when Joss Whedon — the show’s creator — paired her with Tara Maclay (Amber Benson), who, at first, was just a member of a Wicca group that Willow joined in college. Later, it becomes clear that Willow and Tara were pretty much soulmates and the two become a couple until Tara’s death by a stray bullet.
While the character Benson played on Buffy was mostly relegated to walk-ons in future episodes after her untimely death, Amber Benson went on to direct films, create an animated drama for the BBC, co-authored two novels, and now flies solo as the author of a new novel, Death’s Daughter.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
While the character Benson played on Buffy was mostly relegated to walk-ons in future episodes after her untimely death, Amber Benson went on to direct films, create an animated drama for the BBC, co-authored two novels, and now flies solo as the author of a new novel, Death’s Daughter.
Buffy 1-7 dvd box set
Two and a half men 1-5 dvd box set
www.dvdsetcollection.com
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