WARNING!!
This article contains spoilers for viewers not yet up to Episode 13 of season 2!
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Writer/Co-Executive
Producer, Tim Minear
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For those in the know, you can not think of Mere Smith without thinking of her mentor and co-conspirator, producer/writer Tim Minear. Their friendship began back when Mere was the assistant to the co-executive producer on the short-lived Sci-fi series Strange World. "[Tim] was there and of course he and I took to each other immediately, simply because we kept insulting each other and that seems to be the social currency between us. It was fun because here was this guy who was obviously a couple steps up on me but he was treating me like an equal and it was kind of cool. I also knew after I had read his first episode for Strange World, which was called 'Lullaby,' I went, 'Oh my God, can this guy write!' Then I read his X-Files spec that he had and I thought, 'Here's somebody I can learn from'. After that, poor Tim, I handed him just the most awful, crappy pieces of feces for scripts and he would read them and he would critique them and give me notes. I learned so much from him. I still learn so much from him." Then, as all well-planned twists of fate occur, it just so happened that they came to Angel at the same time. Mere explains, "I had gotten the job offer to be the script coordinator for Angel the first season and then it turned out that he was gonna come write for it so I was like, 'Great! My teacher, he's gonna be here.'" And Tim always has nothing but great things to say about you. "He's so fantastic, I so wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him. The thing that just pisses me off to no end is he's so smart! (laugh) He's one of those guys who can beat out a story even when there's nothing there. He gets it."
"And [Karen Sheperd] kicks so much ass! I'm way into the ass kickage."
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He's very quick. "Yes, he is, extremely fast. It's very disheartening. At last tally he had something like over 50 aired episodes of TV. And here I am squeaking through my second and a half one.
"All through the first season of Angel I was still writing specs. I wrote a Sex in the City spec, I wrote a Sopranos spec. I was writing all these things and Tim would always look at them, he would always give me notes and of course they were always great, which was annoying after a while and it just sort of built from there. It was a friendship, quasi-teacher/student, – it was just a very strange relationship that goes on to this day," she admits laughing. It's a Zen thing. "Yeah, it's a very Zen relationship, Tim is fantastic. He's just the most talented writer aside from Joss. He and Joss are just brilliant and like I said it's great to learn from the best. But sometimes it's so disheartening because you read their scripts and it's just like, 'I am never gonna be able to do that'. And at the same time it pushes you harder, you've got to come up to par, you've got to compete with the big boys now. In a way his work has really pushed me to improve my own work and I hope I don't disappoint him or Joss." It's true, you put yourself up against any tougher challenge and it will always force you to strive better. "Yeah, totally! I mean, I can kick a four-year-olds ass, but if it was a 20-year-old black belt student, that'd be a little tougher." Laughing she just wanted to clarify, "I don't generally go around kicking four year-old's ass, I'd just like to point that out. Not normally," she finished laughing again. "Doug Petrie has made it his one-man mission to improve my self-esteem!
Jet Li kickin' it
in Black Mask
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I kick box and do Martial Arts. I'm wicked into the Kung-Fu movies! It's so sad, I've got Jet Li, Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan all over my office." I discovered Eliza Dushku's [Faith] stunt double, Karen Sheperd can hold her own with those boys, too. "And she kicks so much ass! I'm way into the ass kickage." Did you see Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon? "I've got a bumper sticker and postcard and everything up on my door. I'm just like the biggest nerd!" she states with a laugh.
The benefits of working in the Whedon-realm are the fun little perks that come along with the job as well as the admiration most behind-the-camera talents don't typically receive. In a recent issue of the Official Buffy the Vampire Slayer Magazine, generated from their fan club, Mere penned a faux-interview of Angel's ghostly character, Phantom Dennis, with Associate Editor Matt Springer. "Yeah, I wrote that one. I actually put in a shout out to one of the Bronze posters named deadguy. They asked Dennis, 'What's your online screen name?' I'm racking my brains and the only thing I can come up with is deadguy and that's already a person, 'Oh you know what, I can use it as a shout out', yeah! (laugh) So unoriginal." What is unique from a viewer's perspective is that the Buffy and Angel fan-base know exactly who the writers, directors and producers of the show are but are also eager to give them as much praise as the actors. "I think this is one of the only shows that has that kind of following, people who actually pay attention to the writers."
C.J. Cregg [Allison Janny]
of The West Wing
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She acknowledges, "It's so rare that that ever happens. Writers are generally the people that get passed over for the actors. You get the one-man behemoth's like David E. Kelly [The Practice, Ally McBeal] and Aaron Sorkin [The West Wing] who get a lot of attention because they write every damn episode. I need to be C.J. Cregg! I need to be her! I'm telling you she is so cool! And Allison Janney is like the best actress ever, she's so fabulous. But this is one of the only shows, this and I feel like probably The Sopranos, where the writers are known."
One thing that makes Mere so popular with the fans is the fact that she used to be, and still is, one of them. Before obtaining her dream job she could be found, as many a Buffy fan, posting messages in The Bronze, the infamous Internet posting board where fans gather to dish and discuss all aspects of the show at the Official Web Site, www.Buffy.com. She has a lot of fun chatting with fans and friends there and she's the definition of 'You can take the girl out of The Bronze, but you can't take The Bronze out of the girl!' "Oh absolutely, totally," she admits. "I actually read the board more often than I post because now that some of the people on the board know that I write for the show I sort of get swamped by questions and I always feel really bad if I can't answer all the questions. But when I do get to post I try and make sure I talk to everybody because I remember posting back when I was in Brooklyn.
Hanging at the PBP2001 with
J. August, Christian Kane
and Leonard Roberts
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I remember the first time Joss came on, I just about dropped my computer. I would just be wracking my brains trying to think of some way to get him to notice me because I just respected him so much and just wanted him to know how much his show meant to me. I remember doing that and I don't want to put that kind of pressure on anybody else on the board, not that I'm that interesting to talk to. But some people get all tense and nervous, 'Oh a VIP is here!' and I feel like saying,'You guys, I'm still the same person I was two years ago in Brooklyn', I'm just better paid now!" she laughs. Opportunities also include attending the Annual Posting Board Party in Los Angeles where she gets to meet some of her fans. She proudly boasts that she has attended all three previous parties and went to this years as well. "I really enjoy it, I enjoy meeting the posters and actually I enjoy meeting some of the VIP's too."
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