Behind the Scenes

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The Ultimate Guide to Buffy the Vampire Slayer!

Darryl is obviously concerned for fans who are owed issues or money from when the old magazine ceased publication. So, if any fans are still stuck and maybe not receiving a response, she has suggested that they email Titan and they will forward the details on to the relevant people. Darryl is aware that a lot of people were very upset that this has happened and didn't get the copies they were promised, and assures me that they will do everything they can to ensure those fans receive some sort of compensation. So why did the old magazine go to The Great Publishing House in the sky? Buffy is a huge phenomenon! "It's a long story because the company MVP was bought by Fandom." Darryl confides, "I think they had just grown to a point where they had too much and they couldn't do it all, but I don't really know the history, I don't know how it happened. It just wasn't working for the magazine after the take-over." Titan seems to have all angles covered; the UK fans have had access to a great long-running Buffy magazine for a while now and Darryl can reassure the US fans that they are here to stay "One concern that a lot of people will have is the fact that we are based in the UK," she admits. "Having said that, we have a history of working with Buffy, we also have a history of working in licensed magazines. We know how to get the material, how to get the access. We can get the set reports. We can get access to people behind-the-scenes, to writers, to actors. OK, we might not be able to get Sarah Michelle Gellar... can anybody? I think that people will quickly see that - and this is with absolutely no disrespect to the previous magazine - and we will be featuring a good mixture of material, from behind-the-scenes to interviews with big people, and small people, and the old people that everyone remembers that they liked, and the new guest stars. All that sort of stuff!"

From that point of view, Titan is going in to make this magazine as good as they can. "Of course we are," states Darryl with a smile, "to get the best material, to try and please everybody and that's obviously what the other magazine also wanted to do. I don't think we have any different aim; we want to do the best Buffy magazine we can, but we do have a specific 'Titan Look' I think that's slightly different. We're keeping it in some ways similar to the other magazine, we don't want to distance people by doing something completely different," she's happy to confirm. "We've got some really good designers on board, which looks cool. And I hope that it will be a really, really good magazine! We obviously want it to be what the fans want it to be. So, a lot of fan interaction we're hoping to encourage as much of that as I can. This is for the fans - it's not a 'fanzine', it's a magazine. It's a magazine for the fans, that's what we do. We obviously, don't currently know the Buffy US market as well. They probably want the same things the UK fans want, but we don't know that until they tell us! We've got a US post office box address to encourage letters!" Titan is obviously making every effort to ensure the new magazine is everything a stake-wielding fan could ask for! Just tell 'em what you think! We love our UK mag just as it is, so US fans are in for a treat!

WOULD YOU LIKE ANGEL WITH THAT?

I'm having so much fun that I've actually forgotten what I'm really here for - CityofAngel is an Angel site. We want more on our favourite brooding-vampire-with-a-soul! How can Titan improve on perfection? We'll tell ya - put more Angel in it! Tell us Angel fans how Titan is planning on bringing us all the latest Angel news. Darryl is laughing - it's a Buffy magazine - that's what it says on the cover! "We are perfectly committed to cover Angel. If we dedicated the whole magazine to Angel I think Fox would have a problem!" she laughs. "We want to keep fans of both the shows happy. There is - from the response we get from the readers - there is more of a leaning towards Buffy. But there will be months where we have as much Angel as we have Buffy. Every month, I'm trying to get a main Angel cast interview, we've just featured Amy Acker [Fred] in the first issue; I'm trying to get Alexis Denisof , J. August Richards I'm sure we'll cover, Andy Hallet - everybody loves Andy Hallet! Basically, every issue there will always be something on Angel. And my preference is to have a couple of statements, an actor and behind-the-scenes interview. I'm trying to get David Greenwalt as well at the moment - we should be able to have him in issue three! And in our news we will always cover Angel stuff when it's relevant," she professes. "The magazine's news is very specific to what's going on outside of the show, because we can't be as up-to-date as the US market with the lead times and the licensing agreements we have. We can't really talk about the shows that have just aired; there's no point, everyone's seen them.

"There's something different about [Angel]. It's got depth, it's got underlying themes, things going on in the background."

"But, we'll have stuff about David [Boreanaz], what he's up to outside Angel. There'll always be something, but we can't give you the full magazine on Angel, but we'd like to! Maybe one day, when the horrible day comes when Buffy does actually end." Ok, we'll let them off-the-hook, we'll be happy with the little juicy tidbits and features that they bring to us. But the big question is; is Darryl a fan of Angel? "I love Angel! I don't love Angel as much as Buffy," she admits, "but I do like the series a lot!" Although from her point of view, Buffy has a certain something about it. She confesses with delight that she is a total Buffy addict! She loves it. She loves the whole central idea of them just being kids and going through adolescence - going through the same sorts of things we did as kids (which makes me wonder a bit about the kind of neighbourhood she grew up in! I don't remember demons or vamps from my high school years! Or maybe I wasn't looking.) She loves the use of allegory, of using vampires and other scary things to talk about everyday issues. She loves the characters, she loves the gang. They're great, they're fun, they're "friends-next-door" and she can't help but love them! We agree! "I think Angel has a different 'feel'... I love it. I enjoy the show, love the characters again, but to me, they're not your friends, they're not that sort of 'group'. It's a bit more The Glam, L.A. feel. I do like it; I enjoy it, its funny. It's not as funny as Buffy. It's darker. I think it's getting better, it's growing a lot more," she explains. "I think everyone always says, 'It's just a Buffy spin-off' and it often felt like a Buffy spin-off. And now it's not, now it's feeling like a different show, and because it's feeling like a different show, I think we all tend to talk about it in a different way and have totally different ideas about it. It's different, very different. It's somehow more 'grown up' and darker. And scarier!"

So what does Darryl think makes the show so appealing to us Angel fans? "David Boreanaz - that helps!" Ooo! I couldn't agree more. Joking aside (we were joking?), she goes on, "I think it has good, solid story lines. I think it's got some good story arcs - and that's one thing I like about both shows, they're not your 'stand alone sci-fi fantasy show' episodes. They do have ongoing themes, ongoing problems, things lurking just around the corner that you know is going to have to come back next episode..." Is Wes going to get a girlfriend? "That kind of thing. Poor Wesley! And what about his hair! I think it's calmed down a bit now," she laughs. "They're nice characters, they're likable characters. It's appealing - it's Joss Whedon. Everything Joss Whedon does is fantastic! I think if you don't know the show, you can watch an episode and think, 'Oh, this is just another fantasy show set in L.A.' It's not really sci-fi, but it does have similar story lines to a lot of the sort of drama shows that you see, and if you just watch an episode as a 'one off'; you might think all the characters are fun. It's slightly different and it's got the humour that you might not find on other shows, but you might not think it's any different particularly. I think it's only when you start realizing after about two or three episodes, you start thinking, 'Actually, there's something different about this show'. It's got depth, it's got underlying themes, there's things going on in the background a lot to watch out for.

"And the whole 'Does Angel really fancy Cordelia'-theme! A lot of people aren't sure about that." Good point! I never thought about that. I was always hoping that Gunn and Cordy would pair up. As we're talking Angel, CoA would like to know Darryl's writer's perspectives on the show, Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt and the rest of the cast. She tells me that they all like it! She makes a conscious effort to use writers that are into the show, who are fans themselves, that know the characters, that know the writing. Otherwise it wouldn't work; there may not be that passion for the job at hand using professional writers. But as she says, you don't want people that are such fans that they cannot make a constructively critical comment when they have to. So, people who write for the magazine are primarily fans of both shows.

A TITANIC FUTURE ~

Amy Acker [Fred], as featured in the Premiere Issue

As we're on the topic of writing, Titan's plans for the future with Buffy/Angel are only getting bigger as they intend, "To continue to do a fantastic magazine, with lots of Angel stuff in it, make it as good as we can, sell lots of copies, please all the fans!" Although Darryl and I both think that there may not be any more Buffy after Season 7. Most shows run for about seven seasons before they end. And it's always best to end at the top. As she says, "nothing is set in stone, but the actors are only signed up to season seven anyway. Joss himself has said that he doesn't want it to become an old show that nobody watches, so the show will go out on a high whenever he sees fit to end it." Though we both shudder at the thought of No More Buffy! However, these questions need to be asked, so in that instance - horrible as it may sound - what will Titan do with the Buffy magazines? "If that does happen, and it's possible, then the magazine could change into a magazine which is on the Buffy-spin offs - whether it's Angel, or the animated series, Ripper, Dawn having her own series, that's possible... She's a young actress, a lot of talent. She is very good. So I don't think that we're going anywhere! We're gonna stick around! If Buffy does end after seven seasons, there's still no reason why we can't do a magazine on the show - that does happen with other magazines, but you have to have such a big following, such a big demand. It's very possible that it could still continue, and if it doesn't focus on Buffy, I'm sure we could do something else - we could do Angel!"

Speaking of which, Darryl tells me that at the moment producing an Angel mag would mean having to deal with two magazines, so they would really need to see how the Official Buffy mag does first. At the moment she tells me, "It's nice to have the crossover and it's nice to have the interviews together - and there's more we can do by having them both together and I think we could do a better magazine with a combination of everything at the moment. But there's plenty of material, there's plenty of people who we can talk to, plenty of interviews we can do." However, that's not to say they would totally rule out my suggestion of an Angel Special every now and again. "An Angel special's a good idea," she agrees, "again we'd have to have permission from Fox, and also now because it's on the WB. There's the issue with the fact that it is a different network which could be a problem but normally with the licensing of the Buffy magazine we go through Fox, and it would still be going through Fox. "

Darryl Curtis is an interviewer's dream - not only can she enthusiastically talk the hind legs off a donkey about pretty much anything, she could also out-chatter me! Which takes some doing. Get her onto her favourite line of Buffy and she instantly lights up with enthusiasm. This is a woman on a mission to bring us the biggest and the best Buffy magazine ever! And I really think they're gonna continue to do it. At this point I feel I must volunteer to work on this fictional Angel magazine - I will work for chocolate cookies and lattes to which Darryl replies, "Ok, so it's a David Boreanaz interview in every issue then," Exactly! Poor bloke. He'll be running away going, 'Nooo!' Laughingly, she tells me that a planned David Boreanaz interview had been promised to someone else, but you never know. But as for an Official Angel magazine, "It wouldn't be a problem really, if we could do it!" Well, if there's a demand for it... "...Tell us!" Right ho gang, you heard the lady. Get those pens on paper and demand our very own Titan Angel magazine now! On that note, we wish Titan much success with their new US endeavor and continued accomplishment with all their fans support.

Written by CoA UK Head Writer, Linda Clinker

Inquiries may be directed via regular mail to the following address:

Buffy Magazine
Titan Magazines
8205 Santa Monica Blvd., PMB #1-296
West Hollywood, CA
90046-5977

Or you can send email to: buffmail@titianemail.com

CityofAngel.com would like to Graciously Thank Darryl Curtis for letting us share in her busy schedule and desk toys.

A Special big Thank You to Patricia Kahn for her time and support.

Also, our Appreciation to Titan Magazines for their help and preview pages used.

We'd also like to thank Starbucks for their fabulous coffee, and I'm sure they'd like to thank us in return for our continuing caffeine addiction and generous financial contributions, the fiends!

If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Behind the Scenes' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: Comments@CityofAngel.com

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