15-21 AUGUST

1-7 AUGUST

THIS WEEK IN SCI-FI: 8-14 AUGUST

It's official: Buffy the Vampire Slayer isn't obscene.

Okay, so we all knew that anyway, but it's been confirmed by the FCC after it rejected complaints by mad American campaigners.

The conservative-leaning Parent Television Council had argued that the series had violated indecency regulations, but the complaint was dismissed in a 5-0 vote.

The PTC, one of the more active groups on the indecency front run by L. Brent Bozell, complained to the commission about an episode of Buffy that aired on 22 April, 2003, on WDCA, a UPN affiliate in Washington. In the episode, Spike and Buffy fight before having sex.

"The commission noted that there was no nudity and there was no evidence that the activity depicted was dwelled upon or was used to pander, titillate or shock the audience," the commission said in a release.

Buffy movies still possible

Meanwhile, Joss Whedon has told Sci Fi Wire that he's ready to return to the Buffyverse with television films once he receives a green light from The WB or any network. "We haven't really heard anything," Whedon said. "Obviously, there's been a regime change at The WB. The fans are interested. I'm interested. I don't think either Sarah or David would want to do it. But I think there's about 10 other characters I could name who would be totally worthy of movies. And I'm just waiting for somebody to say year or nay."

As for the proposed Buffy animated series, this doesn't appear to be as far advanced as we thought. "A presentation is being made," Wheodn said. "It hasn't been bought anywhere, but it's still in the creating stages, so it's still a possibility."

Beyond Buffy, Whedon said he'd readily return to series television. "I had some ideas," he said. "I'm sort of trying to look at the marketplace and say, 'What kind of idea would actually go?' Because I'm not really interested in making things that don't. ... So I'm not sure if what I have is what the world wants right now."

"I am totally prepared to go back to TV. Not 24-seven, as I did with the first years of Buffy. But now I've learned about surrounding yourself with the right people and delegating so that I can actually run a show without ruining my life. And TV is, you know, ... a medium that I love in a very different way than I love movies. the things that I can't do in [a] movie are things that I mourn: the smaller moments. The ... protracted interactions. The things that make TV really fascinating. Watching characters change over the years. You know, I've waited my whole life to make movies, but movies don't do that. ... You either write novels that are way too long, or you make TV if you want to do that. And ... I can't write novels that are long."

Whedon eager for X3

Joss also told Sci Fi Wire that he'd love to direct the next X-Men movie now that Bryan Singer has dropped out, but that he hasn't been approached. Whedon would be a logical choice, having written the Astonishing X-Men comic series for Marvel.

"Nobody has approached me about the X-Men franchise," he said in an interview. But, he added, "would I like to make an X-Men movie? That'd be bitchin'. And I really think that, you know, I actually really like those actors, and I really like those characters, and I think there's a lot that could be done with it, and I think it would be a romp. But I'm not setting my sights on that."

Complicating the issue could be Whedon's tenuous relationship with the Fox movie studio, which produces the X-Men movies. Whedon hasn't been shy about expressing his disdain for Fox's production of Alien: Resurrection, for which he penned the script. "My relationship with the [Fox] film division, I haven't really worked with them for a long while," he said. "My relationship with the [Fox] network, not so great. But my deal is with the television production facility, and we've had a good relationship for years. I mean, we did Buffy and Angel and Firefly together, and that's been fine. I don't really have a relationship besides the television production side of Fox." back to the top