Interview with the cast....

Hunky:	So, Cameron, what first gave you the idea to create this spinoff series?
Cam:	Well, Hunky, I'd just graduated from the Roleplaying School of Evil Horror, but I didn't feel that the audience was ready for real mature horror yet, so I figured that I'd need some way to try and scare people and use all my evil ideas on other people. You know, without actually doing anything that would get me locked away. Buffy season 4 and Angel season 1 had just finished in our merry little backwater of Australia, and was a little disappointed with the scripts. Now don't get me wrong, I'm addicted to the show, but I just felt that the whole Initiative thing didn't really do it for me. Joss is a genius and all, so it could well just be me. Anyway, I thought that I could give it a try and see if I actually got anywhere, so I started work on the pilot because despite my feelings about season 4, that last episode just totally blew me away. Anyway, a lot of my friends were into it [Buffy] so I chucked this idea at them and they fell for it. We got the money for the special effects budget together and hit Hollywood to get the OK. I'd just like to say thank Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox who own everything Buffy related, including parts of my brain that are working on this show. I'm really just hoping that the series lives up to the great work that Joss and those involved with the original and Angel have done.
Hunky:	Can you run us over the idea for the story?
Cam:	Well sure, Hunky, a pleasure. We know that the American TV audience needs a little help sometimes, so we decided to stick to ideas they had already been exposed to, at least in the first few episodes. Well, I took the annoying valley girl idea that we see in the original Buffy movie and decided on two twins, Jayde and Gemma as the central characters, at least initially. Around them I tried to build an environment that I could work with. I didn't know if I should set it in Australia, my home country, or America for the ratings, but my crass commercialism won out and I decided on America. I was going to use LA so that I could get some cheap laughs in, but I had some friends in San Francisco and I'd been there on holiday the year before, and just loved it. So, I did a quick rearrange of the background that I already had and thats how the show ended up in SF. The other actors' roles were added later as I discussed each actor's strong points and where they wanted to go, both in the show, and as a way to achieve inner harmony.
Hunky:	So what is your target audience? The same as the original show?
Cam:	Good boy! Thats a good question, Hunky. Walkies later. Who wrote that for you, you steaming hunk of mindless TV reporter? But back to the question, not at all. My audience is limited. Fox and I are aiming for an elitist show with an audience of 4. We aimed for 4 (including me) and we got 5 in our first few weeks. I think the first show pulled only 4, so we were nervous about any drop off, but the week after we got 5!!! The TV exec's are way happy, man. We sell advertising targeted directly at our 5 viewers. Mainly for Pizza and other take away foods. We get a return of about $50 per week on the hours and hours of work that our staff of 133 people put into the show and Fox's $250,000 budget. *pause* Naturally we expect to break even with the appearance of a guest star in a couple of later episodes. That 20% increase in our audience should cement the show's place in the lineup.
Hunky:	*turning to the rest of the cast, a vacant 'Entertainment tonight' look on his face* So, for some of you this is your first TV series. I understand that you have all appeared in some roleplaying series before, and some of even have other regular shows that you appear in, but what attracted you to this show in particular? Was it the creative scripts, or the threat of extreme violence?
Kate:	Well Hunky, for me it was part threat of extreme violence, part the opportunity to work with Ken, Richard and Cam again (Cam recently directed an historical drama set in ancient Egypt involving the three actors) and part enthusiasm for the script and genre...
Hunky:	Well, as I was saying to my fellow music compatriot, John Tesh, finding an outlet for your creative side is, like, so important. I mean if I don't get some serious banjo playing in at least once a week then my therapist and personal trainers notice immediately my pent up emotions and unbalances in my morphic fields and crystal harmonics.
Kate:	Are you sure that's what your therapist is noticing?
Hunky:	Given the stress of delivering, what, three hours of dialog from a comfortable seat, every week, do you ever find that the effort of so many hours of draining work takes its toll?
Kate:	Oh, very much so. Its not only 3 hours a week, there's all the preparation time to research the script to allow yourself to get into character and work out your motivations. Plus there's the script preparation part as well - Cam doens't write them single-handedly, we all get input into how our characters develop and react to certain situations which is good cos we get a bit of creative control over whether we have to do any screen kisses or nude scenes or anything like that - would it advance the character, does it add to the plot, is it suitable for a prime time show, that sort of thing. Plus we all help out post-production and get to decide on exactly which scenes we've filmed will go to air in any given week. It all adds up and can really be quite time consuming. But the popularity of the show is increasing and our ratings are really taking off so it all seems worthwhile in the end.
Hunky:	How about makeup? I hear on Buffy it takes, like, 90 minutes to apply vampire make up.
Kate:	Well none of us play vampires so it doesn't really affect us. It does take Rachel a while in wardrobe though. Her character is really fashion concious so its important that that comes across in the show, like she doesn't accidentally wear a puff skirt and leg warmers on the show cos that'd totally destroy the believability of her character.
Hunky:	*nods seriously* Given the focus of the show has been shifted from visually realistic effects, all of you imagining what is being described, does that create an added expectation of you all, that drains your creative energy and creates a null zone of pent up anti-creativity?
Kate:	We make sure we have lots of sugar-based beverages on set to ward off fatigue. Plus there's Narelle, our creative consultant who gets called in whenever we seem to be working too hard and she recharges us spiritually.
Hunky:	Do you have to close your eyes to imagine stuff?
Kate:	No but do I notice you are having to sound out the words on your question sheet
Hunky:	Rachel, your character Jayde doesn't think much of Jonathan, Richard's character and yet the two of you are involved outside of the show. Do you find working together puts a strain on your relationship?

Lawyers take note: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer and Angel and all characters related belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and fox.