Buffy Between the Lines

A Review of Episode 2 – Requiem for a Demon

“Los Angeles! Home of the Dodgers. Movies. And a broody vampire who…”

Buffy Between the Lines is back for Episode 2, and they’ve brought along the Angel Investigations crew for good measure. “Requiem for a Demon” takes on the daunting task of interlacing two separate storylines. Willow joins Angel and his team in LA to bring news of Buffy’s death, and sticks around for a little impromptu monster fighting. Meanwhile, the rest of the Scooby gang remains in Sunnydale, facing off with a demon that has started attacking the girls in Tara’s choir.

After breaking the news to Angel and Co, Willow realizes that demons aren’t just the Sunnydale town mascot when she gets wrapped up in the hunt for a hitchhiking demon that’s stalking the Hyperion Hotel. She also gets a taste of how they do things in L.A. while helping out her old friends Wesley and Cordelia.

Back in Sunnydale, Tara is put in charge when a “Puce colored Barney” starts ripping out the throats of her choir members. Without Buffy or Willow, the gang scrambles to put a stop to things before it’s too late. While unbeknownst to them, an even greater threat has just arrived on the Hellmouth.

It couldn’t have been easy attempting to tell two separate stories within the show, but the BBtL crew pulled it off nicely. With “California Blonde” serving as a bumper to segue into the Los Angeles scenes, it was easy to separate the two stories and keep things organized. And on top of everything else, we were given a great storyline with one of the shows more secondary characters. Tara, who is often overlooked because of her quiet nature or overshadowed by her relationship with Willow, was unexpectedly shoved into a leadership role. And while somewhat hesitant at first, she showed that she could handle herself, and proved herself to be an intricate part of the Scoobies. Any show that can manage all that in 50 minutes is worth a listen.

Quote of the Episode Award goes to:

Xander: You’re the new bearer of the Dork Baton. I knight you Dame Dork of Dorkshire upon Nerdom.

After numerous efforts on behalf of the production team of Buffy Between the Lines, it’s been decided that the whole cast just needs to be recast. Especially Nick, who doesn’t sound a thing like Xander. “Kim and I sat down and talked, and it really was a hard decision, as much as our cast loves this show – they just aren’t cutting it,” producer Tabitha Grace Smith said.

“We really are striving to be the best, and the guy we have playing Spike – he isn’t even British!” Kim said in a follow-up statement. Harsh criticism also reigned down on the actress playing Enya, but she was not available for comment.

“I can’t believe it,” Cliss said in a phone interview. “It’s like, all my dreams are dead.” Other cast members expressed shock and amazement. “I knew people didn’t like me, but I didn’t think it would come to this,” said Tasha, who plays Dawn. “That’s extreme Dawn hate.”

“I can’t even stand the guy we have playing Angel. Seriously. The guy can’t pronounce babies correctly,” said Tabitha. “I think we’ll just have Emma do all the roles. She’s got a fantastic voice.”

“I knew we should have stuck to shadow puppets,” said Beth Nelson, Crew Manager for Season 2 of Buffy Between the Lines.

Auditions are being held tomorrow in New York and LA in an attempt to salvage the rest of the series. Click here to find the locations.

by Tabitha Grace Smith

Feeling guilty for pushing Dawn off the tower, Buffy finds solace in the one person who understands how she feels. Or is it just the one person who looks good on everyone? Only time, a bit of insanity and a couple spells going wonky can tell. Oh yeah, Angel shows up too.

The full script is available as a PDF.

E-Book PDF: Open in New Window | Download

by Tabitha Grace Smith

Feeling guilty for pushing Dawn off the tower, Buffy finds solace in the one person who understands how she feels. Or is it just the one person who looks good on everyone? Only time, a bit of insanity, and a couple spells going wonky can tell. Oh yeah, Angel shows up too.

Special thanks to FanficRants on LiveJournal.

Promos for Moron Life.

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by Alyrenee Greaves

Anya faces the wrath of a woman she cursed in the 1700s and finds out the perils of buying things off of eBay. Meanwhile, Dawn, feeling unwanted by the scoobies who are busy doing other things, runs into Javert.

The full script is available as a PDF.

E-Book PDF: Open in New Window | Download

by Alyrenee Greaves

Anya faces the wrath of a woman she cursed in the 1700s and finds out the perils of buying things off of eBay. Meanwhile, Dawn, feeling unwanted by the scoobies who are busy doing other things, runs into Javert.

Intro by JuleSong from the Big Damn Chefs Cookbook and Can’t Take the Sky Radio.

Promos from Dancing with Elephants & SOBcon

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Tabitha gets interviewed by Ginger over at the Books and Ideas podcast! They talk Buffy, Joss, writing, fanfic, public relations, Firefly & Serenity (basically everything that Tabz talks about on a regular basis).

 Click here to listen.

[Editor’s Note: Present Memory has been writing reviews of BBtL on LiveJournal so I asked her (and she graciously agreed) if we could post them here for you guys to enjoy! – Tabz]

A Review of Episode 1 – Beginning at the End

The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.

We all know the beautiful sacrifice that Buffy Summers made to save her sister and the world. Her gift. She saved the world. A lot. But what happened after? What was the Scooby Gang busy with during those months without the Slayer? How about dealing with a menacing group of demon…bunnies?

Episode one of Buffy Between the Lines, “Beginning at the End,” does just that. Beginning directly Buffy’s death, the group begins to pick up the pieces, saying goodbye to their beloved friend and trying to make sense of the world without her.

But life on the Hellmouth waits for no one, and the Scoobies find themselves facing Doc, the demon who just won’t die, and a hoard of evil demon bunnies summoned by Andrew Wells (who was hiding safely in the closet.)

In just forty-five minutes, we’re given back story, answers to unanswered questions, a brand new character, and enough witty dialogue to fill the Joss-shaped hole in all of our hearts.

What amazed me the most about this episode was all the groundwork that writer Tabitha Grace Smith was able to lay for future episodes. Not just for this awesome audio drama, but for the show as well. She showed us how lost Willow felt without her best friend, leading up to the spell which will bring the slayer back for Season Six. We got a glimpse of the nightmares that Spike spoke of, and a chance to see the inner turmoil of Rupert Giles through entries in his watcher diaries. And if you listen closely you might even catch a reference or two to the Buffy Season Eight comic series.

This show is a real treat for any Buffy fan that has been searching for more of their favorite slayer since the show ended its run in 2003. It’s already fantastic, and it’s only going to get better. The cast and crew deserve massive thanks for the enormous amount of effort and love they’ve put into bringing Buffy Between the Lines to life.

Quote of the Episode Award goes to:

Tara: We’re going to miss how you made us more. More than just—just friends. We’re family. Thanks for making us your family.

Javert and his minions answer BBtL Feedback! I think Kim and I need to change our passwords.

Promo for Geek by Night

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Los Angeles, CA. Buffy Between the Lines, a fan-created podcast has announced today that it has received the Podcast Peer Award for Best Audio Drama podcast. Nominated and chosen for the award by other podcasters, Buffy Between the Lines’ unique and passionate cast and crew propelled the show into the limelight. All of the finalists were announced this week.

“Buffy Between the Lines is truly a group effort, we pride ourselves in delivering quality entertainment that fans enjoy,” said producer Tabitha Grace Smith. “This honor is to be shared with our international cast and crew who have made it possible.” Over 100 dedicated fans create this weekly podcast that tells stories between the seasons of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Utilizing social media technologies such as Skype, Facebook, LiveJournal, Google Groups, and Gmail the cast and crew are able to pull together 12 episodes, plus commentaries, feedback episodes, and special “minisodes.”

An instant fan-favorite the podcast gets glowing reviews from die-hard fans who are happy to see their show back. “It wasn’t a fanfic years late it felt like an episode of Buffy during the run. You truly did an amazing job and I am so looking forward to the rest of the season. Thank you for keeping the Buffyverse alive,” said listener Corey. “We’re very honored. When we first started working on Buffy Between the Lines, Tabitha and I knew it was going to be something big, but we didn’t realize how big it would be,” said co-producer, Kim Butler. “We’re doing this out of love for the show, no one is getting paid and we’re actually spending money to put this production together, but you can see the dedication and hard work that goes into each and every show.”

About Buffy Between the Lines:
Buffy Between the Lines is a fan-based, audio drama podcast that tells stories between the seasons of Buffy. Fans from all parts of the world including South America, Australia, Sweden, the UK, Canada, and the US come together to create each episode via technologies such as Skype, Google Groups, blogging, and podcasting. Started in Oct of 2006 by Tabitha Grace Smith and Kim Butler, Buffy Between the Lines has become an instant fan phenomenon. Buffy Between the Lines can be found at: http://buffybetweenthelines.com/

About the Podcast Peer Awards:
The Podcast Peer Awards is an award given to podcasters by fellow podcasters. Established to give recognition to quality podcasts, not just podcasts with large listener bases. The Podcast Peer Awards can be found at: http://podcastpeers.org