My Weekend Crush

So, yeah, this has been a disappointing and, truly, sad time for all the Buffy fans left out there. News that the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot/continuation series at Hulu with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chloé Zhao is no more seems incomprehensible. But, as always, there was one dude who didn't get it, so nobody gets it anymore. And then shortly after that massive let down, the terrible news of Nicholas Brendon’s passing shocked fans anew. Like what a truly fucked up time for what’s left of the Buffyverse. Still, in the end, Buffy will survive because of what she meant to us, and what the show means despite its toxic creator, clueless executives and troubled co-stars. She was about finding the strength to fight off any apocalypse with the help of your friends. And anything can be accomplished if we’re all ready to be strong. Buffy forever. Happy weekend, all.

Buffy is Back, Baby!

It’s HAPPENINNNNNG. That Buffy reboot has finished filming its pilot episode and honestly, what more could we want? Bringing back Sarah Michelle Gellar as a mentor to the new slayer and time jump 25 years to, you know, now? Check. Bringing in the visionary, Oscar-winning director behind “Nomadland,” Chloe Zhoa, to helm the pilot? Check. Brining in a newcomer with three-names to play the new Slayer? Check, and welcome, Ryan Kiera Armstrong. No Joss Whedon anywhere in sight? Checkity check check!

Honestly, a series and pop culture presence as essential as Buffy deserves another shot, and to tell her own story unencumbered by the sins of those who made it in the past. She has grown to be more than just a chick who kills vampires, and saves the world a lot, to a character who means something to generations of fans. I can’t wait to see what they come up with, and I have high hopes it will honor and create a new legacy for her and all of us to enjoy. At least we all know who to beep when the next apocalypse comes. Which the way things are going, could be any day now.

Tank Top Tuesday: Plain White Tank Edition

You know it, you love it. The plain white tank. No, we will not ever again call it that thing we used to call it in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But we can certainly still appreciate this classic. Though, just to be safe, how about we ban men from wearing them? You know, until we can figure out what is going on. There’s a lot of stuff we should ban them from, but I guess we gotta start somewhere. So, let us decree it, the plain white tank is for women only. Now, onto everything else. Until then, please enjoying these ladies exercising their right to bare arms. No, obviously, not that kind.

Renee Rapp

I’m mad at whoever didn’t turn the camera horizontal here. But, not at Renee. Never at Renee.

Samira Wiley

I could never look that cool leaning over to play pool with armholes that big. Respect.

Jodi Balfour

It just still makes me so stoked that she is married to Abbi Jacobson. I feel like “Broad City” Abbi would be just as stoked – probably more.

Sarah Michelle Gellar

More than 20 years later and SMG can still hit that Buffy pose flawlessly. Like if the apocalypse comes, I definitely think we should still beep her.

Melissa King

She looks great in a plain white tank and backwards ballcap AND she can cook? Nini, damn girl.

Lucy Dacus

New goal unlocked: Be serenaded with haunting, ethereal sad lesbian love songs by a hottie wearing a plain white tank top.

Kate Moennig

Forever Shane, Shane Forever.

All Buffy, No Joss

While this isn’t exclusively gay good news, Buffy’s queer pedigree remains historic so I’m counting it. Plus, in the comics Buffy herself explored her bisexual/pansexual side (having relations with technically dead people/vampires also seems pretty pan, right?). So imagine my delight at the news that a legit Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot (not like that stalled 2018 one) is in the works at Hulu with Sarah Michelle Gellar attached to appear and Oscar-winner Chloé Zhao to direct the pilot. Writing, producing and showrunning will be sister team Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman. And guess whose name is nowhere to be found on the reboot? Yep, it’s Joss. No more marzipan in his pie plate, bingo!

A Whedon-Free Buffy is – after all the past revelations about his behavior to particularly the female cast – is pretty much the dream. And here it is happening from a team whose resumes are, quite frankly, awesome. Chloé's “Nomadland” is a beautiful testament to the innate human desire to live free – but not in that bullshit live-free-or-die way too many right-wing jackoffs think we do. And while her Marvels outing with “The Eternals” was probably a little too cerebral and slow-paced for the MCU, her vision remains singularly stunning. Meanwhile the Zukerman sisters’ credits includes the recent Natasha Lyonne Columbo-esque series “Poker Face” and the sci-fi series “Fringe.” Also, have I mentioned they’re all women? Because, yeah, they’re all women. Finally, Buffy has come home where she belongs.

Not a ton is known about the reboot so far, but SMG will not be the lead star and instead appear in more of a supporting or recurring role as what I can only assume is the wise, elder Slayer. As you might recall, the final season activated all the Potentials, so into every generation a boatload of slayers is born. The new Buffy is expected to follow one of the newer Slayers. Is it too much to hope that they also bring back Willow as the wise, elder gay Wiccan too? I mean, if we’re finally getting that Joss-less Buffy, anything is possible.

Buffy Like the Wolf

I mean, she was pretty friendly with at least one werewolf in Sunnydale (and a witch or two for good measure). Sarah Michelle Gellar is returning to her supernatural TV roots in the spinoff series to MTV’s “Teen Wolf,” “Wolf Pack.” The series will stream on Paramount+, and has begun shooting in Atlanta.

SMG’s return to the sci-fi/fantasy comes in a spinoff series from the “Teen Wolf” creators, and she will also executive produce because Get That Cash, Queen Slayer.

According to Deadline, the series follows a teenage boy and girl whose “lives are forever changed when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature.”

SMG will play an arson investigator who is, “a highly regarded expert in her field and no stranger to personal loss, brought in by authorities to catch the teenage arsonist who started a massive wildfire which may have also led to the reawakening of a supernatural predator terrorizing Los Angeles.”

Oh, good. I kind of hate when the stars of my twenties become just the head-shaking parents in new teen shows. Speaking of which, she joins a cast of a lot of young people I’ve never heard of (i.e. Armani Jackson and Bella Shepard are the show’s teen stars along with two 20-something with three names each, Chloe Rose Robertson and Tyler Lawrence Gray). I’ve never watched “Teen Wolf” because I’m closer to the AARP demographic than that show’s demographic, but still plan to check it out.

Out of loyalty I’ve at least tried many of SMG’s post-Buffy curriculum vitae. I really tried with “The Ringer” and I actually was starting to like “The Crazy Ones,” but alas. So I’m interested to see what this new, hairy show adds to her legacy. Let’s see if she alone can stand against the vampires werewolves, the demons and the forces of darkness. And, possibly, also wildfires. Go get ‘em, Smokey, err, MSG.

Ready to Be Strong

Dammit, Joss Whedon. Dammit. Look, I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and own all of the seasons and might have an action figure or two (plus Kitty Fantastico) in my possession. But I simply cannot support Joss and his abusive behavior. Not anymore. Not after so many have so credibly come forward to call out his harassment and all-around toxicity. Charisma Carpenter came forward yesterday with her story, and I believe her.

And I believe Amber Benson. And I believe Michelle Trachtenberg. And I believe Clare Kramer. And I believe Sarah Michelle Gellar, because *low whistle* you can feel it when Buffy says no longer wants her name associated with Joss. And, yeah, I believe Ray Fisher.

In a way, it’s good when we get challenged by problematic favs, or in this case former favs. As we grow up and older, our priorities change. And hopefully – if we’ve been any good at living at all – we’ve become better people along the way. May the years and the wisdom they can impart make us all more compassionate, more understanding, more generous. So it would only follow that our heroes, the people we idolize, also change. If we’re lucky, we’ve chosen worthy ones. But, alas, all too often through the lenses of time and truth, they disappoint terribly.

That Joss, long hailed as a singular genius, turned out to be just another asshole guy who is horrible to those around him is one of those hard lessons, but hopefully one that finally sticks. We probably should stop being surprised when dudes who heavily tout themselves as feminist champions turn out to be nothing more than garden-variety misogynists. If he calls himself a woke bae, ladies, he likely ain’t woke or a bae. You gotta wish for a special place in the Hellmouth for men like Joss who write female empowerment stories but treat the real women (and POC) like garbage.

It’s always hard to divorce the art from the artist. But, at least with television, it’s never just one person. Joss isn’t Buffy alone. That would negate all the talent and passion and hard work from the cast, not to mention the show’s stable of mostly wonderful writers and other producers, and the countless other people who make the magic happen in this business we call show.

So I can keep loving Buffy, at least the idea of Buffy, and stop supporting Joss. Though I guess he had one thing right. Yeah, women are ready to be strong. So you’d better look out, shitty men everywhere.

p.s. Joss will always be the man who killed Tara. The Kitten Board never forgets.

My Weekend Crush

Someone asked me if I still have the unaired Cruel Intentions pilot, as if I could ever bring myself to delete this classic pic.twitter.com/FldbMKGQXW

— Matías (@maticaps) May 6, 2020

Someone shared this clip from the unaired 2016 “Cruel Intentions” pilot and I’ve been scrapping myself off the floor ever since. So, naturally, I had to then share it with you. Some 17 years after the original movie, Sarah Michelle Gellar reprised her role as ruthless socialite and Salma Hayek kisser Kathryn Merteuil for the episode. NBC passed on the project, so the episode was never broadcast. But thanks to the Series of Tubes someone uploaded a clip from the show and hello. Very, very HELLO. I have absolutely no idea if the series would have been any good, but goodness does that scene make me wish we could have watched to find out - at least for a little while. And, in case there was ever any doubt, Kathryn is definitely a top - especially when she is making ladies take off their bottoms. Ahem. Happy safe and healthy weekend, all.

Fetch Us Our Axes

Fetch us our axe, we’ve all got grinding to do. Look, these are extraordinarily shitty times (To recap: Muslim ban, children in cages, trans military ban, unprecedented corporate tax cuts, eroding LGBTQ civil liberties, vanishing abortion access for all and bodily autonomy for all people with uteruses, lifetime appointments for unqualified and unhinged federal judges, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, willfully ignoring the looming extinction-level threat of climate change, et al). So we need to take extraordinarily aggressive counteraction. And while I’m not saying we should all take up and axe and smash the patriarchy, literally. But figuratively? Get it ladies. Unleash your Inner Joan Crawford. (Or Inner Buffy, or Inner Johanna, or Inner Tahani, Or Inner Emma Watson, Or Inner Rosario Dawson, Inner Tam-Tam, Inner Walmart Lady, Inner Menstrual Tina Fey, et al.) We’ve got some major chopping to do.



I mean, as Det. Rosa Diaz was saying.



p.s. p.s. Just a reminder, this is my personal blog which I have been writing daily for 13 years without any kind of financial compensation and I in turn provide entirely free to anyone who cares to stop and read without any advertising or other commercial distractions. As such, I say whatever the fuck I want whenever the fuck I want. So if any so-called progressive lesbians want to defend conservatism in the United States here, you are more than welcome to stop reading and leave. Because I will never, ever condone the kind of greedy, small-minded, hate-filled and me-at-all-costs thinking that the G.O.P. and conservatism stands for today.

Meet Your New Princesses

Well, it’s official. Disney has completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s vast film and TV properties (but not Fox News – a.k.a. Trump’s Gorilla Channel – unfortunately). What that means is there are a whoooooole lotta new Disney princesses running around this world than there were last week. For instance, Buffy Summers is now a member of the Disney princess pantheon. What, ex-cheerleaders from Southern California Hellmouths who died and came back can totally be princesses. I mean, she already had the kicky boots and everything.

The one thing I can say for sure is there will be a lot more weapons training at the Disney princess slumber parties moving forward.



Mulan is already down with these new activities, obviously.



And Merida is very excited to check out Buffy’s crossbow collection.



But what I’m most looking forward to is the nice, long conversation Willow plans to have with Elsa.



Though, I must admit, Buffy will have some competition for the Fiercest New Disney Princess title with Bernadine Harris.



And, it goes without saying, Ripley is high up there, too.



But, if we’re really being honest, no one beats new Disney Queen Dr. Frank N. Furter. No one.

Re-Buffied

So everything is bad, except for this, which is good. This year keeps bringing new, real horrors. (Let’s see, the GOP congress has voted to OK polluting streams, killing hibernating animals and selling your online browsing history. Oh, and Donald fucking Trump is president.) But, this, this is a good thing amid the terrible. Entertainment Weekly reunited almost (alas, no Giles or Faith, alas) the entire cast of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” And it was glorious. On the anniversary date earlier this month I already waxed on (and off – sorry, wrong nostalgia) about what the show has meant to me. But, as I said on Autostraddle, the best thing the Buffy did was open generations up to the radical realization that there is no such thing as just a girl.

So with this reunion, I just want to sit back and enjoy. Also, Willow and Tara Alyson and Amber look great, no? I am just pretending Oz isn’t there. Also I guess they had to leave Miss Kitty Fantastico at home.

My Weekend Crush

After nearly nine years of writing this blog and countess expressions of my love for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” I came to the startling realization yesterday that I have never properly crushed on Sarah Michelle Gellar. Granted I’ve sung the praises of the show and Buffy Summers. But the woman behind the leather pants and kicky boots? I am so terribly remiss.

So now, appropriately, on the 18th anniversary week of the premiere of “Buffy” here is a very belated appreciation of SMG. Without her, obviously, there would be no Buffy. I mean, I like Katie Holmes and everything (mostly pre-Cruise) but she is no Buffy. In fact, one of the clearest signs that someone has completely owned and inhabited a role is your complete and utter inability to see anyone else in it.

Of course, it’s that very unshakeable association that she has had to (ever so gently) fight against ever since Buffy ended. In the nearly dozen years since the finale aired, she has done alright. Several movies, two one-season TV shows. While I watched both “Ringer” and “The Crazy Ones,” it was admittedly on-and-off for both shows. (Though, I really thought “The Crazy Ones” deserved a shot at a second season because it was incredibly likeable and darn funny.) But nothing has stuck like Buffy.

But I continue to have faith (no, not that Faith) that someone as supremely talented as SMG will find her way to something else really great. She deserves it. The more you watch her, the more you realize how very good she is at pretty much everything. Action? Duh, check. Comedy? Hello, check. Drama? Please, if you didn’t cry your eyes out at her in “The Body” you’re among the undead.

p.s. Her Buzzfeed gif answers further prove that she actually writes her (funny/corny/adorable) Twitter feed herself.

p.p.s. Also, she can spit some rhymes, yo.

TV, take me away

Right, so I’m watching a lot of TV this season. Fine, I watch a lot of TV every season. But this season I’m watching it with slightly more productive intentions. As I’ve already mentioned, I’m going to be writing SnapCaps (short, snappy recaps) on AfterEllen for “Lost Girl.” The second one went up yesterday. In addition, I’ll be SnapCapping “Ringer” (second one is up today) and “Prime Suspect” (it airs Thursdays, Snap Caps will post Fridays). That’s a lot of writing about TV. It’s tricky writing about new shows because, well, they’re new and as we’re trying to figure them out they’re trying to figure themselves out. So, to summarize, I’m a busy girl sitting on my couch, per usual.

Of course, this being the new TV season, I’m also trying out a lot of show I’m not writing about either. So far I’ve sampled three other new shows: “The Secret Circle” (“The Craft,” but with less goth accessories), “2 Broke Girls” (I laughed more than I expected to, in spite of myself) and “New Girl” (Let’s face it, Zooey Deschanel is the draw here, I could give a flip about her three male roommates). I am on the fence about “Up All Night,” because while I love the cast another show about parenting being crazy really is not on this gal’s big gay agenda. And the reviews of “Charlie’s Angels” are worse than the reviews of “Bionic Woman,” and we all know how well that show went. I’ve also decided against “The Playboy Club” (even with the real and the pretend gay bunnies) and “Pan Am” because even if you put it in a nice 60s suit and beautiful retro dress, sexism isn’t really my favorite thing to watch on TV. (p.s. On that note, I’m glad to hear the makers of “Prime Suspect” have decided to veers away from the blatant sexism in the pilot after this week.) There are a handful of other shows I’m considering adding to my dance card, but considering the returning shows I already watch, that’s a really freaking full dance card.

I guess all of this is a long and somewhat winded (though mostly because I’m out of shape from sitting on my couch and watching all this TV) way of saying I hope you’ll watch TV along with me this season and share your thoughts on all the shows I’ll both be SnapCapping and any other shows that catch your eye. But just because it’s a new season don’t think for a second I’ve forgotten about old friends. Yes, kittens, I miss Jane and Maura, too. But don’t worry. They’ll be back for five more in November. Until then, please enjoy Det. Rizzoli’s new (and very NSFW) ringtone for Dr. Isles.

EDIT: Every once in a while, actual comments get caught in the automatic Blogger spam filter. This usually happens with comments that contain dirty words or are really long. I hardly check the filter, because frankly I forget it is there. But, rest assured, I do not delete any comments (save for obvious spam or blatant hate speech). Also, this post is about scripted shows. Though I did watch DWTS and commented on it quite a bit on my Twitter feed. So follow me there for my thoughts on DWTS.

What geekery is this?

True story: I loved action figures as a kid. I know, not to surprising given my overall continued tomboy tendencies. But I LOVED them. I could play quietly for hours, lost in my own fantasy world where my Han Solo figure bickered with my Buck Rogers figure and Princess Leia went ahead and rescued Superman instead. My childhood fantasy world was kind of awesome. But being a geek then was different than being a geek now. Now it has a cache. Geeks, like bowties – if you ask The Doctor, are cool. But then, geeks were geeks. So it’s with a slightly bemused sense of satisfaction when I watched all the pretty ladies clamor to get their geek on last weekend weekend at Comic-Con.

So in celebration of everyone’s inner and outer geek, here are some lovely ladies getting geeky. Geekery, it’s not just for geeks anymore.

Alyson Hannigan

Willow will always be my favorite geek. Always.

Anna TorvThese should be Special Agent Olivia Dunham action figures, but otherwise, perfect.

Lucy LawlessWhen lesbian subtext and geek fandom collides.

Anika Noni RoseSo this is kind of more of a “doll,” but Anika looks so happy to be holding herself it’s pretty geeky.

Meryl StreepThis is her “Fantastic Mr. Fox” figure. If there was a real Meryl Streep action figure I would buy two. One to keep new in the box and another to play with. Wait, that sounded weird. Good.

Elizabeth MitchellThese aren’t technically action figures either, but getting this excited about your cake doppelgangers is's adorageeky.

Yvonne StrahovskiAlso, not an action figure. But it’s a light saber. So, you know, even better.

Sarah Michelle GellarBuffy is using Darth Vader as an armrest. Your argument is invalid.

Felicia DayIf Felicia in a squid hat doesn’t brighten your day, then you are probably not a geek.

Natalie PortmanGeeks and politics, two great things that go great together.

Karen GillanNow that is how you play with action figures.

Britt Robertson, Maggie Q, Yvonne Strahovski, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jennifer Morrison & Anna TorvI don’t know who Britt Robertson is, but otherwise, GEEKGASM.

Check out the special Comic-Con issue of The Hollywood Reporter for more on Sarah, Anna, Yvonne, Maggie et al.

Tank Top Tuesday: TV Time

Between the return of winter TV and the start of pilot season, so much has happened that I think we’re going to need to review the revised landscape with clear-eyed, in-depth, critical analysis. In other words, we’re going to review it with tank top.

Sarah Michelle GellarSMG is coming back to TV. If that doesn’t get you excited check your pulse. If you don’t have a pulse, look out for SMG because she may be coming to stake you. Old habits die hard.

Minka KellyShe’s one of the new Angels on the “Charlie’s Angels” reboot. If the show is a hit, will boyfriend Derek Jeter start playing for Anaheim as a show of solidarity?

Adrianne PalickiPeople agree on two things when it comes to David E. Kelley’s new “Wonder Woman” series. 1) They love Adrianne’s casting as Wonder Woman. 2) They hate the pilot script with a fiery passion.

Zooey DeschanelShe is going to star in a pilot for a project that had the working title “Chicks and Dicks.” It’s hard to think of a title with less appeal to gay ladies, unless you called it “Dicks and Dicks,” but then it’d be a reality show on Logo and I’d totally watch that with several cocktails and my best gays.

Laura PreponI really liked her better as a redhead. But then I guess you have to embrace the peroxide to play Chelsea Handler, and the vodka.

Anna TorvFringe is now on Friday, but mostly I just wanted to post her holding this gun. Mmmm.

Jennifer Beals“The Chicago Code” broke out the white tank top for the very first episode. It’s blatant pandering to the lesbians, and we like it.

Sarah Shahi“Fairly Legal” isn’t a great TV show or anything. But it’s fun and Sarah has showed up in her underwear. So, you know, sold.

Caroline DhavernasI stopped watching “Off the Map” for the same reasons I don’t watch “Grey’s Anatomy.” Doctors with personal problems (with or without borders) just aren’t my thing. But I still love you, Jaye Tyler.

Sofia VergaraNothing new is happening with “Modern Family,” but when you have a chance to post a picture like this, you take it.

So, what new TV pilot or show has your temperature rising. And, remember, please phrase your answer in the form of a tank top.