Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Buffy, The UnAired Pilot

Really, the one with the plumper version of Willow. God, I love the fucking internet.

4 comments so far. What are your thoughts?

Kirsten said...

Thank you. That's made my night.

Anonymous said...

I watched that the other night. Love the way Buffy goes down the stairs in the library.

I wonder if they'd have given Willow as much of a sex life if they'd kept a plumper actress than the lovely but very thin Alyson Hannigan. 

Posted by Ide Cyan

Kameron Hurley said...

re: Willow's sex life

I actually think this other actress playing Willow is more traditionally attractive than Hannigan, despite the attempt of Hollywood types to get us to read "fat" as "not attractive." I think they should have given her some glasses, or a really frumpy jumper or something. She was too cute.

Hannigan plays "dorky" a lot better than this original, and being tall and thin and frumpy makes her read more not-sexy in season 1 (she glams up later on). And, of course, I think her dorkiness and non-traditional beauty is what made her so much more appealing and attractive to fans that Gellar.

It also occurred to me, just as I was typing this, that they cast a more stereotypically "Jewish looking" Willow the first time around (and I do love the cruel irony of a short, plump girl named "Willow," but I don't know that it works nearly as well as it does when you have someone, like Hannigan, who *really* looks like a Willow. In a world that works on archtypes, Hannigan may be the better casting choice, if he wanted to keep the name).

I *do* think she would have gotten a sex life, though it may have been far more thwarted and angst ridden than even Willow's sex life. They could have done some nice stuff with tackling size and body issues, or hey, they could have just not addressed it. Which might be cooler, but not very believable in a school set in SoCal.

clindsay said...

I also think that the girl they cast as Willow originally looks about ten years old er than the rest of the cast and isn't a very good actress overall.

Amber Bensoon (Tara) is a friend of mine and she told me once that all the girls on set were obsessed with their weight because Joss was.

To give you an idea of how completely deceiving TV can be, Amber - in real life? - is about 5 feet 2 and weighs maybe 100 pounds dripping wet. (Don't worry - she doesn't have an eating disorder - she just has a teeny frame )

But remember how huge she looked on screen next to Gellar and Hannigan? Imagine how tiny THEY must be!