Who initially wanted the show to be made - Joss or Fox?
As with everything that is Buffy, it's because Joss wanted it. Fox, of course, was delighted. They couldn't believe they were going to get yet another turn at the wheel.
Between the success of Buffy now, the success of Buffy in syndication, the success of the VHSs and DVDs - particularly in England - the success of Angel, they're swimming in good fortune.
The idea that someone would want to get another look at the franchise could only come from Joss. What makes it unique, and what I think is the reason to do it is that Joss saw this as an opportunity to go back and tell stories in what we call the 'Year One' era.
Everything that happens in the animated series takes place right after Buffy moves to Sunnydale. For Buffy fans out there, we refer to this as episode seven and a half. We are talking about a time where Xander has a crush on Buffy, where Willow has a crush on Xander, where Buffy has a crush on Angel and we don't know that Angel can turn bad. We just know at the moment that Angel is this mysterious, soulful person that can help.
It's where the metaphor of teen angst and the trial of High School works best for the series. What's great about the live action series is that Joss had this unique perspective, which was to have the show in each season grow a year, so the actors and the environment would change.
In the animated series, we're not bound by that. What we'll be doing is - going back to comics - telling stories within the pages of the stories you already know. So, Buffy Animated will be in continuity, will tell stories that will refer to episodes the fans already know, and will wink at the episodes that they would fit in between.
For the most part, they are those episodes that, if Joss had a chance to do it all over again - and he does - he's going to go back and tell you these stories.
