As many of readers of YBFREE.com know, I am a tremendous fan of the television shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. So I like to stay on top of the news and view on my favorite actors and the shows in general. I have many sites that I visit in order to stay in touch with the news. Until recently, the British Broadcasting Company’s or BBC’s Buffy Cult Fan Site was not one of them (Editor’s Note: The BBC is literally the world’s largest broadcasting news-gather). As the United Kingdom gets their episodes some time after the United States, I figured that there was no point in visiting a UK site. And now I must admit I wrong! This site is packed with all kinds of interesting tidbits that any viewer of Buffy and Angel can enjoy! Let me take you on a tour!
On this website, you will find all the latest news on the actors, actresses, creative team and crew that made Buffy and Angel famous. This section chronicles all new work these people are working on as well as any new interviews they have done. There is a section for each actor, providing high quality pictures and a biography. There are also interesting quizzes, including a test on every Angel episode and a comprehensive 100 question quiz on all Buffy knowledge-which you have to be a total Buffy geek to pass (suffice it to say, I got a 99%). There are also photo galleries, which, quite honestly, could have had many more pictures, but those offered are gorgeous.
Also included are detailed episode guides that come complete with trivia, a listing of most of the Buffy Comic books out, and an up to date listing of the Buffy and Angel books that have and will be released. There is a message board that spans many topics not limited to Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, the board also includes threads on other contemporary cult classics like Farscape, X-Files, and a couple of other fine British shows that have yet to reach American shores.
Finally, there are my two personal favorite parts of the BBC’s site: The Giveaways and Series Quotes. Every month or so, a new giveaway is put up on the site. From there, you can enter a sweepstakes by answering a simple Buffy or Angel trivia question. Prizes range from an entire season of the show on DVD to a comic or novel based on one of the two series. As a matter of fact this past month offered tickets to see Ghost Of The Robot, a band that is fronted by Buffy and Angel star James Marsters who played Spike. Of course, the concert is in England, but beggars can't be choosers. My other favorite part of the site is the quotes. Every time you enter a new page on the site, a new quote will appear on the right side of the screen underneath a picture of the character. This ends up serving as a reminder of why we love the Buffyverse-the writing, of course!
All in all, while this site is not entirely updated from an American viewpoint, it contains many fun and interesting items. Despite the face that Buffy and Angel have come to a close, there is sure to be plenty of information available as buzz mounts concerning Buffy creator, Joss Whedon’s next step-so stay tuned-this site, which you can visit at http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/, is a great place to dig up that info.
Send your comments and or questions about this article to jmanzano@ybfree.com.