Happy Birthday, James Marsters

News on Shuffle would like to give a great big birthday shout-out to one of our favorite actors in the sci-fi/fantasy world: James Marsters. Marsters has been on a number of our favorite shows, and has also played some of our favorite characters on those shows. The list includes Spike on Buffy/Angel, Braniac on Smallville (a role he will be reprising for the 200th episode), and Captain John Hart on Torchwood. He was also on one of our favorite episodes of Lie To Me. Besides being a television star, he is also a stage actor (he has been in a number of plays) and a musician. He played at a performing arts center very close to my school, but I was unfortunately unable to make this. There are a few videos on YouTube though that tell me he is worth checking out if I ever get the chance again. There are also some really good Q&A videos that are pretty entertaining. Next chance to see him in person will be this weekend at Chicago Comic Con. A complete list of upcoming events can be found on his website. For those in the NY/NJ area, look for him at NY Comic Con in October.

The birthday treat for today involves the musical episode of Buffy - Once More With Feeling. One is from his Q&A at Phoenix Comic Con and the other is a scene from the episode that featured Marsters as Spike. Enjoy!

James Marsters Phoenix Comic Con 5 29 10 Buffy Musical Question

Posted to Multipleverses Channel 1 by supernatural66 on May 30, 2010

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The whole episode is available for Instant View on Netflix, if you subscribe to the service. I also highly encourage you to watch the rest of the videos from Phoenix Comic Con. James is a very good public speaker, and his answers were both informative and entertaining.

Happy Birthday, Felicia Day

News on Shuffle would like to wish Felicia Day a very happy birthday. The actress has been involved with a number of our favorite things, many of which were created by this Joss Whedon character you keep hearing about. Besides guest appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse, she has also made an appearance on our new favorite show: Lie to Me. Oh, and she is the star of two of the best thing the internets have given us: Dr. Horrible (another Whedon gem) and The Guild (which she not only created, but also somehow roped Wil Wheaton into being the most awesome character EVER. Geeks everywhere unite, for The Guild is something we can all get behind. If you follow Miss Day on Twitter, you know that S4 of The Guild has finished production and will be available for viewing soon. And if you've never seen this little geek-tastic wonder before, well what are you waiting for?! Follow the link down the rabbit hole and enjoy. Each episode is pretty short so even though there are 3 seasons it shouldn't take too long to get through them all. And as a little birthday present for everyone (b/c 3 seasons of The Guild wasn't enough) here is my favorite scene from Dr Horrible, starring the birthday girl herself.

Happy Birthday, Joss Whedon

News on Shuffle would like to send a very happy birthday shout-out to the man, the myth, the legend - Joss Whedon. He is the writers of some of your humble blogger's favorite shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly (and the subsequent movie, Serenity), and Dollhouse. He also is the person you can thank for the internet cult classic Dr. Horrible. Most of my favorite actors I discovered on his shows, and they played some of my favorite characters in television history. It was recently announced that he would write and direct the new Avengers movie that is due out May 2012. he also will be working on the screenplay for the Captain America movie coming out July 2011. This gives Whedonites everywhere something to get excited about. Also worth checking out might be Cabin in the Wood, which Joss wrote and stars a pretty awesome cast (including Bradley Whitford, Fran Kranz, and Amy Acker - the latter two which were on previous Whedon shows). To mark the occasion, here is a video I recently found that made me smile (courtesy of Whedonesque). It includes clips from all of Whedon's shows.

Happy Internation Sarah Michell Gellar Day!

Fact for the day: Sarah Michelle Gellar's birthday is apparently known as International Sarah Michell Gellar Day. Or at least that is what I gathered from Whedonesque today. To celebrate, here are some top Buffy moments someone posted. The only one I remembered immediately was the one from Hush. Does that make me a bad fan?

What would I have chosen as best Buffy moments?

Her coming back from the dead in Season 6 would definitely be on there.

Also, when she is singing "Give Me Something To Sing About" during the musical episode "Once More With Feeling"

And the final moments with Spike at the end of the series.

Oh, and let's not forget her dying at the end of Season 5. And the speech she gives Dawn about living. "Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me." (Seems kind of ironic she tells Dawn to be brave and live but then complains about living her own life. Then again, if someone ripped me out of Heaven I would complain too).

There are a ton of great moments from the show. These are just some that come to mind now (and only ones involving SMG, since it is her birthday and all).

What about you? What are some of your favorite moments?

Happy Birthday, Nathan Fillion

News on Shuffle would like to wish Nathan Fillion a very happy birthday. Fillion was once star of the Joss Whedon cult classic, "Firefly" as well as Whedon's other cult favorites "Dr. Horrible" as Captain Hammer and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (where he guest starred in the final season). He currently star's on the ABC show "Castle". Other appearances by Fillion include a recurring role on a season of Desperate Housewives as Dr. Mayfair and the portrayal of Joey Buchanan on the soap opera "One Life to Live". Fillion turns 39 today.

Happy Birthday, Alyson Hannigan

News on Shuffle would like to wish the lovely Alyson Hannigan a very happy birthday. Hannigan was once the star of the cult classic "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" as Willow and also appeared in the spin-off, Angel. She currently stars with Neil Patrick Harris in the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother". Hannigan is married to Aleixs Dennisof, who also starred in "Buffy" and "Angel" as Wesley. They have a daughter who was born March 24, 2009. Hannigan turns 36 while her daughter turns 1.

Happy Birthday to them both.

Remember When: The Day Buffy Was Chosen

To each generation a slayer is born.

I'm sure you are not only familiar with this statement, but know how it continues. Thirteen years ago today we were introduced to Buffy Summers and the rest of the Scooby gang in what would become one of the defining shows of our lives (especially those of us who were adolescents at the time). The show was quirky, the characters oddballs, but together they made television magic. To think this show started as one of the biggest jokes in movie-dom is astounding, mostly because it became so much more. The characters gained depth and the story developed new levels with each season. By the end of its seven year run it had a huge following and left an impression on every life it touched. So grab your DVDs, make some popcorn, and take a moment to pay tribute to a great show.

Joss Whedon to direct episode of Glee

Joss Whedon, the guy who gave us Buffy: the Musical (one of the most popular episodes of the series) and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, is going to dip his toes in the musical pool again. This time he will be directing an episode of the musical comedy, Glee. The show has always given me the same musical campy feeling that Whedon's work has for me, so this seems like a good move in my book. In fact, I hope he directs more future episodes as well. This isn't to say that the show isn't good as is, far from it actually. I just think that once in awhile Whedon could add a little something to the mix that would be quite welcome by viewers. This will also attract new viewers who may not be paying attention to the show yet, but would be hooked after following this one directed by their god of television (yes, I do believe there are people who worship him enough to watch just for this alone). It will be interesting to watch the ratings before and after this episode airs (whenever that might be). Presumably he won't start working on this until he has a break from Dollhouse, which is his latest attempt at making fantasy television viewers squee with delight. The fact that it is currently in its second season means it is already doing better than Firefly, which has a cult following but never did well enough in the ratings to stay alive very long. Personally, I am behind in my Dollhouse viewing (just about to finish DVD of first season), but what I have seen so far I have thoroughly enjoyed. I hope it has staying power equal to his previous hits of Buffy or Angel. As with most things, only time will tell.