Today we have an exclusive Pass Pictures interview with Jennifer Stickwood, co-creator of EOD! She sits down to talk with us about the EOD concept, the first season, and we try to pry some hints about next year out of her!
Pass Pictures: Thanks for sitting down with us. It must be hard to find time to do these interviews, what with running your hit seried End of Days (EOD) and constantly working on new projects.
Jenn Stickwood: Yeah I'm a busy little beaver...but I am always up for interviews and stuff because well I'm a dork and I love talking about EOD.
PassPics: So the first season of your series has been pretty explosive. Numerous pregnancies, and many deaths. Tell us a little about why you did that.
Jenn: Well some people may not know this but EOD the series actually began as a backstory deal for the roleplay game with the same name that Aimee and I started a while ago, because the players were confused with the history of it. Then we were approached by Emma Hayden who talked us into making it a series and well the rest is history. So, the events that happen, happen to give us a sort of backstory on how the original characters, the children of the scoobies who we have dubbed 'next gens' came to be and what thier childhood was like, shaping them for the future.
PassPics: Weren't you worried that fans of the original Buffy and Angel series might not take to EOD because so many people from those series have died?
Jenn: I was, at first it was a big deal that people may be pissed off about it but then I thought, well people were pissed when Joss killed Tara, thats just what makes television great and makes a writer great. I have actually had a few friends of mine refuse to read EOD because of the scooby deaths, and all I say to them is "your loss"
PassPics: What gave you the initial idea for this series?
Jenn: Well as I said above, it started as a backstory for a roleplay game and kinda got out of hand when both Emma Hayden and the late Daniel Pass both kept telling Aimee and I over and over how we should make it a virtual series. Dan at the time had Angel season 6 and Emma was just starting VTV so they managed to convince us, been going strong ever since!
PassPics: You changed a number of different things about the original finale of Buffy. How did you decide what things to change, and was it difficult choosing which to change and which to leave the same? It seems like it would be like trying to walk across glass--you need to tip-toe.
Jenn: Haha yeah that was one of the hardest episodes I have written and will probably always be for that reason. Uhm well some stuff we KNEW had to change in order for certain characters to be alive....like Anya was one who's fate we knew we had to re-write because without her we wouldn't have Alex or Adrienne...characters important to the rp and season 2 of the series so some we knew right off based on what we knew of the original characters, others we just changed for some drama to the script. There are some I wish we could have kept, Andrew being a main one for me but we had a HUGE cast list already and it's difficult to write with a cast list so huge and not leave people out..thats something I've struggled with the entire season writing wise. Season two has a bit of a smaller cast (Though not by much) so I'm hoping all will go better that way.
PassPics: Yes, it would seem hard to write for all those characters. Do you try to include all of them in each episode, or do you just leave some out when need be?
Jenn: I personally try to get at least a camo of each of them in every episode I write, but it gets incredibly difficult so sometimes people still get left out. THough now its not AS bad after we axed half the cast -laugh-
PassPics: Tell us about the progression of this season and what some of the characters are going through.
Jenn: Well basically this season was about the scoobies and fang gang cast attempting to get on with their lives even as the world was slowly being taken over by The First and it's Turok Han. They try to have relationships, families, children and I think it's interesting to see...how many people thought they would see Buffy and Angel have a kid? Or Spike and Fred? or even OZ moving on with another woman? What we tried to do was go to the sides that Joss never really showed. He tapped a few of them slightly but we full fledge jumped into them and found places we haven't really seen the characters in before. We have them going through the same old evil fighting, with twists like children, marrige, deaths of loved ones and to me thats what sets EOD apart from all the other Buffy/Angel web things out there. We wern;t afraid to go places other people seem to be.
PassPics: Was it necessary for those Scoobies that died to actually die?
Jenn: -Laughs- yes it was necessary ...we wouldn't have done it for nothing! Like I said earlier, we had to play out the backgrounds we knew for the original characters, we even tweaked a few bios to make the stories a bit more interesting. But in the long run, yes everything that happens, happend for a reason and has a purpose. Unlike what some people seem to like to say, we aren't just killing people off because we don't like them. My favorite character was one of the first ones to die and that was an incredibly hard episode for me to write and I really didn't want to kill him but, I knew I had to for the sake of the story. It sucks yes but, this isn't random homicide of characters Aimee and I dislike, it's us sacrificing our personal attatchments for the good of the story.
PassPics: You've mentioned Aimee Hudson quite a few times in this interview, and it's no secret that you like to blab about her whenever you get the chance (laughs). Give us an insight into your writing team and how they help out.
Jenn: (laughs) Yeah well Aimee isn't just a writer shes the co-brain of this operation we wouldn't have gotten this far without her on board but she's the silent type...not really keen on interviews and stuff so I like to point out how it isn't JUST me in this that I DO have a co conspiritor in all this. As for the 'writing team' we don't really seem to have one. We had a bunch of people who were going to write for us but they had some stuff of their own go down, one of them vanished off the face of the earth and then the whole tragedy with Dan...but we have had a few 'guest' writers lets call them. Rachael Johnston and Emma Hayden who did just wonderfull for us, both of them hadn't really written script before so I had to give them a hand but still for their first time writing both of them did incredibly well. I am particularly impressed with Emma and episode 8 "Risky Buisness" she actually wrote that before episode two because someone else was writing two, but it just turned out to be such a powerfull episode still one of my favorites so yeah, we've been blessed with the help we have gotten even though it was less then originally planned.
PassPics: Well, Season 1 is off to a fantastic start, can you tell us what's in store for some of our favorite characters until the end of the season?
Jenn: I cant tell you that! Ruin the rest of the season for ya! (laughs) we have...what five original scobies left and I think it's four episodes of season one to go and what I can say is all of them will be packed full of drama, humour, tears and fears, everything you have come to expect from End Of Days. We do our best to live up to the amazing skill Joss brought to these characters and keep everyone on the edge of their seats.
PassPics: And what about Season 2? Any tidbits you'd like to throw our way?
Jenn: Hmm well without giving any spoilers away...I know Im a bugger but common! I hate spoilers so I try not to give them but...basically season two will focas more on the children or "next gens" and thier life struggles while battling evil and the like. Basically it's a sort of 'back to the beginning' thing for us, I'm hoping we get a feel sorta like back in the old days with Buffy, Xander, WIllow and Giles at the highschool learning and growing with the world...and wow that sounds lame (laugh) I don't know what I'm talking about! (laugh)
PassPics: We're sure that you know more than you're letting on, and it's obvious you know what you're talking about! (laughs) So, no spoliers for us, but you can't say we didn't try folks!
Jenn: I know all! Haha! Many have tried, none have succeeded! (laughs)
PassPics: Thanks for sitting down with us and taking time to help us highlight your series! We wish you well with the end of this season and many seasons to come!
Jenn: No problem I love these interviews, I could sit around and talk about EOD all day if they'd let me (laughs) Thank you we appretiate the support and hope we don't get TOO many Buffy fans mad at us for all the torture we are putting them through (laughs)
End of Days airs Mondays on VTN and it's home site.
