Behind the Scenes

ust picture if you will, Santa Barbara, a picturesque yet laid-back coastal community vibrant with its California countryside. Rich Spanish heritage, cobblestone walkways, and red tile roofed architecture deliver as splendid and diverse an atmosphere as the surprises and pleasures you'll discover here. If it sounds a lot like Sunnydale, you're not very much mistaken. Did I just say, mi-stake-n? Nah. Nestled in the heart of this quaint little seaside setting on West Anapamu, a few blocks north of Carrillo (which is not to be confused with Cabrillo, Castillo, or Trujillo) and just off of State Street you'll find Metro Entertainment, the home to countless film and television celebrity appearances and autograph signings. Not to mention an abundance of comic books, gaming materials and merchandise to please any and all fans of Sci-fi and beyond.

Fans line up outside Metro to meet the actresses of Buffy

Outside the shop, Josh Clark of Metro monitored the table of photographs available to purchase for autographs as CoA weaved our way through the lines of patiently waiting fans, looking to tap into some of the more verbal followers of the series, who had shown up for the event. The crowd was more than willing to share their opinions of how things were going thus far this season and the fact that Inkworks Trading Cards had provided us with free promo cards of their new Angel line to hand out to everyone got the insightful juices flowing. Even the young fans were eager to chime in with their reasons for liking the shows; for instance, Marlena, an impressively well-spoken 11 year-old from Santa Barbara was the first to tell us why she likes Buffy and Angel, "Because they're really exciting, there's not only action but drama." Which also explains who her favorite characters are. "Angel of course," she states mockingly, "and Cordelia. I was scared for a minute how they [the writers] lost her memory but I was really overjoyed when they got it back to her; then she was going through all these things. It made her character a lot more interesting."

These events which Metro holds quite regularly are not only attended by the locals of Cali as we soon came across Christina, all the way from Calona, British Columbia in Canada, who's enjoying the reemergence of Whedon's classic Buffy characters. "This season there's this concept of the 'big bad' that's a shape shifter and they're bringing back these villains from the past [i.e. Drusilla]. It's nice to see some of the old faces and it's kind of interesting to try and unravel this mystery of the big evil and what's going on with Spike. I'm already starting to hypothesize after seeing 'Conversations with Dead People'," she explains, "and now I'm starting to think that Willow's going to play a big part in being the person who fights the big bad. They seem to be focusing more on developing Anya's character all the more, especially after her breakup with Xander." Shauna from Glendora, California was happy to share her thoughts on Angel as she thinks it gotten better over the last couple seasons, "The direction's really good. I think they're going to do something with Wesley, like make him better but still kind of bad-ass at the same time, and I kind of like that. I'm excited for Dru, I like Drusilla, her whole character - I liked her on Buffy, I like her on Angel. When she messes with Angel it kind of brings out his darker side and I kind of like that too."

As all the Angel and Buffy related signings at Metro are, this one was both well attended and well organized. The lines for autographs and pictures were very orderly, and the intimate setting of the shop provided the fans with a great opportunity to interact with the actresses present which can sometimes become chaotic due to time restraints and over-eager fans. Here is not, nor has it ever been, the case. Bob Ficarra (owner/operator) of Metro and his staff were very accommodating and gracious to all and there always seems to be a larger draw to these events. When asked if they put forth any extra effort for these two shows and their fans, Bob admitted that, "Both Buffy and Angel are two of our favorites shows here at the shop with the staff and I. It's the shows we like, the shows we like to support and the fans are really loyal but not too eccentric." We thought another fan, George from Santa Barbara, summed it up best when she told us, "I've been coming to signings here [at Metro] for the last 3-4 years and of places like Los Angeles and different cities, this comic book shop has got the people coming in and it's always really nice. The [actors] will talk to you here, and they're very approachable and it's a good thing." With rolling eyes and a sly smile she confides, "I actually got to kiss James Marsters (Spike). My two favorite shows are Buffy and then of course Angel; Drusilla especially, I haven't had a chance to meet her so this has been really cool."

We had a second to talk with Juliet Landau and although her schedule is usually too hectic to allow for long story arcs on either Buffy or Angel, she always enjoys her brief appearances. She's never surprised at the lengths of what Joss will do to bring her back, even just to have her do a little stint, because the fans enjoy Drusilla so much. "Well, it's always amazing because the turns of the show are really surprising and yet they really make sense," she says, "everything's very grounded. It's always so much fun. It goes in these directions where you go, 'Oh, my gosh', and then you go, 'Oh, it does make sense', so it's wonderful." Through it all, the ladies were just that and unbelievably great to their fans. During the hour or so we were there, they signed hundreds of photos and books, and posed for countless pictures with the fans. In addition to the signatures, every fan got a smile and some pleasant conversation, which in our experience isn't too uncommon from the Buffy and Angel cast members, but is still very refreshing to see.

Along with their current roles, all three of these talented actresses manage to keep very busy apart from the Buffyverse. Emma is the female lead for the upcoming movie, Darkness Falls, a horror thriller due to be released in January 24th of 2003. Elizabeth is slated to appear in another 2003 film, Bill the Intern, and Juliet is planning on continuing with her theatre work after a successful run in Chicago this past summer. But Buffy fans can expect to see more of Drusilla later this season as Juliet had arrived at the signing after having spent all of the previous night shooting a new episode, although her return to Angel is uncertain at this time. Once again the evening was a great success for fans, VIPs and media alike and at this point, there wasn't much left to be done but thank Metro for their hospitality and be on our way. After crossing all the V's and dotting all the S's, we wrapped it up on another successful Metro Entertainment outing and retired to the confines of Dan's favorite: Topper's Pizza, down in Ventura, to enjoy some good food and liquid refreshment, before the long drive back to the office.

CityofAngel.com would like to thank Bob Ficarra, and his entire Staff, at Metro Entertainment for his generous cooperation and availability during this event.

Be sure to check out all the Coming Appearances scheduled at Metro's Website: www.MetroAutogrpahs.com

If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this 'Happenings' feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com