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Another unique addition to the book was Nikki's inclusion of a chapter on CityofAngel.com. With all the fan support and imaginative websites on the internet these days, she chose to focus on CoA, not that we minded! We never went out of our way for critical approval when designing or expanding on the site, it was more of an internal interest for those who worked on it; providing fans, as well as ourselves, with what we wanted in a website. "Well, I think it's the best Angel site out there," states Nikki. "I'd reviewed it in Bite Me! as the best Angel site I knew of, and then got to know the CoA people in the meantime. By the time I was working on Once Bitten, the site had grown tremendously and was even better, so rather than just give it another entry like I'd done in Bite Me!, I gave it its own chapter." Reading the book one discovers several enjoyable perspectives of Angel, the series; from breaking down its mythos and the world that Joss Whedon has created to the humor and poking-your-own-fun at the characters. Then there is the fan point of view which everyone can relate too. As a writer and a fan herself, Nikki surmises which is the most enjoyable for herself. "I think both aspects are enjoyable, and I don't really see them as separate, since when discussing an episode I just immediately do both things. The fan point of view is fun to write, but I'm always careful to include a disclaimer saying these are strictly my opinions, and may not be shared by all. As I discovered when Bite Me! came out, there's a legion of fans who think 'Beer Bad' was great. I am not one of them," she laughs, "But it always sparks discussion with people when I'm doing signings or chatting with fans, whether or not they agreed with me."
Photo highlight:
James Marsters
(Spike)
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As with many writers, there is always one section of the book that they enjoy creating most, and with Nikki it was no different. "The episode guides are always great fun for me to write, despite being so much work. I love coming up with the sidebars, which I work on as I'm watching the episodes. It's a little stressful having to keep so many things going at once - I watch the episodes all the way through all seasons, taking copious notes as I go. Then I make a list of sidebars I think will work, and as I go through them a second time I'm making the lists for each sidebars when I find the appropriate thing in each episode. So I have to keep all of these sheets of paper in front of me at all times... let's just say my husband complained more than once about the state of our living room!" she laughs.
The 'Nitpicks' sections within the Episode Guide are most enjoyable from an analytical point of view - which tends to be the perspective of most Buffy/Angel fans and as a result, Nikki has received a tremendous amount of fan response saying, "Ah ha! I thought that too!" or "That explains a lot." But providing such details can be a nightmare in itself. "Oh yes, I definitely talk to a lot of people who agree with them or who tell me in person that they hadn't noticed the connection or nitpick until they'd read it in my book," she confesses. "Often I'll also get emails or have people tell me in person a nitpick that they had caught, and that I had missed, which are always fun for me to hear. And occasionally someone will give me their explanation of what happened in the episode in an effort to explain away the nitpick and show me that actually, what I was nitpicking was actually OK." She adds laughing, "And a couple of times I've been convinced of what they told me. Occasionally I also get emails from people vehemently disagreeing with me or accusing me of being very nitpicky, it's the nature of criticism: when people like something, they keep it to themselves; when they don't, they let you know about it. So if you go on Amazon and look at the reader's comments, the negative ones will no doubt point out some nitpick that I listed and say it ruined the whole book for them that I'd had this one criticism in it or something - and often they've misinterpreted the nitpick by saying I was complaining about something, when in fact I was simply pointing it out as something to be noticed." Nikki laughs recalling, "I received one email from someone who called me a bigot because I'd referred to Lindsey's 'hickness' and she said that it was a shameful word to use. The thing is, I grew up in a small, small rural town, and we all referred to ourselves as hicks, so for me that word was one I regularly used to describe myself, and never thought of it as being a bigoted term. So when you write a book, you definitely discover things about your writing that will bother other people that you just took for granted, and it does help shape your style. I appreciate the good and the negative feedback because it helps me hone my writing." Laughing at herself, Nikki states, "Let's just say I certainly won't be using that word again!"
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"All of a sudden I got a script where I was kissing Gunn, so I thought, 'Oh, maybe I should have been doing this differently.'" ~ Amy on Fred and Wesley
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There are many highlights of her writing experience over the years for Nikki, having been involved with not only Angel but Buffy, and she recalls a couple of them for us. "Having the opportunity to meet all of the fans who've read the book, and whenever anyone tells me how much they enjoyed the book, it never ceases to delight me. I've made so many good friends through this, and I absolutely love the Buffyverse and everything that comes with it. I've also had the pleasure of meeting several cast members and/or interviewing them over the phone, and that, too, has been absolutely wonderful, and an opportunity I wouldn't have otherwise had." After hundreds of hours of watching and re-watching entire seasons, detailing story arcs and character developments, finding goofs and constructing continuity, you would think that Nikki would consider herself a Buffy/Angel trivia expert at this point. "No!" she laughs as she admits, "Sure, I can answer a lot of questions, and if someone gives me a line of dialogue I can probably tell them the episode title, and what number in the season it appeared, and who said it, etc. But I would never go toe-to-toe with some of the real trivia experts out there. I'm amazed by what some of the fans know. As I've said many times before, if I actually tried to take the trivia quiz I wrote in Bite Me!, I'd fail miserably." Nikki goes on to inform us that, "When I brought out the first edition of Bite Me! in 1998, it just had the first 2 seasons of episode guides, I included a trivia quiz that I thought was challenging but not impossible, and received dozens of emails from people saying, 'Wow, do you think we're stupid? I scored a 96 on that!' or something like that. They asked for a killer quiz, and so for the second edition of Bite Me!, I gave them one; asking what Angel's license plate number is, for example. Then I had people come up to me in person and say, 'Whoa, I failed that one, why did you make it so hard?' while others seemed to love the difficulty factor. So, for Once Bitten I made it far more challenging than the original quiz had been, but not impossible, and I think I finally found a good middle ground. At least I hope I did!"
Call Sheet puts David
in the make-up chair
for just 15-mins
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Now with the Angel series over after a successful five season run and Whedon moving on to feature films with Serenity and Wonder Woman, we asked Nikki to reflect on the one thing about Angel she would have changed about the show and if, like Buffy, it will continue to hold a firm footing in television culture or just 'fade away' like a dusted vampire. "Um... it would still be on the air?" she muses, "I'm so saddened every time I sit down and watch a season five episode because it had so much potential. When talking to the various cast members for the book, several of them dropped hints about what was coming up in season six, had the series continued. It was just so good in that final season that it's a shame the WB executives decided that was the time to get rid of it, and honestly, have they really found anything nearly as good to replace it with? But if you're referring to the actual series that we have, rather than a fantasy in my head, I would say parts of season four. I thought the buildup to the Beast was amazing, but then Connor and Cordy," she shudders jokingly, "coupled with Cordelia being evil, was just too much to bear. And for it all to culminate in the Jasmine storyline was just a little disappointing to me. I love Gina Torres, so I wouldn't change that casting for the world, but I wish it had been a little bit different. All of that 'I bring you peace' stuff reminded me way too much of that X-Files episode of The Simpsons. The end of the season was satisfying, and I liked the difficult way they ended the Connor storyline, and giving us the happier ending in season five was even better. But after the incredible third season, I wish season four had lived up to it. Thankfully, season five was even better." Nikki adds, "No, I don't think the series will ever fade away. The websites might gradually disappear one by one until there are only a few left; the mailing lists will become obsolete, and there won't be any more conventions, but the fans will remain, and they will continue watching their DVDs and becoming nostalgic about this great show that they loved."
Having also recently completed an "Unofficial Guide to the World of Alias", what could possibly be 'waiting in the wings' for Nikki now? Pun-pun. "Well," she laughs, "right now, it's motherhood. And what a full-time job that is. I barely have time to watch Alias, much less write about it!" Nikki jokes. "Usually I take a couple of years between books (Bite Me! was 2002, Alias and Angel were 2004) because it takes me some time to find a show that I really like and want to write about again, so I probably won't be writing anything for a while. I do have my eye on a couple of shows right now, but we'll see if anything comes of that."
Photo highlight: Mercedes McNab (Harmony)
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As a certain Slayer once said, "Hell of a ride!" and although Unicorns never played a part in Nikki's inspirations, there has always been a certain drive and determination that has gotten her through the deadlines, the writer's block and the overwhelming challenges that come with such an undertaking as Once Bitten. In closing, Nikki shares with us what she considers her most consistent inspirations. "Well, I guess it's like I said, the fan response and getting to meet new people. With each book I feel I have a better idea of what people want, because of the great feedback I get with each one. The shows themselves obviously also offer inspiration; I can't write about something I don't love, and I love Angel and Buffy. Both shows had a tremendous staff of writers who not only inspire me, but the fans. It's hard to have long, interesting discussions about a show that is simple and poorly written. Joss Whedon and his writers created an entire universe and epic story that allowed us to enter a new world each week. By the time both series were finished, they had accomplished an incredibly difficult task: they made these characters feel real to us."
As a true fan herself, Nikki reflects, "We got caught up in the world of Buffy and Angel, and week after week tuned in, worried about these 'friends' and 'family'. Would Buffy ever be happy? Would Angel get the chance to be human again? Is Willow safe from herself? Can Wesley ever feel whole again? So when both of these shows ended, it was like moving far away from one's friends and knowing you'll never be in touch with them again. The end of Buffy was a sad moment, and I remember feeling empty, but there was this glimmer of hope that maybe, on Angel, we could still hear tidbits about what was happening with the Scooby gang and perhaps get some crossovers. But when Angel ended, it was final. And yet, in a strange way, that incredible finale left me feeling complete, not empty." Finally, Nikki confesses, "Despite what some fans thought, I thought Not Fade Away was a beautiful, perfect ending to the series, to both series, in a way, and it left me feeling satisfied. In September 2004, there was a massive, Jossless void on my television set, and I'm dying for him to come up with another series to fill it. But until then, I have my DVDs, and will be watching them for many, many years to come." As will we!
Written by CoA Staff Writer, Kristy Bratton
CityofAngel.com would like to Graciously Thank our dear friend, Nikki Stafford, for her time, her humor, and most of all her dedication to the world of Angel.
If you have any comments for CityofAngel.com regarding this feature, we would love to hear from you. Just email us at: comments@CityofAngel.com
