One of the original Vampire dramas, Buffy lasted a stunning seven years, beginning in 1997. Launched off the movie of the same name, starring Kristy Swanson, Luke Perry, and Donald Sutherland, the range the series took was astounding and always entertaining. The creator of Buffy, Joss Whedon, has a knack for the quirky but relatable characters. Unknown to many, Joss’s creative credits include, Toy Story, Alien Resurrection, Firefly, & Titan AE.

Last night, my Hubby and I watched one of our favorites, and the creepiest Buffy episodes there is, “Hush”. If you have never seen it, it is seriously creepy. Everyone in the town of Sunnydale loses their voices, and these demons called ‘The Gentlemen’ arrive to take seven hearts. Standard Buffy, but the Gentlemen look like decayed versions of the preacher from Poltergeist and they float. They don’t walk, they float, in case you were unclear. This makes for even more creepiness and they are always smiling…ack…shivers just thinking about it. So the reason I brought up Buffy is first because the show is really ingenious and does not get enough credit. It invented the musical episode. Not only did it invent it, it perfected it in integration and story arch. While it was a novelty event, serious complications and revelations were unfurled in that hour of time.

The next reason is in two parts. First Joss Whedon is the writer of the upcoming Avengers Movie, due out in the summer of 2012. If you have not seen the specifics of this yet, definitely go to IMDB.com and check it out! Last is the return of Sarah Michelle Geller to Prime Time in Fall 2011. Yes, Buffy herself is returning to star in “Ringer” as Bridget - a young woman on the run from the mob poses as her wealthy twin sister to try and evade them, but soon discovers that her sister has a price on her head as well. Now my instincts at first glance are, man Michelle, I am not sure this is going to work. The plot seems weak and unable to sustain a thirteen episode run. In addition, a really bad sign is that for the life of me I cannot remember the name of the damn show.

As I was working on the tags for this article it once again escaped me and that is never a good sign. CW is known for its catering to the 15-25 crowd, with Gossip Girl, Beverly Hills 90210, and Vampire Diaries. This could very well be a welcome addition to the line up, however, and I say this with great pain, if it is not a floor breaker it is going to die. Here are my theories as to why. Most of us remember Geller from Buffy and those are fond memories. Dogma that could rival Star Trek thrive within the Buffy universe.

Anyone under the age of thirty will not have such fond memories and are less likely to pick up on Gellar’s talent as she is no longer a teenager. To see Geller break out of that shell would be wonderful, in the right role. In my humble opinion she would need to go to the opposite end of the spectrum to successfully break the Buffy spell. Gellar has collected a nice body of work during her Prime Time absence. However there hasn’t been any roll that has shattered the Buffy shadow. Do not misunderstand, I am a huge Gellar fan, I think she is a wonderful actress, I truly hope this takes off for her and I will be the first in line to congratulate her in the end.

Look for Ringer to start in Fall 2011. For more details go to CW Network or IMDB.com.