Ripper still Go?

By John Freeman on 26 November 2002

Anthony Stewart Head

Anthony Stewart Head, who plays Giles on UPN’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, told SCI FI Wire that plans are still in the works for a British spinoff series based on his character, despite reports that the show was on hold.

“I had lunch with Jane Root, who’s head of BBC 2, shortly before I came out [to Los Angeles], and we talked briefly about it,” Head said in an interview. “Jane still wants to do it. And still thinks we will do it. But everybody knows, basically, that [Buffy creator] Joss [Whedon] is absolutely strapped at the moment. I mean, bless his heart.”

Head says the proposed BBC 2 series will be called either Ripper or The Watcher and will explore Giles’ background and darker side. “That’s why [Whedon] wants to call it Ripper. Because Ripper is the darker side of Rupert.

“But in Joss’ words, it’s more about … inner demons than … the guys with prosthetics on their heads. It’s about people coming to terms with their past and with themselves. His concept … I’ve said it before, but it kind of puts it neatly in the box, which is … it’s Cracker, with ghosts.”

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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.