Check out our current Audio Drama series – Angel Between the Lines (which takes place between Seasons 3 & 4 of Joss Whedon’s Angel.

If you’re new to Buffy Between the Lines you can find all of Season 1’s main episodes by subscribing:

RSS for Season 1 Episodes
Subscribe to Season 1 Episodes in iTunes
To relisten to any episode please scroll down the far right sidebar and click on the graphic for that episode.

To read the scripts from Buffy Between the Lines please visit this page: http://www.buffybetweenthelines.com/scripts

Until further notice there will be no more new episodes of Buffy Between the Lines. Our team is busily working on Angel Between the Lines Season 1 followed by Firefly Between the Lines. If you have not subscribed to Angel Between the Lines yet, it has it’s own new feed:

Angel Between the Lines RSS
Angel Between the Lines iTunes

A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for us at the Podcast Awards. While it would be all kinds of shiny to get a trophy, I just wanted to let you know that everyone from Kim and I, to the voice actors, the editors, the writers and all people in between are just happy to have such loving and devoted fans like you.

Buffy Between the Lines has always been a lot bigger than I could have ever dreamed when we started back in 2007. Our merry band of about 11 people grew into a mighty army of 300+ people now working on Angel Between the Lines. Without those folks I think we would have given up a long time ago.

Make no mistake, we’d love an award, but the real satisfaction comes from all of you – the folks working on the podcast and the folks listening to the podcast. The comments, reviews, emails and voice mails you’ve sent in saying how we’ve “brought Buffy back” and how we’ve given you a moment of joy is really what Buffy Between the Lines is all about.

In the end, we’re fans of a little blonde slayer and her ragtag group of friends. That’s why we pour in the hours, time, money and effort to create this podcast. Because we’re fans who love this show. If you’re reading this, you’re part of the amazing experience these two years of Buffy Between the Lines has had. And that makes you pretty darn special.

And… if we don’t win, well we’re in good company with the actual TV show that should have received many Emmys, but never did.

Join us for the

All 22 Category winners will be announced during the Awards Ceremony!

So thanks again for voting for us. I know it’s a bit of a chore to do it every day, but you all were brilliant.

(Artwork by J. Scott Campbel)

There’s just 9 more days to vote for Buff Between the Lines at the Podcast Awards! Please head on over to vote!

If you like READING fanfic, check out Tabz’ LiveJournal for some fun crack fic she’s writing to encourage people to vote: click here.

Remember you can vote once a day, every day — and encouarge your friends and family to vote too! Buffy deserves to win!

Click here to visit Podcast Awards and cast your vote now!

Remember to enter a real email address and validate your vote if you’re asked!

ONLY IF Buffy Between the Lines wins the Entertainment category the producers will produce a Post-Season 7 episode of Buffy Between the Lines.

Please vote ONCE a day, every day between today and November 30th. You must validate your vote via email, so enter a real email address.

Click here to vote!

Giles – Brian Brown
Script – Tabitha Grace Smith

Click here to sign up for a daily email reminder: Subscribe to Buffy Between the Lines by Email

Please head on over and vote for Buffy Between the Lines in the entertainment category of the Podcast Awards. We’d sure appreciate it! Make sure to leave a valid email address (so you can validate your vote). Click the banner below to vote!

Please vote ONCE a day, every day between today and November 30th. You must validate your vote via email, so enter a real email address.

Click here to vote!

D’Hoffryn – Andrew Ball
Script – Heidi Jenkins

Click here to sign up for a daily email reminder: Subscribe to Buffy Between the Lines by Email

Please vote for the super chicks of Buffy Between the Lines at the Podcast Awards!

Vote once a day, every day until Nov 30th!

Click here to vote!

While there make sure to vote for Clinton (the Mayor) and his podcast Comedy4Cast and our Firefly podcasting friends – The Signal!

Spike asks you to vote for Buffy Between the Lines & the Signal!

Please vote ONCE a day, every day between today and November 30th. You must validate your vote via email, so enter a real email address.

Click here to vote!

Spike – Nick Edwards
Script – Tabitha Grace Smith

Click here to sign up for a daily email reminder: Subscribe to Buffy Between the Lines by Email

Thanks to everyone who voted for us yesterday! Please vote again today!

We have to show those other podcasts who THE vampire slayer is.

– Don’t forget to enter a valid email address (you may need to validate your vote for it to count).

– While you’re there please vote for our friends: Comedy4Cast, JTIndie.com, and Fastpitch Softball TV.

We need your help to win! And, don’t forget, if we win we’ll be writing an episode between Season 7 and Season 8!

Click here to vote!

Please vote ONCE a day, every day between today and November 30th. You must validate your vote via email, so enter a real email address.

Click here to vote!

BuffyBot – Kim Butler
Script – Faith (the Vampire slayer)
Music – Buffy Between the Lines Theme by Beatnik Turtle

Click here to sign up for a daily email reminder: Subscribe to Buffy Between the Lines by Email

by Tabitha Grace Smith

When dealing with the Hellmouth one can never be sure what will happen next, but there’s one truth that’s a constant no matter what happens – everyone dies. Angel’s time in hell is interrupted by a mysterious visitor, The Mayor keeps his word and, in the end, everyone dies.

Thanks so much to our special musical guests: Four Star Mary and Marian Call — the Bronze deserves your music always.

Into every generation a slayer dies, but what happens when they do? Follow the journey of Kendra’s training and becoming the slayer. And what happens when another slayer is gone.

This episode was edited by Kinsey Swartz

Make sure to be subscribed to email updates from Angel Between the Lines (coming this October).

Oh, and here’s what some of the cast and crew did on their summer vacation:

The producers would like to point out that comments made in this episode are not reflective on the opinions of Between the Lines Studios and we can’t advocate death threats against animate or inanimate objects.

Music featured is “Pipe Dreams” by Celtic Fusion.

Buffy Between the Lines presents a full PDF of our script for Season 2 Episode 010 – It’ll Never Happen in Los Angeles

by Tabitha Grace Smith

In this episode we learn why you should never underestimate the chicken, what a late night call from Spike sounds like, and some people get recast. What? You want more? Do you know how hard these episode descriptions are to write? Just listen to the episode and then you’ll know what it’s about. Seesh. I give and I give… and it’s NEVER enough for you people.

What YOU should do is buy the book on May 15th at Amazon.com! Help Nina to conquer Amazon! In the meantime, help to spread this promo! Spread the word, and point them here, place it in your own feeds, or you can link or embed the YouTube version!

Then, check out part 2!

Promos:

Geek Acres

Red Shirts (coming soon)

Seth Harwood’s Jack Wakes Up

By LauraTD.

After being confronted (accidentally) by Xander, Larry explores his sexuality while saving the world. Once. Meanwhile, Spike and Drusilla’s trip continues down it’s downward spiral and Cordelia begins her trip home.

Artwork by Nuchtchas

Written by Heidi Jenkins
Edited by John N.
Daughter – Crystal
Mother – Nuchtchas

Click here to listen (it’s an epic episode, we show up around the 1 hour mark).

Captain Mal Renyolds – Kevin Guyer
Zoe Washburne – Tabitha Grace Smith
Kaylee Frye – Larissa Myhowych
Jayne Cobb – P.G. Holyfield
River Tam – Mur Lafferty
Simon Tam – Seth Harwood
Hoban “Wash” Washburne – J.C. Hutchins
Shepherd Book – Scott Sigler
Badger – Clay Robeson
Nandi – Minx
Adelei Niska – James Butler
YoSaffBridge – Kim Butler

Additional Cast:
Emma Rawlin
Liane Uehara
Alex Gilmour
Volo
Lisa Tobias
Scott Schappell
Siobhan
Sam Luddy
Mike Moncada
Kent LaFavers
Lee Nix
Andy
VerseAndy
Heidi Jenkins
Daniel Weisz
P. Bing
Laieanna
Patricia Neumann
Jason Northrop
John N.
Suziqb77
Rose

We can’t wait for Firefly Betwen the Lines! Coming soon!

In this episode we learn why you should never underestimate the chicken, what a late night call from Spike sounds like, and some people get recast. What? You want more? Do you know how hard these episode descriptions are to write? Just listen to the episode and then you’ll know what it’s about. Seesh. I give and I give… and it’s NEVER enough for you people.

Between the Lines Studios and our fans wanted to help Sonny out. So we offered a special episode JUST for people who donated on Sonny’s Myspace page. This special episode is being sent off on April 1st, but there’s still time for you to get the episode.

In this episode BtLS examines the Secret Lives of Reavers, giving you a unique story from the Firefly universe that you won’t be able to hear anywhere else.

If you donated to Sonny make sure to send us an email at betweenthelinestudios.com with your paypal transaction # or proof of donation.
If you haven’t made a donation yet you can do so at Sonny’s Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/sonnystorch

Not only will you be given this special episode, but you’ll be put in a drawing for some great Whedon schwag including Buffy Between the Lines limited edition posters, a terrifying space monkey, comics and more!

Thanks to all of you who keep the ‘Verse going.

Fanfiction has always been a dirty word.  Maybe because a lot of fanfiction is actually very dirty.  Maybe because a lot of it is complete rubbish.  Let’s face it: as much as Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans love the show, it’s always been a bit of a leap to go from Joss Whedon’s snappy, witty and smartly written TV drama to a format generally believed to be badly written, hurried, ill-conceived and generally very poor.  Actually it’s a bit of a leap for most to go from Whedon’s series to any related Buffyverse tales, whether in story or comic book form.  Those that don’t, though, are starting to seriously miss out.  When I first heard that a group of Buffy fans from the fanfiction community had gotten together to produce a Buffy radio drama I couldn’t contain my laughter.  With the best will in the world, how could a bunch of amateurs hope to pull off something remotely credible, let alone worthwhile?  None of the original cast, no established scriptwriters and not even a proper soundstudio.  “Very quaint,” I thought, and promptly tuned in for comedy value.

Twelve episodes later, I’m on the brink of writing to Whedon, begging him to canonise the series and to give the team money and a proper studio to produce an official radio drama that would, undoubtedly, sell like hotcakes and be a worthy jewel in the Buffy crown.  Not for my benefit, mind, as I’m now open-minded enough to head on over to the Buffy Between the Lines website and have my fill of this excellent show for free, but for those out there who are too driven by traditional media to give this a chance, thinking that something can only be worthy if they’ve succumbed to the marketing and paid for it.  Let us instantly revise our swift categorisation of fanfiction as complete rubbish, then: Buffy Between the Lines (BBtL) is an essential item on any Buffy fan’s agenda, combining all the hilarious wit and humour alongside tense, involving drama and fascinating characterisation of Whedon’s original series.  In short, it’s a superbly written triumph that’s beautifully acted across the board by its cast of amateur Buffy aficionados.

To read the rest of the review click here.
To read an interview with Kim and I also on Playtime Magazine click here.

After being confronted (accidentally) by Xander, Larry explores his sexuality while saving the world. Once. Meanwhile, Spike and Drusilla’s trip continues down it’s downward spiral and Cordelia begins her trip home.

Intro: James Marsters

Promos for this Episode:

The FarPoint Recap

Wander Radio

Music Composed by Moses Lei

Warning: This episode may contain languge that is offensive to some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.

by Alyrenee

Willy, hero in his own mind, has an adventure of his own – Sam Spade style.

Artwork by Jason D. Smith

Jason D. Smith is a marketing/graphics/IT guy living in Sierra Vista, AZ. He likes RPGs and things that are new, and has a mostly-regular webcomic, DnDorks.com, that he enjoys drawing. And yes, he thinks Joss Whedon is pretty darned cool.

Join Kevin Cummings as he talks with Ellie B. (Julie the vampire), Larissa (Assistant Producer), Andy (SFX Crew), Volo (Gwen Raiden) and Daryl Blasi (Willy the Snitch). Learn what an assistant producers do, why it’s fun to be a non-canon character, who was envisioning Gwen Raiden’s costumes, when sound effects are found, where Andy met Spike (okay Nick Edwards), and so much more.

(*Special note from the producers: We do not endorse anyone trying to kick people who don’t listen to Buffy Between the Lines UNLESS they’re vampires, but taking them out for coffee is perfectly acceptable)

Special thanks to clockworkbook/speculativism for this!

To audition please visit Angel Between the Lines’ website: http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/auditions/

Never podcasted or recorded yourself before? Check out our suggestions for software and equipment.

If you’ve got questions not answered with our FAQ, shoot an email to: betweenthelinesauditions@gmail.com

by Alyrenee

Willy, hero in his own mind, has an adventure of his own – Sam Spade style.

Intro: James Marsters

Special Guest Star: Podcaster and Novelist – Seth Harwood as the Fatman

Promo: Dark Worlds at   http://darkworldstrilogy.com

Also, make sure to check our ANGEL BETWEEN THE LINES auditons (March 7 – 21st, 2009) – http://www.angelbetweenthelines.com/auditions/

Written by Tabitha Grace Smith

Performed by Lisa T.

Editing by Laura ED

SFX by Lisa T.

Angel Between the Lines auditions are going to be open from March 7th to 21st, 2009. If you’re interested in being a voice role for our audio drama, please check out the website on March 7th for all the details. If it’s before the 7th, you can sign up for an email reminder!

Angel Between the Lines web site.

Join suziqb77 as she talks with Erin Moore and Mark (the Encaffeinated One) as they discuss Buffy Between the Lines Season 2 Episode 008 – Safe at Home.

Links:
The Game Master Show
The Weird Show
The 9th – A Heroes Cast

Our graphic artist and all-around amazing person Irrel has started her own vlog (video blog). In this first episode you get to hear: 1) her great accent and 2) how much she hates coloring crocodiles. You also get to see (in fast forward) her coloring the Episode 8 cover! So check it out and leave her a comment.

She’s so talented and awesome. Tabz is jealous.

by Beer Good Foamy & Rachel (Redrikki)

The intertwined fates of the Mayor and Faith combine as we see both paths to Sunnydale.
Cover art by Chris O. Coloring by Irrel

Isn’t it awesome?

If you’ve created something inspired by Buffy Between the Lines make sure to send pictures or a link our way!

by Beer Good Foamy & Rachel (Redrikki)

The intertwined fates of the Mayor and Faith combine as we see both paths to Sunnydale.

Promos:

Jt’s Indie Christian Music Podcast

The One Tree Hill Podcast

Special Guest

Thomas Reed – Bitstripper Extraordinare

Links Mentioned:

Gypsy Audio

Geek By Night

Voices of Babylon

Buffy Between the Lines

It’s Compelling!

Oz is forced to tell the band members about his wolf-ism while Riley is recruited by the Initiative for a very special case.
Written by Tabitha Grace Smith
Cover Art  and Coloring by Nuchtchas

Listen to the Episode Here.
Download the PDF of the Script Here.
Read Present Memory’s Review Here.

I’m writing up two episodes in one go here which I know is just wrong, but I listened to episode three at once, I’m falling behind and don’t have time to re-listen because I’m getting desperate to race on ahead and listen to the next ones (and listen to all the extra twiddly bits like the feedback and special commentary episodes I just discovered existed!).

The praise I’m going to start lavishing on this show is going to start looking pretty sycophantic fairly shortly, I’m almost hoping that these guys put out a few clunkers so that I get the chance to shower on them some of my trademark abuse. But I can’t just yet. As much as I loved episode 2 I’d secretly been expecting the show to tail off a bit, maybe present a quality monster of the week, some good dialogue and funny scenes etc but ultimately not to nail the characterization angle as deftly as Joss Whedon did or to pull of anything major; after all, it’s pretty damn thing to do and frankly if you achieve something like that, you’re probably a writer of note.

It looks like Gwendolyn Jensen-Woodard (episode 3), Emma Rawlin and Tabitha Grace Smith (episode 4) are writer’s of note then, as they’ve managed to, not just achieve the unthinkable and bring real character depth and pathos to their work on Buffy, but they’ve managed to do it, yet again, using characters and in ways that are were completed unexpected. Finding ideas and angles that no-one could have predicted were coming. At this point if it were to be announced that these guys had won them selves a writing gig on Buffy Season 8 or a related project I’m sure there’d be much skepticism amongst non-listeners of this show but I’m fully convinced that they’d be more than up to the task; far more than, say, established but uninspired comic writers like Brian K Vaughan whose character writing simply goes through the motions.

Episode 3, “Never go Up Against a Sorcerer When Death is on the Line” is a character episode of the finest order. An Ethan Rayne story (introduced at just the right time in just the right way and played expertly with all the ticks and mannerisms in place by Alex Gilmour) with all the hallmarks of the finest Ethan stories as Ethan’s trouble making brings out the personal insecurities and troubles of the character he happens to be harrassing. Giles, unable to cope with Buffy’s death, slips into alcoholism and Ethan only makes it worse by sending him on a trip into his own unconscious, bringing his worst demons and fears to the surface. This episode plays like a trip with different characters and scenes from Giles life being played over in truly scary fashion with the people he’s failed like Jenny Calendar and Buffy coming back to mock him. Brian Brown as Giles has a lot to carry here and I’m glad to say that despite my reservations about his appropriateness in the first episode, he does a terrific job of making us believe in and feel for Giles pain.

In good Buffy tradition, you always get a little bit more than the main storyline and here we are, amongst other things, treated to a look at how the trio came to meet up. Now I’m an unashamed fan of these guys who are a huge part of the reason why Season 6 is my favorite Buffy series, so it was a real treat to get this scene. It so easily could have been a huge disaster, but… how perfect that the three should meet at a role-playing game organized by Ethan who doesn’t show and featuring comments like “I’ve got this great dungeon I made in 10th grade (or something….shifty) , you guys are gonna love it” had me rolling on the floor

Episode 4, the wonderfully titled “Ctrl-Alt-Del” proves that I was completely wrong in my assessment of Kim Butler before. In an audio drama, no matter how good the script, if the central performer isn’t up to it, it’ll be a disaster. Kim Butler is up to the role of the BuffyBot and then some, creating a fully fleshed character out of what could be cynically seen as just a hilarious extended joke in the series. BuffyBot in this episode is almost reminiscent of a Data from Star Trek without the massive intelligence or self knowledge, trying to find her place in a world that she knows she doesn’t quite belong to. It’s another episode lacking a weekly monster but that doesn’t mean that it lacks the requisite dramatic impetus. Alongside Buffybot’s rise to self awareness we are treated to some story surrounding our series Big Bad, Javert (or one of? Who is this mysterious “Air?”). I haven’t mentioned how much I like Javert as a character yet as it’s really only in this episode that he gets some decent airtime. He’s a really smooth, suave leader of a vampire gang but unlike, say the Spike of S2 he’s not quite so self-assured as his image would have others believe and has these niggling uncertainties that he actually has any control over his minions. He’s a wonderful villain, perhaps not as large as life as some of Whedon’s best, but certainly more intriguing and with more depth than Adam or Glory. This extended time we’re getting with him is really making me anticipate the eventual end of season showdown. The neat twist to this episode is that we are treated to a showdown of sorts, between Javert and Buffybot that ends in the perfect anticlimax as Buffybot runs out of battery and Javert leaves thinking he’s killed the Slayer.

(there’s also a great cameo by yet another great soundalike, Andrew Ball as D’Hoffryn)

Both these episodes are Buffy writing of high magnitude indeed. Added to this, the cast are becoming more relaxed and confident in their roles to the point that there’s hardly a weak link amongst them and the production values are also steadily improving. Does this sound too sycophantic? Just wait until I get dissing on the Thanksgiving Minisode, OK?

[Make sure to check out Juss' New Time Radio Blog for more reviews of new audio dramas over at Playtime Magazine]

We sit down and talk with the band behind the Buffy Between the Lines Theme song about writing music, the band, writing a book, being creative and their upcoming kid’s album. Please be sure to check them out at their website.

Additional Links:

Beatnik Turtle’s Facebook Terrarium

Follow the Turtles on Twitter

Buy the albums on iTunes (along with the BBtL Theme) [Link opens in iTunes Music Store]

by Tabitha Grace Smith

Oz is forced to tell the band members about his wolf-ism while Riley is recruited by the Initiative for a very special case.

Promos:

How to Grow Your Geek

Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

Listen to the Episode here.
Download the Script in PDF format.
Read Present Memory’s Review here.

I certainly didn’t expect Buffy: Between the Lines to turn itself into essential listening in just two episodes. Not without some of the technical issues that plagued the first episode, there is however so much Buffy goodness in this story it’s virtually a fanfic dream come true. This second story in the soon to be hot radio play offers us a slice of genuine horror in the excellently executed opening scenes, as a young opera singer is mysteriously murdered, the use of song and sound here being particularly exemplary. It then throws in some classic Buffyesque comic touches, some genuine mystery in the mode of Buffy Seasons 2/3 as the gang and in particular Tara (it’s so great to see Tara lead a story) try to work out who is behind the calling of this demon and finally treats us to a great twist ending.

You want more? With Willow going to L.A to let Angel know about Buffy’s death we’re even treated to a number of crossover scenes that never did but should have happened in the TV series (or at least the comics goddammit). No, it doesn’t quite fit in with the mad demon murdering university choir-singers storyline, but Willow’s trip also becomes a disaster as there’s a demon on the loose in Angel’s hotel and Willow has to stay cool and save the day. Even more importantly, praise the lord, we’re treated to a wonderful characterisation of Cordelia that casts aside the tedious uninteresting character from Angel and gives us something close to the uber-bitch of Buffy seasons 1-3 as she lays smack into Willow and Buffy when she turns up on their doorstep. Throw in an uncanny Fred impersonation and it makes one eagerly anticipate the inevitable (this is inevitable, right?) Angel Between the Lines spin off show.

There’s still work to be done in terms of keeping the script tight and focused. At nearly an hour even with the commercial breaks the running time is a little long and without the advantages that visuals give you I’d argue that a shorter 30 minutes would make this show pacier and slightly more effective. Also, whilst the writers are managing to capture the more adult and interesting side of the Buffy character’s effectively time will tell if there’ll be any sign of Whedon’s insight or bite. It doesn‘t help that without Buffy in the cast there’s no real main character focus yet. Willow is going to have to take over the reigns as main character, I presume, but what can the writers do with her between the season’s that is all that interesting? I’m not sure but curious to find out.

If you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and who the hell doesn’t?) this show just became essential listening. So listen already.

[Make sure to check out Juss' New Time Radio Blog for more reviews of new audio dramas over at Playtime Magazine]

We as Browncoats and Whedon fans are known for rallying to help those in need. Because of Browncoats we’ve been able to donate thousands to “Kids Need to Read” and “Equality Now”. Buffy fans have helped “Make a Wish” with their yearly Buffy marathon. Now, Sonny needs our help.

Currently this piece of Firefly’s history, Sonny Rhodes, is facing a financial hardship. Being too sick to work has drained his personal finances and to help this great bluesman his friends have decided to start a relief fund for the months that Sonny will be laid up recovering from these surgeries. While a majority of Sonny’s medical will be paid by insurance but not all expenses will be covered.

Buffy Between the Lines wants to help out, so we’re doing a special episode that will -only- be available to those who donate to Sonny via his paypal button. We’re not collecting the funds ourselves, but we would like you to head over to Sonny’s Myspace page at http://www.myspace.com/sonnystorch

Donate whatever you can to help out. Every little bit helps in these tough times. Once you’ve donated, send us an email at Buffy BetweentheLines at gmail dot com. Also include your Paypal transaction number or some proof of your donation. Add the Subject line “for Sonny”.

We’ll be sending everyone who participates and sends us an email a link to a special episode on April 1st, 2009. This episode will not appear anywhere else, and is only available to those listeners who donate to help Sonny out.

We’re also going to give away some special goodies to randomly chosen entries. We have some Buffy Between the Lines schwag, Buffy Season 8 posters and other things we’ll send to the lucky winners. So please help us help a friend.

[Editor's Note: We asked Juss, from the New Time Radio Blog over at Play-Time.com if we could repost some reviews he wrote of our first season. He happily agreed. Make sure you check out his blog for more reviews of audio dramas. Thanks Juss!]

Click here to listen to the episode.
Click here to read Present Memory’s Review.
Download the Script in PDF format.

Major kudos to Tabitha Smith and all the guys at Buffy Between the Lines for undertaking and pulling of such a bold and daring project.

I’ve kept away from expanded universe Buffy material including books comics and fan-fiction mostly as the quality of the TV show (and Season 8 comics) has been so high it would seem like desecration and only make me angry. However, having heard about Buffy Between the Lines, a radio production which follows the lives of the Buffy characters inbetween seasons 5 and 6, my curiosity got the better off me; this project was so ambitious It’d either be immensely gratifying to see it pulled off or at the very least it would give me a good laugh for 30 minutes listening to a bunch of Whedonites pretending to be Willow, Xander et al and falling flat on their faces.

There are immense difficulties involved in portraying characters so loved and cherished as the Buffyverse characters, with the acting styles and mannerisms of the Buffy actors so ingrained on our consciences it was always going to be difficult to convince listeners of the validity of this project, particularly with an amateur cast. Worse for them maybe is that Whedon and Co’s scripts are so tight, fast paced and funny whilst simultaneously containing such smart character development and genrebusting ideas that it’s going to take a scriptwriter of some talent to make it worth these actors getting out of bed for.

Well, Between the Lines was certainly something of a nice surprise. By no means a masterpiece or an essential part of the Buffyverse, this is however a pleasantly enjoyable listen. There’s obviously been a lot of love and care gone into this at every stage, from acting, scripting to production. Different actors have been chosen from around the world based on their ability to act like rather than sound like the characters an for the most part this has been an astute and successful strategy. There are some real gems on the cast; Chris O. as Xander and Tabitha Smith as Anya particular stand out as being not just good mimics but able to time their lines and deliver good comedy in a similar way to the original cast. Tasha as Dawn, Cliss as Tara and Nick Edwards as Spike all make the most of their roles too, although if anything Edwards isn’t quite over the top enough to be any kind of a match for James Marsters. There are some disappointments; Willow’s gentle but passionate manner was a little too much for xMadxScientistx to capture this time around whilst Anthony Stewart Head’s obvious theater background is obviously missing from Brian Brown’s performance and it hurts it, though it seems churlish to blame Brown for that!

Scriptwise, Tabitha Smith tried to do too much too early. Given the post Buffy death setting it was inevitable that there had to be a grieving scene but it’s far too long and overwrought. In the first episode it a big enough call to get the listener to accept a brand new Buffy cast and a new format; to have to buy heavy emotional drama all on top of this is too much. A better decision would have been to find a way to put off the grieving scenes and start out with some action/comedy adventure instead. When the action comedy does finally kick in the show improves tenfold. Tabitha Smith’s narrative pacing may be a bit off but she sure knows how to write a good joke in the Buffy style and when the delivery is good, that’s when it all feels worthwhile. Another tough call for the scriptwriter is going to be bringing these characters up to the point they’re at in “Bargaining” in an interesting and entertaining manner without giving them too much to do that they become overly experienced. Willow has to become powerful but with reservations, whilst the rest of the gang will still have to look a little lost without Buffy around to save their necks. Doc was a good stop gap villain for this and that the gang are saved from needing to dispatch the guy worked out well. I like how Smith, in Buffy tradition attempts to weave together the personal drama and the evil threat, allowing the two to bounce off of each other and if the script was a little disjointed for it to work out this time around, I’ve confidence that after a few episodes she’ll nail it.

On of the major problems perhaps come with the production. Having different actors from across the globe is a wonderful and exciting thing, but it does mean icky and imbalanced sound quality that’s hard to make consistent. Sound effects and scene transitions are not always implemented well and even though the idea is nice, those damn persistent commercial breaks really are unnecessary. All these criticisms may sound like quite a big deal, but really they aren’t. If you listen to this expecting high quality audio production then you’re probably listening to the wrong thing anyway. If you’re listening to Between the Lines for the right reasons then it’s easy enough to gloss over these inconsistencies and problems which I’ve no doubt will improve as the series continues anyway.

Buffy Between the Lines is unfortunately not going to replace the TV show or your monthly comics fix. However, if you enjoy the Buffyverse, are open to the idea of fan interpretations and enjoy good quality audio plays then you could do far worse than to check this show out. I’m certainly eager to see what Tabitha Smith comes up with next.

Pat invites Joyce to join her book club and they seem to be other than normal. A strange disappearance seems to confirm Joyce’s suspicions. Can the scoobies help her save Kelly in time? Meanwhile Tara deals with her family and her mother’s death.

In order to help him out, we’re going to be creating a VERY special episode of Buffy Between the Lines that is -only- available to people who donate to Sonny’s paypal fund. We’ll also be giving away some copies of Buffy Season 8 the comic, special Buffy Between the Lines posters, S1 of BBtL on DVD, and other prizes (TBA)

If you’d like to receive this secret episode, please make a donation to Sonny’s paypal (you can find the button on his Myspace) and then send us an email to buffybetweenthelines-at-gmail.com with the subject line “For Sonny”. In the email please put your name and Paypal transaction number (or other proof of donation). ANY amount can help Sonny out, so please give as you are able.

All emails received will receive a link to a secret episode on April 1st, 2009. Other winners will be notified by email.

If you have any questions, please leave us a comment or email the address above.

Contagious is the follow-up to his “Infected” novel that Javert used to kill those poor gypsies last season.

We’re so proud – head on over to his website scottsigler.com and give him a congrats!

Better Safe than Sorry in Sunnydale
by Sue O’Donovan & Beth Nelson

Pat invites Joyce to join her book club and they seem to be other than normal. A strange disappearance seems to confirm Joyce’s suspicions. Can the scoobies help her save Kelly in time? Meanwhile Tara deals with her family and her mother’s death.

Intro: J.C. Hutchins
Promos:
Cue the Film
The Signal Season 5

Geek Pantheon and Your Moment of Kim

Then you may want to apply to write for Firefly Between the Lines.

Click here for more.

Voices for this promo:

Kent LaFavers

David Moore

Nuchtchas

In case you missed it last year!
Music Featured in this Episode (available for direct, individual download):

Coventry Carol – Performed by Kim Butler.

The Company Christmas Party – Written and Performed by the band Beatnik Turtle.

Carol of the Bells – Performed by Kim, Larissa, Clay and Tabz.

Christmas Without You – Beatrice Ericsson from music.podshow.com.

Oh Come, Oh Come, Emanuel – Performed by Clay Robeson.

Lost Holiday – Benjamin from music.podshow.com.

I Wonder as I Wander – Performed by Larissa Myhowych.

Festival Of Lights – Alicia Bay Laurel from music.podshow.com.

GreenSleeves – Performed by Tabitha Grace Smith.

Downloadable Art (click on the thumbnails for larger images):

Artwork by Clay Robeson.

Our new cast/crew members will be working on not -one- podcast, but all the BTL Studios podcasts! All crew members are also open to be voices.

What are we looking for?

Audio Editors. People who can edit together podcasts. We also have great training if you don’t have skills in this area.

Writers. Not only script writers, but bloggers, fanfic authors and feature writers. For example, writing a review of a TV series, movie or book for Joss’d and our “I Can’t Believe it’s Not Joss”.

Time Commitment: This depends on you, we’re flexible. If you’re available for at least a couple hours a month we can use you!

If you’re interested, please email Crystal: midnytestarr – at – gmail.com

We’re very happy to announce our final move over to FarPoint Media (FPM). FarPoint Media is a leading producer and distributor of quality broadcast and podcast entertainment, with a variety of content to feed your needs.

We join a very creative group of people and we’re happy to share Buffy Between the Lines with new listeners joining from the FarPoint Media family. Also joining FPM are other BtL Studios podcasts including Joss’d, Strangely Literal, Future Traditions, Squint Squad, Short Cummings Audio, Upside Down & Halfway to Happyland, Tales from the Verse and Let’s Talk Joss.
As part of our move we’ve redesigned the site, and have done away with the forums. All discussions and fan-related activity has moved to our Ning community – please join us there.

If you are NOT subscribed via iTunes you’ll need to change your RSS feed to – http://feeds.feedburner.com/BuffyBetweenTheLines.

If you are subscribed via iTunes or if you listen via our website you should continue to receiving episodes normally.

Thanks to everyone who made this move possible and we look foward to bringing you even more wonderful episodes.
If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Willow’s magic spell backfires with unusual results, leading to the touching lament of Buffy’s absence by someone special. Across the sea, Wesley struggles to find himself outside of his father’s oppression.

by Liane U. & Tabitha Grace Smith

Willow’s magic spell backfires with unusual results, leading to the touching lament of Buffy’s absence by someone special. Across the sea, Wesley struggles to find himself outside of his father’s oppression.

Intro by Tee Morris – teemorris.com
Promo for The Company Podcast – thecompanypodcast.net
Geek Cred – geekcred.net

Music:
Too Quiet – oldDog
Sad and Lonely – David Beard Caissa

Since you’ve worked on a wide variety of projects, both in size and scope, the inevitable question of budgets and size of orchestras become relevant… how have you had to adapt your writing style to accommodate these restrictions?

I try to be a purist and just watch a movie without bearing in mind the restrictions, then trying to figure out a way to score it how I want later. But obviously that’s majorly idealistic. I remember reading a Mark Isham interview years ago where he talked about scoring a film with budget enough for 13 players, but the film had been temped with Basic Instinct. I’ve definitely gone down that road myself and I think it actually, like with flOw, can produce really interesting results. My goal with those projects is to dive head-in to the budget shortage, and really write a score that would feel somehow wrong if done on a bigger scale. Case in point, I just finished a film called Grace where we recorded 8 bass and contrabass clarinets at Abbey Road, and it came out awesome! It was surreal to hear so many of those beasts together…[Play "5m21" from Grace]

For more of the interview with Austin check out: http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=257

If you voted please leave a comment on this post (with your email address in the comment information). And we’ll send you your very own I VOTED Mayor sticker! All comments must be received by Nov 6th (the last day of voting).

Yes, you’ll get an actual sticker (in the mail, so you’ll need to send in your mailing address.

Even if Buffy Between the Lines doesn’t win the Podcast Awards, we do appreciate our fans, friends and all of you who have voted!

This is all on the honor system (we don’t know if you really voted or not) so please be honest!

By Sue O’Donovan
The Mayor finds his radio spot ruined by some misplaced comments, but he finds some very friendly help in the form of Joyce’s friend Pat. Unfortunately, things get a bit dusty.

If you are in the US and eligible to vote – go out and vote!

And after that you can go vote at the Podcast Awards.

Artwork by Scott Tofte & Irrel

Promo: SunRun
Energy Star

Written & Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

The following episode of Firefly Between the Episodes takes place between the Firefly episodes “Jaynestown” and “Out of Gas”.

Music is “The Ballad of Serenity” performed by P.J. Shapiro

This episode features:

Arlo J. Wiley as Hustace
Kent as Justice
Laura E.D. as Golda
and Cassie of the “ilovesquidward’s Singing Podcast” as Norma Mae.

Don’t forget to vote at the Podcast Awards – podcastawards.com

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)

TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

Featured are:
Andy King
Heidi Jenkins
Jancis
Kevin Bachelder
Kim Butler
Kim (the comicbook goddess)
Lana
Laura E.D.
Nick Edwards
Nuchtchas
Rita K Sanders
Robin Hudson

Don’t forget to vote at the Podcast Awards! www.podcastawards.com

by Kim Butler

In this special Halloween mini-sode we explore Angel’s time in a hell dimension. Or is he?

MUSIC:

Goldilocks and the Fortress – Kim (the comic book goddess)

Restless Spirit Underscore – David Beard

The Unknown Halloween Version – Savant Trigger

Podcast Awards:

lease vote for Buffy Between the Lines for the 2008 People’s Choice Podcast Awards at PodcastAwards.com.

You can vote once a day every day until Nov 6th, 2008 at PodcastAwards.com

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)

TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

This episode was written by Heidi and edited by John N.
The cast for this episode consisted of
Clinton as the Mayor
Erin Moore as Faith
Lana as the Ice Cream Shop Keeper
and Crystal and Mark as the announcers.

Don’t forget to vote for Buffy Between the Lines at the Podcast Awards at podcastawards.com.

Make sure you use a valid email address (so you can validate your vote).

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

Written, Performed and Edited by Rhayne G.

Don’t forget to vote for Buffy Between the Lines at the Podcast Awards at podcastawards.com.

Make sure you use a valid email address (so you can validate your vote).

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

This episode features bloopers from Buffy Between the Lines Season 2: Episode 4.

Music for this episode is See You Later by Pitx and Beat by Anth Crunk.

You can vote once a day every day until Nov 6th, 2008 at PodcastAwards.com

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

Please remember to Vote today for Buffy Between the Lines in the Entertainment Category in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards.

You can vote once a day every day until Nov 6th, 2008 at PodcastAwards.com

Make sure you use a valid email address (so you can validate your vote).

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

Ethan Rayne has a bit of trouble with his customers on November 1st!

Please vote for Buffy Between the Lines in the Entertainment category at the People’s Choice Podcast Awards. CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

You can vote once a day every day until Nov 6th, 2008 at PodcastAwards.com

Also remember to vote for these other members of the Buffy Between the Lines team:

Comedy4Cast for Comedy
The Signal for Movie
Transformed! for Religion Inspiration
Truth Seekers Podcast for Political
The Geek Spin for Podsafe Music

And our friends:
GENER​AL:​ katia​ and kylie​mac v.o. (​origi​nal versi​on)
TRAVE​L:​ katia​ and kylie​mac touri​st tips

Written by Rae Purdom and Kim Butler

Artwork by Scott Tofte
Coloring by Nuchtchas

Willow, Xander, and Oz attempt to find solace in the Mayor’s special 4th of July celebration of Sunnydale. Meanwhile, Harmony gets time in the pageant spotlight while Xander is roped into sitting on the judging panel. And what Sunnydale event is complete without a few monsters (and squirrels)?

by Kim Butler & Rae Purdom

Willow, Xander, and Oz attempt to find solace in the Mayor’s special 4th of July celebration of Sunnydale. Meanwhile, Harmony gets time in the pageant spotlight while Xander is roped into sitting on the judging panel. And what Sunnydale event is complete without a few monsters (and squirrels)?

Intro: Felicia Day

Promos: the Boobcast

Estalvin’s Legacy SF Audio Drama

Discuss this episode on our forums.

Promo: Scott Sigler’s Infected

Edited by Melia

Buffy Between the Lines presents a full PDF of our script for Season 2 – Ep 003 Green is the New Black

by Emma Rawlin & Rachel Ruzzo

Artwork by Chris O.

Alternative Artwork: Stephanie Powers.

Click here to download.

by Emma Rawlin & Rachel Ruzzo

Willow’s spell to return Angel’s soul targets interest within Michael’s coven, much to Amy’s annoyance. Meanwhile, Lilah starts working in Special Projects on the matter of Angel’s disappearance and things are going status quo for Wolfram & Hart… And by status quo we mean deception, backstabbing and random law suits.
Intro by Brad Bowyer from Podculture & The Geek Spin

Promos:

Podculture

Short Cummings

Some of the Cast/Crew of BBtL (we never could corral them all into the same picture)

(L to R First Row Kneeling: Clinton [The Mayor], Kinsey [Jinx] Kevin Bachelder [The Narrator], Larissa [Mrs. Rosenberg], Rachel [Con Goer], Ginger Campbell [Reporter], Suzi [Con Goer])

(L to R Second Row: David Moore [Con Goer] & Berengaria [Reporter])

(L to R Third Row: P. Bing [Lilah], Brian Brown [Giles], Tabz [Anya], Kim [Buffy], Emma [Drusilla], Cliss [Tara], Mad [Willow], Kim/ComicBookGoddess [Reporter])

(L to R Back Row: Clay [Angel] & Lisa T. [Cordelia])

Intro Bumper by Shua Mullikin of the Anatomy of Fear Podcast Novel

Podcast Disclaimer by Nobilis of the Nobilis Erotica podcast

This episode was written by Tabitha Grace Smith and performed live at DragonCon 2008 in the Podcasting Track.

Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

Featuring Special Guest Crystal

Ethan Rayne gives his thoughts on your first and autumn.

Written and Performed by Alex Gilmore.

Music by Austin Wintory

Theme by Beatnik Turtle

Daisy gives her thoughts on Halloween!

Written and Performed by Heidi

Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

Faith gives her thoughts on fall and camping.

Written and Performed by Erin Moore.

Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

Join Laura Deal (Writer) Siobhan (mail carrier), Si (Esperanza), Mike (W&H Agent 1), and Lisa T (Cordelia) as they discuss episode 002 of Buffy Between the Lines!

Edited by John N.

Gwendolyn Post gives her thoughts on Autumn and the life of a Watcher.

Written and Performed by Lee Nix

Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

The Mayor ( Clinton Alvord) gives his thoughts on the fall season – and the upcoming elections.

Written and Performed by Clinton Alvord.

Edited by Tabitha Grace Smith

by Laura Deal

Artwork by Scott Tofte & Irrel Paola.

This episode features bloopers from Buffy Between the Lines Season 2: Episodes 1 & 2.

Music for this episode is “Quiet Man in a Loud Shirt” by Bob

Links:
Equality Now
Podcast Awards
VERY IMPORTANT: You only get to submit this form “1″ time. Fill it out completly! Once you hit Submit you are done for 2008! Do not submit the same show in multiple categories.
Exception: “You can submit a Show for “People’s Choice” or “Best Produced” and one other category.

Living La Vida Cordy
by Lauratd

Things do not go well for the Chase family on their vacation to Mexico, and there’s a run-in with some old friends. Maybe life isn’t all sun, fun and postcards?

Intro by: Trent from the Manners Cast

Promos:

Squint Squad podcast

Young Junius

Click here to discuss this episode on our forums.

Also HUGE congrats to BBtL Podcasters Kevin Cummings, Christiana Ellis, Mark the Encaffeinated One, and Brian Brown for winning BIG at the Parsec’s this year.

Brian Brown – Best News Podcast: Slice of SciFi

Kevin Cummings – Best Comedy or Parody Podcast: Short Cummings Audio

Mark, the Encaffeinated One – Best “Infotainment” Cast: The Weird Show

Christiana Ellis – Best Short Audio Drama: Space Casey

Intro – Randy from GeekShow.us

Lights! Camera! Action!

Okay, so there probably weren’t any lights, there definitely weren’t any cameras, and the action quota was unusually low. But rejoice! For Buffy Between the Lines is back! Returning for a much anticipated second season, BBTL takes us back to a simpler time of studying for exams, nights out at the Bronze, and demon monkeys attacking the school play. Ah, high school.

Picking up where season two left off (sans the depressing Sarah McLachlan music.) “Proceed As Planned” wastes no time in catching us up with the characters we know and love. His brief alliance with Buffy now over, Spike heads to South America with an unhappy Drusilla. Distraught after killing Angel, and unable to return home, Buffy heads to L.A. Meanwhile, the remnants of the Scooby gang, Willow, Xander, Giles, Oz, and Cordelia are left in Sunnydale, wondering if they can go back to just being normal. And tucked away in the gleaming offices of Wolfram & Hart, Holland Manners sets plans in motion to bring Angel back into the game.

The cast and crew came out swinging with an opener that should make lesser audio dramas cry out for someone maternal. While not as emotionally charged at season one’s grief stricken premiere, the episode wove all its plotlines together seamlessly with snappy dialogue worthy of Whedon. It was smart, fun, and over much too quickly. We also got the added bonus of some great new voices with Cordelia, Drusilla, and Oz, who were captured wonderfully by Lisa, Emma, and Sam. And if you listen real closely, you might just notice a little Four Star Mary, the band that leant its music to Oz’s band, Dingoes Ate My Baby.

The team has obviously grown (just listen to Tabz rattle off that list of editors!) and they’re working harder than ever to make sure that season two is everything its predecessor was, and more. Make sure to show them your support by leaving feedback, reviews, and spreading the Between the Lines love.

Quote of the Episode Award:

Oz: When I start using more words than you, be afraid.

Join Andrew Ball (Tucker/Director), Chris O (Xander), Rose (Brandi), Rhyane (Crazy Martha/SFX), Kim (Buffy/Producer) and Tabz (Writer) as they discuss Buffy Between the Lines Season 2 Episode 001 – Proceed as Planned.

Intro:

Stuart Jaffe from the Eclectic Review

Promo:

The Pieces Podcast

Click here for the mp3.

by Tabitha Grace Smith.

Artwork by Scott Tofte & Irrel Paola.

Brad Bowyer – The GeekSpin (Nominated for best Fan Podcast, Best Infotainment) and Podculture (Best Infotainment, Best News)

Kevin Cummings – Short Cummings Audio (best comedy)

Clay Robeson – Moron Life: The Vaudcast (Sketch Comedy) (for best Video Podcast)

Kevin Bachelder – The Signal (Best fan podcast, Best Infotainment) and The ScapeCast (Writing)

Mark the Encaffeinated One – The Weird Show (Best Infotainment)

Chooch & VI – CoH Podcast (Best Gaming)

Plus BBtL’s own Dark Overlord, Scott Sigler, is up for a bajillion different ones. Go Scott!
And our very good friends over at The Radio Adventures Of Dr. Floyd are up for best Audio Drama Long Form (Darn you Dr. Steve!)

Emma, Present Memory, Tabz and Felicia chilling at the Expo!

Left to Right: Clinton (The Mayor), Present Memory, Tabz, Emma (Drusilla) and Paul Maki (Javert) (not featured)

Proceed as Planned
by Tabitha Grace Smith

Buffy heads out of Sunnydale and on her trip to LA meets a very strange girl. Xander, Willow and Oz have to deal with Sunnydale High without Buffy. Dru wakes up as Spike makes his way to South America. Can the scoobies survive life being *gasp* normal?

Intro: P.G. Holyfield – Murder at Avedon Hill

Promos:
Sonitotum
Let’s Talk Joss

Do you have a favourite fan encounter from Comic Con?

FD: When Irrel (http://twitter.com/irrel) gave me the cutest fan art for Dr. Horrible of me, Dr. Horrible and Hammer. She also did fantastic fan art for The Guild that I found online later, you can see it on The Guild site, www.watchtheguild.com. It was so amazing, I will treasure that drawing and meeting her.

Here’s the Guild fan art that Irrel made:

For more of Irrel’s fantastic art check her out at: http://irrel.deviantart.com/

Buffy Between the Lines LIVE!

New Media Expo

Las Vegas, Nevada

12:00pm, Saturday, August 16th

(Registration for the Expo Floor is free until August 13th)

ALSO – Let’s Talk Joss LIVE at New Media Expo Thursday at 4pm!