by BBOvenGuy » Mon Apr 15, 2002 11:15 pm
posted March 12, 2002 20:42
Okay, here we go...
The Buffy crew was on location today in the desert east of Palmdale, on the 4 Aces property where they shot "Spiral" last year. The base camp was set up out in front of the 4 Aces standing sets at 145th Street and Avenue Q, although they weren't using them this time.
First of all, let me tell you it was a lot easier finding my way around today than it was last year when Xita and I were cruising around in total darkness. I only got lost once this time.
I first drove up Avenue O, and at the intersection of Avenue O and 145th there was a friendly California Highway Patrol car blocking the road. Driving up and down 145th street was this large chartered bus, and there were several equipment vehicles around it.
I looped around and tried to get to 145th and Avenue Q from the other direction, and there they were! I drove past the base camp and the trailers once, but unfortunately I couldn't see anything. The problem with being out in the desert is that there's nowhere to park that's inconspicuous, unless you want to walk a long way in the desert, and then of course you have to explain to the nice security man why you've walked a long way in the desert. I parked my car around the corner from the trailers and looked to see if I could walk up, but it didn't look possible.
I was making one last pass before heading for home, when I saw my two regular fellow location shoot viewers drive by me. I turned my car around and followed. They'd somehow managed to wheedle permission to park with the crewmembers' cars out of some Production Assistant, so I just parked next to them. We got out and walked up to the 4 Aces set. That was as far as we could go. 145th was blocked off beyond there. In the distance, we could see the bus.
Alas, we were too far away to see anything today. We did see a van go by that looked like it had SMG in it, but we couldn't be sure. However, lucky for me I got a bunch of info out of my two friends. They're both female, and for some reason the PA's are a lot more willing to give information to them than they would be to a 30something guy like me.
Here, then, is all the information I was able to gather.
* Tara is indeed dead. The scene where Willow finds Tara's body was filmed yesterday. The PA's described it as "Amber's last day," although since PA's aren't privy to what's being planned for future episodes, we can't really confirm that as being true.
* There were actually *two* buses being used, as well as two identical cars. That's usually done so they can use one set for wide shots and/or stunt shots, and another set for close-ups.
* The crew was asking someone from the bus company if it would be possible to make the bus controls look like they were going berserk.
* The prop list for the day included Aly's all-black contact lenses and "robot prosthetics."
* James Marsters was scheduled to be shooting out there tonight with the second unit. It is confirmed that Spike leaves for Africa to get his chip out, so presumably that's what they'll be shooting. There was a crew setting up these little primitive-looking huts in the desert. One of them had a TV antenna sticking up out of it. I don't know if that was for a Buffy shoot or for another crew doing something else at the same spot, though. It could have been either.
Given what I've heard about Episode 20 and what I saw today, I think I can make an educated guess as to what the scene they were filming is about: DarkMagicWillow is chasing Warren, who she thinks is trying to flee on a bus. She finds the bus and takes it over, making everything go berserk. However, instead of Warren, she finds a Warren-Bot, planted on the bus to distract DarkMagicWillow. Buffy and Xander also show up, although I don't know if they're trying to catch Warren or trying to catch DarkMagicWillow. My guess, though, is that Buffy will probably have to do something heroic to save the other bus passengers from getting caught in the crossfire of DarkMagicWillow's wrath.
So there you have it. Not good news, by a long shot. But at least now we know a few things for certain.
And before another person asks - I've already said everything I know about the "Amber's last day" remark. I don't know if there was a party or a cake or anything. All I heard was, "Yesterday was Amber's last day. They filmed the scene where Willow finds Tara's body." That's it. There is no more for me to tell. Sorry
