Category: Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Amber Benson To Take Part In The Queer Pioneers Online Panel On Saturday, 4 June

5/25/2022

Amber recently confirmed via her official Twitter account that she will take part in The Queer Pioneers conversation/panel next month.

The Queer Pioneers retrospective panel features three actors who played characters who were the first LGBTQ+ characters to have regular or recurring roles on TV. They made a significant impact not just on the storylines of their respective television shows but also on the audience watching at home.

Amber played the role of Tara Maclay who spent three seasons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Together with her co-star Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg) their characters were the first openly gay couple on a USA network television show. Joining Amber on this panel will be Wilson Cruz (My So-Called Life) and Jane Sibbett (Friends). Together they will discuss their experiences, triumphs and more, the panel will be moderated by Cameron Scheetz.

The Queer Pioneers will take place on 4 June at 8 AM PT which I believe I'm correct in saying will be at 4 PM UK time. The great news for fans is that this panel is free to watch, simply click the link below and press the "Free to RSVP" button to reserve your free virtual ticket for this event. There is also the opportunity to donate to OUTFEST if you wish. The Queer Pioneers will be presented by IMDb.

https://www.theoutfronts.com/the-queer-pioneers

This panel is part of the The OutFronts, a four-day festival taking place from Friday 3rd June through to Monday 6th June with a collection of panels, premiers and events connecting fans with talent from LGBTQIA+ shows on television. It premiers on OutMuseum which is the first LGBTQ+ arts and media virtual museum of its kind – available free to the public and part of OUTFEST the global LGBTQIA+ arts, media and entertainment organization.

I'm looking forward to listening to what I think will be a really interesting discussion and I'm delighted that fans everywhere will get a chance to watch it.

Joe

Disclaimer: Amber Benson.TV is not involved in any way with The Queer Pioneers panel, OutFronts festival or OUTFEST/OutMuseum. This post is for informational purposes only we are simply trying to spread the word about another exciting online event/appearance by Amber Benson.

Amber Benson To Attend Cross Roads Convention In Birmingham UK In October

5/15/2022

Hugely exciting news, Amber is set to return to the UK to meet fans in person for the first time since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Here are the details.

Star Fury Conventions have confirmed via their website that Amber will be a guest at their fifth annual Cross Roads convention. Cross Roads is a three-day event celebrating CW's long-running hit television show Supernatural.

After playing the role of ground breaking and much loved Tara Maclay for three seasons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in 2006 Amber made her Supernatural debut in Season 2, Episode 3 'Bloodlust" as mysterious vampire Lenore. Amber would reprise the role of Lenore again in 2011, Season 6, Episode 19 "Mommy Dearest." Joining Amber will be fellow Supernatural actors Steven Williams, Alexander Calvert, Cindy Sampson and more. The convention will include autograph sessions, photo opportunities, guest talks, themed party nights and more.

Cross Roads will be held between 30th of September - 2nd of October 2022 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham. I attended another event organised by Star Fury a few years ago which was enjoyable but they are much smaller than larger scale conventions. I have seen a tweet to say that they have already sold more than 50% of the available tickets for this event. This was before the website for this particular event went live so I can only assume people who attend regularly had already bought their tickets in advance.

For more information about the Cross Roads event including, tickets hotel accommodation and more please visit the official website at the link below.

http://seanharry.com/home/cross-roads/

This is hugely exciting news and I hope to be there with other fans to welcome Amber back to the UK.

Joe

Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with Cross Roads and/or organisers Star Fury Conventions, or Supernatural. This post is informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about another exciting UK appearance by Amber Benson.

Amber Benson To Attend Awesome Con In Washington DC This June

5/15/2022

Here is some really exciting news for Amber fans in the USA particularly if you live in or can travel to the Washington DC area. As organisers of Awesome Con confirmed recently via their official website that Amber will be among the special guests attending their upcoming convention.

This news comes hot on the heels of it being announced that Amber is said to attend Fandom Fest 2022 in New York in August (click on the hyper link for details). As Awesome Con is in June I believe I'm correct in saying that this will be the first time Amber has met fans in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Awesome Con brings together stars of television, the movies, the comic book world and much more. It is set to take place between Friday 3rd and Sunday 5th June 2022. The Awesome Con convention is being held at:

The Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mt Vernon Pl NW
Washington, DC 20001
USA

If like me, you're also a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as well as Amber there is more exciting news as Amber will be joined at the event by her friend and fellow Buffy The Vampire Slayer actor Charisma Carpenter. Amber and Charisma will take to the stage together to look back at twenty-five years of Buffy in what I'm sure will be a very exciting panel/conversation.

For more information including how to buy tickets, autographs, photo opportunities and more click the link below to visit the official Awesome Con website.

https://awesome-con.com

I hope everyone who is able to attend has a fantastic time. I'd like to thank fellow Amber fans Katie and Nigel for both giving me a heads up about this exciting appearance by Amber.

Joe

Disclaimer: Amber Benson.TV is not involved in any way with the Awesome Con Convention or Fandom Fest, we own nothing. This post is for informational purposes only we are simply trying to spread the word about another exciting event featuring Amber Benson.

Amber Benson To Attend Fandom Fest 2022 In New York This August

4/30/2022

Here is some really exciting news for Amber fans in the USA. The organiser’s of Fandom Fest 2022 have confirmed on their website that Amber will be among the special guests attending their upcoming event this August.

Fandom Fest is a celebration of all fandoms from movies, television and more. This exciting three-day event will take place between Friday the 12th and Sunday, 14 August 2022. Fandom Fest will be held at Proctors, 432 State St., Schenectady.

I believe I'm correct in saying that this will be the first time Amber has met fans in person since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Amber is also set to be joined at Fandom Fest by her friend and fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast member James Marsters.

For more information about Fandom Fest 2022 including how to book tickets, contact details and more click the link below to visit their official website.

https://fandomfest.org/

This looks to be a really exciting event and a great opportunity for fans living around the New York area and those who can travel from further afield to meet Amber in person. I hope everyone who is able to attend has a fantastic time.

I would like to thank fellow Amber fan Nigel for the heads up about this exciting event.

Joe

Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with Fandom Fest 2022. This post is for informational purposes only, we are simply trying to spread the word about another exciting event featuring Amber Benson.

Amber reveals the reason she chose not reprise her role as Tara Maclay in season 7 of Buffy

3/21/2022

Amber Benson recently revealed to author Evan Ross Katz the reasons she chose not to reprise her role as Tara Maclay in the seventh and final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This is part of a new book Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts which includes interviews with Amber and her fellow co-stars including:

Sarah Michelle Gellar
Charisma Carpenter
James Marsters
Anthony Stewart Head
Seth Green
Marc Blucas
Nicholas Brendon
And many more cast and crew members

The book has already been released in the USA and hits shelves in the UK on the 21st of April

Website comicbook.com shared part of Amber's interview in an article that was released yesterday. I shared the article written by Jamie Lovett on our Twitter and Facebook feeds but I also wanted to put a transcript of that article here in the Latest Amber News Section for people who don’t follow us on social media.

To view the original article, click here

One of Buffy the Vampire Slayer's (which is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2022) most controversial moments came when Warren Mears, one of the three early villains in its sixth season, shot and killed Tara Maclay. By that point, Tara's relationship with Willow Rosenberg was a rare, early, iconic representation of LGBTQ love on television. Many fans consider this moment an example of the "burying your gays" trope and a betrayal of Buffy's LGBTQ fans. There were also several seemingly missed opportunities to bring Tara back for a least a few episodes in the show's seventh and final season, such as in the episode "Conversations with Dead People" or in a discarded early version of the show's series finale.

Amber Benson, who played Tara, has previously said that she didn't return in "Conversations with Dead People" because she would not have been playing Tara but a manifestation of The First Evil, the season's "big bad." In the new book Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts by Evan Ross Katz, Benson reveals why she chose not to return at all, including for Tara's proposed resurrection in the season finale, citing a combination of frustration with an unidentified person involved with the show and simple lousy timing:

"This is the first time I'm talking about this. I had had some issues with somebody on the show, and it had kind of come to a head as I was getting ready to leave. Leaving the show was sad because there are some of the crew and the writers and some of the cast that I just adore, but I had made my peace with that person and the show and I was done: 'I'm leaving everything in a good place. I don't need to come back.' And then all the s–t hit the fan and Joss realized he had messed up. I mean, this is a time when people are, like, sending faxes to that production office, like this was a big, horrible thing, and it was devastating to a lot of people.

"And I think it hit Joss that he had made a mistake, that he had been short-sighted. I truly, for all of his faults and for all of the things about him that are frustrating, I don't think he ever meant to hurt the LGBTQ+ community. He just wasn't thinking. I can truly, from the bottom of my heart, say [that] this was nothing intentional This was a thoughtless error. But I didn't want to come back. He really wanted me to come back and we just couldn't come to an agreement on it. And most of that was my schedule. I was gonna miss going to England, not being able to direct The Ghosts of Albion if I had said yes.

I didn't really trust what was going to happen to the character. I think that's something if you've talked to some other cast, people are like 'Yeah, I came back… and then he just did what he wanted. Even though he told me that he wasn't going to kill me in this way, he killed me in that way.' I just didn't feel super trusting of the situation. And I felt like people had already been really hurt by this. And I'm not the writer. I can't decide what's going to happen to this character. I don't have the reins. And so between the schedule, and not really having a hundred percent trust in what was going to happen and some other things, it just didn't work out."

Those last comments may refer to Charisma Carpenter's return to Buffy the Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel to reprise her role as Cordelia Chase in its final season. Carpenter returned under the condition that Cordelia the show wouldn't kill off Cordelia, but Cordelia did die at the end of Carpenter's return episode. Benson has previously backed up Charisma Carpenter's accusation of emotional abuse against Whedon, calling the Buffy the Vampire Slayer set a toxic work environment.”

I will post a separate article about the book closer to the UK release date.

Joe

Amber Benson.TV is not involved in any way with the writing or publication of Into Every Generation a Slayer is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts. Nor are we involved with website comicbook.com. This post is for information of purposes only, we are simply trying to spread the word about a new interview with Amber Benson.

Amber Benson Is Set To Be A Guest At “A Virtual Meet and Greet With The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer” Online Event 29 January 2022

12/13/2021

Many of us are gearing up to celebrate the festive season but there has already been some exciting news for Amber fans. It’s been announced she will be attending “A Virtual Meet and Greet with The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. A convention style event being held by convention organiser Galaxycon.

Amber will be joined by her former Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-stars James Masters, Kristine Sutherland and Emma Caulfield. (Autographs Only)

The event will feature a free online panel with Amber, James and Kristine. As part of the event Galaxycon are offering fans the chance to purchase one-to-one video chats with Amber, James and Kristine. They are also giving fans the chance to purchase autographs from Amber, James, Kristine and Emma.

A Virtual Meet and Greet with The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer event will be held on Saturday, the 29th of January. The free panel will take place at 2 PM ET which I believe is 7 PM GMT. The one-to-one video chats with guests are set to start at 3 PM ET which I believe is 8PM GMT. Any autographs that are ordered will be posted out after the event and are available worldwide.

To find out more about the event itself and all of the options and prices for autographs and one-to-one video chats click the link below:

https://galaxycon.com/blogs/events/buffy-the-vampire-slayer

I'm delighted that Amber fans both here in the UK and beyond will have the opportunity to see and speak to Amber again, a great way to kick off 2022.

Joe

Disclaimer: Amber Benson.TV is not involved in any way with “A Virtual Meet and Greet with The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer” event or organisers Galaxycon. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about an exciting online event featuring Amber Benson.

Amber Will Not Be Attending The Vampire Ball In London Next Month

10/23/2021

Sad news for UK Amber Benson fans as it was confirmed yesterday, she will not now be attending the Vampire Ball which is due to take place in London held on 5-7 of November.

Amber was originally due to attend the Vampire Ball in 2020, but this event had to be postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The guest line-up from the postponed event was invited back this year.

Event organisers Starfury Conventions revealed on their official Facebook group that Amber was one of the guests yet to officially confirm her attendance at the rearranged event.

Yesterday evening Starfury Conventions confirmed via their official Twitter feed that Amber will now not be able to attend The Vampire Ball. Click here to see the official tweet from their feed.

This is sad news for fans but we hope Amber and her family stay safe, as the world is still feeling the effect of the coronavirus pandemic and of course we hope to see her return to the UK sometime soon.

Joe

Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with The Vampire Ball event or organisers Starfury Conventions. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about this event which unfortunately will not now feature Amber Benson.

New Venue For The Vampire Ball Has Been Confirmed/Important News About Amber's Attendance

10/12/2021

Recently I posted an update on The Vampire Ball Convention where Amber is currently listed as a guest. The Vampire Ball will take place on 5th-7th November. I can only apologise for the delay in posting this important news unfortunately I had work-related commitments which have taken up my time.

On Saturday Star Fury published an update on guest attendance at this year's event. At this moment in time Amber's attendance is yet to be confirmed. Please read this full post as I have written more information about this below.

Event organisers Star Fury confirmed that The Vampire Ball will now be held at:

The Marriott Heathrow/Windsor Hotel,
Ditton Road,
Langley, Slough,
SL3 8PT.

For information on directions click here

If you need more general information and/or to book accommodation click here

For more information about the hotel itself click here

To find out more about the Vampire Ball you can e-mail them via the contact button on their website

If and when I find more information about the convention I will post it here as soon as I can.

I’d like to thank fellow Amber fan Samantha for giving me a heads up about this important information about the hotel.

Click The link below to read Star Fury’s update via their official Facebook group. The group itself is Private but any fan can request to join it, I think it will only be visible to anyone who is already or becomes a member of the group.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/107850452574065/permalink/6849178975107812/

In the update they state Amber is among some of the guests who have yet to confirm their attendance at this event. I can only assume this is happening because of the unprecedented situation created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Amber was set to be a guest at The Vampire Ball in 2020 which had to be postponed because of the pandemic. I assume that it is because of Covid 19 that guests have been asked to confirm their attendance nearer to the time of the event.

I want to make it clear here that I'm in no way criticising event organisers Star Fury. I have attended a previous Vampire Ball and really enjoyed my experience and found their event staff to be helpful and welcoming, I know how hard they work to create events for fans. I also don't want to discourage anyone from attending what I'm sure will be a brilliant event. As we are an Amber Benson fan site though I felt it was important to make fans aware at this stage her attendance has not yet been confirmed.

Joe

Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with The Vampire Ball event or organisers Star Fury. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about this exciting event which could feature Amber Benson.

The Vampire Ball Convention Which Amber Is Attending To Move Venues

9/28/2021

As some fans may know Amber is due to attend The Vampire Ball Convention between the 5th and 7th November in the UK. The Convention was due to be held at The Renaissance Hotel, Heathrow London.

I have a ticket for The Vampire Ball and had booked a room at the hotel. Last night I received an e-mail informing me my reservation had been cancelled as the hotel’s contract with the UK government as one of their quarantine hotels has been extended until the end of the year.

There were no updates on the Vampire Ball Website last night, but I spoke to the hotel this morning and they confirmed The Vampire Ball Convention will not be held there and is moving to a new venue. I asked the member of staff at the hotel if they knew where the event was going to be held and if it would be near Heathrow. He had no further information but at this time he did not think it would be near the Renaissance Hotel.

I’m sorry I don’t have anything more definitive in terms of information right now. The reason I wanted to post this was in case there are fans who have booked accommodation at a different hotel near to the convention and were unaware of the change.

In fairness to organisers Star Fury this could be a very recent development and they may be waiting until they have more information before they contact ticket holders. I checked the website today and the venue is now listed as “to be confirmed”. I have e-mailed them via their website.

http://seanharry.com/home/vampire-ball/

As and when I have any further information, I will post it an update as soon as possible. I will also be checking their website regularly.

If any fellow Amber fans or visitors to the site find out any new information please e-mail me or get in tough via the dedicated Facebook and Twitter feeds. The links to all of these can be found at the top of the page.

Joe

Disclaimer: AmberBenson.TV is not involved in any way with The Vampire Ball event or organisers Star Fury. This post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about this exciting event which will feature Amber Benson.

Amber was The Special Guest on a Recent Episode of the Buffering The Vampire Slayer Podcast

9/10/2021

Last month Amber joined Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo who are the co-hosts of the Buffering the Vampire Slayer Podcast for a special episode.

Jenny, Kristin and Amber discuss the role of Tara Maclay in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the importance of her relationship with Willow (Alyson Hannigan). They were the first long term openly gay couple on US network television.

Amber shares what it was like to walk in Tara’s shoes and the positive impact the role had on her life. She lifts the lid on what life was like on Buffy and lets us in on the secret behind one of the most famous scenes in Once More with Feeling.

Amber talks about starting her acting career in children's theatre in Birmingham Alabama and in more recent years moving behind the camera, writing novels and also recently for television. Amber shares a few details of one of her upcoming projects too.

This is a must listen for any Amber fan. It’s a really enjoyable episode of this exciting podcast series, as Jenny, Kristin and Amber have a fascinating discussion. Fans can listen to this podcast for free simply by clicking the link below.

Disclaimer: There are some uses of strong language and mature themes are discussed.

https://omny.fm/shows/buffering-the-vampire-slayer-a-buffy-the-vampire-s/0-38-a-conversation-with-amber-benson

I always aim to update the site as quickly as possible particularly when there are exciting updates like this one. However recent work commitments meant it took me longer to post this update than I would have liked. I apologise and I hope fans will check out the podcast as it is a fantastic listen.

Joe

Disclaimer: Amber Benson.TV is not involved in any way with the making or production of Buffering The Vampire Slayer Podcast. All rights belong to its creators Jenny Owen Youngs and Kristin Russo and any commercial partners they have. Buffy The Vampire Slayer is the property of 20th Century Fox and its owners The Walt Disney Company. We own nothing, this post is for informational purposes only. We are simply trying to spread the word about another exciting podcast featuring Amber Benson.