The reaction is almost always the same. When I tell people that I’m the associate editor of a fantasy website, a look of surprise, understanding, and finally quiet judgment passes over their faces, forcing me to explain, “Harry Potter fantasy. Not, like, whips and leather fantasy.”

The relief I then see is priceless.

But should I be so quick to distance myself from the whips-and-leather crowd? While fantasy does have a kid-friendly, wizards-and-adventure side, I think it would be naive to suggest that there aren’t some people who utilize the trappings of the genre to explore their sexual kinks. All one has to do is run a Google Image search of “fantasy art,” and you’ll very quickly wind up with images like this:

What one finds in much fantasy art is a remarkably common theme of sexuality, which often has a heavy BDSM element. (To the uniformed, that stands for Bondage, Discipline, and Sadomasochism.)

Sometimes, the bondage theme is explicit and openly embraced, such as in the Kushiel novels of Jacqueline Carey, whose main character is a bisexual masochist who finds sexual pleasure in being tortured. (You can read TheTorchOnline.com’s interview with Carey here.)

But sometimes the S&M factor is played more coyly, giving us bondage-themed imagery without ever truly owning it. In the ’50s and ’60s, there were a plethora of beefcake movies, such as the Hercules films starring Steve Reeves, featuring oiled-up hunks and sexy babes alike constantly bound in chains and other restraints.

Most of these movies were terrible by the standards of anyone who wants their films to have a plot. Mostly they played out like fodder for one scene after another of sexy skin pressed against chains.

The very concept of a damsel in distress has a flavoring of S&M, as a helpless maiden is often tied up and must be rescued. Return of the Jedi even showcased series heroine Leia in what has become the iconic, quintessential S&M-tinted damsel outfit — the infamous gold bikini — before employing a post-feminist twist and having her kill her captor herself. But nonetheless, the image of Leia bound and chained like a slave girl has inspired many a young libido to get started.

The trend followed through into the ’90s, where it began to take a more subtle approach. The character of Xena, perhaps the most enduring high fantasy creation of the last 20 years, certainly bore a striking resemblance to a dominatrix, with her leather outfit and arsenal of weapons, a whip very prominently among them.

And how many times throughout the course of the series did we see Xena chained and beaten? She even sometimes seemed to enjoy fighting an opponent who could get his or her licks in, absorbing the blows with a satisfied smile.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer certainly went there, most notably in the sixth season when Buffy began her mutually-abusive relationship with bad boy vamp Spike. Their first session together was so violent it destroyed the entire house they were in.

But as time marches on, the BDSM themes became more overt. Even the family-friendly series Legend of the Seeker features the Mord’Sith, an army of women dressed entirely in leather who specialize in torturing their victims. In one memorable episode, noble hero Richard is stripped and given the royal treatment by “Mistress Denna,” a dominatrix name if ever I heard one.

The vampire soap True Blood raised the bar, as virtually every sexual relationship on the show contains some form of sado-masochistic violence at its core. The show even boasts a brand-new fetish called fangbanging — that is, living humans who prefer to have sex exclusively with vampires. The moments on the show relevant to this article are far too many to mention, from Jason’s romance with a watiress who likes to be strangled in the firs season to Lorena’s twisted, torturous rendezvous with Bill a few episodes ago.

But the Golden Handcuff Award has to go to new kid on the block Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The entire first season’s plot plays out like an elaborate bondage fantasy, with a houseful of sexy slaves to be commanded and used at the pleasure of the masters, oversexed couple Batiatus and Lucretia.

No doubt, there are many fantasy fans who don’t respond to these particular themes. But it would be naive to suggest there isn’t a connection, at least for some, between the fantasy genre and very specific sexual leanings.

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Okay, I know that Buffy didn’t invent the wheel.

I know that Joss Whedon liberally borrowed from Anne Rice when creating his epic vampire series, and that Rice herself had taken a cue from plenty of other authors, Bram Stoker being one of the big ones.

But I think we can all agree that when a certain valley girl staked her way into our hearts in 1997, something special happened.

Sure, the 1992 Buffy movie was a silly camp-fest. But thankfully, the stars aligned for Whedon when the then-fledgling WB network wanted to turn the film into a series, and the rest is history. Buffy the Vampire Slayer became one of the most influential television shows of the past two decades, made stars of its young cast, and basically invented the TV genre of urban fantasy.

So isn’t it crazy how everyone is ripping it off and not giving it credit?

Does anyone remember that genius episode of South Park entitled “Simpsons Already Did It,” in which Butters realized anything that could possibly happen in the town of South Park had already been covered by The Simpsons?

That’s sort of the case with vampire shows these days, only in this case, The Simpsons is Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and South Park is, well, everything else.

The biggest vampire properties these days are True Blood, Twilight, and The Vampire Diaries. All of them, interestingly, based on book series, and two of those three series were written after Buffy had gone on the air.

In all fairness, the Vampire Diaries book series, which featured a high school girl who fell in love with a vampire, was published in 1991, six years before the Buffy series aired. Therefore, they get a pass.

The other guys? Not so much.

Like The Twilight Zone before it, Buffy changed the game and influenced a huge amount of projects that came after it.

Let’s break it down:

Twilight, which was published in 2005 (2 years after Buffy wrapped), featured a high school girl who falls in love with a vampire. Their love is angsty and forbidden, and the vampire lover, Edward, resists having sex with her lest he lose control. Not a far cry from the situation with Buffy and her undead beau, Angel, in the beginning of the series.

Twilight also features Jacob, a werewolf with a gigantic crush, not unlike Oz, played by Seth Green, who premiered in the second season of Buffy.

Dead Until Dark, the novel which became the inspiration for the entire first season of True Blood, centers around Sookie, a perky blond waitress with telepathic abilities, who begins a steamy romance with a vampire named Bill. Sookie is tormented by her ability to read minds, and finds it refreshing that she can’t hear the thoughts of a vampire.

Great plot, right? It was even better when it appeared in the “Earshot” episode of Buffy, which aired in 1999, two years before Dead Until Dark was published.

And the influence extends beyond just these shows. Daybreakers, which came out earlier this year, took place in a world overrun by vampires, in which they harvest human blood with advanced machinery. Of course, this idea was already explored in the third season Buffy episode “The Wish.”

Blade: Trinity, which featured the extremely Buffyish Abigail (Jessica Biel), had a plot which took a known vampire slayer — Blade — and put him up against Dracula … a la the fifth season opener, “Buffy vs. Dracula.”

Even the campy, low-budget soap Dante’s Cove had a character named Van, a lesbian witch who became intoxicated by her own power, leading to tragedy. Sound familiar? It should, as that was pulled right from Willow’s arc in Buffy’s sixth season.

As stated earlier, I’m well aware that Buffy itself pulled from a lot of different sources, but there’s no question that, whether consciously or not, many authors are directly influenced by the plots of the ground-breaking show. I actually believe that most authors are unaware if their stories may seem a little too similar to Buffy, as the show has become so much a part of the cultural fabric — particularly among fantasy fans — that the influence may very well be entirely subliminal.

So, who knows? Maybe the future will bring us genre stories that feel less derivative. But until someone massively reimagines the vampire mythos, chances are they’ll still bare a passing resemblance to our Sunnydale cheerleader and her adventures.

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Science fiction’s relationship with, well, relationships has long been tempestuous. It’s a genre for fantastical thinkers and insatiable dreamers, and nothing brings a fantasy crashing back to earth like the angst of bad romance. Mere mortals like us may not know how to joust with Lightsabers or manipulate the inside of a computerized world with our minds or cast an Unforgivable curse or send aliens packing.

But we know plenty about love.

Too much romance can kill a fantasy — but not enough romance can kill it too. Here are ten (hot!) couples who navigated the line between snogging and flying (shagging and saving the world) with precision and grace (and hotness!).

Chuck Bartowski and Agent Sarah Walker, Chuck

Agent Sarah Walker’s job was to asses Chuck, then to protect him, then to train him, all of which she did perfectly — while falling hopelessly in love with him. And Chuck? Well, Sarah had him at “Vicki Vale, V-V-Vicki Vale.” She’s the bad-ass CIA agent with guns and knives and swords and kung fu. He’s the lovable nerd with a supercomputer stuck inside his brain. Together, they’re awesome-er than Captain Awesome.

WALL-E and EVE, WALL-E

The last robot on earth, WALL-E did his job by day and organized his trinket collection and danced to Hello, Dolly! by night. Then he met EVE, whose classified directive made her so emotionally distant that she finally just shut down. WALL-E gave EVE everything: a light bulb, a frisbee, an eggbeater, bubble wrap, a Rubik’s Cube. And in the end she gave him the only thing he ever wanted — a hand to hold.

Beverly Crusher and Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek: Next Generation

Two words: Telepathic hookups.

Ianto Jones and Captain Jack Harkness, Torchwood

Ianto Jones was one of those people with quaint little categories about sexuality, and then he fell in accidental love with the immortal (and eternally sexy) Captain Jack Harkness. It started when Ianto said he’d go out with Jack as long as he didn’t have to play out his office fetish. It turned into casual shagging. But around the time The 456 showed their ugly, pedophilic faces in London, Ianto was so smitten that he came out to his sister, explaining that it was only Jack, and it was way more than a fling. And I refuse to talk about what happened next.

Willow and Tara, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Just like with Ianto and Jack, I can only talk about Willow and Tara up to a specific point in time, because things end very differently in my imagination. Willow brought out the best in Tara, giving her courage and confidence in her magical abilities, and empowering her to be the lovable, clever witch we all grew to adore before that thing happened that we won’t be discussing.

Lois Lane and Clark Kent, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Clark and Lois. Lois and Clark. Lois and Superman. They’ve been falling in and out of love since the Golden Age of comics, but it was sexier than ever when they publicly bickered and secretly swooned in Lois & Clark. And oh, don’t even get me started on Terri Hatcher wrapped up in Superman’s cape in those ABC promos shots in 1994.

Trinity and Neo, The Matrix

Trinity and Neo were destiny. Or were they? Is our destiny chosen for us, or do we chose our destiny? Either way, they were super sexy together. Not just the making out part, but the teaming up to save humanity with gravity-defying slow-mo stunts part. Somehow, the fact that they always wore black makes them seem even hotter to me.

Tonks and Lupin, Harry Potter (books)

The only thing to make me smile/stop sobbing in the last three chapters of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was when Tonks finally came clean about being desperately in love with Lupin. Yes, he was a werewolf. And yes, there was (quite) an age difference between them, but if there’s anything that would have made Dumbledore happy — besides, you know, not dying — it would have been seeing more love in the world. More love and a litter of little werepups.

Buffy and Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer

It’s a hard choice between Buffy and Angel, and Buffy and Spike. You’ve got the star-crossed thing, and the cheekbone thing, and the jawline thing, and the overcoming death to be with one another thing. I mean, for both couples. But in the end, soul mates is sexier than hate sex — but just barely.

Han Solo and Princess Leia, Star Wars

What can I say about Han Solo and Princess Leia that hasn’t been said a million times before? Though it bears repeating that these two should make every hot list for the simple reason that their romance kept Leia from hooking up with her brother, because let’s be honest: That almost happened.

Who did I miss? Who’s your favorite sci-fi couple?

• Anyone who’s been keeping up with the Buffy Season 8 comics knows that the last issue was pretty intense, as Buffy and Angel, who had been masquerading as Twilight, once again got all groiny with each other. But this time it has something to do with the nature of the universe. Uh-huh. You can read all about it in this interview with writer Brad Meltzer.

• Here’s a pretty funny list about the the things that Hollywood thinks computers can do. All you need to do is watch one episode of any primetime procedural to know it’s true.

• Not too long ago, I made up a Fantasy Casting list for The Hobbit, and chose Brian Cox as Thorin Oakenshield. Often those lists are wishful thinking, but I really thought Cox had a good shot. However, he might have been beaten out by Australian actor Jack Thompson, who certainly does have a dwarvish appeal. Here’s a pic:

• Well, Lost fans, it’s been quite a run, hasn’t it? Soon we’re going to be leaving the island for good, but before that happens, check out this cool interview with Daniel Dae Kim about his character Jin and his love for his wife Sun. Made me all sorts of sentimental.

• Cracked has a pretty awesome list of the 7 Most Soul-Crushing Series Finales. Did you know that Alf got caught by the government?! Turns out it was supposed to be a cliffhanger to set up the next season, but the show got canceled and so it never resolved (except for in a weird TV movie). Please, please, don’t let something similar happen to Legend of the Seeker. That show deserves closure and dignity.

• It looks it’s really happening: X-Men: First Class will be released in June of next year. Be still my geeky heart …

• Finally, this caught my eye as being really cool. As we all know, the two feature films based on Street Fighter … what’s the word I’m looking for … sucked. So actor/stuntman Joey Ansah, who had one of the best fight scenes in the Bourne movies (and how’s that for street cred?) took it upon himself to create his own fan film. You can find out more on his website, but to whet your appetite, here’s a trailer.

Four Torches (Out of Five)

In the latest issue of Buffy Season 8, it’s not enough for Buffy to have all the powers of Superman. She and Xander have to prove it … literally, as they go down the list and do tests, only to find out that yes, Buffy is faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, well, you know the rest.

The banter between the two is charming, a fact that doesn’t go unnoticed by Dawn, who is now (man, this feels weird to say) Xander’s girlfriend. Dawn, whom all these years later is still occasionally treated like a child, warns Buffy and the rest of the “monkey’s paw” rule — any new gifts always come at a price — yet the original Scoobies pay her no heed. Silly Scoobies.

Dawn is right, of course, as we soon learn that all this power is coming from the Slayers who have been killed. Once dead, their power leaks out of their bodies and is absorbed by Buffy. Yeah, so flying and superspeed doesn’t seem so jolly, now, does it?

Meanwhile, Giles, Faith, and Andrew, who we know from the previous episode have been kidnapped, awaken in the lair of none other than Twilight, with a promise that in the next issue he will finally be unmasked.

Artist Georges Jeanty continues to step up his game, particularly with Buffy  and Xander, as you could see in their poses the mannerisms that Sarah Michelle Gellar and Nicholas Brendan brought to their characters, so that they almost seemed like stills from the show. Well done, sir.

Newcomer Brad Meltzer absolutely nailed the dialogue of each and every character, so he deserves major kudos for his great ear. Furthermore, he provides a nice inside joke where Xander excitedly asks Buffy if she can “phase” and geeks out when describing Kitty Prude to an unenthusiastic Buffy. Joss Whedon has, of course, gone on record saying Kitty Pryde was the basis for Buffy.

The road towards the end of this “season” is winding down, and Buffy’s greatest strength was always its season finales. Season 8 has been an interesting and successful experiment, and I can’t wait to see where it all winds up.

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• The Hubble Telescope has found a spiral galaxy living by the “live fast, die young” philosophy. NGC-2976 (they need to employ a better naming scheme if NASA wants their budget back) got a little frisky with a bigger galaxy sometime in the past and went nuts making stars to the point that it just doesn’t have it left in it anymore.

• We mentioned before that Daniel Craig was putting on the spurs in the lead role in Cowboys vs. Aliens, but every cowboy needs a cowgirl, and Olivia Wilde is ready to mount up. The John Favreau project is the second sci-fi/fantasy piece in a row for the House actress, who has been hard at work on Tron: Legacy.

• In news I could live without, the change at the top of DC Comics is clearing the way for Watchmen 2. Nobody that was associated with Watchmen being the best-selling graphic novel in DC history will touch the project, but the suits are already counting their money.

• The Palantir (that would be me) once had to go to the bathroom during season two of Lost. He hasn’t understood a thing since. That’s why this parody from TV Wasteland makes him laugh.

• Catching up with John Wagner, the creater of Judge Dredd, we find that he’s read the script and seen some of the visuals for the new movie, and likes what he sees. He also dishes on Dredd aging, how 70 is the new 40.

• Last month we showed you the Star Wars Burlesque show, now io9.com has pictures of the more generalized Sci-Fi Burlesque show, adding Leeloo and Silk Spectre, among others.

• Sam Raimi may have walked away (or been pushed) from  Spider-Man, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to do a genre film. He’s planning to remake The Shadow. Is there not a new comic book character to exploit?

• SyFy has announced a development slate of original SyFy movies based around dark retellings of fairy tales. Hansel will be an imagining where twenty years after the original woods trip, Hansel returns to the woods for revenge. But the twist is he finds Gretel has become the witch’s apprentice. Just one of SyFy’s many ideas to get into making something other than tornado movies.

• You’ve probably heard that there’s a new live-action/CGI Smurfs movie under development. The producers of said project occasionally leak concept art that people pray to be fake. This is another such piece of art. But it comes with a story that the movie will be set in New York City because Smurf Village is in Central Park. Mayor Bloomberg has summoned Papa Smurf to his office to discuss back taxes.

• Dragon Age: Origins Expansion has got a glittery version of the Ghost Dragon, and the new DLC content Return to Ostagar has finally hit the Xbox 360 and PC.

• Alice In Wonderland continues to release new trailers and featurettes. The latest marketing assault is to give us slightly different trailers across all of Disney’s major networks, ABC, ESPN, and ABC Family. We’ll start with ABC Family, and then move to ABC. Play them together and note the not-so-subtle, but fascinating differences:

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• Tor.com has a piece on why the Oscars don’t respect genre films, and hints that if the Best Picture category wasn’t expanded to 10 films this year, none of the genre films would have been nominated.

• Universal Studios Orlando isn’t the only park getting a cool new attraction. Well, depending on how you define “new,” they are. But King Kong is coming back to Universal Studios Hollywood, and it’s in 3-D.

• Locus Online has come out with their consensus Recommended Reading List 2009, and there are a few books on there I really enjoyed, like Transition and Ark. But we can all use more books in our life, so I’m going to try something else I haven’t read. What about you – what looks tasty?

• On April 6, 2010, we can go back to The Shire. No, no – they’re still going nowhere with Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit, but that’s when Ralph Bakshi classic animated Lord of the Rings movie comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray.

• Speaking of The Hobbit, Elijah Wood wants James McAvoy as Bilbo Baggins. For some reason, that seems like it should count for something.

• Going in the other direction from LoTR, we have Andy Serkis, who voiced Gollum, trying to get someone to make a biopic of Bono, and he wants to play the rocker. No word on why Bono wouldn’t just play Bono, because Bono seems to be pretty good at playing Bono.

• Remember that Ollivander’s Wand Shop video we had? Well, Universal shelled out $2.6 million to promote The Wizarding World of Harry Potter on the Super Bowl this Sunday. The park addition itself seems fairly amazing — this multi-million dollar spot, notsomuch.

• Reaper was a quirky, fun show that died too soon. It had a delightful mix of comedy and action, and promised an intriguing story arc that never got finished. Since it died quietly, we never heard that story, but if you talk to the creators, they’ll tell it all, including the mystery of Sam’s father.

We all know the drill — we’re watching a nice magical adventure unfold before our eyes on the big or small screen, and the characters get to a point where they no longer have the option to be friendly. It’s time to throw down.

Maybe the spells are flying fast and furious, or maybe it’s a more subtle use of magic to assist a mostly physical blow, but one thing is for certain: even more so than standard fight scenes, battles that involve magic raise the dramatic stakes in any story, because when you’re hurling thunderbolts, you’re playing for keeps. Even when the stories they feature in are not exactly memorable (cough The Covenant cough), a good magical fight can be a visual feast. Here we count down some of our favorites.

10. Caleb vs. Chase (The Covenant)

Though at times this fight seems more like a mystical game of dodgeball using amorphous jellyfish-like energy, one can’t deny that it at least looks pretty cool when these dudes are blasting away at each other in a rain-soaked barn. It’s fun to see the mayhem that male witches can wreak on each other, when witchcraft is so often allocated to female characters.

Unfortunately, the movie itself sucked.

9. Raziel vs. Bavmorda (Willow)

Willow will always hold a special place in the hearts of many fantasy enthusiasts who emerged from that nebulous decade known as the ’80s. Part Star Wars, part Lord of the Rings, it featured a very hobbitish hero, a very Gandalf-ian sorceress named Raziel, and a mean, mean old witch name Bavmorda.

Bavmorda and Raziel are mortal enemies, and in the climax of the movie, as a huge battle takes place outside, a very private war is fought between these two magicians. Utilizing the latest visual technology of the time (Willow was one of the first movies to showcase morphing), the filmmakers introduced a wide-eyed generation to the wonders of a magical smackdown.

Watch the fight

8. Gandalf vs. Saruman (The Fellowship of the Ring)

When you see two wizards fighting, you expect to see some crazy fireballs being thrown around, but when Gandalf and Saruman threw down in The Fellowship of the Ring, it was just the telekinetic version of an old-fashioned bar room brawl, with the two tossing each other around with the force of their minds. Bruising, bloody, and awesome.

Watch the fight

7. Harry vs. Draco (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)

At this point in the Harry Potter series, we knew there was no love lost between the boy wizards Harry and Draco Malfoy, but they were just kids, and the last thing we expected to see was a full-on, wire-spinning melee, but that’s exactly what we got when they took each other on in Professor Lockhart’s dueling seminar.

6. Giles vs. Dark Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Sweet Willow Rosenburg was the heart and soul of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, always a cheerful presence in a dark, demon-ridden world. But following the death of her true love Tara, she tapped into the vengeful part of her psyche and became a very bad witch. Who better to take her on than the mentor of the group, Giles, with a little borrowed magic from a coven of good witches?

5. Nancy vs. Sarah (The Craft)

An underrated gem from the angsty ’90s, The Craft showed what happened when the freaky girls in school have access to some seriously dark mojo. When good girl Sarah faces off with mean alpha-chick Nancy, all hell breaks loose in a spectacle of CGI mystical violence.

4. Pretty much every fight with Zedd (Legend of the Seeker)

Before Legend of the Seeker, the heir apparent to Xena: Warrior Princess, made its way to the airwaves, most people had never used the term “wizard’s fire” before (that is,  if they weren’t Terry Goodkind fans). But every time a fight breaks out on Seeker, you can bet that Zeddicus will be blasting away to his heart’s content, and it just looks awesome every time.

3. Buffy vs. Adam (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Though the show was as magical as they come, Buffy’s fighting style always stemmed from the very real world of martial arts. So when in the fourth season she learned that she’d need a little extra boost to face a Frankenstein-like foe, her friends Willow, Giles, and Xander all got together and gave her their energy in a little power-enhancing spell, causing Buffy to bust out some kick-ass matrix moves, as well as turn a bullet headed for her face into a pair of white doves, which are of course the symbol of peace. And who doesn’t love a little irony with their smackdowns?

2. Dumbledore vs. Voldemort (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)

Though the main event is reserved for the very end of the very last movie, we got a nice little treat when uber-baddie Boldemort took on the bastion of goodness, Dumbledore, in the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series. They fought with all four elements — fire, water, earth, and air — before Voldemort finally took his leave. But what an exit!

Watch the fight.

1. Gandalf vs. The Balrog (Fellowship of the Ring)

There are fights, and there are fights. When the Fellowship was fleeing the mines of Moria, they were accosted by a demon of the ancient world, a Balrog of Morgoth, a creature of shadow and flame, and a nasty attitude to boot. When Gandalf took him on to protect his friends, it was a true clash of the titans, instantly resetting the bar for what we expect to see on screen from anyone audacious enough to film a magic fight. For the gift you gave the world, Peter Jackson and company, we thank you.

Watch the fight.

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Have a question about something fantasy-related? Ask the Oracle! (Be sure to include your first name and the city, state, and/or country you are writing from.)

Q: Tell me something new — anything! — about David Boreanaz! Needless to say, I’m a fan. — Molly, Vancouver, BC, Canada

A: How about what he thinks, looking back now, at all the Buffy and Angel madness?

“When Buffy came out — it debuted in 97 — I remember distinctly being at a party of all the Fox executives, and feeling this energy of ‘I hope this works!’” David tells the Oracle.

Regarding the phenomenon it would soon become, “I have more of a sense now than when I was in it,” he says. “When you’re in it, everything is going on so fast. When it popped to success the way it did, it was because of the hard work and the story. But Joss [Whedon] put that into place and we just executed it.”

When did he know Buffy had become a genuine phenomenon? “I think it was episode that I got swallowed up by a statue and Buffy had to throw the sword and kill me, and I got sucked into this evil monster’s mouth. And we went to New York and did a signing at the Disney store. Four or five blocks had to be shut down, there was a riot outside — it was madness. The cops were trying to get us out of the building, but there were people on top of cars. It was a mess.”

What does he think was the secret to the show’s success? “Joss took characters, [especially] a female character that he made so strong and so likable, and put them through these archetypes or metaphors — whatever you want to call them. But each character had that drive.”

With the show’s enormous impact, the Oracle was very curious to know if David was ever afraid of being type-cast by the part.

“I never thought about it — maybe that’s the equation,” he says. “Obviously, people bring it up, but to me, it was never really an issue, because I believe in myself and my talent. You just kinda go forward and work on projects and see where that takes you.”

Was he offered similar roles, post- Angel? “No. I don’t think I was ever offered [another] vampire role. For me, it was a lot of comic book stuff. I was going to be in Resident Evil, but I couldn’t do it because the production didn’t work you. Associated with a genre that’s a little bit darker and little more fast-paced? Yeah, but I never quite got the [fear of being type-cast].”

Q: I finally had Turkish Delight. I wasn’t delighted. Thoughts? — Larry, Lakewood, CO

A: It’s a British thing. Ever had blood pudding — for breakfast no less?

Still, much depends on the specific nature of the Turkish Delight you tried. The confection, which really did originate in Turkey (and is called lokum there), is a soft, pink jelly-like confection sweetened with sugar or honey, and dusted with powdered sugar or copra (to prevent sticking). Often nuts are added.

Lewis reportedly liked it — and it, therefore, makes sense that it would be Edmund’s downfall in dealing with the White Witch.

The version you tried may not have been sweet enough for your taste-buds. If so, the Oracle suggests the sweeter Americanized version: Aplets and Cotlets, made in Washington State (although rarely referred to as “Turkish Delight”).

And keep in mind that you’ve no doubt long enjoyed a candy that was probably based on Turkish Delight: the jelly bean.

Q: So the new web series directed by Ted Raimi. What’s the deal with that? Did he write it? – John, Fort Lauderdale, FL

A: “I wrote and created the series based on a short story I wrote a few years ago,” says Suzanne Keilly, Ted’s collaborator on Playing Dead (and the star), which is about an aspiring actress recruited to play Death.

“Ted and I produced it, and Ted directed it,” she says. “We collaborated after the project was written. Once it was and he agreed to direct we talked about my script, the tone of it, who to cast, the pacing, that kind of stuff. He gave me notes on the script, which I mostly ignored to his dismay — although he snuck in some changes on the day of shooting when it was harder for me to disagree much to the better-ment of the series. The look of the show is all Ted. He really took my story and dialogue and added his own very cool vision to it.”

Incidentally, the musc is by Curtis RX of Creature Feature. Here’s the latest episode:

Watch Playing Dead.

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Three and a Half Torches (Out of Five)

After the tantalizing cliffhanger that ended the last issue, in which we see Buffy floating hundreds of yards in the air, we knew we were up for something big. And we get it, as the latest issue picks up with Buffy flying through the air, Superman-style, mentioning to herself how strong she feels.

In the immediate aftermath of the battle that’s been featured in the last two issues, we catch up with the currently powerless Slayers, who are nursing their own wounded, as well as Twilight’s soldiers. The three havoc-wreaking goddesses are still bent on destruction, and Willow can do nothing to stop them. Finally, after a confessional chat with Xander, Buffy outs herself as newly super-empowered and buries the goddesses deep in the ground.

Overview: This issue was written by the man himself, Joss Whedon, and thus the dialogue had that familiar flow of the series (much like the issues written by Jane Espenson), so for that alone it’s worth it. But overall not a whole lot happens here. We discover Faith, Andrew, and Giles have been kidnapped by Twilight, a small heart-to-heart between Buffy and Riley, a lengthy talk between Buffy and Xander, and finally Buffy’s revelation of her new powers.

But it’s really the encounter between Buffy and Xander that is the focus of this story. Having learned that Xander and Dawn are dating, Buffy professes that she has feelings for Xander, who puts her in her place, saying she’s confused and selfish, in a nice way, of course. In essence, he’s having none of it, and Buffy admits it was tactless.

And that’s what’s great about Joss Whedon’s vision: he’s created a hero who is seriously, deeply flawed in the way that we’re all seriously, deeply flawed. Super strength and (now) the power of flight do not place her emotionally above any of us, and she’s as prone to moments of pettiness as the rest of us, even if her pettier moments come between the times she’s busying herself saving the world.

I also want to point out that artist Georges Jeanty, who I’ve said I’ve found unimpressive in previous issues, seems to have upped his game, returning to his more detailed, nuanced drawings that he started the series with. I’m beginning to think the reason his art has seemed a little off is because he’s been rushed. With December off, it’s been two months since the last issue that he drew, and his style is noticeably sharper. So well done, Mr. Jeanty.

Since the series started in March of 2007, we’ve had to deal with something that’s unusual for Buffy (but not comics in general): a masked villain. In the letters column, we’re promised that Twilight’s identity will be revealed in naught but a few months. After three years, I’d say it’s about time.

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Last week I pointed out the rather disgusting sexual appetites of certain fantasy heroines, namely Buffy Summers, Sookie Stackhouse, and Bella Swan.

But when you take a second look at these vampire/human couples, there’s another disturbing trend: an age gap.

Specifically, an age gap that in some cases spans several centuries.

And these are couples that in some cases involve a teenage girl. So why are we okay with this?

(Bill Compton of True Blood, you get a pass this week. Sure, you’re scandalously older than you’re girlfriend Sookie — you were in the Civil War, after all — but at least Sookie’s an adult.)

Let’s start with you, Edward Cullen, with your big dreamy eyes and your dirty, dirty hair. Sure, you may have that young, boy-next-door, Cedric Diggory-kind of appeal, but lurking behind that underdeveloped chest is the cold, dead heart of an old geezer. Does anyone else think it’s insanely creepy that an old man just keeps going back to high school?

It reminds me of that moment in Dazed and Confused when Matthew McConaughey says, “That’s what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.” That was unsettling to hear from him, and he was a hot dude in his 20s!

And then you not only go after this girl, you fill her head with nonsense about how all you want to do is kill her, but you’re such a gentleman that you’ll behave and let her live. And somehow you get her to love you for it!

Do they not have Megan’s Law in Forks, Washington?

But of course, that’s merely Twilight, which came well after the couple that started it all: Buffy and Angel. Before they got all freaky with each other, it was relatively unheard of for humans to sleep with vampires. What did you unleash, Joss Whedon?

He was 247. She was 16. He kept telling her how much he loved her, and waited, patiently, until finally having sex with her on the night of her 17th birthday. You got that? He slept with her the moment she became legal. That’s just as creepy as all of those websites counting down to the day the Olsen twins turned 17.

And sure, she was technically legal when she started having crazy house-shattering sex with the punky Spike, but he was still over the hundred year mark, while she was a mere 21. And furthermore, he had been in her life since she was 16 — albeit as a mortal enemy — so he had known her in the context of being a child. What’s the deal, William the Bloody?

Aside from the fact that these are beautiful girls, one has to wonder just what someone who’s been alive that long would really have to talk about with a 16-year-old girl. Here’s a sample conversation:

Vampire: Hey, you.

Girl: Hey, you. You know what I was just thinking about? The ’90s. Man, the ’90s were kick-ass.

Vampire: The ’90s? Oh, please. They had nothing on the Roaring ’20s. Man, those days were the tops.

Girl: The top of what?

Vampire: No, the tops. The cat’s meow.

Girl: You have a cat? Aw, I love cats!

Vampire: Why don’t you listen to your i-Plod?

Girl: iPod.

Vampire: I miss speakeasies.

Yeah, not a lot in common. And yet in story after emo story, we see girls getting suckered in by these debonair vamps (and interestingly, almost never do we see these stories with the genders reversed).

So let this be a cautionary tale to concerned parents out there: if you see your daughter hanging around a boy with pale skin, an anguished expression, and an unusually vast knowledge of antiquated colloquialisms, get those crucifixes and garlic ready pronto. You’ll thank me when you don’t have any unexpected grandchildren with fangs.

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I’m a tolerant guy. I believe in the mantra “live and let live.” I don’t judge other people for what they do behind closed doors, provided no one is being hurt, everyone is an adult, and everything is consensual.

But I’m taking a stand: I think sex with a dead body is pretty effin’ nasty.

So why are all these fantasy heroines doing it?

Personally, I blame Buffy, that sexed up vampire slayer. The girl had a thang for corpses. Yes, corpses, plural, because she did the deed with not one but two vampires, and all the Buffy the Vampire Layer jokes that can ever be made have already been exhausted.

Psychic redneck Sookie Stackhouse from HBO’s True Blood didn’t just sleep with a vampire — she inhabits a world where many people, male and female, chase the excitement of sex with the undead, and are given the hilarious moniker “fangbangers.” Genius.

And Bella Swan from Twilight? Well … okay, I don’t really know because I’ve never read the books, but I read online that she and Emo King Edward Cullen do eventually make the beast with two backs, despite the entire story being some kind of weird allegory for teen chastity. (Because how else to encourage young girls to guard their virtue by inundating them with sexual images of guys like the one below?)

It’s funny, this new creature that is the sexually active vampire. Vampires have been sensual creatures ever since Bram Stoker penned Dracula, and Anne Rice reinvigorated the idea of erotically appealing vamps with Interview with the Vampire way back in 1973. But Dracula never actually sealed the deal with Mina Harker, and Anne Rice made it clear that these were dead bodies that just happened to be walking around.

Lest you think they work like living bodies, Rice specifies. Never one to shy away from descriptions of bodily functions, she explained that once a person becomes a vampire, their body evacuates itself, and they can never eat (food) again. Furthermore, all their … stuff … stops working, so no sex for Lestat, sexy as he may be.

But then along came Buffy and Angel, and their tragic romance — she was born to kill all vampires, and he got all fangy whenever he got excited. So naturally, who better to lose her virginity to? According to Angel, vampires don’t breathe, even though we see him panting and smoking cigarettes at times. What’s more, we’re informed that his heart isn’t beating. But if … well … doesn’t his heart have to beat, so blood can flow in order to … well, you see where I’m going with this.

In any case, ew.

All the rules of death were thrown at the window for True Blood, because those southern vampires have a lot of sex. With a lot of people. In every conceivable combination. They’re still dead, though, Sookie! Gross!

As for Bella, well, I can tell from the inescapable advertisements for New Moon that she’s involved in a love triangle between vampire Edward and werewolf Jacob, so I guess it’s a toss-up between necrophilia and bestiality.  (I say go with the werewolf — at least he’ll keep you warm at night.)

I get the forbidden love, Romeo and Juliet angle that a relationship between a vampire and a human offers.

But ew! Dead bodies!

The period of time between the beginning of October and the end of December is a very special time of year, a time when television shows, websites, and retail stores alike dress themselves up in holiday themes.

The “holidays” being Halloween and Christmas. But what happened to Thanksgiving?

As we approach that time of year when our forefathers first came to our nation as illegal immigrants and destroyed an entire race of people — but come on, those pilgrim hats are just adorable – one wonders at what time Thanksgiving became the holiday that slips through the cracks in fantasy stories.

The answer is very simple: like many things in fantasy, it’s all about magic.

Halloween and Christmas, by their very nature, are magical holidays. Halloween, a descendant of Samhain, is a celebration of all things macabre and horrific, the only time of year when children are allowed to embrace their dark sides and become the demons that they really are, a time of year when all it takes is a mask to transform someone from something plain into something sinister. The veil between the living and the dead grows thin, and spirits roam the night. (Kind of like what’s happening on Legend of the Seeker right now.)

Christmas, of course, holds a very important religious significance to Christians, and the story of the nativity is an all-you-can-eat buffet of magic and miracles. Beyond its religious core, Christmas has taken on a new, secular fantastical identity with the story of Santa Claus and his Christmas Eve mojo. And how often have we heard the phrase “The magic of Christmas?”

So, sorry, Thanksgiving. What with your shady, murderous origin and your lack of supernatural attributes, you fall a little short when compared with your siblings.

In fact, the only Thanksgiving-themed episode of any fantasy show I can recall was the rather brilliant episode “Pangs,” during the fourth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Hey, who feels like a quickie review?

Pangs

Five Torches (Out of Five)

As usual, rather than being a throwaway gimmick episode, the writers dealt with a very real issue — Willow’s anger at Thanksgiving being celebrated due to the aforementioned atrocities — as well as moving the plot forward cleanly and cleverly.

This episode set up many plot points that would affect the rest of the season: Spike’s slow but inevitable crawl towards the side of good, Angel not truly being out of Buffy’s life, and the group’s awkwardly growing distant from one another. By this point in the show’s life, the lead actors were a well-oiled machine, playing off each other with great comic timing, and the episode boasts one of my favorite lines by Xander, who had been cursed with all sorts of diseases (venereal and otherwise) by a vengeful spirit: “Can we get back to me and my new syphilis?”

In short, this episode rocked.

Who knows, maybe another show will come around in a few years with a great Thanksgiving episode with a fantasy twist. Until that time, however, we’ll just have to make watching “Pangs” an annual November tradition.