Why was Riley s' character written out of 'Buffy' in season 5?.
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presspassmaureen — 20 years ago(February 14, 2006 12:49 PM)
The Riley character was extremely unpopular with rabid Angel fansthey did NOT want anyone else in Buffy's bed or heart! This lead to Whedon easing Riley out of the show, but I personally would have rather seen Buffy with Riley than Spike. Then again, Spike would never have gotten his soul back or snagged another year on Angel after Buffy bowed out. I LOVED Rileynamed my dog after him (but don't tell my hubbylol!).
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meeris — 20 years ago(February 21, 2006 06:13 PM)
People were so tied up in knots over Angels leaving that they refused to let the character of Riley into their hearts. I cried when he was in the helicopter and she's on the ground trying to get his attention. I'm such a wuss! lol
btw, press, I once met a woman who named her daughter Riley after his Marc's character on BtVS. She told me whether she was having a boy or a girl she was going to use the name Riley.
And in the book "Private Scandels" by Nora Roberts there's a character named Finn Riley. s He's a handsome tv reporter w
I'm a big tough girl. I tie my own sandals and everything. -
johnnycage10 — 20 years ago(March 23, 2006 02:50 AM)
Glad to hear I wasn't the only one who liked Riley in BtVS.
I believe parts of the reason fans disliked him was because 1) he doesn't have the potential for evil and 2) he has no special powers like vampires/slayers/witches.
That, of course, is ridicilous, considering someone who doesn't go psycho on his other half makes for a better boyfriend/girlfriend, but don't let naive kids who are still living with their parents hear that (rolls eyes). And as to the second factor, I always liked that Riley and the Initiative held their own against vampires/werewolves/demons, even though they were regular humans who just trained well and were armed. Most fans also don't like that, as they don't want to be told that hard work is a way of getting ahead. They just want to hear that one can sit on his/her @$$ and have themselves improve without any work. Thank you Cinderella and Spiderman and their many clones for that.
I also felt sad that Riley left, and especially how he left. But I very much liked seeing him for one last episode in season 6, especially when he got to push Spike around, FINALLY!
That was sweet revenge indeed. -
tasteslikepaste — 18 years ago(May 21, 2007 12:05 PM)
i don't think a lot of people were totally unwilling to get over buffy and angel. i think riley's character was just a goon. he was really lame and "that guy." he was that "all american" guyand the show was darker than that. he told lame jokes, whereas 238the rest of the characters were actually funny and well- written.
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lifelike001 — 18 years ago(September 02, 2007 08:32 AM)
i totally agree tasteslikepaste! he was BORING. sad little puppydog following buffy around trying to get her attention. as irritating as every jealous possessive boyfriend is. he MADE himself redundant by not being able to objectively see his role. he wanted to be the big hero and was too insecure to accept that she would always be more powerful and important than him. some people can grow the hell up and get over that, and some cant. once he was out of the initiative and he was 'nothing special' he sensed he didnt have a damn personality, and instead of growing one he latched parasitically onto a stronger one. bleurgh. can you tell ive had this kind of boyfriend? LMAO
and whats with the 'im so hard and cool playing with the dark side, letting a vampire suck my arm' thing LMAO!!! what a blowhard. -
Jackpot777 — 18 years ago(September 06, 2007 02:54 AM)
Im a guy & Riley is my all time favourite Buffy character. He was so cool!!! Buffy treated him like crap & in the end i severely disliked the character, Buffy. She was just a brat. It was class when Riley came back & he was married. In your face Buff, you knucklehead.
Y.N.W.A. -
aries7426 — 20 years ago(January 29, 2006 06:50 PM)
I loved Spike but I could never understand why fans hated Riley so much. I always thought he was pretty hot especially in S4. I hated that they axed Riley in favor of Spike only to leave all the S/B fans hanging. It made me sour on the whole series and I was a huge fan.
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jo-199 — 20 years ago(February 06, 2006 03:21 PM)
He was extremely unpopular on Buffy and it was no great loss to the show. He never 'fit' into the mold as such and he was too whiny and jealous. Basically, he could not stand Buffy being stronger/ better/ more useful than him. PErsonally, I think they should have stayed together as she annoyed me too by then with her constant crying and whinging.
It was important to the show that a vampire became the main 'love' interest as she is sucker for punishment and it's ironic after the whole Angel history thing. Riley, i'm afraid i have to disagree, does not look like a man - espeically not more so than Spike. He might be bulky, but there is a reason he is constantly chosen for boyish parts rather than'manly' ones. He does not have that rough and rady edge that was needed in Buffy (or in anything else I've seen him in. He's a sporty fop, like a lot of these up and coming younger actors.
If at first you don't succeed then Bungie Jumping isn't for you -
adrianmorgan_butterfly — 19 years ago(April 15, 2006 09:02 AM)
A sporty fop?. haha. That was kinda mean, but then again that's what makes Marc Blucas and the Riley character so appealing is that he seems like the cool guy next door. Spike wasn't a favourite character of mine. The more they put him in the spotlight the worse the show got. He should have stayed comic relief.
Riley only became a bitter, and jealous character in season five because they wrote him that way. Hardly Marcs' doing. You are only ever as likeable as you are written in a script.I can't imagine how disapointing it must have been for him to film those ten episodes where they basically castrate his character because the poor Buffy fans wanted Angel back. It was a loss to the show, and I thought he and Sarah had good chemistry as well.
Maybe they really didn't like each other. Who knowswho really cares?. But it's a shame people think he was a weak character. In season four, they wrote him well. I finally saw the episode where they brought him back. It just pissed me off. I really liked him on the show. Buffy should have grabbed that boy next door and held on. I realise it wouldn't have suited the shows ever-dreary love story lines for Buffy. Glad to see Marc's getting work though. I like sporty fops myself and hope he has a long successful career. Buffy fansoh please. It was just a show. -
dgnr8_kid — 19 years ago(April 19, 2006 05:51 PM)
I will be the first to admit, I hated Riley when he first came on the 5b4show. I hated him for the same reason all other Angel fans hated him: he was trying to replace Angel. Riley was trying to fill Angel's shoes and no one, not even Spike, could do that. They should have kept Buffy single when Angel left. I dont know why Joss felt she always "needed a man". He should have known the fans would never embrace the guy who came on after Angel. Looking back , I dont really mind Riley, he was a very good person, he just couldnt hold a candle to Angel, or even SPike for that matter.
"I am the Lizard King. I can do anything."- Jim Morrison -
cheluzal — 19 years ago(May 07, 2006 07:23 PM)
I love Riley! He's my favorite guy from the entire series. I had such a soft spot for Angel but I know life goes on and you date other people. I think I appreciate Riley so much because he was a great boyfriend. Definitely not worthy of wacky Buffy but good for me.
Riley and Graham (Bailey Chase..yum) were the reasons why S4 is my favorite.
Men are like parking spots. The good ones are taken and the available ones are handicapped. -
SkinnyEcho — 19 years ago(May 31, 2006 01:06 PM)
If Riley wasn't after Angel he would have stayed longer.I never understood why everyone hated him, I mean look at him, way hotter than Angel and plus he has a heartbeat.
"Ready Randy?"
"Ready Joan." -Btvs
TWA
(Tom Welling Army) -
IrishBlueEyes — 19 years ago(June 30, 2006 09:16 AM)
Remember also that the writers have always used the fantasy of the Buffyverse to express the reality of being a teenager/young adult. In real life, we change as we grow up and the relationships that once fit us perfectly don't alway5b4s fit as well as we change. How many people marry the person they dated their freshman year of college? In Season 4, Buffy got a peek at the real depth of her power and we see in Season 5 her standing more on her own (i.e., growing up). At the same time, Riley went from Big Man on Campus to small fish, similar to what many of us go through when we graduate. The only place he still felt confident was his relationship with Buffy, but then as she got stronger, she needed him less and less in the way that he needed to be needed. Both were going through huge transformations in opposite directions. As much as I hated to see Riley go, it was the natural evolution of a real relationship.
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johnnycage10 — 19 years ago(July 21, 2006 03:12 AM)
Good discussions here. Very much enjoyed reading these ^_^
And of course we'll always have the cool, Initiatve2000-based episodes of season 4
Personally, I thought most of the good eps from seasons 5 and 6 involved Riley (loved his comeback in season 6 and his bitchslapping of Spike, and the way he handled those vamps in the crypt in season 5).
But in regards to their relationship, I know it's partly because Buffy simply didn't love Riley as much as she loved Angel, and he wanted to be the most important variable in her life (as Angel was).
As useless as Xander was after the end of season 3, the one smart scene he had was when he lectured Buffy at the end of the episode when Riley left in season 5. At the end of the day, Buffy and Riley could've had a contest regarding who's more at fault where, but one major question is this - would Buffy be as detached from Angel as she was from Riley if her mother was gravely ill in season 2/3? The answer is No, which means Riley's not as important as Angel was. -
TamlynR — 18 years ago(July 30, 2007 04:33 AM)
He was the all american boy next door. Normal, except for the secret army thinglol And what Buffy has always wanted most was to be normal and have a normal life. I think Riley represented that. But no matter how much Buffy wanted "normal" it wasn't ever going to work out, just their relationship.