Actor Features and Canon (First Ever Poll [I think])

[infinitewhale]

So I was watching The Dark Age earlier and the whole tattoo thing got me to thinking, at what point does an actor's feature become established canon? For instance, Marsters has a scar on his eyebrow. There was nothing in the scripts to say Spike was to have a scar on his eyebrow, but there it was. Was it not really canon up to the point in Fool For

Comments

[shapinglight]

I'd say only when it's repeatedly shown because then you know you're just supposed to accept it, and it may (or may not) become a salient plot point but it doesn't matter either way.

[infinitewhale]

That's my mindset, too, like for James' scar. I think there are other references to actors' features in the shows, too, but I can't think off the top of my head what they were.

My question is things that are added after, like I mentioned Smidge's tattoos. They cover the one, but made no attempt at the others. It's like, is there a rule? 1 time is a flub, I think, but there are probably at least 10 scenes through half-a-dozen eps you can see them, in clothes where they're hard to miss. They didn't appear to be trying to hide them.

[shapinglight]

TBH, I hadn't even noticed she had tattoos. I obviously wasn't paying enough attention. Maybe she had enough power that she just did what she wanted - ie. got new tattoos- without asking first, which is not something the average actor/actress can do, and Mutant Enemy decided that ignoring them in the show context was the way to deal with it.

[infinitewhale]

Well, I don't know how easily you can see she isn't. :P You wouldn't believe the number of people who think SMG's naturally a blonde. Buffy's haircolor has always been a thing. They've had 2 younger Buffy's, I think, one sort of dirty blonde and the other blonde. But in old family photos you can see in the background, some of them are of SMG's brunette days.

I always go with what's on screen, not necessarily an actor trait if it's deliberately hidden. Like Gellar's ankle tattoo. They cover it in Restless, so by that I believe Buffy doesn't have one. Then you get the back tattoos where they never covered.

[red_satin_doll]

SMG had tats showing? I watched on Netflix though, and its not the crispest resolution, so I'm not surprised I didn't notice.

Is that part of the reason her clothes became a bit more conservative from S5 on, or was that SMG exercising greater power and control over her wardrobe? Or neither - Buffy looks considerably older in the way she is dressed and filmed, in her hair etc just from S4 to S5, so I assume it was so we'd accept Buffy as "single mom" to Dawn after Joyce died.

I picked the second choice - there actor is not the character, after al, but I want to see a certain adherence to the appearance of the actor, not this "make it look like Buffy but not SMG" nonsense. Bad enough, but she doesn't even look like Buffy, depending on whose doing the artwork - I looked at Jeanty's illustrations a couple of months ago and wondered "Who the heck is that 14 year old kewpie doll? That can't be...?"

Oh and TV!Buffy would be horrified by comics!Buffy's complete lack of style or fashion sense. Just sayin'.

[infinitewhale]

Gellar had clothing input starting in S3, I think. Away went the miniskirts and boots. Hard to tell who made the fashion choices since there were wardrobe people, but I've seen photos of her out and about in the same clothes, so at least some of them were hers.

I looked at Jeanty's illustrations a couple of months ago and wondered "Who the heck is that 14 year old kewpie doll? That can't be...?"

He's horrible, but tragically I wouldn't call him the worst Buffy artist. Hector Gomez gets that title, IMO. I don't think there is much care given to the art of Buffy. Most are horribly drawn with bad coloring. Willow had blue eyes in the first issues of S8. Just gah. Even Buffy has blue eyes in some of the non-canon Buffy comics.

Buffy wouldn't be caught dead in the crap comic!Buffy wears. But comic!Buffy isn't really Buffy at all so they don't surprise.

[red_satin_doll]

Hector Gomez gets that title, IMO

I tried looking up his artwork and either I thought it wasn't any worse than Jeanty, or else I wasn't looking at the right person's work. (Some of those comics websites are very confusing, I find.) But, yes - the carelessness is amazing. (the only person in S8 who looked like "himself" I thought was Xander. Like, they took care to make him look like Xander and at the same time rather attractive (and also a bit younger and in better shape than NB was in S7.) they also took a bit of care with his dialogue from what I did read of the comics. that, and the fact that they had buffy professing her love to him *squick* tells me that the writers like and identify with Xander "Oh why doesn't Buffy see what a prince he is!" more than Buffy - Willow, I'm not so sure either way.

But comic!Buffy isn't really Buffy at all so they don't surprise.I keep telling myself that - and on a Watsonian level (the actual 'verse or story), the two have no connection for me at all; but on the Doylist level the

[infinitewhale]

I think he's horrible. Bad compositions and everyone looks the same...and disturbingly cat-like. Jeanty can at least on occasion come up with some interesting framing.

S8 was written for Xander fans, IMO. It plays to every possible bitter beta male trope. He's everyone's confidante, Buffy's watcher and everyone, even the girl he wanted but never stood a chance with is in love with him. So blatantly transparent.

I think on some level it's the point. Part of me still thinks the BTVS comics are to comics what CItW was to the horror genre, basically mocking it by becoming it. I'll lay dollars to donuts it ends in a reset and we find out something has been screwy the whole time. It's yet another comic cliche and pretty much the only one they have yet to use.

[kikimay]

Interesting poll. I went for "Only when stated in script/attention paid onscreen" but basically I'm in the middle between that answer and the second one (When it's repeatedly shown onscreen)
I appreciate the smart use of JM's scar in the show. I accept as canon the actors features, because for seven seasons they played the characters and it's a TV show, not a book, so the physical description doesn't exist because the actor provides it with his/her presence.
Of course not everything about the actor can fit. I remember SMG wearing an adhesive bandage for more that one episode and if Buffy can heal some really impressive injuries so fast it' impossible that a little cut in the finger takes so long. In this case what we see contrasts what we know about the character.