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Whedon Pens New BUFFY!!
I am – Hercules!!

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” mastermind Joss Whedon will pen the first episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s” seventh season, according to respectable if untested new Coaxial sources.

Whedon, who usually directs the “Buffy” episodes he writes, apparently will not direct the bulk of 7.1 – though he may ghost-direct the scenes being shot in England with series vets Anthony Stewart Head and Alyson Hannigan.

Having written what many agree to be the series’ most beloved installments – including “Hush,” “Restless,” “The Body,” “The Gift,” “Anne,” “Dopplegangland,” “Becoming,” “Graduation Day,” and “Family” – Whedon has not been credited with a “Buffy” teleplay since last November’s musical episode “Once More With Feeling.”

Whedon has been credited with fewer and fewer “Buffy” teleplays as the series has continued. “Once More” was the only Whedon-written episode to air during the series’ 22-episode sixth season. He scripted three hours for season five, four for season four, five for season three, and six for season two. For “Buffy’s” abbreviated first season, Whedon wrote a full third of its 12 hours.

The news also portends the return to an old “Buffy” tradition. Whedon wrote the “Buffy” season openers for the series’ first, second, third and fourth years. (Veteran series scribe Marti Noxon, who has served as “Buffy” showrunner since it moved from the WB to UPN a year ago, was credited with opening-hour teleplays for the show’s fifth and sixth seasons.)

The seventh-season opener is said to center in large part around a rebuilt Sunnydale High School, which was destroyed when its student body combatted a gargantuan snake-demon during Buffy’s graduation ceremony three years ago. Buffy’s sister Dawn will begin attending classes at the school this autumn, while Buffy herself is said to take a job at the facility.

News of Whedon scripting 7.1 was corroborated Thursday morning by a post at the infamous Cross & Stake site, though that post may soon be deleted. “Michelle,” who runs the site under the moniker “AngelX,” has indicated in recent weeks that lawyers for 20th Century Fox, which produces “Buffy,” have for some reason threatened legal action if “Buffy” spoilers appear there.

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