Marti Noxon
|
|
Marti Noxon was a writer and executive producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She is a graduate of Kresge College at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She appeared in the "Once More, With Feeling" episode of BtVS as a singing meter maid. She wrote the pilot for Still Life in 2003, though the show wasn't picked up.
When the WB television network accepted the Buffy spin-off series, Angel, Joss Whedon, the creator and executive producer of both series, promoted Noxon from writer to executive producer and gave her increasing charge of producing Buffy.
Some Buffy fans believe that the quality of the series suffered as a result of the changes that occurred under Noxon's supervision, such as the tragic ending of the homosexual relationship between Willow and Tara; the virtual disappearance of Xander as a central character; the tiresome use of "nerds" as villains; the transformation of the formerly modest and relatively chaste Buffy into a selfish, promiscuous, and irresponsible young woman; and the too-obvious metaphor of magic as a drug upon which Willow becomes increasingly dependent.
While many fans have reservations about Buffy's last two seasons, these are ascribed to a number of causes. Some simply believe that the show "jumped the shark" (i. e. dramatically declined in quality after a period of excellence), and assign no particular blame to the executive producer. (More fans believe that the show "never jumped".) Still others lay the blame squarely at the feet of the show's creator, and view the "Noxon-bashing" as scapegoating. Whedon himself maintains that he retained full creative control over the show (and, in particular, over the show's story arc: "I killed Tara") and counters claims that stewardship of the show's "mission" was delegated to Noxon:
- Dis not th' Nox. [ ... ] Marti (She of the great brain and great beauty) and I shaped this year very carefully, and while we made mistakes (as we do every year), we made our show. We explored what we wanted to, said what we meant. You don't have to like it, but don't think it comes from neglect. [1] (http://www.cise.ufl.edu/~hsiao/media/tv/buffy/bronze/upn/20020522.html)
After Buffy concluded its final season, Noxon went on to create the TV series Still Life, which was not picked up, and Point Pleasant (which was canceled in 2005), on which she was the executive producer. She also wrote the screenplay for the movie Just a Little Harmless Sex.
Trivia
- It is revealed on the "Hush" DVD commentary that Noxon cast Amber Benson as Tara.
- Noxon sang the theme tune for the Cordy show in the Angel episode "Birthday". [2] (http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/GuidePageServlet/showid-12/epid-96898)
- Credited as "Parking Ticket Woman" she also sang the "Parking Meter" song in "Once More, With Feeling". She later reappeared as Parking Ticket Woman in the epidode "Selfless".
Buffyography
Noxon is credited with having written or co-written the following Buffy episodes:
- "What's My Line, Part One"
- "What's My Line, Part Two"
- "Bad Eggs"
- "Surprise"
- "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"
- "I Only Have Eyes for You"
- "Dead Man's Party"
- "Beauty and the Beasts"
- "The Wish"
- "Consequences"
- "The Prom"
- "Living Conditions"
- "Wild At Heart"
- "Goodbye, Iowa"
- "New Moon Rising"
- "Buffy vs. Dracula"
- "Into the Woods"
- "Forever"
- "Bargaining I"
- "Wrecked"
- "Villains"
- "Bring on the Night"
External links
- The 'Grr' In Girl: Marti Noxon fansite (http://www.chosentwo.com/marti/)
- Buffy page on Jump The Shark (http://www.jumptheshark.com/b/buffy.htm)
- IMDb entry (http://imdb.com/name/nm0637497/)