Lenk’s latest show Lottie Plachett too a Hatchet has been billed as a “high-camp” retelling of the Lizzie Borden story. For those not in the know, Borden became famous when she was tried and acquitted for the axe murders of her father and stepmother in 1982.

It might not sound like fertile ground for a camp extravaganza, but Lizzie Borden’s story is a unique one. In the near century since her death, she’s become a feminist icon in her own right, while others have imagined her as a queer legend.

Ahead of the Edinburgh Fringe, PinkNews caught up with Tom Lenk to talk about what makes Lizzie Borden a gay icon, the legacy of Buffy, and why he can’t watch horror.

James Marsters and D.B. Woodside are attending Comic Con Wales this weekend (6-7 August 2022), held at ICC Wales in Newport, South Wales. Tickets are…

In recent decades, it’s become increasingly necessary to understand the existence and importance of a Heroine’s journey. Maureen Murdock, a student of Campbell, tried her hand at devising what mysteries lie in this quest. But I, and many others, find her vision lack. Focusing on spiritual aspects of a woman’s inherent nature and the idea of a masculine identity coming together with a feminine one is just so… dated. That was 1990.

Just two years later, the story of a flighty, teenage cheerleader who’s put upon by destiny to fight the vampires, demons and forces of darkness was introduced into the world. And it is in her journey that we find a template. Perhaps vague, in its earliest phase, but ready for GenX and generations to come.

I know what you mat be thinking: “Buffy is 25 years old earlier this year, the first episode aired in 1997!” And you would be absolutely correct. However, that is not the Buffy I’mm discussing today. No, we’re going back to 1992 (with this review timed exactly for the 30th anniversary), when 20th Century Fox first haphazardly attempted to marry comedy and horror, frustrating a young Joss Whedon in the process and forever condemning a film as the “black sheep” that fandom does its best to ignore. Does this initial attempt at a vampire-killing cheerleader really deserve such scorn and dismissal? Well, yes and no. Let me try to explain.

“ALL I WANT TO DO IS GRADUATE from high school, go to Europe, marry Christian Slater, and die.” That line, from the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, may have been spoken by a teenager, but they were the words of a child. That’s why it stood out to me as a prepubescent girl – before I got my period, before I got existential, before I stopped caring about vampires (if I ever did). The line captured the glib effervescence of a bubblegum B-movie in which a cheerleader discovers her destiny as an assassin. Of monsters.

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“Angel” might be the most underappreciated show in Joss Whedon’s entire oeuvre. “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” is rightly touted as his greatest achievement (it’s my favorite show of all time), but if you ask me, it’s spin-off deserves more affection than it gets. “Angel” might get less attention from fans that its parents series or Whedon’s space western “Firefly,” but during season 4, it actually wasn’t getting much attention from its creator, either. Because the allegations against Whedon have understandably tarnished his legacy, it can be difficult to remembered there was a time when the filmmaker was so in demand that he had three shows on the air at once. Like anyone working on too many things simultaneously, Whedon was simply spread too thin, which directly affected the much-maligned fourth season of “Angel.”

Over two decades after its release, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains and acclaimed staple of pop culture. The series featured a strong and capable female hero, Buffy Summers, portrayed brilliantly by Sarah Michelle Gellar, subverted the trope of the classic horror damsel. The young woman, relentlessly by bloodthirsty monsters, was the one to drive a stake through their hearts. In recent years, however, the show’s powerful feminist message has been muddied by the horrific abuse allegations directed at series creator, Joss Whedon. But time, awareness and hindsight have also recontextualized Buffy’s “worst season.”

Nineteen years after it ended, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is more popular than ever, with streaming audiences rediscovering in the series the kind of layered storytelling that was a hallmark of Peak TV. The show has plenty to offer on second viewing (and third-viewings – and fourth, firth, etc.), with season-long arcs that tied together monster-of-the-week plots, generally along rich thematic lines.