‘Buffy’s’ Giles May Get His Own Series

Rupert Giles, who has mentored the young demon fighters on “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” for five years, might be staking his own claim to television in another spinoff to the popular series.

Anthony Stewart Head, who has played Watcher to Buffy’s Slayer since the program began airing on the WB in 1997, could become the star of an hourlong show for the U.K.

Joss Whedon, creator and executive producer of “Buffy,” said he is in talks with the BBC for six episodes of an occult-tinged show centered on Head’s Giles character.

“It would be a grown-up, quiet show about a cool, grown-up, non-teenage man quietly solving ghost stories,” Whedon said, taking pains to distance the project from “Buffy”--which plays primarily to young adults and teens--and its existing spinoff, “Angel.” “It would be very different in tone: slower, more like the series already on TV there. But not too British.”

Head, who started his acting career in musical theater in London and still lives there, had told “Buffy’s” producers that he wanted to be able to spend more time at home with his girlfriend and young daughters. He won’t leave “Buffy” entirely, though. (His kids are fans of the show and recently spent several days on the L.A. set as production wrapped on “Buffy’s” fifth season.)

A veteran of several BBC series, Head had been popping up on U.S. television before “Buffy” launched. He co-starred in the short-lived Fox series “VR-5” and guest starred on series like “NYPD Blue” and “Highlander.” He may have been most recognizable, however, for his role in a long-running Taster’s Choice ad campaign.

The new series would center on Giles, a high-school-librarian-turned-magic-shop-owner on “Buffy,” and his crime-sleuthing activities away from the “Buffy” crew. It’s not been decided if “Buffy” cast members will make appearances on the show, though Whedon says several have already asked to do so.

Whedon is looking for a U.K partner to oversee production. Whedon would hammer out story lines and draft scripts with the current “Buffy” writing staff, perhaps shooting an initial episode in L.A. before production shifts to England.

The Giles-centric project isn’t the only “Buffy” offshoot in the works. An animated series that takes the cast back to high school is planned for Fox’s children’s lineup. Whedon says it could be ready for fall 2002.

After a protracted contract renegotiation, “Buffy” will leave the WB, switching to UPN in the fall. UPN outbid the WB by paying an estimated $2.3 million an episode for the series over two seasons, also agreeing to pick up “Angel” if the WB cancels it.