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The latest news about ''Buffy'' | 173548__buffyspike_l

STEAMY RACER The sexual tension between Spike and Buffy is just beginning

This has to be the raciest season of ''Buffy'' yet. How are you getting away with Spike and Buffy's more explicit moments, including allusions to oral sex?
You can't get around the fact that the ideas are really nasty, but the actual content hasn't been. We've had less nudity this year than last, except for Spike, but no one's complaining about that. It's just because the nature of Buffy's relationship with Spike is much more sexual than her past relationships, and it's not about cuddly sex, either. I think the censors understand that if you're a kid of a certain age, you're not going to get it. And if you're old enough to get it, then, well, you get it. But I'm sure we have some challenges ahead, because it's not going to get less sexy for a while.

What can you tell us about ''Buffy'' creator Joss Whedon's new Fox series, ''Firefly''?
It's basically a science fiction western. The show takes place in the wake of a universal civil war in which the government wanted to unite all of the planets into one federation. The government won, so the guys on our ship, who fought for independence, are cruising the periphery of the universe where some of the planets still haven't been reached by the government. They aren't heroes; they do a lot of salvage work and odd jobs, some of which aren't so legal. But it's not like most sci-fi shows where everything's in black and white. The government isn't all bad, but they do some bad stuff. There's a cool ship and there's going to be nifty hardware, but the goal is to make all the characters' emotional lives totally real. We're focusing on their struggles, not a guy with a gorgon on his templok or something.

So Joss has ''Buffy,'' ''Angel,'' ''Firefly,'' an animated version of ''Buffy,'' and the BBC ''Buffy'' spin-off ''Ripper'' on his plate. When does his head explode?
He doesn't need the same things other humans need, like rest or bad television, damn him. And the thing is, there's another show in the offing that he and I and ''Angel'' producer David Greenwalt are planning for next season. But it's possible that ''Ripper'' might be delayed because of ''Firefly.''

There's a rumor going around that another one of the main characters on ''Buffy'' is going to die. How do you deal with leaks?
I can't comment on the rumor. We used to get really upset and send out fake spoilers so people would be confused, and we still do, sometimes, but we can't plug all the holes. We try not to pay too much attention, because it just makes you crazy.

Now that Buffy's in her 20s, do you see a series end in sight?
I was joking with a friend that one day we'll be doing Xander versus the love handles monster. Let us stop before it gets lame! If key members don't want to continue we won't. Every year we think, this could be it, but every year we continue to feel enthused about it, and it just keeps going.