What's up with all the severed limbs on TV? | 142936__buffy_l
DIGITAL TV Buffy finds a finger

All About

24

On March 12's ''Smallville,'' Lex Luthor got a hand -- in a box. Also this season: ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' severed a finger and a foot; ''Alias,'' ''24,'' and ''CSI'' featured digital amputations; ''Oz'' and ''Boston Public'' lopped off limbs. Why all the cutting drama?
''We weren't going for gruesome,'' insists ''Smallville'' cocreator Al Gough, who originally planned to send Luthor a head. (Network censors nixed the idea.) ''We were going for shock. And nothing says badass like a body part.'' ''Buffy'' exec producer Marti Noxon blames the era. ''It's obviously been a macabre time,'' she says. ''Dealing with death in a lighthearted way... makes it less horrifying.''

(Send queries to BurningQuestions@ew.com)


Sign up for EW.com's What to Watch Newsletter!

What to watch on TV. Hear what's on tap for the night ahead and get witty, morning after recaps of top shows (sent weekday mornings).