• A virtual series/season is patterned after a television show featuring already established characters and appears only on the internet. A VS usually includes artwork (and in our series, sounds) that helps tell the story but not always.  Watchers is not a 'real' television show. We're just a group of crazy Buffy fans that got together to form a spin-off and keep the Buffyverse and the franchise alive.

• Again, Watchers isn't a real television show. It's only glorified fan fiction that can only be found at this site. But thanks for thinking it's real. It's a nice ego boost for all of us that put the hours in each week to make it possible.

I’m having trouble hearing and seeing things. Why?

• AOL and other users might experience some errors. Sorry but I.E. works best. When viewing a 'new episode' make sure that you 'refresh' each page. Although we have 'no-cache' on our pages your computer might not recognize the update to the pages. If that doesn't help then clear your history.  For IE users that means doing the following: Go to Tools, Go to Internet Options and then click on Clear History. For Netscape users the path is: Edit, Preference, History and then Clear History. This should take care of most, if not all, new episode viewing problems.

What format of writing do you use?  

• We write in prose (story) form but also include script direction such as ‘fade out’, ‘cut to’ etc. to help the readers ‘see’ what’s happening. All character dialogue however is written in story form and some of those character lines that have sound will feature a link that readers can click and hear.  

There are no character thoughts in the stories – why not?  

• Because much like Buffy you couldn’t hear inside a character’s mind (with the exception of ‘Earshot’ but that WAS the entire point of that episode<G>). If the ‘viewers’ know what everyone is thinking it doesn’t make for suspenseful storytelling. However, there’s nothing that says viewers can’t pick up on the dialogue, body language or mannerisms of the characters. Good rule of thumb – if you want to know what a character is thinking then read each story closely.   

Where’s the ‘previously on Watchers’ at the beginning of each episode?

• To play ‘catch up’ please read our BACK STORY or CHARACTER pages to see the important stuff you might have missed. You can also check out the entire PAST EPISODES.

Where’re the episodes which have aired? I can't find them.

• New episodes air weekly on Tuesdays over four runs during the regular season (Oct-June). We do 24 episodes per season. Prior episodes can be found on the PAST EPISODES page.

• The same as an episode – a teaser and four acts.   

What’s the length of the stories?  

• Approximately 2-5 pages of the teaser and 10-20 pages per act to total on average 45 pages per ‘episode’ but for eps loaded with action they can be as large as 100+ pages.

 How many screencaps per episode?  

• At least 3-5 per act which equals 25 per episode, give or take. 

How about sound bytes?  

• We take various bits of lesser-known character dialogue. Then we either use it as/is or we manipulate it so two characters speak at the same time. These dialogue bits are included into every script. We try to have at least 3 sound bytes per episode.   

Who writes the episodes?  

• CN Winters will have a hand in every episode so the story stay concurrent with each other but various writers will be working on a host of scripts. Each writer is credited each week in the episode cover art along with all information regarding the story.   

How does one ‘direct’ an episode?  

• Winters does most of the direction of the episodes by advising the writers and editing the material to fit the storyline to the season plans.    

Is it true season five is the last season?  

• Isn't five enough? <G> Really, we'd like to go out on top rather than wither away, so this will be our fifth and finale year with 120 episodes total 'in the can'. Donations we currently accept are used to pay for our server space to host a site this large and with this much traffic (and so people can still enjoy the site for years to come.) Any other funds this year will go toward our raffle item we give winning donators as well as a little something special for our staff who put in hours (and even days) of work each week throughout season five. And who knows, if we get the funds and the fan approval we might consider an occasional 'TV-Movie'. 

Who are the regular characters?  

• Willow, Rowena, Faith, Kennedy. As for Buffy, Giles, slayers and others they have smaller roles but are still present. 

So where are all the Slayers?

• We mention them and even show them in our stories but remember the focus of the series is Watchers, hence the name. This series is told through the Watchers eyes but we do try to mix it up each week.  

What's planned for them for the fifth season?  

• As always, we never tell! Where’s the fun in knowing everything? We do however have a spoiler page that lists some upcoming facts about episodes and pictures. We can say that this is the year we 'wrap up' storylines for our characters. 

Why Cleveland?  

• It’s been mentioned in two episodes of Buffy (‘The Wish’ and ‘Chosen’) that Cleveland sits on a Hellmouth. It’s interesting to note that Cleveland in real life has a bit of a bizarre history over the years so do a little research if you get the chance. It's rather fascinating actually.

Is there some kind of Headquarters or home base they're using?  

• Thanks to Willow and her hacking skills they began a New Council using the Old Council's funds. Cleveland, the world headquarters, owns two large buildings next to each other. One is the watchers headquarters (HQ), which is three stories tall. On the HQ top level is their meeting rooms, Watcher classrooms (where new watchers are trained), computer equipment and a library. On the second floor is the living space for the council members hierarchy (Willow and Co.) and on the lower/ground level are two main areas - one where Willow works her ‘old age-y’ Wiccan magic and another where she does her new age-y (i.e. computers) magic. The New Council has a second building next door, which is an academy of sorts. It houses all the incoming Slayers and Watchers much like an Army barracks with large training areas for the Slayers.  

Can anyone be a Watcher?  

• Much like Slayers, Watchers also have a destiny or a calling to perform their duties in the fight against evil and are chosen much like Slayers. With the overrun of slayers coming in the council has been forced to take on people who already have a knowledge of Hellmouth activity yet are extremely talented in intellectual matters although they might not be chosen. Dawn Summers was the first person admitted to the Watchers Academy because of her skill of languages. Although she appears to have no mystical connection to Watcherhood, Giles spent years being the surrogate father of her and her sister, Buffy. Giles biological daughter Elizabeth, however, is a chosen watcher. 

So what's so special about chosen Watchers?

• All Watchers have a high level of intellect and intuition. Some, who are considered chosen, are skilled at certain tasks that go above and beyond that of ‘normal’ people. Giles is a keen researcher – remembering information for years after consuming it and calling it up when it’s needed. If he doesn’t know the information immediately he usually knows where to find it or where he read it. With Willow she's gifted in the area of magic and with computer knowledge that surpasses many in the field. Rowena has an extensive knowledge in demonology and Dawn has advance skill when reading and deciphering languages both dead and current. Watchers can also have other special skills such as fencing, hand-to-hand and other physical skills too – not all watchers have all skills but they do seem advanced in certain areas and disciplines. As for Buffy as Watchers Head, she was picked because of her experience in the field and the need to merge both branches (Watchers and Slayers) closer together, much like how she and Giles worked together as a team. 

There's not much of Buffy? What gives?  

• Watchers was designed as a Spin-Off of Buffy and not a season eight and beyond. That means that Buffy, is not featured heavily. Again, Buffy is not the focus of the show nor will she ever be. If you need a 'Buffy fix' there are LOTS of Buffy VS's out there - some of which are located on our LINKS page. So check 'em out too! Although she's around we focus on the other characters more. 

Can I leave feedback?

• Yes, by all means leave feedback! This is important. If you enjoy the series let us know. If you remain silent we won’t be coming back. It’s that simple. Reason being, a great deal of time and effort from many people goes into bringing episodes to you each week so be sure to leave a note of thanks in any of our mediums – our FORUM, E-GROUP or FEEDBACK area.  

What if I don’t like an episode?

• You’re free to complain as well – just be tactful and polite. In other words, no name calling, no smart ass posts, no flaming. We feel the best storytelling are stories that make people react - negative or positive. You don’t have to always love us. You just always need to be respectful if you have a gripe because, like you, we’re just fans. We do this for fun and not to pay a mansion mortgage out in Beverly Hills. So hurtful, unconstructive comments on your part just shows a lack of class and intelligence. Always think twice before you hit ‘send’. <G>  

I still have questions. Now what?

• Visit our STAFF page to see who handles what duties and address your questions to them. For example, questions concerning graphic work should go to our Art Director, Robert Kidman or questions about sounds to CSR. If all else fails and you’re not sure who to email then contact CN Winters at cnwinters71@yahoo.com.

or 

Since people liked the idea of the free drawing and the Watchers Magnet we're continuing it again this year with the 'season five logo' or the 'all seasons logo' - Just place in the comments field which one you'd like. 

Donations are $5.00 each this year for the magnets above and everyone that enters our drawing is eligible for a prize of their choosing from our Watchers store. Order one of each and be entered twice!

Funds from the sale of the magnet go toward the drawing prize, our expensive server space to hold all these wonderful stories, pics, sounds, videos, forum, etc and, if we're lucky, thank you gifts for our hard working staff. We use a lot of space and bandwidth so every donation helps you as well as thousands of our visitors each year.

2007 Magnets are still here!! For people who'd like to make a $10.00 donation and be entered twice in our drawing, you'll receive the following Watchers Council 2007 Calendar Magnet. Just click the link below. (2008 magnets are usually available in Nov./Dec. each season)