Ripper was originally a proposed television show based upon the character of Rupert Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (created by Joss Whedon). More recent information has suggested that if Ripper were ever made it would be a TV-movie or a DVD-movie. Giles, played by British actor Anthony Stewart Head, was nicknamed 'Ripper' while he was dabbling in the occult during his rebellious youth.
Whedon said that the show would be in the tradition of "classic English ghost stories" and would explore the theme of loneliness. Head described the idea as being like "Cracker with ghosts"; Whedon elaborated on some of the themes he had planned for the series: "The people who live there, it's all very isolated. himself has been gone for many years. He was surrounded by a de facto family that he no longer has. And sort of picking up his life all alone, and then getting involved in the underbelly of other people's lives, and finding out all about them. Loneliness is what I think of. It may not be the theme so much as the emotional intent of the series, but that's what really attracts it to me the most" It was later reported that Whedon had written the two-hour pilot, and that Espenson and other Buffy staff writers had penned story outlines for other potential episodes.
Originally in 2001, the show was planned to be aired as a miniseries on the BBC. Later mentions suggested a TV movie, however in an interview in December 2005, Head suggested that Ripper would be a "two hour movie, that might become part of a series of DVDs". However, Whedon was then involved in his new TV series Dollhouse which ended in 2010 and comic book Buffy Season 8. Whedon announced plans for a Ripper series as soon as Head left Buffy in 2001 to return to his home in England. Over the past eight years, the idea has evolved.
At Comic Con 2007, Joss Whedon confirmed that talks were almost completed for a 90-minute Ripper special on the BBC, with both Head and the BBC completely on board.
The development process was supposedly set to begin in 2008 and Ripper was to be shown in the summer of that year. However, in a BBC interview in April 2008, Head stated that 'Creator Joss Whedon is busy with another project, I'm tied up too, so at the moment I'd just say that it's still out there.' In this same interview, Head mentioned that Whedon had discussed the project with Doctor Who and Torchwood producer Julie Gardner.
"Originally, when he pitched it to me, it was a series, and it was Giles as this sad, lonely man in England without a real reason to be," Head said. "It was pretty much ghost stories. Week by week, some ghost story would somehow affect him. Then he said he didn't want to. By that time, I think he had been affected by Angel, the need to write a weekly story. I think he found at that point the drive was different, so he suggested this one film that we were going to make. He told me this story that he had written, and it's absolutely beautiful, and I hope that one day it gets made, whether it's in the guise of Ripper or whether we just tell it as a one-off TV movie. It's a lovely, lovely story. It's kind of a ghost story. It's also about a man investigating his own soul, and it's fascinating, lovely, sad, and it's classic Joss Whedon. I hope we get to make it one day. From there on in, if it was successful, maybe he could have been convinced to do a series. As I say, now he's back in the seat of doing a weekly series with Dollhouse; maybe he can be convinced otherwise. Never say never, but at the same time, I think it's on a shelf for a while."
Later Joss Whedon gave an interview to TV Week's James Hibberd and was surprisingly non-committal about Ripper. Whedon stated that "There isn’t anything new. It might become too problematic. The rights issue with 'Ripper' becomes complicated. There are other characters in the woods. We may have to do some fancy footwork. Obviously I’m committed to Dollhouse but that does not mean I’m not doing 'Ripper'". In an interview from "The Write Environnement", Whedon reiterated: "Well, Ripper fell victim to a lot of things, most of them contractual... at this point, all I know is I’m gonna do something with Tony for the BBC - and I don’t know what it is... Actually, I kinda do know what it is, but I haven’t figured it out enough to tell anybody... but I think it probably won’t be Ripper."
With the cancellation of Dollhouse Whedon has been locked in talks over the rights issues of the character of Rupert Giles. This is the only hurdle with the BBC having funding, location and local production team in place, with Whedon delivering the initial script. It still remains unclear whether it would go beyond a 90 minute TV special or become a stand-alone miniseries.
During an interview with A.V. Club, Whedon says: "the thing about Ripper—the essence of it—is that the BBC came to me at one point like, “It doesn’t have to be Ripper. It can just be, and there’s magic, and he’s Tony, cuz he’s awesome.” And that’s the thing: For some reason, he keeps getting sexier every year. That’s not happening to me! I’m like, “What are you doing?” And that story was always about a mature guy who’s lived, and about the choices he’s made. So you could make that now, or you could make it 10 years from now. And I’ve tortured Tony more than any other living human with, “We’re definitely gonna do this!” Because I thought we were. He’s working so much, though, I’d feel too guilty. But that’s the thing with Ripper: It doesn’t go away in my head because he’s still right for it, and he could still bring it."
In 2012, content for the Ripper TV series began to be adapted for the comic book Angel & Faith, which depicts Angel's quest to resurrect Giles, while living in Giles' London home, which passed on to his primary inheritor, Faith Lehane. Storylines depicting Giles' past in this series were intended for Ripper, as were several of its characters. Giles' aunts feature, ageless witches named Sophronia and Lavinia Fairweather. Whedon had intended from them to be portrayed by Anthony Head's daughters Emily and Daisy Head in the live action series.
Read more about this topic: Undeveloped Buffy The Vampire Slayer Spinoffs