We went the big-budget Bond movie route, but it's so foreign to the core of our series. That's really Riley's gig. That's not what Buffy is about and that's why we had Buffy's episode afterwards. It wasn't the end of the season. There was one more Buffy-centric story to tell. More an internal journey through the world of magic and mysticism. [Primeval was] this big, splashy episode. Great fun, but also off the centre of what Buffy the Vampire Slayer is about.

BBC : Would you be happy to have a future season follow an action scenario again, or will you primarily be sticking with the magic?

Doug Petrie: Well never say never, but I feel that it was a really cool thing to explore and we've done that well. [But now ] there is just so much room to return to the magic of the Buffy universe. That's primarily where our interests lie. There may be a couple of secret agents in the future, why not? I just don't think that we'll spend a whole season on it.

BBC : Do you think the Initiative itself became the real villain of the season, even more so than Adam?

Doug Petrie: Yes, very much so. It was an area that we felt that we needed to explore - that we had never explored before. The initiative is a government response, an official response. Basically, it's a very organised and male response to the fact that there are demons in the world.

Joss may say something different, but my feeling is that it really was a very large and elaborate way of validating Buffy. Validating Buffy's approach and her style: the importance of her job, and the importance of the Slayer.

All these guys with all their guns, all their organisation, all their drills and all their practice can't do what this bright proactive girl/woman can do, because it's her job and she's great at it.