Poor Amber Benson. After a credible career as a child actress in films such as Imaginary Crimes and King of the Hill, Benson had the good/bad luck to land a gig on television's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as fan-favorite sapphic sorceress Tara Maclay. The role lasted three seasons, but by the time Benson left, her career had become the property of the sci-fi/fantasy community. And so an actress who once worked with Steven Soderburgh is reduced to headlining this kind of made-for-cable trash. Gryphon has it all: shockingly bad CGI, cheapie Eastern European locations, tired medieval costumes, cheesy S&M imagery and cut-rate sword-and-sorcery babes. Amidst this flotsam and jetsom of adolescent fantasy imagery, Benson is forced to trade dialogue along these lines: "You'll never succeed, sorcerer!" "Too late, princess, I've already won!" One can only hope poor Benson is still receiving some halfway decent Buffy residuals.
