I am – Hercules!!

In a piece published the Sunday before Buffy Summers died the second time (in the season-five finale of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”), series mastermind Joss Whedon told The Los Angeles Times that he did not believe in cliffhangers.

We recall that several talkbackers, even after “Buffy” 5.22 aired, concluded that 5.22 was not a cliffhanger. Buffy died! No cliff involved!

And one could argue those talkbackers had a point.

Bearing all this in mind, here’s what young supergenius Whedon shares in this week’s Entertainment Weekly:

EW: Any chance “Angel” will end in a cliff-hanger?
JOSS WHEDON: I wouldn’t do that. That’s a crappy thing to do.

He also mentions he'd be up for a series of TV movies, each perhaps set in a different corner of the Buffiverse. One can only hope, as one hears Alyson Hannigan's sitcom pilot didn't make NBC's autumn slate.

NBC announces its autumn slate later today.

The “Angel” series finale airs 9 p.m. Wednesday. The WB.