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 [he is 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.