Joss Whedon – technically not writing novels –is a writer par excellence. I don’t really see how this guy needs an introduction, but summing it up: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, Doctor Horrible’s Sing-along Blog. There’s more of course, but this is what I’m familiar with.
What you should watch at least:
I definitely recommend Firefly. The series was unfortunately (and unjustly) cancelled after just one season, mostly because the network was thick enough to broadcast the episodes in the wrong order. Anyone watching The Big Bang Theory knows how bitter the geekverse still is about this. Luckily, Joss Whedon did a very decent job wrapping the story up when he made the movie Serenity. Firefly is a post-apocalyptic science-fiction western about space pirates – and yes, that really works out very well. And I suppose, they’re not actually technically pirates. Well. Not most of the time anyway, right? Captain Malcolm Reynolds used to be a soldier in a big bad war. When his side lost, he proceeded to buy an outdated model of a spaceship and became captain of a strangely assorted crew of awesomeness. When he hesitantly takes on board the young doctor Simon Tam and his (stowaway) mentally ill sister River, things get even stranger. But also more awesome. Did I mention Western in Space?
My favourite show:
Taking into account that I have yet to see something that I don’t like (though Angel probably scores lowest), I’d have to say Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I used to watch this show every week on TV when I was 14 or 15 years old, but never saw all seven seasons. I recently did though, and it was a blast. My admiration for Joss Whedon has only gone up. The show’s unique – no doubt the reason that it became such an icon in pop culture. I know some people don’t think much of it, and maybe it’s partly because of the show’s title (Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a bit of an invitation to bad teenage horror shows, after all), but maybe they should give it an honest try. Season 2 is especially good, with dark themes and a brilliantly wicked and devastating storyline. This is also part of why Buffy is such a good show; it never gets boring, but finds new ways to stay fresh. There’s plenty of witty humour ( I actually think that popular expressions like “I’m having a sad/happy” or “I made a funny” originated from Buffy, because Whedon loves to use this slightly odd but fun style of dialogue in most of his shows), but just like the Harry Potter books, the seasons grow grimmer as they proceed. The Big Bad of course gets bigger and badder, but sometimes that’s just the window dressing. A violent sexual relationship with badass vampire Spike, Willow’s girlfriend getting randomly killed by a bullet, addiction, her mother dying of cancer and a deep sense of unhealthy detachment are what propel the later seasons. Also, there’s a musical episode, with actual songs, that isn’t even out of character.
I really do love Buffy. I love it as a show, but also the main character. She was a bit of a teenage icon for me, and now that I understand a bit more about character development, writing and well, now that I’m old enough to relate to post-high school Buffy, I think she’s even cooler. The show started in 1997, when CGI monsters still looked like awkwardly moving pixels, and at the time there was no role model for teenage girls like Buffy. Girls where either to be rescued or they were capable but highly annoying in the process. Buffy, on the other hand, kicked better ass than any guy could, but when she wasn’t wearing leather pants and denim jackets, she walked around in frilly dresses. She was tough. And a girl. And she saved the world a lot.
So Buffy the Vampire Slayer is great. The show ended seven years ago – it’s done. Over. Finished. This is why the new reboot of the concept, as a theatrical movie, is painfully embarrassing. Joss Whedon, the original creator, is not involved. He doesn’t even want this. No one of the original cast will be there to reprise their roles - in fact, they think it is a bad idea. Some other chick we know from Glee will be playing Buffy. So who is behind this and why does she think this is a good idea?
Apparently the young, unknown writer Whit Anderson. She claims she is a fan of the show and wants to do it justice, but I don’t understand how someone who is an actual fan can think that there’s a need for a reboot of the franchise. Here is a quote from her talking about Buffy:
“The thing that was so wonderful about ‘Buffy’ — and what made it special — is it was so timeless,” Anderson said. “The deep struggle she had with duty and destiny, that tug between what you’re supposed to be doing and what you want to be doing. The fate of the world is on her shoulders, but some days she wakes up, and she just doesn’t want to do it […]”
No, love. The thing that made Buffy special was Joss Whedon. It was his writing above anything else that made Buffy into something that is both funny and gritty and still relevant today. As a matter of fact, there is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie out there – it was not a success, because Whedon’s original script was altered so much and the movie was made in a rush to hit box offices around Halloween, that the whole thing was reduced to a teenage horror comedy flick. If she liked the themes of duty and destiny versus ordinary life, she should go ahead and create her own story around it.
One of the producers of this new movie, Charles Roven, had something to say about it too:
“There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return…While this is not your high-school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough and sexy as we all remember her to be.”
Have you heard what the fans are saying at all? There is an active fan base out there sure enough, but they’re all booing this initiative. And with good reason too. I mean, what is the purpose of a reboot? Buffy is finished and it was fine and memorable. What am I supposed to do with a new beginning? Buffy won’t look like Buffy, she won’t have the Scoobie Gang – that’s no Willow, no Xander, no Giles, no Spike, no painful love between Angel and Buffy. All the growing arcs of every character will be lost. That’s a bad idea as ever there was one.
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