Time-less Whedon/Gaidon

[Pococurante]

For those of you who like bubbly frothy interviews with your entertainment heros...

TIME: Let's talk about your respective fan bases. A lot of them self-identify as kind of on the geeky side.

You know who you are!

[Strazos]

Joss Whedon and Neil Gaiman may well be the two most interesting people creating popular culture right now. Whedon is the man behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel

Ugh.

[schild]

It hurts, but I agree with Strazos. I wouldn't even have them on my top 10 in terms of interesting people creating pop culture.

[Llava]

JW: I think there's a possibility that comic book movies are getting a tiny bit better on the one hand because they're no longer made by executives, who are, you know, ninety-year-old bald tailors with cigars, going, the kids love this! But even executives and producers and people who aren't necessarily creative who are involved in it did actually grow up with these characters, so there is some measure of respect. Although we still occasionally get League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and you really can't explain that.

NG: Or Cat Woman.

JW: Oh my God.

Heh.

JW: I find that when you read a script, or rewrite something, or look at something that's been gone over, you can tell, like rings on a tree, by how bad it is, how long it's been in development.

NG: Yes. It really is this thing of executives loving the smell of their own urine and urinating on things. And then more execs come in, and they urinate. And then the next round. By the end, they have this thing which just smells like pee, and nobody likes it.

JW: There's really no better way to put it.

Heh.

TIME: Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is out this month as well, making it effectively national Goth month.

NG: We are Goth icons. Joss and I. We don't have to be Goths, because we are Goth icons.

JW: I'm low on mascara.

Heh.

[Strazos]

It hurts more to say that I actually like Alias. I grimace as I type this.

Oops.

[Samwise]

I never really liked Buffy or Angel that much, but Firefly is excellent, so Joss is okay in my book.

And I pretty much love everything Neil Gaiman has ever done, so no complaints there either.

That's about all I have to say on the matter.

[Margalis]

Joss Whedon is ok...he's kind of a one trick pony though. All his stuff is done with the same characters in the same tone. I don't find that tone particularly interesting, but at least he has his own voice.

I prefer a singular vision, even a bad one, to a watered-down corporatized mish-mash. The point about the age of scripts is funny because of how true it is. Some things do no get better with age. It's the same with most games actually. Usually when a game is delayed again and agian, it's no because the finished product is getting that much better. There are companies that are exceptions, but in general if something is taking a lot longer than anticipated it's because something has good horribly wrong, and chances of the ship getting righted are low.

[Viin]

Joss Whedon is ok...he's kind of a one trick pony though. All his stuff is done with the same characters in the same tone. I don't find that tone particularly interesting, but at least he has his own voice.

Not sure I agree with the "same characters in same tone" statement. I've only been exposed to Angel, Buffy, and Firefly and they really don't seem that much the same to me.

I've only recently read Neil Gaimon (Neverwhere) and really liked it, but I think they accidently got the wrong Neil. Stephenson is the guy the want. (Might as well throw William Gibson in too, for ships and giggles).

[Llava]

I never watched Firefly.  Sci-Fi without a fantasy element generally isn't my thing.

That said, watching the commercials and listening to the main character have conversations like, "You wanna fly this ship?" "Yes." "Well... you can't." STRONGLY remind me of Angel.

I generally do like his sense of humor, though, and he knows how to keep me interested, so I'm okay with him.  His shows don't have a ton of rewatch value, though.  I can't really watch Buffy at all anymore.  Not because it's a bad show, but I've already sucked out just about all the entertainment I can.  (I'd still like to see the nightmare episode where the first Slayer haunts the gang's dreams though... I never really did just sit and watch that one through the whole way.  It seems very funny, though, and I'd like to catch it again.)

[Ironwood]

I still don't get the cheeseman.  But he makes me laugh.

[Viin]

I never watched Firefly.  Sci-Fi without a fantasy element generally isn't my thing.

Like I've said in other threads, at least get the first disc on Netflix. You'll want to watch the other ones.

Firefly has just as much 'fantasy' as Battlestar Galactica, actually more, so I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Nebu]

I've never really understood the fascination with any of those shows... then again, I did watch a Black Adder marathon the other night.

I think I need help.

[Pococurante]

Your appreciation of Black Adder marks you as a cultured sophisticated man of our times.

[HaemishM]

Black Adder rocks the motherfucking house, biznatches. Any man who does not agree does not know the meaning of the word wit.

I never could get into Buffy or Angel, but I love me some Firefly. As for Gaiman, his writing is good, but it always seems to have this wistful, dreamy, fairy-tale quality that sometimes just doesn't fit the characters. Or more accurately, he's not something I'm always in the mood for.

But Sandman was teh r0xX0r.

[Daeven]

I never watched Firefly.  Sci-Fi without a fantasy element generally isn't my thing.

It's people like you that make pretty thigs like Planescape:Torment and Fallout flop.

Baby Jesus hates you.

[Merusk]

Angel takes a while to get into.   I didn't watch any of it until the last few episodes, and it inrigued me.  So I watched the whole series on TNT and enjoyed it.   Buffy, however, I still have a devout refusal to watch because I despise SMP and the whole premise of taking the movie and turning it from a pretty amusing dark comedy into this brooding teen drama still bothers me.

Black Adder has a 5-disk set out.  It's got all the seasons plus the mini-movie Black Adder V.  I highly recommend picking it up.

[Llava]

I never watched Firefly.  Sci-Fi without a fantasy element generally isn't my thing.

Like I've said in other threads, at least get the first disc on Netflix. You'll want to watch the other ones.

Firefly has just as much 'fantasy' as Battlestar Galactica, actually more, so I don't think you will be disappointed.

I didn't watch Battlestar Galactica either.

Let me rephrase.

Sci-Fi generally isn't my thing.

[Pococurante]

Sci-Fi generally isn't my thing.

But but but... he's carrying a +2 Fantasy claymore!!!

[Strazos]

I never watched Firefly.  Sci-Fi without a fantasy element generally isn't my thing.

It's people like you that make pretty thigs like Planescape:Torment and Fallout flop.

Baby Jesus hates you.

Pfft, I've never watched Firefly either, and have no particular desire to.

And I bought both of those games on launch, so Ha.

[Llava]

I wasn't a PC Gamer when those came out.  I was, at best, a casual console gamer.

[Fargull]

I like all things Joss.  I was hooked on Buffy at the second episode.

[Ironwood]

and the whole premise of taking the movie and turning it from a pretty amusing dark comedy into this brooding teen drama still bothers me.

You're aware that the film is really not what Whedon intended ?  And he's gone on record countless times about that ?

[Merusk]

and the whole premise of taking the movie and turning it from a pretty amusing dark comedy into this brooding teen drama still bothers me.

You're aware that the film is really not what Whedon intended ?  And he's gone on record countless times about that ?

Given that I've made an effort to avoid anything "Buffy" related.  Nope, didn't know.

Still prefer the film's "vision."

[Ironwood]

Well.... YOU DO NOW !!!

(rereading my post - which I didn't before - and I think it sounds patronising as hell.  Heh.)

Whedon says he didn't like the finished product and he certainly didn't like the changes made to his original script.

In the first episode of Buffy, Principal Flutie makes reference to her 'blowing up the last school'.  This is something she actually did in Whedon's original script for the movie, but the studio cut it.

I'm sure some other sad-sack on this board can point you to interviews where he talks about it.

[Bunk]

What can I say, Whedon = good. I'll be there Friday night.

Actually, I'm pretty suprised by the sheer amount of advertising that Serenity is getting. its all over the TV and Radio here.

Black Adder still ranks as my all time favorite British comedy, and I'm a fan of a fair number of these.

[Samprimary]

I never got into Buffy or Angel. In fact, the two episodes of Angel I saw? God, I thought they were terrible.

I watched the first disk of Firefly, and actually liked it. So I went to go see the movie. I just got back from it.

I believe that it is entirely worthwhile to at least watch the pilot of Firefly, then to go see the movie. Being involved with the series turns the movie into a really enjoyable one.

[Fargull]

I never got into Buffy or Angel. In fact, the two episodes of Angel I saw? God, I thought they were terrible.

I can see that, I was not a huge fan of Angel and it was not a series you could just easily jump into.  I think part of the reason Whedon's writing really appeals to me revolves around theater, as in live theater.  I am a huge fan and would much rather do that than see a movie.  Whedon's work has always had an edge of that for me.

Now, I think of all the Whedon work out there, the best so far has either been Hush or The Body from Buffy.

[SurfD]

And now for something slightly different (I spotted this while browsing at work):

Whedon to write/direct upcoming WonderWoman movie.

[Strazos]

Oh look, something for Shockeye to be a fanboi and fawn over.

[Fargull]

Serenity = Good

[Zetleft]

Serenity kicked my ass.  Great sci-fi movie... but I am a Whedon fanboi.  Went with a few friends and my brother who had never even seen a episode of firefly and even he thought it was the best sci fi movie he's seen in years. 

[Llava]

Just got done talking with my brother about it.  He said it was awesome.  He liked Buffy and Angel, never saw Firefly.

[Furiously]

It was better then Star Wars. Wife took me as date-night.

Don't look at the soundtrack before you go. They titled some tracks rather - unimaginatively and it gives away some of the happenings.

[Bunk]

Avoid spoiler threads before you see it.

Loved it, didn't have as much character driven stuff as the series was capable of, but it stood up well on its own.

[Llava]

A friend of mine, whose opinion I really respect and whom I would never have thought to be a fan of Firefly, apparently was a fan of Firefly and thought the movie was "very good" if you know the series, "good" if you don't.

Though you really have to know her to get how odd it is that she watched Firefly.  Suffice it to say, she's very discerning, so if she liked it I think that anyone with any appreciation for good story should like it too.