Bob:
It’s Firefly week here at CliqueClack and in honor of that, I wanted to take a look back at some of Joss Whedon’s projects and see if we could pick a favorite. There are some great candidates: Buffy and Angel, of course, along with Firefly and Dr. Horrible. Also, there’s Dollhouse.
If I’m going to choose a favorite, and it’s not easy, I think I have to go with the uncreative answer: Buffy. I know a lot of fans like some seasons better than others, or hate Dawn, or have other complaints, but I really love every episode of every season. The show just captured something really magical, and the fact that people are still regularly talking about it is proof enough. Angel was great too, and I appreciated the slightly more adult spin on it, but it starts and ends with Buffy for me. The characters, the relationships, the big bads — it was a fantastic show.
Debbie:
Ugh, we suck at quibbling lately, because I agree with you — I’d choose Buffy in a heartbeat and never look back. However, this is not to say that Joss was a one-hit wonder, either. I’ve loved all of Joss’s projects (maybe love is a strong word for Dollhouse, but I just don’t think Eliza Dushku was the one to sell that puppy). There’s something really wonderful about everything that Joss has touched.
Do you think we love Buffy best because it simply had more time to become what it was supposed to be? It is the only show that really got a finale (I guess we can’t really count Dr. Horrible here), which was probably one of the greatest finales ever to be written, filmed and aired. It was a completely perfect way to end the show. It had more seasons than Angel (which would probably be my second choice) and Firefly and Dollhouse were so mistreated by the network that it’s difficult to know how great they could have become.
Firefly seems to have a similar fanbase to Buffy, so what is it that makes those two shows stand out above all of the others for the fans? Um … Nathan Fillion? He’s great and all, but something tells me it goes deeper than that. Any ideas?
Bob:
You bring up a really good point. I think if Firefly got seven seasons, it definitely would have rivaled, and likely (yes, I said likely) surpassed Buffy. I wouldn’t make anywhere near that proclamation about Dollhouse. I enjoyed the show (mostly), but I think the concept was flawed from the get go. It’s really hard to get to know characters and care about them when they are different people every week.
You can certainly make the argument that Buffy took a good amount of time to get going, and Firefly was great from the get go, so it already had a leg up on the Vampire Slayer. Also, it was a little more adult, which probably would have helped it in the long run.
Debbie:
Yep, Firefly is definitely the best example of the series that could have gone down in history. Any animosity should be directed at FOX….
Clacked by Bob Degon
on Jun 16, 2011 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
It’s doubtful the statute of limitations will ever run out regarding fans being annoyed with FOX. Every day a new Firefly fan is made, every day the annoyance begins anew.
Yep, hate FOX with all my being for killing the best show ever. Even their standing by my current favorite show, Fringe, I can’t get past what they did. The only way they could ever redeem themselves is to do the impossible and bring the show back with all the original cast and crew.
By the perfect Buffy finale, you’re of course referring to the Season 5 finale, right? Although I’d hate to lose a handful of episodes from Season 6 (the musical, etc.), there’s no possible way that anything from Season 7 could be called “perfect”. It’s the only season I don’t own, and never will. I’ve actively tried to block that finale out of my memory. Something about a bus? A big hole? All girls in the world becoming slayers? [shudder]
See, I really loved the last episode, the way Buffy was freed from being the only slayer and she could finally balance her life in a way that worked for her. I thought it was so clever and so fitting. And not all the girls in the world became slayers, just the ones who were destined to become slayers if there was a tragic slayer death.
Firefly is my favorite show of all time, but even having said that, I would choose Buffy. Mostly because of the 7 year run compared to the tragic 14 ep run of Firefly.
Buffy was just great storytelling, all the way through. Yes, not all eps were perfect, but I’d like to see anyone produce that many eps without a single stinker. What gets me the most about Buffy, though, was the character growth, and the running theme of actions having consequences, sometimes far into the future. Angel had character growth as well, yes I’m looking at you Wesley, but Buffy did it in a way that stands on it’s own. The only other show I think comes as close to character growth and consequence, too is probably Supernatural, but Buffy still wins, hands down!!!!
Dollhouse became great, somewhere after the sixth ep, but by then a lot of the audience was gone, so most people missed it. I don’t think Dr. Horrible counts because it is completely awesome from start to finish, but it’s kind of a stand alone creature that isn’t even in the same realm as Joss’ tv shows.
After saying all that, I must end with my undying love for Captain Tightpants, just so he doesn’t get jealous and think I’ve abandoned him…..
Firefly. No contest :-)