Any excuse to write about Buffy and Firefly

As Joss Whedon basks in the glory of Avenger success, Ben Child’s blog on The Guardian looks at possible future Whedon projects, asking where he will go from here (excluding Avengers 2, naturally).  On a small side note, check this out for possible future Avenger characters after Joss Whedon has claimed there aren’t enough strong female superheroes.

So, suddenly people know Joss Whedon’s name.  He’s become mainstream.  But that doesn’t change the fact that a lot of people have known of his existence and wonderful work for years. 

Joss Whedon is a name that makes me salivate upon hearing.  He is a superb writer and director, a master of character development and subtle humour.  Joss Whedon, in many a geek’s eyes, is a genius.

I first learned his name when I was a young teenager and Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Sarah Michelle Gellar came to our screens.  Buffy - the story of a pretty blonde cheerleader who is followed into a dark alley by a bad man and kicks his arse - came into my life at just the right time, as I drifted into a gothic/grunge/emo phase and developed a traditional obsession with vampires (my generation’s Twilight).

To watch Buffy all the way through non-stop is to truly see the beauty behind it.  You can watch with ease the characters develop, how each one fits into the group and their changing dynamics.  

One of the best episodes, and the one that I point people to if they question Joss Whedon’s brilliance, is the one where Buffy’s mum, Joyce, dies (The Body).  Buffy walks in to find her mother dead on the sofa.  It is a heart wrenching look at something tragic and completely steeped in reality – not a vampire or demon in sight.  We see the human side of Buffy, the vulnerable side.  All of her training, all of the death and blood and gore she has witnessed cannot protect her from losing her mother.  And now she has to take responsibility for her younger sister, Dawn.  Just as she’s trying to figure out what few other slayers have had to – how to be a vampire slayer and live an adult life, now she has to pay the bills and make sure Dawn goes to school.  Now she has to be a mother.

My other favourite Buffy episode is the final one (Chosen).  I actually felt the empowering urge as all potential slayers in the world were woken, and I still do when I watch it.  I also felt the release from Buffy.  Eight seasons of the girl carrying the world on her shoulders, getting heavier every season and finally she is free.  For this reason, there could not be a new Buffy movie.  If future generations want to learn of Buffy, they can watch the original television series.

It was in university that I was introduced to Serenity during its UK release to cinema.  I saw it, I fell in love and I listened to the crowds leaving the cinema proclaiming that ‘Joss Whedon has done it again’.  I immediately purchased Firefly and watched it repeatedly.

Looking at Ben Child’s list, the entry that made my heart skip was Serenity 2 and 3.  Serenity is the film of the television series Firefly, a sci-fi/western following Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his misshapen crew as they honourably thief and con their way through the 'verse.  A trilogy of Mal and the Firefly crew would be epic.  Some have commented that this would be useless without Wash but during the television programme of Firefly, Wash and Zoe talked of having a baby.  Who is say that Zoe was not already pregnant when Wash was killed?

As another commenter pointed out – Nathan Fillion needs to become a household name.  He is an amazing actor and an amazing presence.  We need to see more of him, as any avid watcher of Castle, or fan of Firefly/Serenity, will tell you.

On a side note, I follow a few celebrities on Twitter and Nathan Fillion is by far the most entertaining.  He is the man everyone wants as their best friend, but I will be content with having him on the big and small screen more often.

While the Serenity sequels would almost make life complete, I would love to see the series Firefly return.  So much more could be done with the television series rather than a film, each character could be developed individually and wonderful (short) adventures could be had.  The original cast would have to return and it would have to be on another network (not Fox who played the episodes in the wrong order!) and maybe Alan Tudyk could return and bring our beloved Wash back to life.  Essentially, could Firefly carry on where it left off?  I think the fans would forgive any sequence errors to get Firefly back where it should be – long running, on our television screens and in Sheldon and Leonard’s roommate agreement...