Sell me on _Buffy_. (1 Viewer)

[Jason Seaver]

Actually, "Charmed" has been shockingly decent this year. Surprised the heck out of me, since I'd figured they'd written themselves into a situation that they couldn't escape.

"Dark Angel" - Yeah, that stinks. Has from the start.

"Alias" - Pretty good; at least as good as "Buffy" has been this season.

But, really, there haven't been that many "Buffy" knock-offs.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I can't believe no-one has mentioned the Charlie's Angels film yet. I doubt we would have been treated to the martial arts stylings of Ms. Drew Barrymoore if not for Buffy. Of course, folks like Michelle Yeoh & Cynthia Rothrock had carved their female ass-kicking niche in Hong Kong films long before Buffy.

Of course the trick is that there is a difference between the conceit and the actual show.

Regards,

 

[Paul Mason]

I'd agree that there aren't that many Buffy knock-offs and that there was plenty of female martial arts before Buffy. The reason for these statements is that Buffy is not about "pretty girl kicks serious man ass". If anyone has consciously copied Buffy and that's the aspect they went for then they've totally missed the point of the show.

Buffy is about using metaphors from the genre of horror to tell stories about life.

It's true that the original idea - and indeed the title - comes from the concept of "the least likely person you'd expect to be a superhero". But that one joke only just made it through the movie. It's been a very long time since they've been able to pull the "hey she's just a girl but she kicks serious ass" surprise element. Unless you count the excellent teaser to "The Gift" - where they gently mock the idea themselves -

Vamp - "but you're just a girl!"

Buffy - "that's what I keep telling everyone"

 

[DeborahK]

It's true that the original idea - and indeed the title - comes from the concept of "the least likely person you'd expect to be a superhero". But that one joke only just made it through the movie.

Actually, according to Whedon, the idea behind of the original movie was to show how a silly and empty headed teenage girl gains knowledge and power. A very worthy project, in my opinion, even if the final result was not totally what Whedon had hoped for. And the movie is good fun.

Deborah

 

[Jason Seaver]

I think the movie really has an undeserved bad reputation. For the most part, it's thematically very true to what Whedon later does in the series, even if the details were changed. Take out Paul Reubens's death throes, and you've eliminated most of the really painful camp.

 

[Paul Mason]

Actually, according to Whedon, the idea behind of the original movie was to show how a silly and empty headed teenage girl gains knowledge and power.

Ok if we're being all nit-picky -

"the first thing I ever thought of when I thought of Buffy the movie was the little girl, the little blonde girl who goes into a dark alley and gets killed in every horror movie. The idea of Buffy was to subvert that idea, that image and create someone who was a hero where she had always been a victim."

Joss, DVD commentary to 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' (S1 ep1)

 

[DeborahK]

Hi, Paul,
Oh, dear, I did not mean to make this a nit picky thing -- I have also heard Whedon say what you quote him as saying. I was just trying to point out that the movie had a slightly higher pretense than just the gimmick of having the least likely ass-kicker -- in case that helped people regard it in a more favorable light. Like Jason Seaver, I think the movie deserves a somewhat better reputation than it has.
For the record, the silly-girl-gets-power-and-knowledge thing comes from an hour long interview that Whedon gave on a Public Radio show here in Los Angeles the year before last in which he talked at length about the series and his experience making the movie. In this interview, he gave this as the films top level concept . It was an excellent interview, which I taped it off the air.
Cheers,
Deborah

 

[MickeS]

So Jack, what did you think of the Buffy episode, if you watched it?

I saw the movie (which I liked), but according to everyone, that is not really related to the series.

I've watched about half an episode of the series, and it was OK, I guess. It didn't strike me as particularly clever or original, but I would definitely need to watch more to form a judgment.

/Mike

 

[Paul Mason]

Deborah,

Oh - sorry if I went off the deep end there! :b

There are few enough fans of the movie - we should stick together!

Most Buffy fans seem to think the movie is some kind of aberration and blame it on Joss's vision being perverted by others. having read "the Origin" comic book, I can see that the writing is pretty true to Joss's script. The 'tone' however is much more campy than it should be and that's down to the direction.

I think that the movie is about "Silly (Valley) girl gets knowledge and power". I think the TV series is different. We see brief glimpses of the 'Cordelia-esque' Buffy from the beginning of the movie. But the TV series is much more about "ordinary girl trying desparately to live an ordinary life whilst learning to cope with extra-ordinary responsibility".

Take it easy and once again sorry,

Paul

 

[Jack Briggs]

I've been watching--even though I started out of the chronological context that has been encouraged. I've even been watching episodes on UPN, even though I am still oblivious to the story arc of the entire series.

I must say that the writing impresses me greatly. And the show has genuinely creepy moments, with well-done incidental music adding to the dark atmosphere.

Even though vampires are not my thing, this show possesses such a well-realized universe. Too, there's precious little in the way of kowtowing to a teen audience. Despite the protagonists' ages and the grunge-rock-influenced theme music, this is a surprisingly adult show.

I will stick with it. And I must reiterate: Buffy's hold on its audience amazes me--though I'm starting to see why it's so darn popular.

Thanks.

 

[Jason Boucher]

I actually have an original Buffy movie poster hanging on my wall. I liked the movie, but have never watched a full episode of the series. What does that make me? (be nice)

 

[DeborahK]

Paul,

No need to apologize -- I was afraid my post had come off as a put down to yours, which was not my intention!

I am surprised that the movie does not have many fans.

Both of my kids were discriminating teenagers when it was released and both loved it and recommended it to me. (How well they knew their mom!)

As far as the series goes, I have also heard Whedon say that he considers anyone who survives adolesence to be a hero, hence his ass-kicking, vampire slaying teenage protagonist. But he lets all the Sunnydale HS kids be heroes before he is done, as we see in Graduation Day Part 2. Now that Buffy and her friends have left the evil world of high school behind, the show's core and mission are a bit different, I think. But the quality remains for the most part and I am still really enjoying it.

Cheers,

Deborah

 

[Andy Sheets]

I think the film is alright. I wouldn't buy the dvd but I don't have any serious problem with it. I just tend to view it as something different from the tv series. The movie, to me, has always had more in common tone-wise with stuff like the Bill & Ted movies. The story itself has enough in common with the show but the directing of the film is just so different from the show that I can't help but think of it as something else

 

[Patrick Sun]

JasonB, it makes you not "totally in the buff".

 

[Bob McElfresh]

Actually I liked the Buffy movie. Even if Joss grumbles that they made it less horror and more camp, it still has the style/wit/message that Joss is famous for.

Does anyone have a link or know where the original script for the Buffy movie is? I'd love to see what Joss originally intended for the movie.

 

[Paul Mason]

I should say - for the sake of total honesty - that I'm not a huge fan of the movie, the TV series is much much better - but I don't hate it like most Buffy fans I talk to.
Deborah - I found this from a review I wrote of the movie when I first got the DVD. I think it's relevant to what I was trying to say before

The character of Buffy has got progressively more serious as the series has gone on. But even in the beginning the Cordelia-esque Buffy that we see at the start of the movie only really lasts a couple of episodes.
It's not the bimbo who becomes a super-hero and discovers inner depth of the movie, it's the normal girl who's a super-hero and trying to maintain a normal life.

The full review is here (google). Shuggie's me btw

 

[Patrick Sun]

Ack! Wrong thread.