By Clarissa on November 22nd, 2010
Look, let's be honest. Sometimes remakes aren't a bad thing. Or "reboots", if you want to call it that. When Christopher Nolan took over the Batman franchise he breathed new life into it and made two amazing movies (with a third on its way). I even liked the rebooted Star Trek, but I didn't watch the original shows or movies, so I honestly have no idea whether the real fans felt upset by the remake or whether they felt enough of the original elements remained.
But now the LA Times wants to introduce us to the new writer of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie. Let's recap. Before it was a cult show on The WB and UPN networks, Buffy was originally a movie staring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry. Frankly, it was a pretty terrible movie. Campy and cheesy. I mean, yeah, I still watch it everytime it's on TV, but it can't touch the quality of the Buffy television show.
And let's be clear, the Buffy show also had its faults. It's not like Joss Whedon (the creator and showrunner of the Buffy universe) is infallible. There were many storylines in the Buffy show that many fans, myself included, couldn't stand (pretty much everything wtih Riley or Dawn, for example).
But we were willing to overlook that, because when Buffy was firing on all cylinders - and it often was - it was heaven. It was a show with thinly veiled messages about high school and what it meant to grow up, and vampires. In other words, perfection.
Now the LA Times has written an article introducing us to the new writer for the new Buffy movie. That poor Whit Anderson. She's officially the most hated screenwriter in cult fandom today. The truth is, I don't know if she's going to write a good script or not, but what irks me the most is the cavalier way in which the entire process is being handled.
Let's start with the title of the article: "Joss who? Meet the new writer of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer film". That's the worst sort of insult. I don't worship Joss Whedon as my own personal Jesus, but the man has a genius for writing in particular that cannot be denied. He breathed life into the Buffy characters, wrote some of its best scenes and dialogue, and created a show that deserved more mainstream recognition than it got. So, please, LA Times, don't be cavalier and throw away Whedon's contribution to the Buffy universe just because you want to introduce us to the new writer.
Also insulting is producer Charles Roven's statement that "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.” Which actually tells me that someone out there hasn't done their homework. Because the truth is, there is an active fanbase eagerly awaiting this character's return. Assuming, of course, we're talking about the same character.
If Buffy isn't written by Joss or played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, then we're not talking about the same character. If the familiar supporting characters (Willow, Giles, Spike, Xander, etc) won't be appearing in the story then we're not even talking about the same show. All you're talking about is a girl who happens to hunt - and sometimes date - vampires. So basically you're talking about every generic vampire story these days (except Buffy is obviously more kick-ass than Bella Swan).
Please don't insult real Buffy fans by assuming you know what we want and then say we're begging for your new version. Because we're not. This new movie may very well end up attracting a new group of fans who are interested in the recent vampire craze and never really watched Buffy before. But it's not going to attract most of the die-hard fans.
I might be willing to let the whole situation slide if someone told me that Joss wasn't involved, but other members of his writing team were. People like David Greenwalt, Jane Espenson, Doug Petrie, David Fury or Marti Nixon. Then I might not be so anxious. But all I hear is that the new producers are taking the Buffy name and making it something new and unrecognizable.
In the article, Anderson said:
“The thing that was so wonderful about ‘Buffy’ is what made it special 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. And are we doomed and destined to love someone?
She's not wrong. That struggle between duty, destiny and what you really want to do is not a theme that's associated with Buffy alone. It's one of a few limited blueprints from which all stories are eventually derived. But that doesn't make any story about a girl torn between destiny and love (or destiny and wanting a normal life) a Buffy story. That just makes her a girl holding a wooden stake.
clarissa @ tvovermind.com
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