I used to wonder this myself.
I enjoyed Buffy it was a good show, but I saw it as a kid, going back to it, it’s REALLY quite good. The dialogue, the action, it was really well done.
Then I saw Dr. Horrible. Just pure comedic genius there from almost nothing. That’s the key, it’s basically done from scraps and it’s damn better that some long running TV shows out there (it’s also the easiest to access to get a taste of if you like him- if you have less than an hour you can still watch all 3 episodes in about 50 mins and get almost the whole wedon experience).
Then I saw Serenity and Firefly, they were again masterful- He’s REALLY good at blending humor and action and drama. That’s whats the key, he doesn’t dabble in one area, but he likes to mix up his genres- that’s what makes it entertaining. You could be laughing and enjoying it and WHAM! He’ll completely catch you off guard and change gears and now you’re wondering what’s going to happen next. Or he’ll go the other way- in the middle of a dramatic and tense scene, there’s just the right amount of witty banter to seem natural and defuse the situation a lil’ bit while still sometimes creating a laugh out loud moment…
He’s got a fine eye for those things.
Also, he’s an EXCELLENT Comic Book writer- his Uncanny XMen series have REALLY changed the X-Men storylines and he’s come up with some awesome moments in there, taking risks and adding new characters and killing off some other ones to REALLY drive the story forward.
That’s why I like Wedon- he’s willing to take the risks needed to tell a good story. Even if it means doing the harder things and stepping out of comfort zones sometimes. I can respect that, and he does it well enough that I gotta give him some credit.
I think he does humor well without turning things into comedy, if that makes any sense. I find a lot of his work witty.
He’s not afraid to kill characters, which isn’t necessarily good, but he pulls it off pretty well, I think. He generally seems to be a risk-taker - everyone said one of the best things about Buffy was the dialogue, so he decided to write an episode in which there was almost no dialogue. So he’s creative, and willing to take creative risks.
I enjoy a well told, internally consistent long form adventure series featuring a 5 man band and liberally sprinkled with crowning moments of awesome. While Whedon fits this pattern, so do other non-Whedon titles like Stargate and STTNG.
I haven’t seen most of his filmed work - just Serenity, and it’s hard to judge without seeing the show (Firefly). It seemed good, but I was also confused a lot of the time and wouldn’t pass judgement on it.
I have read his run on Astonishing X-Men, though. I found it to be good, but not great. His dialogue is excellent, and he certainly knows how to make some great scenes, but his overall pacing was a bit uneven (usually on the too-slow side) and his ideas weren’t terribly imaginative.
He makes really good TV shows. That’s all there is to it. Some people don’t like them, and some people have taste.
It’s also really noticeable when he’s the one in charge and when it’s one of the other writers. He is far better at making characters seem really believable even in the most fantastic storylines, and, of course, his dialogue manages to be full of both humour and pathos, often at the same time.
I sterted watching Buffy when in Highschool for the simple reason that it contained hot chicks kicking ass. Later I started getting into the ongoing story arcs and there were a few times that I just thought ‘this is the best thing ever!’ (the body, omwf). I never really got that much into Angel though and initially also wasn’t that impressed with firefly (probably due to the out of order broadcast, which was even worse here in the Netherlands than in the US) but started to really like it after watching it on DVD. Dollhouse I haven’t seen yet (due to being in the Netherlands), so I can’t comment.
I don’t like him. I don’t think his dialog is great; I think the “wittiness” so lauded by his fans comes off as forced and silly. I watched a little Buffy and its spin-off show, not on my own, but when my sister would sometimes watch it. I thought it was dumber than dumb. I don’t like the cult of the “hot warrior woman” which is also so prevalent in video games and in sci-fi and fantasy in general, and I don’t like Whedon’s aggressive pushing of this meme. I hated Summer Glau’s character in Firefly because I think the notion of some waiflike, vulnerable-looking young woman who turns out to be a superbadasskillerassassinbioengineeredsupersoldier is just cheezy as hell. (This also turned me off MGS4, big time.) What can I say? I can’t dig it. I like the old fashioned warriors, gritty hard-ass men like Rutger Hauer’s character in Flesh and Blood. I don’t need some postmodern feminist ideology turning the whole thing on its ear just for the sake of being different. After the deluge of anime/manga/Japanese video games shoving this hot-chick-warrior thing down my throat, it doesn’t seem all that unique anymore.
Whedon did create one good character, Jayne in Firefly, who was my favorite thing about that show. But I will admit, I think it was mostly because I liked Adam Baldwin as Animal Mother in Full Metal Jacket and I just thought of Jayne as Animal Mother transplanted into Firefly-world. Were it not for this connection, I probably wouldn’t have liked the Jayne character on his own merits as much.
I also think his attempt to fuse the Old West with a futuristic world was pretty cool.
He has a great way to keep his audience guessing. Most shows are so formulaic that your experienced watcher pretty much knows exactly how an episode will go down within the first 5 minutes, and know what a character is going to say by the time he opens his mouth. Whedon knows what the conventions of his genres are, and most of the time he follows them, but he also gives his audience credit for knowing them, so he’s always capable of pulling out surprises when you think you know exactly what’s going to happen. Especially when it comes to dialogue and character deaths, as noted. He’s not a genius, but he makes interesting television.
I think that this is a bit of an oversimplification of their specialties, especially on Aaron Sorkin’s side. As Sorkin said, what he’s fascinated by is ‘behind-the-scenes drama.’ His most famous work happened to be behind the scenes of a very famous political office, he’s also done some great shows behind-the-scenes of media.
I like Firefly just for what it is - I’ve seen Buffy a few times in passing, but it does nothing for me. I’ve googled his other stuff on the recommendations of others who clearly are his fans - Dr Horrible interests me, so I’ll keep an eye out for a chance to see it, ummm… that’s about it.
All I can see that was “stolen” was the outfit, and that’s a classic mad scientist getup. (And I believe Horrible’s actual labcoat was previously used on Firefly.) In all other respects there is very little similarity.
Agreed. I’ve never liked any of Sorkin’s TV work. His movies, yes. TV, no.
Whedon has written and helmed episodes that are so powerful that I can’t watch them ever again (“The Body”) and episodes that are still engaging the 100th time you see them (“Hush,” “Innocence”).
He also let Spidey smack the crap out of Dr. Strange, which was just cool.
In addition to the many reasons cited, another reason I love Whedon’s work is that he writes strong, smart, kick-ass female characters.
On the other hand, I don’t think he’s a particularly tight plotter. I think he envisions a dramatic heartrending situation which calls for some killer dialogue, and then he packpieces the story to force his characters into that specific situation. Sometimes his piecemeal logic doesn’t hold up, but I’ll follow him anyway.
Part of Joss’s appeal is that he tends to be joking with the audience - you get to be in on the joke with him. As my SO often says, “He writes very self-aware characters.”
Like this exchange from an episode of Angel:
Cordelia, having just taken a shower at Angel’s place after escaping another monster attack.
Cordelia: [to Angel] *You have mousse? Of course you do. *
or the fact that after Sarah Michelle Gellar starred in the Scooby movie, the BtVS series started having Scooby references.
Joss knows his fans will get it and be like - slam! (Ok, i sounded way more valley fan girl there than I wanted.)
Finally, let me leave you with the immortal words of Buffy:
