Against a Buffy Reboot.

The LAT has a post up about the writer of the new Buffy The Vampire Slayer film reboot, Whit Anderson. The film is set to proceed without BTVS creator Joss Whedon, and Anderson calls on feminism to explain why she loves the character:

“I didn’t really watch much television at all, but I always watched ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer,’ that was the one show I would watch when I got home. I just loved this character. I was the same age as Buffy and it was so rare to have a female lead character on TV in those days who was strong and capable and smart but also allowed to be feminine.”

Sure, that’s true. It was rare. (It still is.) But that’s a reason to write fanfic, not a new film.

Geoff Boucher explains that the film will be a completely new story, and that a reboot isn’t such a bad idea:

Anderson […] said she will take the touchstones of the Whedon world but frame them in “a new story” that is very much of the moment. She cited Christopher Nolan’s revival of Batman as a supreme example of how a familiar character and revered mythology can be brought to the big screen with a vital new vision.

I think, for most Whedon fans who had a visceral objection to a reboot, there is a feeling that there’s no such thing as “a vital new vision” of Buffy, unless it’s been created by Joss.

This could be kind of a dangerous line of thinking, though, because Buffy The Vampire Slayer, the 1992 film, was perfectly terrible. As someone who owns it (in one of those Target two-movies-in-one package deals — it comes with the so-bad-it’s-good Drive Me Crazy, which was written by Rob Thomas, creator of BTVS heir Veronica Mars, which is an amusing pairing) I can say that and mean it. Whedon has also complained about the way his script was interpreted by the director, which may be why, as soon as he had the chance, he became the sole arbiter of Buffy mythology. He had a team of writers around him who advanced the plot, but it’s his vision they executed.

So the argument goes, that if it’s not Joss, then it’s not Buffy.

I have seen some people say that the new film is no different than the aforementioned Batman reboot, or any number of re-imaginings of superheroes on the big screen. I almost buy that argument. Comics are wonderful precisely because things like Superman: Earth One can happen: New art, new fights, and characters that retain the things you love, but are all slightly different.

But I don’t think this is the same. One person created this universe and has had near-complete control over it. Many of the things that make Buffy Buffy, are specific to Whedon. Watch Dollhouse or Firefly or Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog, and in addition to familiar faces, you’ll also see the same strengths (and weaknesses). Contra Anderson, what’s Buffy’s struggle with her duty and destiny if it’s not followed up by a quip or a Whedonesque bad joke?

And some things still remain unclear about the project, but since one of the producers has said this isn’t “your high-school Buffy,” it forces some questions. Is this a reboot of the film? Or of the series? Buffy the series wasn’t just about the slayer. Her friends, her enemies, and the high school all made the show what it was. Unlike most superhero mythology, the secondary characters don’t just serve as context for our heroine; they all have inner lives, and some, like Willow and Angel, are heroes in their own right. Even when an episode was Buffy-focused, her conflicts with friends and family often took precedence over fights with demons. And in the early seasons, the stress of high school and college events were often echoed in whatever Monster of the Week she was dealing with.

That’s not to say that Anderson can’t do a newly imagined Buffy or that it has to be terrible. As long as I’m writing this, I think it’s time for a little Real Talk™ about BTVS: A lot of it wasn’t great. The first season is remarkably bad. The later seasons have a tendency to be overwrought. The puns and quips become groanworthy. Angel leaves. Etc. And like I said before, Whedon’s weaknesses come through in his subsequent series.

With that said, the beauty of his body of work is that you know it’s his and, for good or ill, you know what you’re getting when you tune into a new Whedon project. I’m excited about him directing The Avengers because I know he can do amazing things with an ensemble cast. (Again, Buffy isn’t Buffy without the ensemble.)

Maybe I’m taking this too seriously, though. After all, Whedon’s statement poked fun at both Anderson and himself: “This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths — just because they can’t think of an original idea of their own, like I did with my Avengers idea that I made up myself.”

I have to be honest. I don’t like the idea of a reboot. I also don’t think it’s the worst thing to ever happen. I think it’s unlikely that it will be any good. But I doubt it’ll be any worse than the worst things Whedon has done to his characters, and it’ll probably go down in pop culture history as a blip.

Crossposted from SOH.

Latest posts by Shani (see all)

  • Scipio Africanus

    I watched, nay, *loved* Swan’s Crossing.

  • Miss Jade

    Hurm. I really think rebooting Buffy is unnecessary. Certain characters can be handled by different creators a la Batman. But Buffy is a Whedon (and crew) creation through and through. I think I would look at the project differently if they hired a Whedonesque related write like Jane Espenson. I doubt that would happen since people who worked on Buffy are pretty loyal to Whedon. Also most of the fandom is very much against this. So who do they expect to see the film?

    Also yes Whedon like any other artist to ever exist has his faults. What those faults are change in the minds of different people. We all bring our own set of beliefs, experiences etc. to the table (or the screen?).I don’t agree that his humor is groan worthy. And while the overall arcs of the last two seasons left much to be desired, there were still some great episodes.

    I am huge Buffy fan. Turning my television on that day (March 10th, 1997) changed my life since it was the first thing to set me on my path to being who I am (in part) today: a screenwriter. I don’t think Angel leaving impacted the show has bad as some fans think. The fifth season had a great arc. The fourth season did leave much to be desired but there still were some great episodes.