10 Reasons I Just Can't Quit Joss Whedon
Posted at 5:00 AM Jan 05, 2010
By Kiala Kazebee
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| Photo by Gage Skidmore - flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/ |
I KNOW. Brokeback Mountain reference. I'm bringing it back, so let's move on, shall we?
Okay, let's talk about Dollhouse. And I mean, really, really talk about it. No excuses, no justifying, let's just lay it all out on the table. Deep breath. 90 PERCENT OF IT SUCKS BALLS. Eliza Dushku should never have been given such a difficult role, and the same goes for Tamoh Penikett. In my opinion, the entire show should have resided within the Dollhouse walls. No stupid, embarrassing stand-alone episodes, and the only characters given precious, major screen time should have been Adele Dewitt, Claire Saunders, Boyd, and Topher Brink (and Felicia Day because she should be in everything).
However, I will still continue to watch Dollhouse, and not because I'm some rabid, blind-to-his-imperfections Whedonphile, but because despite the Dushku/Penikett problem, the show has gotten really good. Now. Right before it ends forever. So you know, I'll watch it while I DRINK MY BITTER JUICE.
Anywhedon, now that we've gotten the Dollhouse issue out of the way, let's move on to the other, less problematic, reasons I can't quit Joss.
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10. Alien Resurrection
Anyone who doesn't appreciate this homage to the first Alien movie is either a moron or an idiot. You choose. Yes, yes, I know that even Joss considers this movie to be an awful departure from the screenplay he wrote, but I beg to differ. I think it's brilliant. Everyone else is wrong.
9. Titan AE
Who doesn't love Matt Damon in space? NO ONE. Plus, the animation is not Pixar, which I am so sick of, and I'm not sure I mentioned that Matt Damon is in space. Where he belongs forever.
8. Zack Whedon
Zack Whedon has written episodes of Deadwood, Fringe, John from Cincinnati and possibly (I may be making this up) The Golden Girls. I consider him to be the most "serious" of the Whedons and would one day like to sit in a big chair by a roaring fire while I listen to Zack shower me with compliments about um...my hair, mainly. This will never happen, however, as I just wrote a bunch of negative stuff about Dollhouse. Big sigh. *lets go of dream*
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7. Vincent Kartheiser
Before he was creepy/dreamy as Mad Men's Pete Campbell, Vincent Kartheiser was creepy/dreamy as Angel's son and wild child Connor. HE WAS SO BEAUTIFUL. Connor was a kind of androgynous Mordred to Angel's King Arthur (if you follow me) and his other-dimensional demon-slaying abilities magnified by the demon bits within him coupled with some serious daddy issues made Connor one of Whedon's finest--and I mean finest--anti-heroes of all time.
6. Illyria
I sobbed like a little sobby baby when Fred died in Wesley's arms while battling the superflu which turned out to be the Goddess Illyria. Amy Acker's amazing ability to play the smart, nerdy, adorable Fred AND the strange, cold, alien Illyria makes me want to sob again like a little sobby baby because Angel was canceled before Joss could reveal his intention to revive Fred's persona within the Illyria alien. It happens in the comic books (Angel: After the Fall), but it's just not the same.
Comments
I would be a geisha for nathan fillion too. But we all know it's just hostess work for well-to-do business men in space from the future. Even without reverse cowgirl bebop. Oh and I've been corrected a few times by my girlfriend; It's whedonist. I said whedonite just of my own and I got slapp-ed
Posted 01/05/2010 at 05:34:38 AMI... how can you be sick of Pixar? Up wasn't as spectacular as any of the rest of their films, but the first ten minutes was better than anything else I saw last year (and that includes Star Trek, Inglourious Basterds, Coraline, and whatever else came out).
Posted 01/05/2010 at 07:03:38 AMA total yes on the Illyria one. Season five is my absolute fave mostly BECAUSE Amy Acker plays Illyria so beautifully. And I love how Wesley deals with it and it's just all so wonderful. I really need to get my hands on the comic so I can see what happens...
Posted 01/05/2010 at 07:32:46 AMGood article, I'm not the biggest Whedon fan but those are some of the highlights for me. Always surprises me the things Joss has been involved in (wrote Toy Story! etc.)
@Paul I can understand the criticism, not so much for Pixar's work, but because practically ALL animation these days is trying to be exactly like Pixar with the same charm and flair. Would be good to see more variety, including 2D work :)
Posted 01/05/2010 at 10:07:00 AM"post-Gettysburg, what-if-the-bad-guys-had-won-the-Civil-War"...
i disagree. I've read where Joss has said he was inspired by civil war books and was fascinated by the prospect of wandering, disillusioned, defeated Confederates. The alliance in Firefly is clearly still the Union, advocating central control. Had this been a re-envisioning where the states-right's supporting confederates were victorious, then the planets would be self governing.
civil-war analogy, yes. but the 'what-if' involved is just the sci-fi/future aspect, joss isn't reversing who won.
Posted 01/05/2010 at 01:07:07 PMTo many of us here in the south, the bad guys DID win the civil war.
Posted 01/05/2010 at 01:12:24 PMDear Joss Whedon: Thank you for bringing Nathan Fillion into my life.
Dear Nathan Fillion: Call me.
Posted 01/05/2010 at 08:11:46 PMI
Posted 01/05/2010 at 09:57:14 PM