Joss Whedon's Kids by Metalslug

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Joss Whedon's Kids

POSTED BY: METALSLUG
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 27, 2006 16:25
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Tuesday, September 26, 2006 2:14 PM

I was thinking about the children of Joss Whedon, it came to me when I was watching “Objects in Space” the final and probably one of the more thought provoking episodes of the series. His Children would be of course “Buffy”, “Angel”, and “Firefly”. Now the first two would be the first born kids, the smart ones, the ones that have it all together, college bound, and no worries. Then there is “Firefly”, maybe got picked last at kick ball, had to wear thick soda pop glasses, wore a leg brace to school. But Papa Joss saw something special in this child, gave it a little extra attention. I think that is why I love this show so much, it had the most heart and it shows.

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Tuesday, September 26, 2006 7:32 PM

TRAVELER

Hello Metalslug:

I really should be in bed, but your post caught my eye.

I really think Buffy and Angel were the shows that taught Joss his trade. He obviously had a good feel for producing interesting characters, but he certainly liked playing with them. The way Willow went off when her lover is killed is a lot like Jayne's behavior. There's good deep down in Willow but the hurt blinds her. In Jayne's case I feel he didn't get much of a chance at a normal life. He seems to be the main provider for his family. This means leaving his moral self behind to do what ever it takes to give mom and his siblings, I suspect Jayne is the eldest child, the money to live on. So both Willow and Jayne had to be delt with. Willow is sent to a coven to learn over again what it means to be a witch. Jayne gets bashed in the head and ends up in the airlock about to be sucked into the black.

I like how Joss' characters are not perfect. They have flaws. Soda pop glasses and leg braces.

Have you thought of writing. You seem to have a good mind for it. Give it a try.

It does not have to be Firefly. Maybe you have your own ideas. The nice thing about science fiction is you have a whole universe to work with. You can pick the place, the time, and even the culture you would like. Give it some thought. I would like hear what you would do.

I must get to bed. But thank you for sharing your insight.

Take care;

Traveler

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:06 AM

METALSLUG

Hi Traveler:

I just wanted to start off by saying on how you wrote that I had a good mind for writing that I should give it a try. Was one of the nicest complements I’ve heard in a long time. It has always been a dream of mine to create a story, a movie, something that other people can see and enjoy it.

With that said….

I also like how Joss’ characters are flawed in one way or the other. Like in “Shindig” when Malcolm is explaining to Inara why he had to punch Atherton, that he was defending her honor and that he never backs down from a fight, then Inara knocks him down a few notches by telling him he backs down from fights all the time. Making him not like the shining hero he wants her to see him as. Malcolm Reynolds is the protagonist of the show but he is flawed; calls Inara a whore, pushes Crow in Serenity’s engine manifold, justifies pick pocketing a slave trader. Flawed like a lot of Joss’ characters but has good intentions to justify his actions, I think that’s how come I can relate to this show so well, I think that’s how come a lot of us can relate to it so well.

I liked how you made that correlation between Willow and Jayne. I always saw Willow as to be so mousy except for that whole having the hatred in her from the death of her girlfriend. To me Jayne was always the only person on that boat that was really a true criminal. That whole sociopathic tendency with the careless disregard for human life thing. I am guessing that his father left him before he was born, was the oldest in his family, had to take on a lot of the responsibilities at an early age turned to crime for a way of earning a living. When he was older he had been arrested enough times that the judge gave him the option of doing a stretch on a penal moon or being drafted in the army. Anything would be better than having to stick it out for a few years on a penal moon. Took a transport to an Alliance planet for basic training, first time off world before, liked the idea of going planet to planet to commit crimes. Completed about half of basic then skipped out, got everything he needed out of it such as a proficiency in basic small arm weapons; sniper rifle, hand guns, machine guns, and grenades. Snuck out on a transport hasn’t been home since, although he writes and sends money home to his mom to let her know he is all right.

I was actually thinking about doing a writing exercise, that’s why I was watching “Objects in Space” I wanted to write a Firefly/Serenity script. I just plan on doing it for fun. You see I loved the movie, but I think the end of the film was possibly set up for a new beginning. A credit to Joss Whedon, that I think if the movie did become a huge box office success that would have restarted the show, on a different network, and call it Serenity. A blossoming love affair with Kaylee and Simon, you got Zoe still dealing with the death of her husband, and a less crazy but more intuitive River that is now the pilot of Serenity. All of that would have been a great start, now this gives all us dreamers a chance.

By the way the girl in the picture I want to say Hedy Lamarr?

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:11 AM

DEEPGIRL187

I can't say I really thought of the series as Joss's kids (though it does make sense). I kind of saw it as watching Joss mature (I know it sounds weird, him being grown and all). But if you think about it, it makes sense. It mostly has to do with the themes in each show.

In Buffy, one of the foremost themes is vengeance. The Scoobies conquer their enemies, and move on. Angel, on the other hand, is more about redemption, at least on a personal level. It's not enough for Angel to merely fight his enemies, he must protect those in need (yes, I know Buffy does this too, but in Angel, it takes on a different meaning).

Firefly is even more advanced. One of the main themes (especially in the movie) is faith. At the beginning of the series, Mal doesn't really hold to the idea of faith, and tends to take a pretty dim view of the 'verse. But by the end of the BDM, he realizes the value of having faith in something (or someone).

I think throughout each of the series, you're witnessing a change in Joss's thinking. And while this is me being biased, Firefly is symbolic of Joss's most advanced ideas.

P.S. - I'm aware of how religious this sounds. The ironic thing is, I (as well as Joss) am an atheist. But I feel you can believe in something greater without it relating to any kind of religion.

*************************************************

"So long and goodnight."

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006 6:21 AM

MSG

Deepgirl- I agre. I love how developed and subtle he has become. Like I noticed yesterday when watching trash. During the opening credits it starts with Mal and images of the browncoats fight against the alliance. Then it does Zoe, Wash, Kaylee, Jayne and then some neutral images and Inara. Then it shows images of the alliance and then both Tams and Book. This effectively demonstrates their original allegiance as well as presenting the basic premise.

I choose to rise instead of fall- U2

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Wednesday, September 27, 2006 4:25 PM

TRAVELER

Hello Metalslug:

Glad your going to do some writing. I agree with your idea how the Serenity is going to continue. I'm sure River is going to have some difficult times, but I feel this movie was tended to get her feet planted more steady on the ground. I think Jayne may still have a long way to go.

Most jobs are tended to earn money so can eat and live in comfort, but writing is pleasure. So your saying you plan to do it for fun is exactly the way to approach it. I would do more writing myself, but my spelling and grammer is terrible. Helps if don't have to look in the dictionary every five minutes to find the spelling of a word. I should have put more effort into it when I was in school, but I had more pressing matters in my life.

That's why I enjoy good shows like Firefly. I'm free to sit back and take in the quality of the writing that has gone into a wonderful show like Firfly. I never used to pay much attention to the people behind the cameras, so I didn't even know Joss was the creator of Buffy when I was watching it. Now I'm not surprized that he was the mind behind Buffy. Who could make a 40 plus year old, now I'm 50 plus, watch a bunch of teenagers kill vampires. The premise seems juvenile, but they were very real to me. Their issues were more than just good against evil. I saw Buffy and her gang make some very hard and very mature choices.

Finally, the photograph in my signature is Priscilla Lawson. She played Princess Aura in the first Flash Gordon serial with Buster Crabbe. This dates back to 1936. I saw it when they broadcast the series on TV, around 1957. I was six years old. I have had a thing for dark haired women with mysterious eyes every since I saw her. I'm afraid she died shortly after World War II. I believe the cause was a car accident. So the only existing film footage I've ever found of her is the old Flash Gordon series "Space Soldiers", which I am a proud owner of the DVD.

My collection of SciFi DVD's grows slowly but steadly.

So good luck with your writing. And enjoy it.

Traveler

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