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Authors: Candace Havens
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BOOK: Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy
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Oh yeah. Miles to go. Little Miss Muffet counting down from seven three oh.—Faith
arpe
D
iem
The flip side of Joss’s commitment to continuity is his opportunism. Joss’s ability to seize opportunities is the third critical ingredient to
Buffy’s
success. Joss’s talents are well suited for television, because he has the ability to grasp opportunities that present themselves and work them into the overall plot of each season. While Joss is famous for killing beloved characters, he equally often saves characters slated for death who display unexpected appeal. Darla was slated to be killed by Willow at the end of the second episode of the first season. Spike was similarly killed off in the original scripts. But in both cases Joss liked what he saw enough to make last-minute changes that saved some of the show’s most popular characters.
Buffy’s
success. Joss’s talents are well suited for television, because he has the ability to grasp opportunities that present themselves and work them into the overall plot of each season. While Joss is famous for killing beloved characters, he equally often saves characters slated for death who display unexpected appeal. Darla was slated to be killed by Willow at the end of the second episode of the first season. Spike was similarly killed off in the original scripts. But in both cases Joss liked what he saw enough to make last-minute changes that saved some of the show’s most popular characters.
Joss is a careful observer of how his actors are being perceived. He found that Hannigan’s Willow had a special vulnerability and that when she was put in jeopardy it “opens your heart.” So he arranged to have her put in jeopardy at key points in the story arc of each season. Similarly, Joss knew he had a winner when he observed Gellar’s performance when she finds she is destined to die at the end of season one. Buffy would have many heart-wrenching events in future episodes, to say the least.
Joss also found that opportunistic moves were forced upon him. “You have to stay fluid because television is a fluid medium,” Joss explains. “There are times when you might lose an actor. That gives you an opportunity to make changes that might not have otherwise happened. When we lost Oz because Seth Green wanted to go off and make movies, it gave a chance to bring in Amber who turned out to be a wonderful addition to our show. That’s the upside of keeping things fluid. But you have to have those basic story arcs down and move people in and out of them.”
Joss cleverly leaves room for opportunities to develop. He tries to avoid saying too much about a character’s background, so that he can work something new in if an idea emerges. This allowed the writers, for example, to decide that Jenny Calendar was actually a gypsy (and a double agent) in the middle of season two.
Loving the
F
ans
The fourth ingredient to
Buffy’s
success is its ability to stay in touch with fan sensibilities. Whedon trusts his instincts regarding what works, but at the same time he is very interested in fan reaction and takes fans seriously. Many television writers create the impression that they consider themselves a lot smarter than the folks they are writing for. This is never true with Joss, who credits fans with being smart and paying attention. He relates to fans and considers himself one of them. When asked about William Shatner’s joking statement that fans should “get a life,” Whedon responded, “I have never had any particular life of my own, so I don’t see any particular reason why anyone should run out to get one. Of course, if they’re dressing up like Willow and staying in their basement for nine months at a time, that’s not good. But the show’s designed to foster slavish devotion; it has it from me, and I entirely respect it in others.”
Buffy’s
success is its ability to stay in touch with fan sensibilities. Whedon trusts his instincts regarding what works, but at the same time he is very interested in fan reaction and takes fans seriously. Many television writers create the impression that they consider themselves a lot smarter than the folks they are writing for. This is never true with Joss, who credits fans with being smart and paying attention. He relates to fans and considers himself one of them. When asked about William Shatner’s joking statement that fans should “get a life,” Whedon responded, “I have never had any particular life of my own, so I don’t see any particular reason why anyone should run out to get one. Of course, if they’re dressing up like Willow and staying in their basement for nine months at a time, that’s not good. But the show’s designed to foster slavish devotion; it has it from me, and I entirely respect it in others.”
When fans seemed to reject Oz, for example, Whedon responded by giving them a scene designed to bring him into their hearts. This is the van scene in “Innocence,” where Oz declines to kiss Willow, stating that “Well, to the casual observer, it would appear that you’re trying to make your friend Xander jealous or even the score or something. And that’s on the empty side ... See, in my fantasy, when I’m kissing you, you’re kissing me. It’s okay. I can wait.” The viewer can see Willow falling in love with Oz as he says this and, as Joss planned, the audience falls in love with Oz as well.
But this doesn’t mean he gives fans what they want. Whedon takes an almost perverse pride in horrifying fans. Over and over he kills the characters they love, including Ms. Calendar in season two, Joyce in season five, Tara in season six, and Doyle in season one of Angel. Joss considers the outcry a sign that he’s doing well. “I need to give them what they need, not what they want. They need to have their hearts broken. They need to see change. They hated Oz, and then they hated that he left. These things are inevitable.... If people don’t care when you killed off a great character, then you haven’t done it right,” says Whedon. “When you are writing a horror show, it’s a given that your same group of people, no matter what situation they find themselves, are going to be back for the next episode. It’s good now and then to shake things up.”
Seth Green, a mainstay in seasons two and three, has moved on to a movie career, including the
Austin Powers
films.
Austin Powers
films.
Joss uses the Internet as a vehicle to keep his fingers on the pulse of fan sentiment. He claims to be the furthest thing from a techie, saying “I sort of came to it late. I don’t need it much in my life; I haven’t mastered it. My wife is very proficient. I’m still at ‘What’s download?’” But his lack of knowledge hasn’t stopped him from spending considerable time on message boards interacting with fans or just lurking and learning. He recognizes how helpful the Internet has been to the show’s development.
Joss with Nicholas Brendon and Alyson Hannigan, entertaining fans at the Los Angeles comic convention.
His cast recognizes it as well. “I don’t think we’d be here if it wasn’t for the Net,” states Sarah Michelle Gellar. “It was the Internet that really kicked us off, because that’s where this loyal fan base could get together and spread the word.”
I’m still at ‘What’s download?’—
But while Joss mostly appreciates and enjoys his interactions with fans on the Internet, it’s not without its frustrations. The Internet makes keeping secrets very difficult, and more than once Joss has found future plot points revealed in cyberspace. “I like being surprised and I want the audience to feel the same way,” says Whedon. “It’s getting tougher with the Internet to keep things secret, but we are doing our best.”
I don’t think we’d be here if it wasn’t for the Net.—Sarah Michelle Gellar
Joss works hard to keep his plot twists secret, which sometimes means not sharing them with the cast too early. “And in this scene you’re gay, and action,” laughs Whedon about how the actors sometimes receive their lines at the last minute. “Sometimes I don’t know until late in the game, and it sort of blossoms and I go, ‘Oh my God, this is going on . . . so we are going to shift to here or were going to send it in this direction.’ But I do generally keep them posted on the big things. I told Kristine she was going to die like two years before, so she was prepared. That was probably one of the toughest ones we had to do, because we knew what was coming. She was one of the favorites around here and we still miss her.”
Joss has also found that casual statements (or jokes) made on the Internet are taken with deadly seriousness by some fans. This concerned him at first, but in the end he decided to have fun with it, at least judging from this post:
“The truth is, I was a little wigged by all the commotion my posting caused. I think the worst thing that could happen would be for the Willow /Tara storyline to become some kind of publicity stunt. I guess if I type something here, the papers are gonna pick up on it, and there’s nothing I can do about it. So I’d like to make the following announcements:1. FROM NOW ON, EVERYONE ON BUFFY WILL BE GAY. You heard it here first. And not just a little gay, either. Whole new show.2. MATT DAMON: MONSTER FIGHTER. Yes, a multi-episode arc feature the talented Mr. Damon and look for some of his movie star friends to make “monstrous” cameos!3. FREE PRESENTS AND MONEY for everyone who tunes in. Swear to God.4. NUDITY, NUDITY, NUDITY.5. NAKEDNESS.6. ZEPPLIN FIGHT OVER NEPTUNE! Just in time for sweeps, the gang is going to have an “out of this world” adventure with wacky Xander at the controls! This episode is budgeted at 18 million dollars, and will change history.Okay! Well, I’ll just settle back and let the publicity come rolling in. Yep, ratings are bound to soar once everyone gets wind of the exciting and controversial direction I’m taking the show in. In the meanwhile, I hope you, the fans, enjoy the all-nude, all-gay Buffy. It’s gonna be a hoot!”
And in this scene you’re gay, and action.—Joss
The fifth element of
Buffy’s
success is its relentless reality. More than one critic has noted the irony that the most realistic show on television is a vampire fantasy.
Buffy
paints complex, interesting characters and makes a point of avoiding stereotypes. They are continually evolving and growing and fans come to feel that they not only know the characters, they know where they’ve come from.
Buffy’s
success is its relentless reality. More than one critic has noted the irony that the most realistic show on television is a vampire fantasy.
Buffy
paints complex, interesting characters and makes a point of avoiding stereotypes. They are continually evolving and growing and fans come to feel that they not only know the characters, they know where they’ve come from.
Joss has famously said that “there will never be a very special
Buffy
,” by which he means that there will never be an episode which self-consciously takes on an “issue.” Much better, Whedon feels, is to seamlessly weave real issues into the plot, and Joss is a master at this. As has been often noted, the big conflicts on
Buffy
are issues that everyone can relate to. When Buffy’s mom tells her she can’t go out, it feels like the end of the world (of course, in her case, this is literally true). When Buffy becomes a teenage runaway, she winds up in hell (once again, literally). When Buffy gets a college roommate, she’s a monster who’s sucking the life out of her (you get the idea). Joss says that he knew he was doing something right when he talked with a female fan on a message board right after the first airing of “Innocence,” in which Angel turns evil after sleeping with Buffy. “That’s exactly what happened to me [after I slept with my boyfriend],” the fan told Joss.
RBuffy
,” by which he means that there will never be an episode which self-consciously takes on an “issue.” Much better, Whedon feels, is to seamlessly weave real issues into the plot, and Joss is a master at this. As has been often noted, the big conflicts on
Buffy
are issues that everyone can relate to. When Buffy’s mom tells her she can’t go out, it feels like the end of the world (of course, in her case, this is literally true). When Buffy becomes a teenage runaway, she winds up in hell (once again, literally). When Buffy gets a college roommate, she’s a monster who’s sucking the life out of her (you get the idea). Joss says that he knew he was doing something right when he talked with a female fan on a message board right after the first airing of “Innocence,” in which Angel turns evil after sleeping with Buffy. “That’s exactly what happened to me [after I slept with my boyfriend],” the fan told Joss.
elentless
P
erfectionism
The sixth element of
Buffy’s
success is Joss’s relentless perfectionism. Perfectionism is admirable in filmmaking; it’s a recipe for heartache in television. With small budgets and only days to write and shoot each episode, television is the art of learning what’s good enough. But there’s no question, Joss is a perfectionist. Despite the pace and rigors of television, he’s rarely given in to the urge to just get it done. He doesn’t win every battle, but he does battle just the same. Parts of the very first
Buffy
episode, for example, were reshot eight months later so that Joss could improve certain scenes (as a midseason replacement, they had this luxury).
Buffy’s
success is Joss’s relentless perfectionism. Perfectionism is admirable in filmmaking; it’s a recipe for heartache in television. With small budgets and only days to write and shoot each episode, television is the art of learning what’s good enough. But there’s no question, Joss is a perfectionist. Despite the pace and rigors of television, he’s rarely given in to the urge to just get it done. He doesn’t win every battle, but he does battle just the same. Parts of the very first
Buffy
episode, for example, were reshot eight months later so that Joss could improve certain scenes (as a midseason replacement, they had this luxury).
Despite the kudos for his writing, Joss is never satisfied. “I will say that I’ve been doing this for a while and I still think that every script I’ve written is the worst thing that I’ve ever done,” says Whedon. “I think that is more of a writer thing than anything else. I don’t know of any good writer who is actually happy with something they’ve written. You are constantly worried about failing.”
BOOK: Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy
11.26Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads
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