They’re really remaking Buffy without Joss.
IO9 has his reaction, which is characteristically funny and classy while also bringing the snark.
WB’s release says some ridiculous things, like
“There is an active fan base eagerly awaiting this character’s return to the big screen. We’re thrilled to team up with Doug and Roy on a re-imagining of Buffy and the world she inhabits. Details of the film are being kept under wraps, but I can say while this is not your high school Buffy, she’ll be just as witty, tough, and sexy as we all remember her to be.”
Uh, no. What made her witty and fun was Whedon and his team, not the simple idea of a teen vampire hunter. Compare and contrast the original film (which Whedon wrote, but was not otherwise involved in) and the hit TV show (which was Whedon’s through and through); it’s obvious what made the television version a hit and the movie a “cult fave” at best, and it’s equally obvious that there’s no chance a Whedon-free reboot will be anywhere nearly as charming. It’s a transparent cash-in move that could very well fall flat on its face, given how loyal the Buffy fan base is to Whedon.
This movie will suck so hard that it will not be unreasonable to expect the universe to collapse under the stress of the vacuum created thereby.
Never has episodic television hooked me so mercilessly the way BtVS did. I haven’t watched broadcast or cable TV since they canceled BtVS, and then, without notice or evident reason, Angel.
I’m still a little mad about it.
Oh, agreed. The only thing that’s come close for me was the Wire, which I still believe is the best thing to ever be on TV — but it was on HBO, not broadcast. I still contend that if anything good happens on a normal network, it’s a complete accident, and the Powers That Be will make sure to quash it quickly.
Even things like Mad Men and Walking Dead, which are great, are on basic cable, not one of the traditional networks.