Joss vs. Joss (or Buffy vs. Angel vs. Firefly)

Kim... you asked... so here it is...

This is the long awaited Joss v Joss post. I have to say that I love everything Joss has done for various reasons and I'm not choosing. It would be like choosing among Joss's children.

Lets start with the easy piece. What is the same? (I mean aside from the mastermind.)

Characterization. All three shows have great characters. They are all distinct and like nothing you've ever seen before. In Buffy, you have Buffy herself, Angel, Spike, Giles, Willow; In Angel, you have Fred, Gunn, the new-Wesley Windham Price, Lila, the new-Harmony, Cordelia, Conner. And Firefly has the captain, Zoe, Simon, River... None of the characters are rehashes of other characters. There is no cardboard here. They are all unique and they all grow over time.

The Big Bad or Good v. Evil. This is prominent in each of the shows. There is a definite good guy and bad guy. The characters struggle with moral issues. They have to deal with the consequences of their actions, both good and bad. There is no free lunch in the Wheedonverse.

Genre. Wheedon runs amok over all of the traditional lines of genre. Buffy is listed on Direct TV as: Drama/Horror/Comedy. Firefly was a scifi/western. What more can I say.

And most importantly.... writing! The writing on all of the shows is incredible. The writers in this show know how to turn a phrase in a way that is unique, clever. It makes you think. It makes connections you wouldn't. For evidence, see the quotes from my Buffy top 10. For the reasons, read Jane Espenson's blog. (Jane was one of the writers on Buffy).

So those are the glaring and obvious similarities. If I think of more, I'll post later. Part 2 will be on the differences.

PS There is enough room for the brown coats and the black coats in the Wheedonverse!