Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which really sets the bar high for being seriously inversely proportional between the good of the show and the bad of the name, was a late find for me. But once I started to watch, I realized that under the cheesy, gooey, teenage antics, was a rich and savory pizza of complex themes, intelligent writing, social commentary and unpredictable turns. Oh, and a crust. There was crust underneath... like a pie (10 bonus points if you get the reference before finishing this article). I started season one of Buffy just to educate myself in the history of Joss Whedon's work. I ended season seven (and the following transition to graphic novel for season eight) completely hooked, adding unnecessary y's to words, and essentially ready to sign up for a Buffy fan club somewhere. Oh, and I pretty much wanted to talk like Xander all the time (and if you can ignore the geeky, you'll disover the beauty of a language Whedon-o-fied).
Finishing Buffy was one of the saddest days of my year, and I quickly had to move on to Angel to get my next dose. But really, I'm working backwards here in the Joss Whedon Chronology.
My first venture into Joss' world was pure happenstance. A cousin bought me Serenity as a gift. I watched it with no prior knowledge of what was to come. Two hours later, it was as if my entire world had changed. Like a man possessed, I purchased Firefly and watched (almost back to back) the entire box set... followed by a much more informed repeat viewing of Serenity.
What you have to love (and sometimes hate) about Joss is that he's fearless as a director and a writer. He never goes for the easy gag. He'll make you think he is, but you find that he was playing on your first impression to create a much better one. He'll kill off popular characters if it serves the story... he keeps you on your toes. You hate him for it, but you love the worlds he creates all the more because they feel real, fluid, alive, and true.
His latest offering was a three act online musical (yes, really) called Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Okay, maybe this one's a close second to Buffy in its name-strength-to-show-quality ratio... but I can't say I hate the name either. It's delightfully silly... and, true to Joss' greatest strength, walks the fine line between silliness and incredible depth effortlessly.
What I love most about Joss Whedon's work is that he bends genre conventions with every artistic endeavor. Serious human drama in a vampire hunting teenage action adventure? Check. Spaghetti Western in space? Check. A show about a lonely bad guy fighting with a sadistic hero over the girl of his dreams? Double Check. The guy is a genius. Joss's most two dimensional characters, often times, have more depth than leads in other shows.
My dad used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. If I had known who the heck Joss Whedon was when I was three, I probably would have had my answer.
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