10 Ways to Make the Buffy Reboot Work

When word came down last week that the director of the original Buffy the Vampire Slayermovie, Fran Rubel Kuzui, was working on a reboot/relaunch film sans Joss Whedon my first reaction was shock. Dismay, disgust and revulsion soon followed. But eventually I started to think about what would actually get me to watch the proposed film and I came up with this list.

• Hire adecent director. Pretty much it should be someone out of the following list: Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón, J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau, Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi, or Darren Aronofsky. Or if they don't want to go with an A lister give a talented young director a shot at a big franchise. Give me a Pierre Morel, a Rian Johnson, a Nicolas Winding Refn, or even a Neil Marshall. I'd even take an unexpected choice like David Gordon Green. Just get someone who could maybe do agood job. Take a run at Tim Minear, he knows the universe and should be decent. Just no hacks please.
• If during the first part of the movie Buffy wants to kill a family of vampires named the "Kullens" or just an obnoxious pretty boy named "Tedward" or something, that'd just be peachy.
• Cast someone as Buffy who can maybe act a little bit. I like looking at Megan Fox as much as the next guy, but I wouldn't exactly call her a great actress. So let's try to avoid the eye candy that doesn't have a lick of natural talent, ok?
• Have you thought about giving Buffy a British watcher? I think it'd be a good idea. I even have the perfect casting choice. How about this guy. Or this one. I guess if you really want to go in a different direction you could hire this guyas more of a badass tough guy watcher.
• Actually make the villain frightening, and threatening. Basically the opposite of Lothos from the original film. Basically they need to create the Joker of the Buffy universe, without just stealing the best villains from the series (I'm looking at you Angelus and Spike).
• Before writing the movie watch the Underworld movies, Twilight, the Blade movies, True Blood, and any other recent portrayals of vampires. Make sure that your vampires are different from all of these, but still follow the same basic rules. In other words, killed by stake, sunlight, decapitation. Need to be invited in. Fangs, drink blood. Know your rules and stick with them. No shiny vampires please.
• Make the tone wildly different from the series. Don't even try for the comedic moments that were the hallmark of the series. It'll never be as good, and will just make people think that the film is a second rate knockoff (which it is, but you don't have to play that up).
• Have you thought about an R rating? I know that you probably think that this is a franchise for kids, but nothing would say that you're taking it in a new, darker direction than going right for the R rating. I doubt you'll go for this, but you should think about it.
• Change the name. Don't even call it Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just call it Slayerand give us a brand new character in the same universe. The existing fanbase would be much more willing to go along with this idea, than the idea of rebooting the character they know and love. Having the Buffy name won't do you much good if you alienate the core fanbase. It doesn't have enough positive name recognition to make it without them.
• Two words: Hire Joss.

Battlestar Galactica Series Finale

Tonight is the series finale of Battlestar Galactica. It feels like this show has been a part of my routine for much longer than the five years that it actually has. I'll be sorry to see it go. Hopefully it'll have the type of ending that it deserves. It wouldn't be right for everyone to get a happy ending, but maybe some of them will find some peace.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 3

"It's been a long road getting here. For you. For Sunnydale. There was been achievement, joy, good times. And there has been grief. There's been loss. Some people who should be here today... aren't. But we are. Journeys end. And what is a journey? Is it just.. distance travelled? Time spent? No. It's what happens on the way, it's the things that shape you. At the end of the journey you're not the same. Today is about change. Graduation doesn't just mean your circumstances change, it means you do. You ascend... to a higher level. Nothing will ever be the same. Nothing." Mayor Wilkins- "Graduation Day, Part 2"

The villains always sum things up, looking right into the heart of things, better than anyone else. The big bad of seasonthree of Buffy, Mayor Richard Wilkins (Harry Groener), is no exception. Season three truly was the end of a journey. The original metaphor of the series, "high school is hell" would have to come to an end with the principal characters graduation at the end of the season.

The graduation of the characters would be far from the only change we'd see by the end of the season. New characters would be introduced, including a new slayer, Faith (Eliza Dushku), and Xander's future love interest, vengeance demon Anya (Emma Caulfield) and few of our favorites, Angel and Cordelia, would depart at the end of the season, spinning off into their own show, Angel.

There's a slow build on the season long arc for season three. Over time we're given glimpses of how Mayor Wilkins runs the town, covering up the stranger goings on in Sunnydale. By the end of the season we see the full extent of his evil as he prepares to ascend, transforming into a true demon. His every action moving things toward his goal, even as he wraps Faith into it.

It's in the character of Faith, and her relationship with Buffy that we see the heart of the season. Faith is almost the dark aspect of Buffy herself. In her maxim of "want, take, have" she's the abuse of slayer power incarnate. It's a path that Buffy very easily could have followed herself, and perhaps would have (as evidenced in the alternate version of Buffy seen in the episode The Wish) if it weren't for the friends and family that keep her grounded. Buffy sees the life she could live, flirts with it, and rejects it, ultimately forcing a confrontation between the two that has to end with the destruction of one of them.

Out of all the seasons of Buffyseason three does the best at combining the stand alone, monster of the week stories with the season long arc. There are a few clunkers here and there (like Beauty and the Beasts, or Homecoming) but even the lesser episodes have their entertaining moments.I think that if yousurveyed any fan of the series quite a few of their favorite episodes would befrom season three.

Everything from all the adults in town being turned into teenagers by chocolate (Band Candy) toSpike's drunken,despondent return to Sunnydale (Lover's Walk) andAngel playing undercover tolearn the Mayor's plan (Enemies)contribute to the story. It's impossible to pickout just a few of the seminal moments. There's even an episode(The Wish)that shows the alternate Sunnydale that would have existed if Buffy had never come to town. Then the gang gets to interact with the vampire Willow from that world as she visits theirs (Dopplegangland).

By the end of the season the charactershave grown and matured to the point where they are ready to move on from high school. Willowhas grown in confidence and in magical abilities,and crafted a deep, mature relationship with Oz. Xander realizes that he's more than just the odd man out inThe Zeppo,to the point where he can save the gang all on hisown without anyone knowing. Even Cordelia grows out of her spoiled rich girl persona by the end of the season. She's still the Cordelia we've come to know and love, but with more depth andcaring.

As is fitting, at the very end of the season Sunnydale High is destroyed, blown apart in the battle against the mayor. The characters have graduated, they don't need it anymore.

The Worst Episode: I've never liked Beauty and the Beasts. It's so "very special episode" in its anti domestic violence message (not that I think domestic violence is good, just a little subtlety would be nice).

The Best Episode: It may not be for everyone, but I just completely love The Zeppo. It take the usual A and B story structure of the show and flips them around. Highly hilarious, and huge for Xander's character.

Some of My Favorite Moments:

Spike's speech about how Angel and Buffy will never be friends, and will always be in love. It all ends with one of my favorite quotes ever, "I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it."

Willow pretending to be her vampire self.

Buffy reading her mom's mind about what she did with Giles."Twice! On the hood of a police car!"

Faith dances.A lot. She always seems to be dancing for some reason.

When the students give Buffy the class protector award at The Prom. It's a misty eyed sort of moment.

The final battleat SunnydaleHigh from Graduation Day, Part 2. It's inspirational.

This is right up there with season two for my favorite seasons of the show. It has what I consider to be the best big bad (the Mayor) and it's the last time we get to see the whole gang together.

Dollhouse: So Far a Disappointment

Now that we're five episodesinto Dollhouse I want to talk about what I'm thinking so far. I would have to say that I'm a little disappointed in the show. The characters are fairly uninteresting, the plot is developing at too slow a pace and the performances have been underwhelming. I would say that the primary problem is in the central character, Echo. There isn't enough carryover in her character to really make her someone I can root for. The character is the least interesting on the show. When she's in her blank state in the dollhouse she's so childlike and dumb that it's almost annoying. Eliza Dushku's performance in these scenes is just not very good. I don't buy her for a second.

Which isn't to say that it's all bad. I find Echo's handler, Boyd Langston (Harry Lennix) to be quite interesting, and the real emotional heart of the show. Amy Acker has been good in her small part. Some of the mythology elements, like the Alpha storyline, have the potential to really develop into something special. I could really see the show becoming a great show, but it sure isn't there yet.

Dead Like Me: Life After Death

Dead Like Me: LifeAfter Death

I like the idea of a Dead Like Me movie, and the distribution process it represents, more than I actually like the end result. Life After Death isn't terrible, it's mildly enjoyable, like one of the lesser episodes of the series, which is the problem.

George Lass (Ellen Muth) has been dead for five years, and has adjusted to life as a reaper when she, along with her coworkers Roxy (Jasmine Guy), Mason (Callum Blue) and Daisy (Sarah Wynter taking over the role that was played by Laura Harris during the series), finds out that their boss Rube (the sorely missed Mandy Patinkin) has moved on to be replaced by a new one, Cameron (Henry Ian Cusick). He's a bit more on the lax side, throwing out all the rules and letting the reapers do anything they want, often with disastrousconsequences. It's up to George to set things right with both the reapers and her kid sister Reggie (Britt McKillip).

I think that the problem with Life After Deathis what's missing from the movie, namely series creator Bryan Fuller, and actor Mandy Patinkin. Fuller's run on the series had a great sense of dark comedy that was missed in the film. While it has its funny moments, it's trying for a more serious tone. I wish that they had worked more with Fuller to create a film that'd fit better with the tone of the series.

Patinkin's Rube was the philosophical center of Dead Like Me. Much like the characters, the film is lost without him. There isn't the drive, or moral core, that Rube would always provide. It was a shame that they couldn't get him to be a part of the film. I just miss the post-it notes and especially Der Wafflehouse.

I mildly enjoyed the film, but wished that it could have been better. The distribution model, of reviving a cancelled series via direct to DVD films excites me, as much for it's future potential (ahem, Pushing Daisies) as for the present so I hope the film is more financially successful than it is creatively successful.

Grade: C+