Comments | sl_podcast: In defense of Joss (like he needs it)

sl_podcast

In defense of Joss (like he needs it)

May 17, 2007 13:39

I'm highly... disturbed.... by people who seem to think Joss doesn't know his own canon.

Did these people not see Serenity? Joss knows his canon. He choses to change it to fit the story he wants to tell. His changes usually are logical or meaningless to the over all story kind of like the whole "vampires have no breath but Spike can smoke" thing.

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meta, buffy season 8, comics

Comments 23

long and ranty, but not to be taken personally isis_whit May 17 2007, 19:55:45 UTC

Well, I haven't read the comics, so I can't say anything about it either way, but I do believe that Joss, for all his genius as a screen writer, isn't infalliable when it comes to canon. To make my point, here's a plothole bigger than the Sunnydale crater ( ... )

Re: long and ranty, but not to be taken personally sl_podcast May 17 2007, 21:44:12 UTC

Yes, my point is that he knows it... but changes it for the story ;)

Re: long and ranty, but not to be taken personally isis_whit May 17 2007, 22:08:07 UTC

Frankly? That's a pretty cheap way to work in new ideas, grand as they may be in itself, and if Joss is eager to throw some substantial things over board because they have gotten in the way of any new story lines, I don't feel particularly inclined to follow like a lemming, just because he's Joss Whedon.

I find it rather more fascinatintg when a writer is able to work in plot twists which change the story completely without negating the facts previously established in the fictional universe. I enjoy being thrown a curveball, but it has to make some sense.

Re: long and ranty, but not to be taken personally sl_podcast May 17 2007, 22:12:06 UTC

Well, for example...

in season 1, Darla opens Angel's fridge and he's drinking human blood.. later they change Angel's diet to pig's blood... (simply because they're still working out his character), but continuity wise they keep it when they go back to Angel in the 50's (and he has a bottle of human blood).

There's a difference between good retcon and "Oh wait that was all a dream".

Thread 9

wildannuette May 17 2007, 20:42:49 UTC

Doesn't know his own canon? Who say's?

Can't comment on the Buffy comics because in all honesty even if i had been inclined to read them, it seems like there's been too much wank over them for them to have held my interest.

But to the firefly thing all i can say if that change has brought out some interesting fics and twists in fics *grins* think some of Joss loopholes have inspired some funky fics

sl_podcast May 18 2007, 14:23:01 UTC

Once upon a time Simon had to do a thing for a guy.... ;)

wildannuette May 18 2007, 17:37:16 UTC

*grins* Well you know i love my slash...

sl_podcast May 18 2007, 18:45:44 UTC

you? nevah... *innocent look*

Thread 5

The Cannon deal mawthekiller May 17 2007, 20:51:51 UTC

Please do not hit me for this. Now the reason I believe people do not see the comic as cannon for the simple reason that Joss is a good storyteller, but he is better at the script writing then the comic writing. Now Joss is out of his element is why he does create some retcons. Which I believe is Joss putting a brick he has to walk around some how. So that he is forced to think of a way out later on. For example the who deal with Dawn. I didn't get how the heck she appeared. It created a road block for Joss that he had to over come that made for some compelling entertainment. So by creating these new road blocks Joss has to force himself to do more, to become a better writer ( ... )

Re: The Cannon deal sl_podcast May 17 2007, 21:44:52 UTC

I love his comics... I don't think you can say one is better than the other.. they're just different.

rayruz May 18 2007, 01:40:52 UTC

I haven't gotten too much into it because I just like to live in my little bubble world and let Joss lead the way because I trust him and his writing unconditionally. Maybe it's not bright, but it's his story. Who are we to really say yes or no to him? I like where it's going!

sl_podcast May 18 2007, 01:56:14 UTC

amen sister... amen. ;)

me love Wikkepedia! ozma914 May 18 2007, 09:11:09 UTC

I survived "Crisis on Infinite Earths" in the DC comic world, so I'm all with you on the retcon idea -- Dawn must surely be the ultimate example.

Joss certainly has made mistakes in continuity -- precious few TV show writers haven't -- but I think people are being too hard on him. He's got to do the equivilant of a feature film every two weeks, for heaven's sake, and its not at all uncommon for new story ideas to come along that don't jibe with what's happened before; most shows don't plot forward any further than one season, if that.

We must remember, above all, that it's just a TV show, and that while it can be argued (by me, for one) that Joss is brilliant, he's just a man and he makes mistakes. Some of those mistakes turn into brilliance themselves.