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Another show which I think some of you might be interested in
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Now, I have seen another thread on this show in the general sci fi and fantasy tv category, but I thought it might be a good idea to maybe try and pique a little interest in it among you lot, as I've found it's actually quite similar to Doctor Who, or at least NuWho, in a lot of ways and I was wondering how many Dr Who fans had already seen it. In fact, I first stared watching it a few months ago when it was cited by RTD as one of the inspirations for the direction he took Who in, in an article in Doctor Who Magazine, and I got curious, as I did already have vague memories of watching it as a kid and had heard good things elsewhere. Plus, there's the awesomely badass theme tune:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp_uS59WmQs
Yep, I'm talking bout Buffy. I just started watching it a few months ago cos of the reasons above, and I was absolutely blown away. Was expecting something much more like Twilight than Who. Such a funny show that never really takes itself to seriously (well, almost never, it's after season 3, where it does get less tongue in cheek where I think it becomes a lot less enjoyable, though I am still watching it and there are still lots of good episodes e.g. end of season 6 etc). And yet it can do serious moments really well also, I mean seriously, Passions, about 2/3 through season 2 was so
when first watching it. It does sound stupid from the title and premise, yet it is really a good show, and that's why I'm writing about it now, I think a lot of Dr Who fans would probably enjoy it, it's got a similar feel, with a seamless mixing of comedy and drama etc, and you deffo should go and watch it NOW. Now. Do it. I don't care if you've got revision, or a meeting, or a wedding to go to, WATCH IT.
Also, any Dr Who fans who've already seen it, what do you think. Did you like it? Cos I went into it thinking I'd hate it tbh. Do you think it's similar to Who, and also, could you recommend any other similar shows? I've pretty much finished it now and am already missing the thrill I got from seasons 1-3 anyway. I've watched a bit of Angel season 1, but it's been pretty boring, the only one I've really enjoyed so far is the one with Spike, and that's pretty much it. Meh, guess I could just watch some Dr Who
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp_uS59WmQs
Yep, I'm talking bout Buffy. I just started watching it a few months ago cos of the reasons above, and I was absolutely blown away. Was expecting something much more like Twilight than Who. Such a funny show that never really takes itself to seriously (well, almost never, it's after season 3, where it does get less tongue in cheek where I think it becomes a lot less enjoyable, though I am still watching it and there are still lots of good episodes e.g. end of season 6 etc). And yet it can do serious moments really well also, I mean seriously, Passions, about 2/3 through season 2 was so
when first watching it. It does sound stupid from the title and premise, yet it is really a good show, and that's why I'm writing about it now, I think a lot of Dr Who fans would probably enjoy it, it's got a similar feel, with a seamless mixing of comedy and drama etc, and you deffo should go and watch it NOW. Now. Do it. I don't care if you've got revision, or a meeting, or a wedding to go to, WATCH IT.Also, any Dr Who fans who've already seen it, what do you think. Did you like it? Cos I went into it thinking I'd hate it tbh. Do you think it's similar to Who, and also, could you recommend any other similar shows? I've pretty much finished it now and am already missing the thrill I got from seasons 1-3 anyway. I've watched a bit of Angel season 1, but it's been pretty boring, the only one I've really enjoyed so far is the one with Spike, and that's pretty much it. Meh, guess I could just watch some Dr Who
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMiMCMWp4bw
There are so few US dramas and sci-fi shows that I'm interested in and will watch. There's obviously Star Trek TOS, plus ST: The Next Generation. Also Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. That's about it. I did like Two and a Half Men for a while, but when Charlie Sheen left the programme, I thought, "That's it. The show's ended now, as far as I'm concerned".
I won't watch any more TAAHM, as I have no interest in Ashton Kutcher. I watched his first episode, and I wasn't that impressed.
Disagree with you about Buffy but Lois and Clark is just awesome. I watched through the entire Series very recently and it was great that they put their own spin on the old Superman movies. Like Doctor Who, it built on the story rather than being slave to it.
As for Buffy, always have fond memories of this Series. It filled a gap while Doctor Who was off air in the 90's. SMG was (and still is) a very hot actress. I like the fact RTD based a lot of the format of his era on Buffy. Though he had less episodes to play with, he didn't overplay the Series Arc every episode and that's why Buffy worked so well. Some weeks it took a back seat.
Plus it also had action packed finales(bar one) which RTD also did and I always love those. It gives you a feeling you are watching the end of a Series. Just having another episode that plods along doesn't make that final episode special and both RTD and Buffy got that end of Series Finale Blockbuster of to a tee and I loved it.
I can't help noticed he nicked a few ideas from Buffy and Angel as well. One that always sticks out is Gwen in Torchwood getting impregnated by an alien, something a certain Cordelia also did in the first Series of Angel.....
I think I remember reading that Lois & Clark, along with Buffy, was one of the shows that helped inspire NuWho/Torchwood, though I've never actually seen it before. Not really interested by it as I'm not at all into Superman or anything, but then again, I thought I wouldnt like Buffy. What I like about Buffy is that it feels quite different to a lot of other US drama's and stuff. Unlike Dr Who etc, I've always found, apart from the odd funny moment here and there, stuff like Star Trek can sometimes be a bit humourless. In fact, TNG's a pretty good thing to compare it with really. I mean TNG got quite good in later seasons with arcs involving the Borg and stuff, and the characters actually feeling real (Tapestry for example, now that's a brilliant bit of telly), but if you compared say, season 1 of it with season 1 of Buffy, there's no comparison. Neither series is that original really in terms of plots etc, with stuff that could easily be taken from the X Files or Twilight Zone, or hell, Dr Who, but with other stuff, well there's no comparison. Maybe some Buffy characters are a bit clichéd and stuff, but they are funny, and engaging, whereas with TNG (talking about season 1 here, like I say it did get better), I remember I was watching the first couple of seasons a few months ago having watched later TNG's and TOS, and it was just SO... BORING. Standard sci-fi plots, but more importantly, none of the characters ever had any conflicts, we're always just told how brilliant things are in the future and we get some heavy handed message about something. Like I say, TNG did improve, but even then, it could be a little heavy handed with some messages and stuff. So could Buffy, but it was more entertaining about it and it had characters who were, ya know, not perfect. Buffy feels much more-yeah, lets kick ass, and quite different to lots of other stuff I've seen, while still being the sort of sci-fi/fantasy thing I like. Only my OP of course though, I think it is quite clear NuWho does owe something to it, there are clear similarities in terms of how the arcs are set for example, with a monster of the week, then an arc ep, then monster etc, plus the decision to make characters a little more emotionally realistic rather than just bystanders to the plot, which they could be in classic Who.
I'm not. The 10th Doctor was pretty much a Buffy character.
I'd also nominate Babylon 5 as a series people here might also be interested in - those of us who like story arcs, that is!
I may be wrong but I think Buffy formalised the idea of a showrunner who governed the direction of the show, led a team of writers, wrote a lot of the scripts and had input into all the others. There are certainly some parallels there, I guess.
There were others before in US TV. Notably JMS was all of that for Babylon 5. I believe it's a fairly new concept for UK TV though. RTD and Doctor Who is the first I can think of.