John The Rogue Demon Hunter asks:

With all the Buffy and Angel cast getting older, would the fans being willing to accept further adventures in the animation style of Star Wars: The clone Wars?

Fans would be willing to accept further adventures of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly in an animation style.  The bigger question is would the general public accept further adventures in animation style?  Would the studios have the patience to back and distribute further adventures in animation style?

Joss Whedon has already transitioned those settings and characters into a comic format.  There is great acceptance and love for the continuation of the series in print comic form.  This leaves a short step to move from print to animation.

The current success of animated shows both on TV and in the direct to DVD markets also support the plausibility of doing more animated shows.  Clone Wars had a rocky start getting accepted though most of it was due to the new style they used in animation that took some getting used to.  The Simpsons had a lucky start with "bartmania" that still gets large ratings decades latter.  Both DC and Marvel’s direct to DVD animated movies prove both quality in animated projects and how they can cater to the adult market.

We face several problems that are hindering future projects.

General Public Prejudice

The general public in the American market has a prejudice against animated shows.  When first approaching an animated show they presume it is for children not adults.  Many don’t even bother to give those shows the time of day unless they are bringing their kids to watch it.

Though this public prejudice has decreased some in recent years it is still rampant.  I could not count the number of adults that give subtle nonverbal clues of disdain when they find out I’m watching Clone Wars or Planet Hulk.  Others still voice their prejudice by replying “I thought that was a show for kids?”

Many creators of animated projects have their demons to wrestle with too.  First, before the project is even done they have to admit they won’t win any prizes for the work due to the prejudice in viewing it as less no matter how brilliant and deserving.  Look at Avatar, the movie would have been better going full animation but instead it went with live action parts so that it could be a “movie with cool special effects”.

This prejudice holds back studios from giving a green light to an animated project that is not targeted toward the children / young adult markets.  This forces many good projects to include in kidsey elements and to remove some of the better adult elements.  Clone Wars season one is a great example of this problem.  The show was so much less than it could have been.  Once they got past the prejudice it got better in season two.

I Find Their Lack of Faith Most Disturbing

Because of the prejudice against animated projects they tend to take longer before picking up larger audience share.

Studios have been trending toward a less lenient policy when it comes to new projects.  They have been quick to cancel projects that don’t show immediate success.

This is a recipe for failure by proclamation instead of giving the project time to get over the inherent hurdles.

A New Hope

I hope that the American public continues to learn from the Japanese, and Korean animated markets.

I hope that we continue to see the trend in the decline of prejudice against animated projects.

I would love to see the continuing adventures of Firefly and Buffy the vampire slayer in animated format.

I've always wanted a Faith The Vampire Slayer series and wrote up a series outline. Maybe one day I will hook up with some animators.

I hope John finds some animator to help him with his Faith the Vampire Slayer project and that they then check in with us for many more projects.

• Get your copy of Serenity Comic: Those Left Behind from amazon


• Get your copy of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comic lovingly called Season 8 from amazon

Jason Palmer Studios is selling prints of a new painting by Jason depicting  River's one woman war against the Reavers,  I might have to pick one up for the office!

“Joss Whedon has mastered the art of melding the newest technology with inspired storytelling, truly exemplifying the spirit of the Vanguard Award,” said David Friendly and Laurence Mark, co-chairs of the PGA Awards.

It's great that the Producers Guild of America is recognizing Joss Whedon's achivements.  Creator of great shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse and Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog.  I can't wait to see his next project.

Hopefully from Joss' great experience with Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog the next project will be another independent project.

(via Slice of SciFi)

You know how it is. You see the ads for a new TV show and then never catch it. Or the network pulls it before you can really get a grip on the characters. Or they keep changing times and you can never figure out when it’s on. Or you like it, watch the first or even second episodes, and then one night you miss it and bam… you’re out of the loop. Now with places like Hulu.com and Netflix streaming online, you can catch a lot of your favorites online. Here are my top ten favorite television shows I didn’t watch on the TV box, in alphabetical order:

1. Cleopatra 2525 - Complete Series, 2000
   Ok, so I know this is a little corny, but I love it. An exotic dancer in for plastic surgery in 2001, wakes up in the year 2525 to find the world has been taken over by evil robots. This show brings you scantily clad beauties with arm bands that shoot lasers and help them repel down giant elevator shafts and a freaky bad guy in clown makeup and extensions. It doesn’t get better than that.   Watch it streaming online on Hulu


2. Dead Like Me, 2003
   A college dropout is killed by a toilet seat that falls from a space station on her first day at a temp agency. Upon death, she finds out she is has been chosen to be a grim reaper and take people's souls just before they die. The bad news? She still has to work for a living! Some of these scenes are so close to real office life, it's scary. Can anyone say collate?


3. Eureka, 2006
   The best minds in the US are tucked away in a remote town where they build futuristic inventions for the government's benefit. A US Marshal gets stranded there and decides to becomes the next Sheriff after the old one is injured from a science project gone wrong. Quirky, fun.  Watch it streaming online on Hulu.


4. Firefly, 2002
   In the distant future, Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds a former soldier for the independents, is now a smuggler and commander of a small spacecraft with a loyal hand-picked crew. They travel the far reaches of space in search of food, money, and anything to live on.  Along the way, they encounter life-threatening missions and a cast of interesting characters. Must see. Watch it streaming online on Hulu.


5. Jericho, 2006
   When bad boy Jake returns to his Kansas small-town home, Jericho, everyone is preoccupied with petty private business and family matters, but that changes drastically after an unexpected explosion hits. It soon becomes clear there has been a nuclear attack, but no one knows by whom or to what scale. Jericho inhabitants gradually discover the USA is disintegrating. Life becomes complicated for these small town folk when needs such as food, fuel, and self-defense against invaders become the main task. Jake proves extremely resourceful and a smart hero saving the town many times and changing the resident views of him. Watch it streaming online on CBS.


6. Kindred the Embraced, 1996
   Julian Luna, prince of the kindred (vampire), clans in San Francisco, has his job cut out for him as he must try to keep peace among them while not being afraid to apply ruthless justice against those who would break kindred rules. Infractions that merit "final death" include the taking of human life and changing humans into vampires who have not volunteered for the transformation. This show was an exciting and perplexing moment for all of us hard core vampire LARP'ers.  We were thrilled at the fact that mainstream took notice of something we enjoyed, puzzled the changes they made, and disappointed when it was cancelled just as the series started heating up!  I remember being upset that my favorite clan, Tremere, was not represented and hoped that season 2 might have brought them out of the woodwork. The tragic death of Mark Frankel (Julian) after Season one, caused all of us Masquerade RPG'ers to lose faith in another season.


7. Moonlight, 2007
   A vampire is a private investigator and falls for mortal woman who he saved from dying as a child.  This show has been ridiculed by fans of the 1980's series Forever Knight.  It does seem like some of the shots used in Moonlight are very familiar to us Forever Knight fans and even some of the themes they use are very close to the other show.  However, I feel that Moonlight brings a sexier, up-to-date feel to our favorite "do-good" vampire role. I'm not saying it's better, it's just more vampire fun.


8. My Own Worst Enemy, 2008
   As an agent for a top-secret government agency, Edward agrees to let the government insert a chip in his brain that can be turned on and off.  When he is turned off, he is Henry, an efficiency expert, who lives a typical suburban life right down to the wife, two kids, dog, and minivan. In contrast, Edward is a lethal, multilingual operative. Somehow the chip breaks, making it impossible for the government to control when Henry is "on" or Edward is "on".  I caught this on Hulu.com and loved it so much, I bought the DVD.  This is sort of a 24 meets Alias meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. TV aficionados will recognize many members of the cast and Christian Slater does a brilliant job of playing the innocent family man who could never harm a soul trying to come to grips with the fact his life is a sham and the lethal killer who will do anything to stay alive. Watch it streaming online on Hulu.


9. Red Dwarf, 1988
   Three million years ago, a radiation leak killed the crew of the mining ship, Red Dwarf. The only survivor was Dave Lister, the chicken soup machine repairman. He spends his time on the ship with a holographic projection of Arnold Rimmer (his dead bunk mate), Cat (a life-form that evolved from Dave's cat), Holly (the ship's senile computer), and Kryten (a service mechanoid).  BBC comedy good for hours of fun.  If you haven't heard of this one, you've been under a smegging rock.


10. Sanctuary, 2007
    Amanda Tapping stars as a unique woman (possibly immortal?) who runs a Sanctuary for all kinds of creatures and monsters.  This show follows her and her team as they find new species and try to help them.  They also have their enemies.  I'm anxious to see what this show becomes... if it's renewed. Watch it streaming online on Hulu.

You can check out a lot of these gems at Hulu.com.  If you'd like to purchase them, you can do as I do and shop Amazon.com.

So, now that I've given you some to catch up on, what are your favorites?

Music inspired by Firefly comes in two veins, funny and near tear jerkers.  This song is the latter.  The combination of her beautiful voice and the clips from the show leave a lasting impression on you, and the way they incorperated the Firefly theme song in as the chorus, just brilliant.

Kick up your heels and sing along to the happiest distopian song I have ever heard.  Eben Brooks' song is based on REM's "It's the End of the World as we know it" and covers the whole gammit from Firefly to Serenity.

I have been on the fence about the V remake, but I have to warn you, I have chosen a side!

The Visitors of ABC's V reboot have found their leader, and her face is familiar to sci-fi fans. Morena Baccarin (aka Firefly's Inara and Stargate SG-1's Adria) has landed the lead role of Anna, the frontwoman for Earth's very special guests, says the Hollywood Reporter. Previously announced V castings include Scott Wolf and Morris Chestnut (Fanstasy SF Blog).

The addition of Morena to any series is a great way to to get my attention and the very notion of her as a evil reptilian alien from beyond the stars manipulating the ussupecting people of earth into a false sense of security as she plans the invasion and conquest of earth makes me a little (I admit it, a lot) giddy about this.

I suppose I need to set up feeds and paying attention now.

The Hugo Awards nominations are out!  I was so thrilled when I saw that Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog was nominated for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form.  This is great because they are recognizing web series along with television series.

Now comes the hard part… picking only one winner.  Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and two other top picks from the category is “Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead” (Doctor Who) and “Turn Left” (Doctor Who).  This is a very hard pick because I really want Doctor Horrible to win as recognition and validation of web series yet “Turn Left” deserves to win since it is the best dramatic presentation out of the three.

Some other categories with difficult picks.

• Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form: The Dark Knight vs. Hellboy II vs. Iron Man.   The Dark Knight will probably garner an undeserved win due to the last 20 minutes of the film which is a shame since Iron Man is the best dramatic presentation.


• Best Graphic Story:  The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle vs. Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones vs. Serenity: Better Days.  I’m going to have to give this one a lot of thought they are all deserving of best graphic story.

Which one will you vote for?

See the full list of nominations here.

Joss Whedon answers questions from fans about his sources of inspiration and writing.

Out of film, television, and internet, which media do you find is most enjoyable to work on, most stressful, most rewarding, and why? — Chloe
Honey, it's all stress. I'm defined by stress. I'm on the ten best stressed list. The rewards are different -- movies are big and intense, TV is long and deep, internet is tiny and personal and mine all mine -- but all worth pursuing. I'm a media agnostic. If it's stories, I'll brave the stress.

I love how Joss focuses on the story.  It’s what really sets his work apart and why if he is working on a project I count that as a huge plus on whether the project will be good or not.

How do you develop a character? Do you have a specific archetype, trope, or "slot" to fill in your shows that you fit a character to, or do you create their personalities separate from their purpose? — Anne
Purpose informs personality. It's not like I say "I need a wacky sidekick" — although I did when I was working on Disney musicals, but that was the form. I tend to focus on one character (perhaps a young woman of unnatural abilities, to pull an example randomly out of nowhere) and then the other characters are built from the needs of that character's journey.

I wonder if he follows Joseph Campbell’s philosophy and / or what other models he uses to determine what other characters they need.

You get a lot of critical and fan acclaim for being an excellent 3rd generation writer but I really enjoy your directing style. Who are your influences in that regard and what kind of background training did you receive before you got behind the camera? — buffywrestling
I had no production experience outside of my backyard, but I had the best professors in the world. I'm influenced by everything I've seen and I studied most of the great American directors at Wesleyan (hint: watch EVERYTHING.) If I'm gonna pick directors, I'd say Borzage, Minnelli, Hitchcock, Carpenter. Today. But for some reason, Soderbergh's The Limey had the most immediate and visceral effect on my sense of style. It's so casually daring. Also, comic books really help dynamic framing and narrative coherence.

that’s awesome that he mentions using comic books as a means for dynamic framing.  It’s the same conclusion I came to.

I recently read an interview with you in Mother Jones magazine. "Geek God" I think was the term they used for you. How do you feel about your success? What advice do you like to give other "geeks" with good ideas? — Jennifer Russell
If you have a good idea, get it out there. For every idea I've realized, I have ten I sat on for a decade till someone else did it first. Write it. Shoot it. Publish it. Crochet it, sauté it, whatever. MAKE.

I love how he is not necessarily style restrictive even in this case he is all for just producing it.

Bonus Goodies

We all know that Dr. Horrible was a result of, and a metaphor for, the writer's strike. He even says, at one point, that he wants to "put the power in different hands." But things didn't turn out so well for Billy in the end. How did the tragic ending relate to the writers-strike metaphor, or did the metaphor not extend that far? — Jonathan
We didn't write it as a metaphor — we just wanted Penny to have an agenda besides being torn between two men, and Billy's perspective is the classic cry of the noble villain. But this is a story that's been relevant for a long while — like, since there's been power. And people hoarding/abusing it. Wonder Woman brought up similar issues, which may be part of why it wasn't made.

Do you watch the movies/television shows the cast members from Buffy, Angel, or Firefly star in? Any favorite works of the cast members in particular? — Daniel
Dude, Summer Glau is a Terminator. Summer Glau is a Terminator! My work on Earth is done.

And Castle [the new show starring Nathan Fillion] looks fun.

this is a hilarious answer, I had the same thought about Summer Glau… She Rocks!!! if only the show was any good.

Hulu have announced the winner of their first award thing.  The categories were strange, and the "finalists" where not always what you would want to vote for.  Several Speculative Fiction series, movies, and clips won.  Here they are:

Really!?! Award

To no ones surprise the winner of the Realy!?! Award went to Triumph the Insult Dog mocking Star Wars fans on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

The idea that it is funny to mock Star Wars fans for not being molested by priests. I get tired of the idea that fans don't have sex. I assume these people don't know any fans, and I am sure they have never been to a convention. Most of the fans I know have too much sex. Gah, and am not going to get into my stop turning conventions into orgies rant here, but ugh. Stupid mundane people having stupid fun. Ugh.

Best Trailer

The Watchmen! It is going to be hard to beat the Watchmen for best movie of the year, and this trailer is a great promo for it.

The Show We'd bring back

Firefly! It is close to impossible to find anyone who has seen Firefly who doesn't want more.

(via Hulu)