The Pregnant Pause and other Whedon Trademarks

POSTED BY: manwithpez
UPDATED: Saturday, March 17, 2007 23:54
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CYBERSNARK

Sunday, June 12, 2005 1:48 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by BlackEyedGirl:
ex: Kakistos, Buffy calls him Taquitos this one cracks me up everytime.

"Kissing toast."

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

NYWOE

Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:22 AM

I can't remember if this was already discussed, but I've been noticing on Firefly that a lot of times someone will say an absolute statement, and then immediately back-track (or have someone point out that they are way off).

Examples:
Mal-- "We're not theives. Well, we are theives."

Mal-- "There's no way they could find that cargo, even if they were looking."
Zoe-- "Oh yeah, why not?"
Mal-- "'Cause."

Mal-- "And I never back down from a fight."
Inara-- "Yes you do, you do all the time!"

Mal-- "If I wanted medical advice, I'd be talking to a doctor."
Simon-- "You are talking to a doctor."

Come to think of it, it seems to be mostly Mal. :) I can't think of any Buffy/ Angel examples off-hand, but I'm sure they're there.

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TRALALAH

Sunday, June 12, 2005 2:52 PM

I think the most compelling thing about Whedon's style is that it is complicated. His characters and stories are not one-dimensional. There are arcs of all types all over the place. The other thing I really enjoy about the Whedon universe is that he takes chances. Whether it's never letting anybody be too happy for too long or turning his lead character into a freaking puppet or injecting humor into the saddest of scenes, there is always some risky story telling going on. Who else could have taken an unredeemable character like Spike and redeem him; have him truly fall in love with Buffy and be worthy of her? Who else could have taken what usually is indicative of a last gasp of a dying series, young cast member additions, and turned that into the interesting stories of Dawn and Connor? The Whedon universe doesn’t look down on its audience. Which is, I guess, what allows Joss and his writers and actors to say hey I’m going to take a big leap here but you can follow me and it will all be worth it.

A swhat?

MIKEYMO

Sunday, June 12, 2005 3:24 PM

Two things I enjoy most about Whedon's shows:

1 -- Subversion of expectations. This is really what it's all about, in my opinion. Joss has always worked within genres, and he seems to have absolute and complete control over those genres. Horror, detective, sci-fi, western, 'hero' tales - he knows what the audience is looking for, and he gives them that, but not really.

Some writers add twists, or double-twists, but most can't make it feel organic, just tacked on (or "Gotcha! I'm so clever!"). Especially if you're someone who's seen a lot of movies/TV, most stories are either predictable or nonsensical, and very few can walk the line between them and come up with something fresh. If I had to come up with a single reason Joss is so incredible, it's that he just dances along that line and is able to create something compelling and new from areas of storytelling where (if it weren't for Joss) you'd think it'd be impossible.

I'm not sure I expressed this right (just woke up on a lazy Sunday), but I bet you all know what I mean.

2 -- In one of the commentaries, he mentions that all of his shows are about "created family", as opposed to families you're born into. I think that most of us have had a created family at some point in our lives (college, etc), and it's nice to see people who love each other - "who do for each other and ain't always lookin' for the advantage" - without the biological impetus. I swear to God, I mist up every time his characters refer to each other as family...

"I think I've got something in my eye..." -Wesley

P.S. The reason this is all so fresh in my mind is that I'm currently converting a 3rd person to Angel. My girlfriend had a knee-jerk hate toward BtVS and, by extention, all things Joss. But I showed her Firefly, which softened her up. She finished season 1 of Angel this week and called to ask me to bring over season 2 on Friday.
Can't...gloat...must..resist....ARRGHH!

"Be ashamed to die before you have scored some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann

NYWOE

Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:08 PM

Quote:
The Whedon universe doesn’t look down on its audience. Which is, I guess, what allows Joss and his writers and actors to say hey I’m going to take a big leap here but you can follow me and it will all be worth it.

I'll raise a toast to that!

I think that one way that Joss shows this respect for the audience is by not having cliff-hanger endings. He trusts us to come back on our own.

I love Lost, but I feel more like I'm being herded along than invited in, you know what I mean?

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MIKEYMO

Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:18 PM

Quote:
I love Lost, but I feel more like I'm being herded along than invited in, you know what I mean?

Word.

"Be ashamed to die before you have scored some victory for humanity." -- Horace Mann

CEDRIC

Sunday, June 12, 2005 6:47 PM

This doesn't happen often, but there's a trademark way that people say, "huh" when the situation is just too big to say anything else. Go back and watch the scene in which Oz wakes up naked in the forest after spending all night as a werewolf. Then watch the scene in which Mal kicks open River's cryo-vat. The timing, the inflection, it's all the same.

And yeah, Whedon's ability to take a standard situation and turn it on its head is what allows him to then take a standard situation and play it for all its worth.

Several people have mentioned Mal shooting Patience's horse. I think it's funny when you consider that he tells people in "Heart of Gold" not to shoot at the horses. :-) He's smart enough to know when to break the rules effectively--and that's just what Joss does for us.

"You can't take my show from me,
Because I've got the DVD."

GRRARRG

Monday, June 13, 2005 11:18 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Nywoe:

I think that one way that Joss shows this respect for the audience is by not having cliff-hanger endings.

Sorry to be a jerk, but I'm looking at some mighty fine evidence that says he does:

* End of Buffy Season 2, when she runs away.
* End of that 4th season Buffy ep when the commandos capture Spike, and every one of us just sat there.
* the end of the 5th season opener (or maybe the 2nd ep, I don't know) when Buffy walks in and finds her sister in the room
* The ep right before The Body, when Buffy walks in and finds her mom dead, with no preparation or explanation whatsoever.
* The Gift, when the title character dies and we're waiting all summer.
* When they showed the Bringer sneak up behind Giles and swing down the axe, and we had to wait several weeks before a new episode, and then he showed up and they made us wonder whether he was alive or dead/The First

* End of Angel season one, when Darla shows up in a box
* End of Angel season 3, when Angel gets locked in a box

That's all I can think of off the top of my head, but I know there are many, many others. I can't think of any for Firefly, but I remember a Firefly commentary in which Joss made a comment about little cliffhangers right before the commercial breaks, and there are oodles of those.

I mock you with my monkey pants.
Oh, yeah - check out my rock band: http://www.readyempire.com/index.php?option=com_artistdirectory&task=s
howCD&id=1
Click on "Play Entire CD"

BADGERSHAT

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 2:34 PM

One of my all-time favorites...

In an episode of "Buffy" and I can't recall the name, or even the season, but there's a character that had shown up a few times, an old friend-turned-enemy of Giles... the guy who told us that Giles used to be named "Ripper" back in the day.

Anyway, the crew is searching for this guy, end up in a mausoleum, Giles walks off camera, and the bad guy walks out into frame, and starts "talking to Giles", in typical bad guy fashion, "You have no idea the hell I bring with me to unleash upon you" kind of thing, and in mid-sentence Giles walks back in, interrupting the soliloquy, and the bad guy immediately yells "Oh, bullocks, I thought you'd left!!"

Sorry for the vagueness, my memory ain't what it used to be.

--Jefé The Hat

***************************
--Don't bother trying to predict, figure out, second guess, criticize, or suggest anything that comes from the mind of Joss Whedon, for you shall usually be wrong, and shall find out the Truth and Purpose in due time.
(This is the Truth of Whedoning)

"I like smackin 'em"--Jayne

CLJOHNSTON108

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 2:58 PM

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