Fanatic. A person marked or motivated by an extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm, as for a cause.
Of course, for the “normal” person among us, a fan usually supports a sports star, a celebrity, or occasionally some clapped out comic book, which should have been cancelled in 1976. But for some, and especially the majority of people who are even bothering to read this, we support with an “extreme, unreasoning enthusiasm,” a pair of television shows that push the extreme buttons in their own right.
In 1999, specifically 8.00pm on January 1st, I remember telling my mother to watch a television show on BBC2 that evening. She took one look at the name, and said no. I however, went ahead anyway, watching the episode by my lonesome, and falling in love. From that night on, I did everything I could to continue watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, even through my mother’s continued ridicules by referring to the show as that “show with the stupid name.” Ironically, she herself caught the episode “Angel” and asked me if she could watch the first episode, completely changing her story, saying she was busy on the initial airing.
The show brought us a girl and her group of friends, dedicated to the eradication of the horrors of evil, including witches, robots and off course vampires and black nail polish (so over.) As the show continued it became clear that these were cleverly crafted metaphors for youth, domestic violence and good dentist work, and the creator of the show becoming a star in his own right as his cast soared. Without Joss Whedon we wouldn’t have the same American Pie, The Grudge, or maybe even CSI: New York (who can get that connection?). Off course, it’s not all good… we wouldn’t have “Beer Bad” either, a fact that most fanatics would wish were true.
And of course, we wouldn’t have Buffy: seven seasons of cheerleading, slaying, magick, Watchers, Keys, demons and snakes. We wouldn’t have all those fond memories of Xander failing to open jars, Oz silently knocking over a stand, Willow’s famous vampire double, Tara’s tragic final moments, or constant zany Anya one-liners. And we wouldn’t have Angel, which in itself became a champion along with its ensouled star and brought us more vampires, demons and full leather jumpsuits.
Oh… and there would be no Spike. At least not the way we know him.
Let’s face it. The world of Whedon is indeed vast and rich with fantastical characters, absurd situations and gruesome realities. Anyone who’s sat through “The Body,” or “A Hole in the World” can note that both of these genre-defying gems can deal with death in a gut-wrenching and completely realistic fashion, or deal with redemption in such a way that you love the guy more when he’s evil, draining blood, or as Cordelia would so readily point out, wearing those pants.
So this work, and everything associated with it is an expression of that extreme enthusiasm I mentioned before I went off on an extreme tangent. And if you’re still with me after all of this and have understood it all, then you belong right here with us.
Fanatic. Sounds kinda sad doesn’t it?
Si Banwell
(Webmaster of http://www.watchersguide.ne1.net)
