Much as we’re mourning the loss of Dollhouse, I thought it’d fun to have a look into the not to distant, and fire up some random speculation/wish list of what Joss could/should do next…

5. Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog – Part 2.

Okay, this is a little more than idle speculation, as Zack Whedon has already confirmed they are writing the continuing adventures of our favourite Emmy Award winning supervillan and his nemsis Captain Hammer. They have been waiting for a break in Dollhouse schedule to get together and nail the script and tunes. Given Dollhouse‘s perminent break in schedule, we could be seeing Dr. Horrible 2 sooner than we originally hoped.

4. Serenity 2

I know… This is more a wish that anything that’s likely to actually happen. But still, Joss has proved there is life in the Firefly Universe through the graphic novels. It’d just be a case of arranging it around Nathon Fillion‘s Castle duties, Adam Baldwin‘s Chuck schedule, Morena Baccarin‘s ‘V‘ filming, and the various film schedules of  Gina Torres, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher and Summer Glau (and maybe even Alan Tudyk)… And then it’s just a case of finding someone to finance it… And a studio to distribute it… Okay, it’s never going to happen… Still, if i’m writing a wish list of stuff i want Joss to do, something Firefly/Serenity related HAS to be on it!

3. Fray TV Series

There’s bound to be a number of stories appear suggesting Joss and Eliza head back to the Buffyverse and make a Faith series. However, i think i’d like to see a bit more of a twist if there was going to be a new Slayer series. How about basing around the Fray comic book series.

Centuries have passed since the last Slayer was called. Demons were banished from the Earth at some point in the 21st century by an unnamed Slayer and her friends, and the Watchers’ Council has decayed into a group of crazed fanatics. The vampires (dubbed lurks) have now returned and haunt the city. To combat this threat, a new Slayer is called: a professional thief named Melaka Fray. With the Watchers’ Council ineffective, a group of “neutral” demons send the demon Urkonn to prepare Melaka for the war that is sure to come…

Don’t know about you, but i’d watch that!

2. Ripper

Ripper – Proposed TV series set in the Buffyverse starring Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles in the tradition of “classic English ghost stories”.

Had enough of the US networks trampling all over your shows Joss? Come to England! Talk to the BBC. They force us pay for a tv license so you don’t have to worry about viewing figures. Plus anything Tony Head does seems to be a huge hit, you can’t lose! Sure the weather is a bit grey at times, but it’s a small price to pay for creative freedom. You’ve been talking about Ripper for years. All reports say you got really really close to making it too over the last couple of years… Why not come over and make it a reality?

1. Something New

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Much as i love the Buffyverse and Firefly’s ‘verse, I always look forward to new stuff from Joss and the rest of the team at Mutant Enemy. I’m sure they’ll be back with something different from the mainstream in the not to distant future, and i can’t wait.

Got any more ideas? Leave them in the comments!

5. Odyssey 5 (2002).

What was it?

Odyssey 5

Odyssey 5 had a great concept. Bunch of astronauts up on a routine spaceflight watch the Earth turn into a fireball and implode! Whilst the 5 surviving crew members of the Odyssey space shuttle contemplate their impending demise, they’re rescued by a mysterious being called the Seeker. It seems Earth isn’t the only planet to have suffered this fate, but this is the first time the Seeker has managed to find survivors. He sends the crew’s consciousnesses back in time 5yrs to give them a chance to prevent the disaster.

Why was Odyssey 5 cancelled?

Actually a pretty good question… Odyssey 5 ran on Showtime, who bizarrely cancelled it after airing only 14 of it’s 20 episodes, despite the show being one the highest rated on the network (they only citing that they ‘wanted to move away from SciFi shows’ as a reason)…

4. Reaper (2007-2009).

What was it?

Reaper

Reaper was a show about dropout/slacker/Work Bench employee Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison), who finds himself being forced to become a bounty hunter for the Devil after his father promised their first born child to the Devil (Ray Wise) in return for curing his sick wife.

Sam’s job as bounty hunter requires him to retrieve souls that have escaped from Hell by capturing them in a ‘vessel’ provided by the Devil each week, usually with help from friends Sock (Tyler Labin), Ben (Rick Gonzalez), and love interest Andi (Missy Peregrym).

Why was Reaper cancelled?

Ratings more than anything although the CW network really didn’t help things by putting the second season up against American Idol. ABC Studios was in talks of  keeping Reaper going through first-run syndication, however as time went on, and with an uncertain future, understandably Tyler Labin and then Bret Harrison signed deals on new shows, which pretty much left Reaper reaped.

3. Angel (1999-2004).

What was it?

Angel

Angel (a spin-off from the Joss Whedon’s brilliant Bufy the Vampire Slayer) followed the trials of a vampire private detective trying to make up for his past deeds after gypsies returned his soul. In his mission to ‘help the helpless’ he enlist the help of various associates to help do battle with demons, and evil law firm Wolfram & Heart.

Angel was much darker in tone than it’s sibling show Buffy, but still contained the trademark Whedonesque dialogue, and complex season arcing plots, mixing genres in the genius way only Joss Whedon can.

Why was Angel cancelled?

Although Angel made it to a respectable 5 seasons, it was still cut down very much in it’s prime. In fact, ironically the fact it was doing well in it’s timeslot possibly contributed to it’s demise… Angel was a fairly expensive show to produce, and because of this The WB network usually left it until very late to sign the renewal, just in case something better/cheaper came along (which it never did). The problem with this was that a lot of cast and crew had to turn down potential jobs on the hope that Angel got picked up again. Feeling this was unfair, and on the back of the great reception they’d had for season 5, a confident Joss asked The WB not to keep them waiting, and give them a yay or nay on season 6… The WB, thinking something else would come along (which of course  it didn’t) said ‘okay, we’re cancelling you’… Had they waited until the last minute as usual it’s extremely likely they would have got the renewal. The WB have since stated cancelling Angel was a big mistake.

2. Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009).

Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!

What was it?

Click here to enter our great Termintor:TSCC competition and win the whole of Season 2 on Blu-Ray!

In a similar way to what they’ve done with the new Star Trek movie,  Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles tv series took place in a slightly different timeline to the Terminator movies. The pilot episode starts in 1999 after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, with Sarah (Lena Headey) and her son John (Thomas Dekker) and his reprogrammed Terminator protector Cameron (Summer Glau), on the run from Terminator Cromartie (Garret Dillahunt).  In an attempt to escape, Cameron creates a temporal rift, jumping them forward in time to 2007, unfortunately, a badly damaged, but still functioning Cromartie manages to follow them. As the series continues, we start to see how the future Terminator controlling computer overlord ‘Skynet’ starts to become sentient, and sees the group team up with John’s Uncle, resistance fighter Derek Reese (Brian Austin Green).

One of the great things about Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is that they mostly avoided the easy option of having a ‘monster (or in this case Terminator) of the week’, and chose a more serialized format, keeping Cromartie as the main villain for all of the 1st season (and part of the 2nd), allowing more longer more intricate plot lines to develop. What could have been just another ‘cash in’ to the Terminator franchise became a well written, intelligent, complex and entertaining show.

Why was Terminator: TSCC cancelled?

Once again, ratings, or rather Nielsen ratings (by far the most outdated pointless way of rating a shows popularity) killed it. The useless thing about Nielsen ratings is they don’t take into account Tivo/DVR viewing. For it’s second season Terminator TSCC was moved to the dreaded ‘Friday night death slot’ to team up with Joss Whedon’s Dollhouse. The trouble is, if your running shows aimed a young audience and then airing it on a night when most of your target audience is out, don’t be surprised when the live (Nielsen rated) viewing figures suck. An episode which might only get 3 million live viewers in reality could have 10 million if you add in Sky+/Tivo/DVR figures. It really is time we found a better way to rate shows, otherwise all were going to end up getting commissioned is hours of Americas Next Top Dancing With The Stars Idol…

Click here to Win Season 2 of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles on Blu-Ray!

1. Firefly (2002).

What was it?

Firefly

Created by Joss Whedon, Firefly was set 500 years in the future, in a new solar system after humanity abandons ‘Earth That Was’. The show followed the crew of the Firefly class ship Serenity as they struggle to survive any way they can in the ‘verse. It’s often described as a ‘sci-fi/western’, but ‘sci-fi/post American Civil War’ would actually be more accurate (although not as catchy). Rather than being a Stargate style action series, Firefly ditched the idea of aliens and massive space battles in favour of focusing on the wonderful character interactions of the eclectic crew.

Firefly was one of those moments when all the star aligned and everything in a show just worked. From the pitch perfect casting, to Joss Whedon’s superb scripts, to the iconic character and costume design. I’d go as far to say it was arguably the best scifi show ever made.

Why was Firefly cancelled?

*sigh*… FOX’s incompetence more than anything… Firstly, they switched the episode order, moving the pilot episode to the middle of the season. The show was hardly advertised, and then shifted around the schedules. They pretty much did everything possible to bury the series. Thankfully, there appears to have been a complete turnaround at FOX in recent years, which has led to Joss returning to the network for Dollhouse, and FOX supporting it for a second season. Joss also got the opportunity to tie up some of the loose ends in the movie Serenity. I’d still love to see Firefly take to the big or small screen again though.

Robot Chicken Season 2

Over the weekend (in-between PS3 gaming sessions and a House marathon running on tv) I had a chance to preview a bunch of episodes from season 2 of Seth Green‘s manic stop motion sketch show  - Robot Chicken.

Due out on DVD in the UK on 28th September 2009, Robot Chicken’s 2nd season continues the insane, funny, and it some places just plain wrong (but in a good way), humour of Seth Green and his ever expanding cast of voices. Along with series regulars such as Seth MacFarlane & Alex Borstein (from Seth’s other gig – Family Guy) or Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy), you also get a quite unbelievable number of guest vocal talent. It never ceases to amaze me how they manage to get people to parody themselves. You see a sketch in the show featuring a Playmobil Hugh Heffner in a Playmobil Playboy Mansion, or David Hasselhoff in Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Beastmaster : The Musical, only to watch the end credits to find that it actually was Heff and the Hoff.

As usual sketches range from the genuis 5 second 1 liners, to full 5min routines, with jokes ranging from high, to very low brow, but ultimately always still funny. The only place the show struggles a bit has nothing to do with it’s quality, but is some of cultural references. A couple of sketches reference US shows or toys may not translate immediately over to a UK audience, they should however still make you laugh.

Robot Chicken Season 2 is weird, funny, and at times wildly inappropriate (I particularly enjoyed Jesus and the Argonauts and Lil’ Hitler sketches), but if you like off the wall humour, it’s well worth the purchase.

8/10 – Insane, inappropriate, and extremely funny.

Megan Fox for Buffy Remake?

I’m filing this under ‘unlikely’ but i’ve seen it reported on a few sites, so i thought i’d mention it.

Cinefools.com is claiming the name of Megan Fox is being thrown around as the possible lead in Kuzui & Kuzui hideously ill advised Buffy remake. It may be true, but i’m not buying it just yet. The ‘source’ is decidedly shaky, and Fox is ‘attached’ to pretty much every hollywood movie that requires a young hot female actor at the moment, so it’s no great shock her name has cropped up attached to this project.

Of course, in reality i’m still hoping they see sense and either get Joss involved to make the movie a continuation from the TV show, or just scrap the idea altogether…

For the love of… Someone, make them stop!

Kuzui's first dire attempt at a Buffy movie.

Given that the only thing that didn’t suck in the 1992 Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie was the script, the idea of the producers/director rebooting (there’s that word again) Buffy without any direction from it’s founding visionary Joss Whedon, fills me with 7 different types of horror. But according to Hollywood Reporter, that’s exactly what Vertigo Entertainment along with original movie director Fran Rubel Kuzui and her huband Kaz Kuzui are apparently thinking of doing.

I know with the sucess of the Twilight movie vampires are hot property again, but do they honestly think ‘rebooting’ Buffy so soon after it was such a tv hit is a good idea? Someone really needs to point out to the Kuzui’s and Vertigo that just because you can do something, it doesn’t mean you should…

As Buffy alumni Tim Minear pointed out “…the main reason I do not want to see a movie done by these people without Joss… cause even with him the first time around the movie still had some major suckage.” The most appropriate remark i’ve seen on this subject though comes from web comic artist Neill Cameron – “This must be what religious people feel like when someone desecrates their holy text”.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer MMORPG Announced!

Some interesting news for Whedon fans over at massively.com… Multiverse announced at the  Virtual Worlds Conference in Los Angeles that they are developing a Buffy the Vampire Slayer MMORPG!

Multiverse were also developing a Firefly MMO, however that’s been delayed…

Given Multiverse have had the Firefly MMO license for around 2 years, and it’s gone nowhere, i don’t hold out a lot of hope for Buffy sadly. It also looks like both are licensed from Fox, and not Mutant Enemy, and anything involving Fox fills me with a sense of foreboding.

A Buffy MMO would be cool, but i still think a Firefly MMO would be cooler, and has more scope for an MMO.