Avengers Tangentials: Whedon, Firefly, etc.

With the Avengers' movie coming out, I'm finding that I'm particularly more reserved regarding Joss Whedon compared to the rest of the geek community at large. Please don't misunderstand me here -- I like his stuff. He's got talent, his work is solid, and he's definitely been a hit with the geek crowd. I'm in no position to say he is bad in any capacity. However, it's his notably high popularity in the geek crowd that makes me wonder about his inclusion in The Avengers. I assume the movie will be fine, and that Whedon's style will fit well with the team-based story at work. I just can't shake the feeling that he was included so they could brandish his name around to attract more viewers. Again, this is likely not the case, but it's just that nagging though in the back of my brain.

I can understand that someone could say the same of George Lucas or Steven Spielberg, and I'd a agree to an extent -- especially in the former. Whedon and Lucas are both creators of highly popular franchises, so they both carry the associated baggage with their name from other projects. Maybe it's just because of the people I hang out with and the sites I visit, but Whedon's name always snags people's attention, almost instantly getting people to instantly wax nostalgic over Firefly and Buffy. The same applies for Lucas and Star Wars., although there is often a hint of animosity with the Star Wars "purists" (another post? I think so). Spielberg's name, while it gets your attention, isn't associated with any popular franchises* and instead gets you by individual titles, like E.T. and Schindler's List. Franchises just seem to be what sticks to the mainstream, which isn't a bad thing at all -- Firefly, Star Wars, Pokemon,  Twilight, Game of Thrones, The Avengers, and Batman are but a few modern examples.

I can't say much about Buffy as it never really snagged my interest, but I do have my theories on Firefly. Being a fan of the series, I think the special pull that Firefly is not that it was a quality show (which it was), but rather its cancellation. Something about having that one season makes it feel a little more special, leaving so much to the imagination, leaving you wanting more as it ends. This leftover desire for more Firefly encourages rewatchings with friends. They're left with the same feeling and do the same, and it all goes fro mthere. The mystery of it all makes you thirst for more, and even the one season delivers in that regard. There's plenty of subtle theming and symoblism for those with a keen eye for detail, and the dialogue is well written. Additionally, the single season makes it easy to run complete marathons and to pour over each episode to soak in every detail, both of which are essential to fueling a fandom. To put the cherry on top of the sundae, its cancellation by FOX in particular hits a particular nerve with modern pop culture -- it may not help directly, but it certainly doesn't hurt.

My friends tend to disagree with me on this, saying it would be so much better if they had done more episodes. I agree to an extent. However, you get into the sort of time-travel argument that changing the number of episodes changes its general reception in geek culture. The quality would still be there, but it wouldn't have the same heartbraking story of its cancellation that left it with only one season. I feel it would become a successful series still securing it's place as a classic, but the reception would be much different than a single season, spreading into different parts of the culture.


As far as The Avengers itself goes, I'm sure the movie will be fine. It just always makes me wonder about geek branding now that producers realize geekdom is such a profitable market.

* Yeah, I know. I'm making a pretty big oversight by excluding Jurassic Park and 90's Warner Bros cartoons. The former: I love raptors too, but I don't know if it quite has the same punch with audiences right now. Dinosaurs just haven't been popular this past decade, sticking largely to documentaries on NOVA and packets of instant oatmeal rather than mass-consumption media. I certainly hope Jurassic Park IV comes out alright. As for the likes of Freakazoid and Animaniacs, they simply have been either legally tied up or just not been relevant until the last couple of years. Keep your hopes up for more like it soon.