Question: I just finished reading an article on the new Bionic Woman in which executive producer David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) discusses the show’s ambiguously heroic main character, which he sees as filling a void in the television landscape. He describes his desire to portray an average woman with sudden incredible powers fighting to balance her personal life with her newfound strength; she then comes up against another woman, endowed with those same powers, who has "given in to the dark side of having nearly unlimited physical powers." He talks about the difficulties of having anyone take a show called "Bionic Woman" seriously. Did anyone else think of Buffy? I certainly don’t ask for completely original ideas — many great TV shows are hybrids of old concepts — and no one would be more happy than I to see another great genre show do well on network TV, but at least one reference to Joss Whedon’s groundbreaking TV heroine would have been nice! Not to mention the other strong, conflicted heroines on television today. I see the ripple effects of Buffy in a number of shows gracing our screens. Whedon not only gave us three great shows in the last decade, he created a legacy of enigmatic, powerful female (and male) characters that influenced other producers and writers. But on to my question: What do you see of Whedon’s influence in the new crop of genre/superhero shows coming at us this fall? And do you think he will ever come back to network television?— Stephanie T.

Matt Roush: We can only hope Joss Whedon will be back in the weekly series business someday. His touch would certainly be appreciated on Bionic Woman. I actually see his influence more on a show like the CW’s terrific cult comedy Reaper, which uses the Devil/Satan character so cleverly as he coaches hapless but adorable Sam not to give up in his demon-fighting tasks. The lack of whimsy in Bionic Woman and the deadly earnestness of much of CBS’ Moonlight remind me of what we lost when Whedon stepped away from TV. Let’s hope it’s only temporarily.