Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Question: I was puzzled by your enthusiastic review of the Heroes season finale. You seemed to enjoy it. It did have its share of excellent moments and reveals, but the final showdown between Peter and Sylar, was... well, really lame. It was the least exciting fight in TV history. With all the powers each character had accumulated over the course of the season, that fight should have been absolutely thrilling, with both characters showing off different abilities left and right as they tried to kill each other. Instead we got a Darth Vader death choke and the two of them punching each other. Buffy, Angel and Alias each managed to have an epic, exciting finale pretty much every season, and none of those shows (though all superior in quality) had the ratings or the money that Heroes does. I still love the show, but I hope this isn’t going to be a habit, where the creators drop the ball and get lazy come May.- Chris

Matt Roush: Would you accept end-of-May exhaustion as an excuse? (Oops, sorry. Already tried that one.) Honestly, while watching Heroes’ finale the same night as the pathetic finish of 24 (which I watched first), I may have overpraised this one a bit out of delight that I was actually engaged in the show. And there’s no question that the Lost finale blew it out of the water later in the week. I think I was more engaged in the characters than I was in the spectacle, and having Nathan fly in and sweep Peter away was so completely unexpected - and, yes, heroic - that I didn’t mind the fact that this wasn’t the biggest action sequence ever. You can get that crap at the movies. Besides, Heroes isn’t about superheroes who know how to use their powers effectively. The fact that it came down to hand-to-hand combat with a bit of swordplay almost seemed fitting to me. But I know that for many it was a letdown, and I’ll bet you that Heroes never makes that same mistake again. Before I drop this topic, I’ve got to say that I get a little depressed every time I go out on a limb and shower some love on a show, and then get hammered for it in the Dispatch comments or in this forum. Must everything be so negative?

Question: As always, you remain the most thoughtful and engaging critic out there, and I look forward to your columns, even when I don’t wholly agree with you (which isn’t very often). Anyway, I’ve become a huge fan of Heroes, and was jumping for joy as I observed your increasing enjoyment for the show as the season went on. I just read your answer to Santos’ question about the show’s Emmy chances, and I was quite surprised to see no mention of Hayden Panettiere. Masi Oka is a shoo-in, I’d imagine, and Jack Coleman certainly should be, but Panettiere’s nuanced, sensitive, believable portrayal of Claire is an accomplishment that many adult actors should envy. I imagine that if she is overlooked, it will be because of her age, since Emmy tends to ignore younger actors (unlike Oscar). But shouldn’t her name certainly be in the mix when the show’s Emmy outlook is discussed? Claire was, after all, the show’s major icon (even more so than Hiro, I would say), and she was the only actor who appeared in every episode this season.- Kelly Matt Roush: A fair point, and she certainly did have her share of turmoil over the season. Maybe it’s a matter of personal taste here, but I just didn’t see enough range in her performance, despite all the curves she was thrown, to merit an Emmy bid. She was fine, but not Buffy fine. (And if Sarah Michelle Gellar could go all those years without Emmy notice, I can’t help but think this cheerleader is destined for a similar fate.) Realistically, though, her age probably will work against her, as will the genre in which she works. Which is unquestionably unfair.

Question: I can understand your frustration with Buffy/Angel/Whedon fans who seem determined not to give CBS’ Moonlight a chance. But on the surface of things, the show does sound derivative. (Remember Forever Knight as well!) In selling any new show, a network has to have a hook, something to set it off from other shows, and Moonlight at present has no hook. I have to confess that my own interest is minimal and will continue to be so until I hear something really good about it. Contrast this with NBC’s Bionic Woman. The more I hear about this show - the people David Eick has hired to run the show, the writers who are joining the staff, the casting of various roles - the more excited I have become. You mentioned that some in the industry are calling for a recasting of Moonlight, and I couldn’t agree more. I might check out a new vampire show with a male lead, but I would definitely check out a show about a vampire detective if the lead were female. Suddenly the show would acquire a hook that it currently lacks. One reason you shouldn’t get down on Whedon fans who aren’t excited about Moonlight is that a lot of us were never really interested in seeing a show about vampires. I became a huge fan of Buffy and Angel despite the fact they were about vampires, not because of it. We were drawn to the genius of Whedon’s vision. Heck, I’d watch anything he did, regardless of subject matter. I’m loving his current work in comics, but I really wish he’d get back to what he does best.- Robert Matt Roush: All I’m saying (and can I just say how reluctantly I’m wading back into these waters?) is that people with a taste for out-of-the-ordinary TV should keep an open mind unless given a reason not to. And to be clear, Moonlight’s recasting did not involve the male lead, who to my knowledge is still Alex O’Loughlin (currently on The Shield). Finally, it’s specious to think Buffy and Angel acquired its following just because there were vampires and demons in the regular cast of characters, and that we should get excited (or not) any time a vampire shows up on TV. Supernatural or not, it’s all about character and how a writer uses the conventions of any genre to illuminate themes about life, love, destiny, coming-of-age, redemption, you name it. What I saw was a knee-jerk reaction to the very thought of a show that ventured into this territory, and that’s just wrong.