Joss Whedon

Question: This week marks Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s 10-year anniversary. (The show debuted on the WB on March 10, 1997). Looking back at those 10 years, it’s difficult to ignore the show’s remarkable influence on other shows, on all genres and on the industry itself. Just to name a few: Alias, Smallville, Lost, Heroes, Veronica Mars, Battlestar Galactica, and even shows like Gilmore Girls, Scrubs and Grey’s Anatomy. (The creators of those three shows have declared in recent interviews their undeniable love for Buffy.) Moreover, Buffy created a genre of its own: "the multigenre," a mix of a few genres in one show - fantasy, horror, comedy and drama, for instance. Looking at some of the shows on TV right now, it’s easy to see shows that embraced Buffy’s special multigenre: The O.C., Lost, Grey’s Anatomy and Veronica Mars. Another interesting aspect of this influence is the writer. Joss Whedon surrounded himself with a fabulous group of talented writers who were almost kidnapped to other productions as soon as Buffy said her goodbye. They can be found all over the industry, from Battlestar Galactica, Smallville, Alias and Lost to 24, Gilmore Girls and even on Dexter. My question is: Can you think of any other show (scripted show, that is) that has had as much influence as Buffy had during the course of these 10 years? Because I certainly can’t. Sure, Lost had its influence for a short period. The O.C. was thought to be innovative (but just to a certain extent). 24 pretty much created the "serialized" genre, but this genre took a huge hit recently. But none of them, to me, had the effect that Buffy had. So, can you think of any other show, Matt?- Nadav

Matt Roush: Wow. Thanks for making me feel old. Buffy is 10 years old? How time flies. (This question came in on the same day I got in the mail the second season DVD of Twin Peaks, which also took me back. Way back.) Anyway, without taking on your specific genre generalizations (or we’d be here forever), I agree that Buffy the Vampire Slayer had an impact on the culture that far outweighed its meager ratings. My love for Buffy is pretty well known and hasn’t faded in the years since it went into repeat/syndication/DVD heaven. The way it fused genres was both remarkable and a clear influence on many shows that followed. And whether you liked it or not, Meredith’s sweeps-month journey into limbo on Grey’s Anatomy showed the touch of Marti Noxon, who has been upped to executive producer of that megahit. Buffy spawned good writers, who’ve migrated onto other good shows. That’s a plus for the industry, but hardly unprecedented. To address your basic question, I can think of one show that has had at least as profound an impact on the industry and culture at large: The Sopranos. Without it, you don’t get the risk-taking of FX, you probably don’t get the renaissance of Showtime, and you probably wouldn’t have seen the networks get as adventurous with the drama format as they have been in recent years. But I see no reason to make absolute statements about the legacy of one groundbreaking TV show over another. Let’s just all do a Scooby Gang group hug and declare, "Happy birthday, Buffy!"