Joss Whedon

 By Ashley Lister 

 “You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other until it makes you quiver, but you'll never be friends. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood -- blood screaming inside you to work its will. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.”

Spike, BTVS, Season 3

For those of you unfamiliar with Joss Whedon as a writer, take the time to check out some of his work. He wrote the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BTVS). He wrote the TV series Angel. He wrote the TV series Firefly (and the related movie Serenity). He wrote the online mini-series Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog. He has screenplay credits for films as diverse as Toy Story, Alien Resurrection, Avengers Assemble, The Cabin in the Woods and the forthcoming screen adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing starring Nathan Fillion, Ashley Johnson and Amy Acker.

Whedon is a master of dialogue. He’s a master of strong characterisation. He’s a master of the complex plot. And he refuses to be bound by genre. I could wax lyrical for hours on what I like and love about Whedon and his writing. However, my favourite thing about his work is that he refuses to remain confined by a single form. He writes TV series, comics, films and musicals. And, with masterful skill, he blends genres and tests the limits of every form with which he works.

There was an episode of Buffy done with almost no dialogue. There was an episode of Buffy performed as a musical. Firefly (and later the film Serenity) blended western and science fiction, almost steampunk in construction and conception, but with a level of realism that made the fantasy enormously powerful. Dr Horrible combined a comic book style superhero and an unforgettable antihero with strongly written musical songs and erudite comedy. Dr Horrible was presented exclusively through the internet as a very successful mini-series.

Whedon was the man who wrote with profound simplicity: “The hardest thing to do in this world is live in it.”

Perhaps Whedon’s work is not commonly perceived as highbrow or intellectual writing. But it’s writing that’s moved me to the most delicious extremes of laughter and it’s writing that has oftentimes left me sobbing in empathy for the fate of his affable and relatable characters. And if a writer can manage that much then, in my opinion, they’ve succeeded at their craft.  

These final words comes from the episode I quoted at the start of this blog post. This is Spike’s realisation of his own way to achieve true love. And it’s typical of Whedon’s quirky, honest and whimsical writing style.

“I've been all wrongheaded about this - weeping, crawling, blaming everybody else. I want Dru back, I've just got to be the man I was. The man she loved. I'm going to do what I should have done in the first place. I'll find her, wherever she is, tie her up, torture her until she likes me again. Love's a funny thing.” 

Spike, BTVS, Season 3