The addition of ABC Network’s “Marvel’s ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’” to the fall television schedule has caused many fans of Joss Whedon, the show’s creator, to throw in the towel.
Whedon was responsible for several sci-fi and fantasy based teen-oriented dramas in the mid to late 90’s. “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, and “Firefly” were modest successes while on air, but became cult favorites post-cancellation. The fans of these shows became angrier with passing years that there were no Whedon-led vehicles on the broadcast networks. The cult-like atmosphere these series generated and emotional toll their absence has caused are beginning to lead some “Whedonoids” to wonder what was so great in the first place.
“I really thought it showed me how a group of disparate personalities could become a family under extreme circumstances, like when demons attack? But after giving myself over to it I kind of feel like they’re just TV shows, ya know?” said Lane Briggs, a student at the University of Wyoming. “It really was a lot of fun at first, but I was caught up by the mob mentality, I guess.”
Whedon was later tapped to direct 2012 summer blockbuster “Marvel’s ‘The Avengers”, a tent pole project expected to spawn sequels well into the next century. The success of this film and creator Whedon have become too much to deal with for many of these Whedonoids who are visibly apprehensive at the thought of having to “be really into it” for the next several years. Mary Sander, geophysics student at the University of Memphis describes it as “a grossly misplaced fervor.” “It was such a social occasion at first but then as the years went by we’d all be at viewing parties and look at each other like we were just going through the motions. I’m not sure what the big deal was. I mean, it’s good stuff. But there are other good shows on TV, right? I can’t get involved again.”
Miss Sander says she has stopped talking about Whedon projects in conversation and is trying to be more engaged in what her friends and co-workers are enjoying on television. “It’s been really cool. I kind of feel like I’m going to be ok after all this, ya know?”
Warren Grantham is a Wiseguy and contributor to Fly on the Wall
