Gum Gnome33
"Well, yeah..."
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2011
- Messages
- 1,148
So, over the past few years or so while watching the show, I've been thinking a lot about what it would be like if it took place in today's "cell phone culture," as I like to call it, in the US. I think nowadays when writing a show, you just can't realistically have young characters interact without cell phones; you can't write a believable scene in which one character tries another on the land line and says, "oh crap I can't reach her!"
I know in season 7, cell phones are mentioned at least twice. But they aren't employed constantly, and if I'm not mistaken the *only* time a cell phone affects the outcome of a scene is during First Date when Xander texts Willow that he's in trouble, (or getting laid, lol). I know Angel tries to use a cell once and gives up, saying that they're probably put together by bored warlocks. I know I had a cell phone when I was 15 in '99 but that was mostly because my parents were/are a tad overprotective. But throughout the run of the entire series, cells in the US just weren't used like they are today. People didn't rely on them, and I think it probably wasn't until around the time of season 7 that they were really being widely used throughout the country and even then it was pretty recreational I think. Certainly not like today.
So, this is specifically what I was thinking about:
-What are some scenes that would be totally altered if Buff and the gang had cell phones? What about, specifically, "smart phones" with maps, etc? Obviously tons, but it's fun to get specific.
-How different of a show would Buffy have been if Joss couldn't get around the existence of and heavy reliance upon cell phones? Would it lack a lot of mystery? Were there enough moments that were so powerful or tragic simply because the characters couldn't reach each other? What would Btvs and Angel look like today if the characters had the power to text and Facetime each other?!
Here's an example I came up with for fun:
Becoming Part 2
Willow: There's no use arguing with me. Do you see my resolve face? (gives them her resolve face) You've seen it before. You know what it means. This can help Buffy. If we turn Angel back soon enough, we can stop him from ever awakening Acathla.
Oz: (gets up) Okay, Lemme just text Buffy real quick so she knows what we're doing.
I know this is all just a silly collection of "what if's," but I think it's really interesting to think about the fact that Buffy, as it exists, could not have been written today.
I know in season 7, cell phones are mentioned at least twice. But they aren't employed constantly, and if I'm not mistaken the *only* time a cell phone affects the outcome of a scene is during First Date when Xander texts Willow that he's in trouble, (or getting laid, lol). I know Angel tries to use a cell once and gives up, saying that they're probably put together by bored warlocks. I know I had a cell phone when I was 15 in '99 but that was mostly because my parents were/are a tad overprotective. But throughout the run of the entire series, cells in the US just weren't used like they are today. People didn't rely on them, and I think it probably wasn't until around the time of season 7 that they were really being widely used throughout the country and even then it was pretty recreational I think. Certainly not like today.
So, this is specifically what I was thinking about:
-What are some scenes that would be totally altered if Buff and the gang had cell phones? What about, specifically, "smart phones" with maps, etc? Obviously tons, but it's fun to get specific.
-How different of a show would Buffy have been if Joss couldn't get around the existence of and heavy reliance upon cell phones? Would it lack a lot of mystery? Were there enough moments that were so powerful or tragic simply because the characters couldn't reach each other? What would Btvs and Angel look like today if the characters had the power to text and Facetime each other?!
Here's an example I came up with for fun:
Becoming Part 2
Willow: There's no use arguing with me. Do you see my resolve face? (gives them her resolve face) You've seen it before. You know what it means. This can help Buffy. If we turn Angel back soon enough, we can stop him from ever awakening Acathla.
Oz: (gets up) Okay, Lemme just text Buffy real quick so she knows what we're doing.
I know this is all just a silly collection of "what if's," but I think it's really interesting to think about the fact that Buffy, as it exists, could not have been written today.
