Firefly & Buffy

[Buffy Summers]

Do you think Joss reused character "types" from Buffy when he created Firefly? Even to go so far as to say he tried to improve upon the characters the second time around? Or do you think similarities (if any) are just coincidence?

Such as:

Mal = Angel
Zoe = Buffy
Wash = Xander
Jayne = Spike
Kaylee = Willow
Simon/Book = Giles
Inara = Cordelia
River = Dru

I just made those up as an example.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

I do think so.. but if you look at the character, not just the surface representation, but the full character I think it's more like this:

Mal = Buffy
Zoe = Giles
Wash = Willow
Jayne = Spike
Kaylee = Xander
Simon/Book = Angel
Inara = Anya
River = Tara

 

[Buffy Summers]

(I just did the list above quickly without really thinking much into it, for an example 🙂)

I do think Zoe represents the strong female hero he wanted with Buffy though.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

(I just did the list above quickly without really thinking much into it, for an example 🙂)
I do think Zoe represents the strong female hero he wanted with Buffy though.

That's debatable as to the intent of the character, as I don't think he ever wanted Buffy to be a 'strong female hero' he wanted her to be a pisstake against the big breasted, absent-minded blondes in horror movies. Buffy wasn't meant to be a strong female character, just an ironic one.

 

[GwenRaiden]

I think he was definitely trying to finesse character traits from Buffy in Firefly. I don't think the examples of one BtVS character to one Firefly character work as there definitely seems to be a couple (or even a few) BtVS character personality traits in only one Firefly character. I do like what Whedon done though with the similarities. It made Firefly almost feel homely and nostalgic from first viewing.

 

[white avenger]

I read once about a writer who, when he started a new story, had several groups of cards, one group consisting of various physical types (tall, broad shoulders, dark hair, etc) another group for personality (brave, loyal, intelligent, etc) and a few others. Before he started writing, he would deal the cards out like a card game, thus creating each character according to what "hand" he drew.

Joss does pretty much the same thing, with or without the aid of the cards, it just seems that there aren't as many cards in his deck as some other writers use, hence, the similar characters who keep popping up in his stories.

 

[EVIL UU]

He didn't reuse the characters, he reused the style of writing dialogue. The characters talk in a similar way on both shows and the construction of conversations is generally similar as well.

 

[GwenRaiden]

From watching Checkpoint 5x12 earlier he seems to use similar scenarios too. The Watcher's Council interrogating the scoobies felt reeeally similar to the interrogation scenes with the crew in Bushwacked.

 

[Taake]

I do think so.. but if you look at the character, not just the surface representation, but the full character I think it's more like this:

Mal = Buffy
Zoe = Giles
Wash = Willow
Jayne = Spike
Kaylee = Xander
Simon/Book = Angel
Inara = Anya
River = Tara

Interesting choice for Wash... never felt Willow was the 'funny' one in that sense, or really anything like Wash (even without the funny I mean) Actually interesting choices all around.

Mal = Angel

Mal is kind of like an Angel-type that Joss could like (I think he's said that he didn't really get or like the Angel character) But in Mal I think he found a voice that fitted him better, one that he 'got'

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Interesting choice for Wash... never felt Willow was the 'funny' one in that sense, or really anything like Wash (even without the funny I mean) Actually interesting choices all around.

Describe the characteristics of Wash and describe the characteristics of Willow. He recited mantras to remain calm, he kept little toy playthings. He was laid-back with a dry sense of humor. He seemed at times less than heroic by not getting directly into the fray but when he needed to, when friends or family were in danger, he would act. He usually was the calming influences. The same description could be said of Willow. They were, in my eyes, the same character type.