Would You Have Still Watched

C

Cast No Shadow

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Another thread got me thinking, do you think you would still enjoy the show if it was 'John the Vampire Slayer'? Is it very important to you that she's a woman?

Of course we know it was important to Joss, but what about you?

There might not be an Angel or Spike, depending on his sexuality, but there could be similar female roles.

What do you think?
 
I still think I would've liked it. The show has a lot of interesting plots and characters, and that wouldn't be "ruined" just because Buffy wasn't Buffy. But we would've missed out on a lot of great things if she wasn't there. And I love that she is a girl, I do. It's refreshing and cool to see a woman play a part like that.
 
I don't know if I'd have still been interested in watching it, I think when I first saw it, I loved the idea of this little blonde girl kicking ass, that's what got me hooked 🙂 Not that I don't like seeing Angel and Spike kick some undead butt :evilgrin1 I just think it packs more of a punch when you a see this 16 year old blonde girl fighting evil with all this strength and confidence, it was different, usually their the ones running away, it was so refreshing to have the guys as the damsels in distress for a change! lol 😀
 
The gender of the lead role isn't important to me... I didn't start watching the show because the title of the show had to do with a girl. I started watching because I was intrigued by the characters and their interactions with each other.
 
L
Living Dead Boy
Ex-actly.
I think I would have liked it regardless.

But I do feel a huge connection to Buffy because she is a young girl, with all these responsibilities. And she handles them well. It sort of showed me that that was possible and made me apply it to my own life.

So maybe I wouldn't have had the same connection to it.
 
david4wt said:
Buffy without Buffy wouldn't have made the history of television. It would have been another Supernatural or Smallville (no offence to the fans of those) 🙂
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This, exactly. And since I've never seen either of those shows, the honest truth is that I probably wouldn't watch this one either. I mean I'm mostly basing my answer on the evidence, you know? 😱

At the same time, the premise would still be very interesting and maybe if it received the same praise and loyal supporters that Buffy did, I would end up watching and liking it just the same. But there'd still need to have some strong female characters in the mix for me to be really drawn in. At least two!
 
D
dexeded
[No message]
If it still had the quippy banter, yup, I would have watched.

Now if the Scoobies' resident computer geek would have been William who later on became a warlock... that might have been more of a question in my case. I know that I definitely was hooked to the show due to Willow. In an Eskimo costume. (Yes, I started watching with Inca Mummy Girl, and still was hooked. So there. 😛)
 
To be honest, I think I probably watched it because it was a girl. BUT I was young when I first saw it and the only reason the fact that it was a girl appealed to me because I was in a sort of 'it HAS to be girls' phase. If anyone know what I mean... y'know when you're young and you don't want to read a book from a boys POV or vice versa if you're a boy, and would only read 'girl books' or watch 'girl shows', sorta thing? Or is it just me? Well I was like, 6 or 7 or something when it first aired so I was like that. But nowadays I think I would have watched it regardless of the main character's gender. But don't get me wrong, the fact that slayers are women and the way they deal with women in the show is mega important to me and I don't think it'd have quite the same affect on me now had it been a man.
 
R
Ripper666
[No message]
Bexieh said:
To be honest, I think I probably watched it because it was a girl. BUT I was young when I first saw it and the only reason the fact that it was a girl appealed to me because I was in a sort of 'it HAS to be girls' phase. If anyone know what I mean... y'know when you're young and you don't want to read a book from a boys POV or vice versa if you're a boy, and would only read 'girl books' or watch 'girl shows', sorta thing? Or is it just me? Well I was like, 6 or 7 or something when it first aired so I was like that. But nowadays I think I would have watched it regardless of the main character's gender. But don't get me wrong, the fact that slayers are women and the way they deal with women in the show is mega important to me and I don't think it'd have quite the same affect on me now had it been a man.
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Nope, I had that phase too. Boys smell!
 
B
Bexieh
[No message]
Some strong overlying themes would have been completely different so it's hard to say. Plus the show without SMG's phenominal acting would not be as good in my opinion!!
 
well, my introduction was the movie, and despite it's absolute lack of depth, dimension and pure awesomeness compared to the show - it completely hooked me. And it it did so because it was a teenage blond teenager who transformed from being a shallow minded, popularity concerned cheerleader to a kickass vampire slayer. I love the reversal of stereotype that buffy represents. I've seen other shows like blade.... the guy vampire hunter and that's cool....But buffy....the blonde teenage girl - who is always the hunted in ever other horror scenario become the hunter. THIS is why I watch.
 
Now, I wouldn't mind at all. When I was younger I preferred to read books, play video games, watch movies, and television shows that had a female lead (mainly because I liked to imagine that I was the lead 😉). Now...I could care less haha. I mean it's always cool when a girl's the lead, but it won't put me off watching, reading, or playing something if it happens to be a guy. However, I do believe that it had to be a girl for this particular show. I mean if it hadn't been, I would not have been interested in Buffy...or, John. I might have watched an episode or two, but I don't think that it would have drawn me in like the real Buffy did.

---------- Post added at 10:27 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:20 AM ----------

kittenpoker said:
I've seen other shows like blade.... the guy vampire hunter and that's cool....But buffy....the blonde teenage girl - who is always the hunted in ever other horror scenario become the hunter. THIS is why I watch.
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I agree. I can't explain how happy it makes me that Buffy appears to fit the "dumb bimbo who gets killed in horror movie" stereotype...yet she's anything but dumb and she kicks ass. The show wouldn't have been very different from anything else at the time if the lead had been a guy.
 
I think one of the reasons Buffy is so beloved is because Buffy is a girl. It not only shows female empowerment, but it's also something fresh and different besides other shows like Supernatural and Smallville like someone mentioned where the main character/hero is a male.

I honestly probably wouldn't watch a "John The Vampire Slayer". If Buffy was a guy, it not only changes who the main character is, but also who his friends are which means, what about Willow and Xander? Or his Mom? Would John have that type of relationship with his Mom, or would it be his Dad with him? What about Spike and Angel?

It would be a different show entirely.
 
I'm not really sure, not because the gender of the characters matters, but the characters themselves matter. The entire reason I started watching the show was because of B/A. I watched because of their chemistry. I knew nothing of the show the first time I landed on it (the last 5 minutes of Becoming Part II). If Buffy and Angel hadn't existed, I don't know if I would have gotten hooked the way I did. In fact, I know I wouldn't have.
 
brinkster130
brinkster130
[No message]
Simply making the Slayer male and keeping everything/everyone else the same would almost certainly change the entire dynamic of the show, and I'm sure that it would not have appealed to me in the same way that Buffy did. The idea of the seemingly helpless little blond being the actual superhero was the show's greatest twist. Without that, it would have been more like "Walker, Vampire Slayer." (Sorry, Chuck. You know I love you, pal, but you just ain't Buffy) Still, I would probably have watched for the action and offbeat plots. I don't think, however, that I would have been as big a fan as I now am.
 
I would still have watched the shows I just do not know if they would have captured my heart so much. As it's been said the dynamics of the groups and show would have been different so I do not know if I'd still be watching it now.
 
No I would not have watched Buffy. The thing that got my interest was a tiny little adorable blonde girl kicking arse. Being the strongest person on the show. Being someone for me to look up to.

Other things held my attention longer than this, but without it, I never would have been interested.
 
Gum Gnome33
Gum Gnome33
Yeah I think this is pretty much it for me too
Probably not. BtVS is about female empowerment and defying the stereotype. If it were just Buffy changed to male, then I don't think I would've watched it. If, however, the entire series was genderbent, then I think there would've been more of a possibility of me watching it, then the inherently girly or manly characters would've been switched around--like a male Cordelia or female Angel. That would've been interesting. (Though if that happened, I doubt I would've loved Spike nearly as much as I do now.)
 
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