If I can attribute my nerdism to a few things, it would have to be video games, movie knowledge, Kevin Smith, and Joss Whedon.

Be a brown coat and click the comic.

Where Were You When You Heard The News?

I can remember the day that I heard the news, I was quite possibly the last of the Whedon fans to find out, and considering I wasn’t doing this yet; I wasn’t really on top of it as much as I am now. It was Sunday, April 24th, 2011, Chuck and I had just gotten out of the theaters after seeing Thor. A movie that took us traveling between multiple movie theaters so that way we could find one that wasn’t 3D, because I had read that the 3D was poor, and the movie was better in 2D, and F@%$ 3D! Never in my life had I thought I would hear the words “No, we are only showing it in 3D,” and thank god, the fad is almost over; I will likely never have to hear those words again.

Tell me it is only in 3D, one more time.

Anyhow, we were driving home and talking about our surprise with the film, an how weren’t quite sure if Thor was good because we thought it would suck, or because it was actually good. I still haven’t seen it a second time, I’m afraid the answer would be the former, and I’m just not ready for that. None the less, the topic got onto the Avengers, and how Thor turning out good (which before would have appeared to be an impossible task) had set the bar high for the ultimate Marvel movie.

I had also recently gotten a smart phone, and I decided to do what I usually did when discussing an upcoming film and check out IMDB. I like to find out who was writing the script and who was directing it, typically this will tell me what I could expect from the movie currently being discussed. I pulled up the IMDB page while Chuck patiently waited because he didn’t know who was behind it either, the next sound that came out of me can only be described as a stuttering gasping squeal followed by a series of ‘oh my god’ ‘oh my god’ –

SQUEEE!

Chuck didn’t know what the hell had just happened, and I couldn’t gather myself in a way to tell him for a few moments. So, he just stared in a confounded manner and waited it out, finally I was able to say “Joss Whedon!” and he understood. He has told me that it is a particular moment he is likely to never forget. I don’t act that way, and he had never seen me actually nerd-out about anything, even stuff I love.  Yet I have never hidden my appreciation for Joss Whedon, and he is well aware of that. The name was all he needed, and he understood everything.

Why Do I Love Joss Whedon?

Well, because the large majority of his stuff is amazing and holds a special place in my life. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a show I had disregarded after the movie, that is until my Mom started watching it during about half-way through its first season. You see, I had this thing with my Mom, we had a few shows we would watch together, and it kept up that way until I moved out. Buffy was one of those shows, later Angel, we also had Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis, and a few others. Those were important times for me, even in my rambunctious and retarded teenager years, I always appreciated the simple times with my Mom, and I think she too understood that those were our shows (it especially became a thing with Stargate and Angel).

I have since gone back and seen Buffy and Angel about 3 times each, and I still think that Angel was a much tighter and overall better show. It never did hit its lull period, and ended in a particular way that was perfect for the show. Angel has, to this day, one of the most perfect series finales, and while I love the hell out of Buffy, I for some reason ended up liking the spin-off show more. Angel was even the very first series I bought on DVD. I over-drafted my account to do so, and I had used those DVDs to get two of my later roommates into the series. Two roommates who laughed at me for having it, and didn’t understand how I could love such garbage. Well, after the first episode, we made a marathon of it, and I relished in the glory every time they asked me to put in the next DVD.

Even then though, I didn’t quite know of Joss Whedon. I was watching his shows, but just like many other creators of TV, he wasn’t on my radar yet. It honestly wasn’t until much later when a lady that worked at Blockbuster suggested I give the sci-fi movie Serenity a look (Yeah, even at that time, Blockbuster was occasionally a good place to go for movies. The people that worked there back in the glory days were like your own personal Netflix suggestions). When I saw the movie, I immediately fell in love with all of the characters, I didn’t know a thing about Firefly at the time, I knew it was a sci-fi show that didn’t last long, and really got no press what-so-ever, but outside of that. I had no knowledge, until Serenity showed me the way.

After I had seen the movie, I talked about it to a friend and he informed me that the movie was based on a show, the show being Firefly. I bought the DVD set that day and watched it in a single sitting, by the end of the last episode on the box set I felt depressed, I felt angry, I felt betrayed. How had I missed out on this show? How had most of America missed out on this show? 

FOX!!!!

I have now seen the series in its entirety about a good 30 times, I love every moment, every character, and every story. It is a rare sight to see a cast work so well together so quickly, and for a series to find its footing within the first episode that I was astounded by the fact that it was ever passed on by anyone (myself included). It was a very short run show, and much of the cast has gone on to other, more successful things, but all of them have said they would come back in a heartbeat if the show ever got the chance. That is a thing of beauty honestly, but also… after Serenity, it would be a bit difficult. I have gone back and seen the movie since the show, and to see some of those characters die, and to know that it was Joss Whedon saying goodbye to the series in his own way, really makes me sad.

It was Firefly that made me connect two other important shows in my life to Joss Whedon and it was then that I really became a fan. Dollhouse and Alien Resurrection aside, I appreciate the work he has done, and I will always put those three shows on a pedestal. I have also seen Joss Whedon’s comic book work, the Astonishing X-Men is a great piece of work, and the first time I really learned to love Beast and Kitty Pryde. Whedon is a fan too, he is a fan of the Marvel universe, and he is a man with comic book experience. My fandom aside, I have great hope for the Avengers, because it is being done by someone that has television, movie, and comic book experience and has had great success in all of those avenues. The Avengers will be awesome, and that’s because: Joss Whedon.

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