Whedon

Joss Whedon.

The very name evokes a lot of different feelings in a whole lot of people.

Joss, as his fans usually refer to him, created two of my all-time favorite television series: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.

I still remember how I found out about Buffy. I noticed the listing in the TV Guide and realized I had to check it out. That night, I had some news for my husband. "We're watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer tonight," I informed him. He gave me a funny look but figured I knew what I was doing. As it turned out, he liked the show just as much as I did.

I was enthralled with Buffy, and later, with Angel. Joss did some incredible things with both series. Who would have thought a musical episode would work? Joss thought so, and it did. An episode with very little dialogue was even better; "Hush" was both absolutely hilarious and incredibly creepy. One of my favorite episodes of Angel was about puppets. I never knew what to expect, but I knew it would work.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer lasted seven seasons and ended in 2003. After five seasons on the WB, it moved to UPN. Angel, which began three years later than Buffy's premiere, ended in 2003 after a five-year run on the WB. These two shows introduced me to some of my favorite actors, and Joss has included many of them in his other ventures.

Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer became a series, it was a movie. The history and basic premise were carried over into the series, but with all new actors and mostly new characters. Now, a new Buffy movie is supposedly moving forward, but without Joss.

Buffy without Joss?

That's hard to imagine.