If Buffy and Angel were airing on tv today

B

buffy2015

Townie
Joined
Sep 1, 2015
Messages
48
Age
33
How well do you think the shows would hold up against the shows we have today like the vampire diaries, Teen Wolf, and supernatural? Do you think they would both be just as popular as they are now or less popular? I'm just curious. The shows on today are pretty popular
 
They would be fantastic because they already hold up well. I like Supernatural but they kinda do the same thing a lot. The other vampire shows have just been all sorts of love triangles - amongst beautiful people. There isn't a single strong character that matches up with Buffy. Good, evil and grey are not covered. Sorry - not a fan of most of these shows - they just irritate me and make me want to watch Buffy or Angel.

Buffy had that knack of twisting things, and bringing realizations. Even the romance issues Angel/Angelus took the show in different directions. Besides - they all have outs - rings of amara, good/bad switch, fairies....
 
buffy2015 said:
How well do you think the shows would hold up against the shows we have today like the vampire diaries, Teen Wolf, and supernatural? Do you think they would both be just as popular as they are now or less popular? I'm just curious. The shows on today are pretty popular
Click to expand...
Not at all. I dont think it would. Unless you mean if they remade it today.. but even if they made it fresh today it would not be the same show it was... life, at least in America, was much different then and the show reflects that. To air it as a 'current' series it would feel out of place. So much of the show was a product of it's time. So much of what made it feel unique would be commonplace today.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Not at all. I dont think it would. Unless you mean if they remade it today.. but even if they made it fresh today it would not be the same show it was... life, at least in America, was much different then and the show reflects that. To air it as a 'current' series it would feel out of place. So much of the show was a product of it's time. So much of what made it feel unique would be commonplace today.
Click to expand...
no I didn't mean if they remade it. I meant like if it was airing new episodes today the way it is now.
 
buffy2015 said:
no I didn't mean if they remade it. I meant like if it was airing new episodes today the way it is now.
Click to expand...
The same answer. There is no way the low production value and the plots would be seen as anything but a joke for many of the seasons. Maybe 5 on could compete, but not the whole series.

EDIT:
I mean even some of the fans of the show on this board complain about the first seasons and their episodes, and they are fans. So.. no, it wouldnt.
 
I think that the stories, acting, writing, and directing would hold up quite well, plus, given the advances in CGI, the "demon of the week" wouldn't have to just be some stunt man in a rubber suit, which tended to get a bit boring at times on the original show. Then, if only someone would gag Joss, so that he wouldn't piss off the studio execs so much, we might have a show that would go on for 10 Seasons or more.
 
I think if it came out it would still be good. Some of those shows really to much on Special effects & relationships. Not the series itself.
Buffy was different so I think so . Plus with so many other shows out there they be able to more than before what with it being so different
& the network not wanting to push things plus better CGI.

I mean when they re released Star Wars they did some things they couldn't do the first time.
 
Mr. Pole said:
Not at all. I dont think it would. Unless you mean if they remade it today.. but even if they made it fresh today it would not be the same show it was... life, at least in America, was much different then and the show reflects that. To air it as a 'current' series it would feel out of place. So much of the show was a product of it's time. So much of what made it feel unique would be commonplace today.
Click to expand...

My 13 year old granddaughter - middle school and social and all the tech - loves it because it has more depth and makes her think. Hell, there was an article recently about the resurgence of the show. I think it could be done.
 
Well it did have more bite no pun intended so I agree with you there . But they would have to get the right actors & not just
pretty faces like a lot of shows do .
 
From my pov the acting still holds up well and the script is sharper than most 'teen targeted' shows that are on today- looking at tVD or Arrow or The Flash, with lots and lots of clunky dialogue- would just make Buffy stand-out more.
As for FX- today they would be looked down upon but somebody discerning enough- my niece for example- doesn't care about that retro look if the stories hold up. Just like Star Trek OS or Doctor Who.
 
That true . All the special effects are useless if there not a good story & that what Buffy has in spades.
 
If it was airing today it would have one major advantage to it's original airing time and that is the now mainstream nature of geek culture. Everyone is into superheroes or fantasy shows or whatever else. So it wouldn't be instantly dismissed because of it's genre. On the flip side of that is that the market is now saturated with similar shows so it would struggle not to get lost in the shuffle.

Really it's a case of anyone who could look past the dated effects, fashion and difference in day to day technology would be in for a treat because the stories, characters and dialogue are still awesome.
 
But it might be up to date too. And if it is then look out 😀
 
bespangeled said:
My 13 year old granddaughter - middle school and social and all the tech - loves it because it has more depth and makes her think. Hell, there was an article recently about the resurgence of the show. I think it could be done.
Click to expand...
I still dont buy it. If it never aired before and its suddenly airing next to Supernatural, Teen Wolf and Vampire Diaries it would be called an out-of-date ripoff.
 
Dear god I've tried watching those shows and the writing can't hold a candle to Buffy, even at it's worst. Buffy's 'trick' was that it could go from drama to sharp/clever comedy without ruining the underling story. An art many of todays show just haven't mastered imo.

God only knows how Supernatural manages to have survived all these years, and imo It's awful....
 
Last edited:
Silverspike said:
Buffy's 'trick' was that it could go from drama to sharp/clever comedy without ruining the underling story.
Click to expand...
Yeah this is it. I think Buffy has ruined a lot of other TV for me because it set the bar so high. It's the excellent mix of characters, story, dialogue and ability to play with emotions. Most stuff I watch just seems to fall flat on one or all of these sections.
 
I have to agree with you there . There few shows that have held my attention like Buffy did. Those other shows are good but I don't get
worried if I miss some of them. I would take the phone off the hook when Buffy came on.
 
I think what made it a success is that there weren't a lot of supernatural-y shows out there so everyone who liked that sort of thing watched it. I think a lot of people would be initially put off by the title and not watch it when there are so many other choices out there. Teen Wolf struggled with that. Also, I'm not sure the network would be as patient with the show nowadays and I think it would have been cancelled sooner.
 
And it would be set in the late 90's. How many people are going it sit and watch a new genre show set in the late 90's. All of the other shows mentioned above are present day, Buffy would not be. The 'fear of technology' themes in some of the earlier episodes would just come across as bad parody and comedy. As much as I like season one, if it were to air today, having never seen it before, I cant imagine liking it.
 
I don't think it would hold up to modern shows, if it was airing for the first time today. Firstly because BtVS is very much a show of the 90s. It speaks volumes about life in the late 90s and what it was like to be a teenager in the late 90s. Teenagers today face similar issues, but in a different way. Technology is at the forefront of everyone's lives. Buffy didn't even get a mobile phone til S5/6!

Modern shows, whilst they look good and have the budget behind them to do so, fail on the characterisations and emotions that BtVS did so well. But for the vast majority of TV viewers nowadays, how a show looks (or the starring roles) are more important than great storytelling.

TV has proven that period shows do work (Mad Men et al) but the difference being they are modern shows with a modern budget showing a set period of time, rather than a 90s show with a 90s budget showing that specific period of time. That's why stuff continually gets rebooted (usually to the detriment of the reboot), because people would rather see a 'new' version that's substandard, than an 'old' version that looks old.

Also, a lot of the love that the show has is not only for the great characters and writing, but also the nostalgia-factor. I love Buffy because I remember growing up in the same era, with the same dodgy fashion.

Sadly, I truly believe that if Buffy were airing S1 now, it would have been cancelled after 12 episodes. It would never find its feet and run with it.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
Exactly. Agree 100%
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom