In reality, movies are really just glorified three part episodes with a big special effects budget and expensive casting. Television as a medium can do so much more than a movie ever could, because of the serialized nature of TV. The entire Buffy world is more than just her killing vampires; it is much too complex to be a two hour movie.There are spoilers ahead, for those who have not seen the entire series.
Here are 10 important things a “big damn movie” will miss.
- Too Buffy Focused - The problem is that Buffy will be the center of the project. While I do enjoy her character, the ensemble nature of the show allows it to standout as a television masterpiece. The Buffy universe isn’t just about Buffy. Will she be the only major television character to be featured in the movie? Or will they could go down the Twilight road and include Angel? Anyway working in great and iconic characters like Anya, Spike, Tara, and Faith may be a bit problematic. And what about the whole Dawn thing, will she have a little sister in the movie? I can see how they can work Xander, Willow, Cordelia and Giles into it, but not much of the supporting cast.
- Repeat Much? – I guess a movie would have to start as an origin story. Isn’t that what the original 1992 movie does? Will it be Welcome to the Hellmouth Redux? Will it go another direction? Do we need another origin story?
- Evolution – The characters all have made major changes over time. Willow becomes a confident witch, comes out of the closet, and goes dark; this couldn’t be conveyed in a film version. How about Angel losing his soul, by having sex with Buffy? The Angel/Buffy thing couldn’t have a payoff in a two hour adaption. A movie Giles will be a stiff serious librarian guy, without any signs of Ripper or any type of complexity.
- Relationships – I love how relationships grew throughout the series. Not only in romantic ways, but platonic friendships as well. A large part of the Buffy story is how she has family and friends to support her in her duties as slayer. The concept of a “chosen family” was a major theme of the series. This type of group dynamic could not be appropriately formed and solidified within a single movie.
- Little Room for Experimentation – We couldn’t have a Hush, Restless, the Body, Once More with Feeling or anything that transcends the teen horror genre.
- No Angel the Series – A big Buffy movie will miss the great things that happened in tandem with the Angel spinoff. The crossovers were interesting additions that expanded the world and yet both shows developed their own vibe. The character arcs that span both series, such as Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Spike, and Faith will never get full coverage in a movie.
- Intertexuality – One of my favorite things about Buffy is how it rewarded you for being a fan, by often referring to itself. Although it wasn’t perfectly done, Xander being caught in a lie 5 years later on Willow telling Buffy to “kick his (Angel) ass.” Or the way dreams depicted in episodes such as Restless plays on past and future events in meaningful ways. I also like the way that “crazy in the basement Spike” was visited with visions of all of the former season long villains in season 7. A movie could never make these type of things payoff.
- No High School – The little bit I read about the reboot, said it wouldn’t take place in high school. The “high school as hell” metaphor made the first three seasons spectacular.
- Big Bad? –The villains won’t be at the same level with the “Big Bads” that the series introduced. Dealing with them throughout the season brings more emotional investment than killing a nemesis in two hours.
- New Cast- No matter how great the new cast is, they will always be compared to the people that played the same parts on television. No matter who is the Buffy, we will be disappointed, unless Sarah Michelle Gellar gets a time machine and plays the part herself.
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