Whedonesque : Comments on 10833 : Jane Espenson reports that Joss had a pink mesh backpack,

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July 11 2006

Jane Espenson reports that Joss had a pink mesh backpack, which she found adorable. This is from Jane's ongoing online seminars about screenwriting, and it's used to explain the power of analogies in stage directions and dialogue.

"Also, I seem to remember that Joss used to have a pink mesh backpack and I always thought it was adorable. (One of the many reasons why Joss is cool is his unashamed love of things like pink mesh backpacks.) Anyway, part of the glory of the pink mesh backpack is that it can go into the washing machine smelling like a dead fisherman, and when you pull it out again it's as fresh as the silk rose pinned to a debutante's dress."

This is my first front-page post, and I should probably be horsewhipped for choosing this to debut. But it made me laugh, I tells ya, as Jane always does, and that's hard currency for me. (I wanted to mark this as "containing spoilers" but I see now that that would be wrong...)

QuoterGal | Cast&Crew | 07:48 CET | 46 comments total | tags: adorable, pink mesh, firefly, angel, btvs, writer, jane espenson, joss

Some guy made a comment on this bag when Joss brought it to the Chicago Comicon a few years back and Joss, without missing a beat, responded to why he had it with this classic line:

"Because I'm a girlie man!"

The entire place roared with laughter,

leaveittoreaver | July 11, 08:19 CET

The one I saw him carrying was the same one that Dawn carried in 'Once More With Feeling': a clear plastic and very girlie looking back pack.
I always enjoy Jane Espenson's posts, she is very funny.

embers | July 11, 08:48 CET

Huh. Now that I think about it, I recall that in the DVD commentary for the OMWF episode, Joss mentions that he supplied the backpack used in the episode, because his backpack was the sort a 14-y-o girl might have.

I'm with Jane -- Joss is one of the men that has the eggs to carry a backpack like this, which is not only adorable, but kinda hot. Though the votes are in on that already -- any guy that feels free to admit that one of his favourite books is Frances Hodgson Burnett's A Little Princess is already radically cool, with girl-creds to spare.

QuoterGal | July 11, 09:47 CET

He carried it around Wonder Con and Comic Con last year. It is pink plastic, not mesh. I'm just saying.

TamaraC | July 11, 11:17 CET

QuoterGal, you can never go wrong linking to Jane Espensony goodness on the front page here, IMO! ;-)

billz | July 11, 11:30 CET

TamaraC, you win at GEEK!

So, what colour are Joss' tights? Google won't tell me :-(

gossi | July 11, 12:11 CET

There are men who DON'T carry pink back-packs?

What kind of bizarro world did I wake up in?

Kentonist | July 11, 12:27 CET

"So, what colour are Joss' tights? Google won't tell me :-( " -- gossi

They are red satin and worn with lace-up boots. And he's fightin' for our rights.

QuoterGal | July 11, 12:42 CET

When he's in the tights, does Joss do the spin as well as Nathan does? ;-)

billz | July 11, 12:50 CET

Kentonist,

I don't know, but it's not one I want to live in.

TheDivineGoat | July 11, 12:54 CET

"When he's in the tights, does Joss do the spin as well as Nathan does? ;- " -- billz

No, but that's because he's busy writing. Nathan can twirl, but Joss can write.

"WHEDON: I am having enormous trouble with the [“Wonder Woman” movie] script. It’s going very well and I’m loving life, but because it’s only at script stage and there will be no discussion of casting before, I don’t really deal with that. No, it’s weird, I’m in my office and it’s just me.
BENDIS: Are you dressed as Wonder Woman?
WHEDON: Occasionally.
BENDIS: Okay, because that was the other rumor.
WHEDON: Whatever it takes to get me in the mood."

-- Wizarduniverse.com, 6/12/06

QuoterGal | July 11, 13:26 CET

I remember seeing the knapsack in the video for the Con and yes, it really was the one Dawn had. I am amazed however at what a tough knapsack it appears to be- it has lasted a long time.

Lioness | July 11, 15:55 CET

Stylish and durable. And that's why Joss is Boss.

miri47 | July 11, 19:37 CET

I was in Hall H last year a couple of hours after the Serenity panel and I saw a guy walking by he had a clear pink bag with TONS of Serenity stuff in it then I realized it was actually Joss.

Hey look at me I am not flouncing anymore!

pj3077 | July 11, 19:44 CET

Maybe pink is a lucky color for him. I was also present for the crowd cheering pink bag moment in Chicago. Joss is so cool in everyway.

cheryl | July 11, 20:03 CET

Real men wear pink? No. Real men carry pink accessories.

YellowBear | July 11, 20:19 CET

Actually it was plastic AND mesh. So your both right.

The Hey | July 11, 21:20 CET

Hey look at me I am not flouncing anymore!

I'm sure that has some hidden meaning...surely Joss doesn't flounce with his pink backpack, because that would just be too much!

Rogue Slayer | July 11, 21:32 CET

"Quiz: Why is House named House? Answer coming soon."

I was pondering this very question today. House saves people = Safe as houses. Best I got.

Also: PINK BACKPACK!

Update: Oh. It's already up.

"Hi! Last time I asked if y'all know why Dr. House is named 'House.' Maybe this is common knowledge, and I suppose it's possible that it's apocryphal. But here's what I heard. I heard that 'House' is like 'Homes,' i.e. 'Holmes.' Hee! Isn't that great?"

[ edited by betwixt on 2006-07-11 20:47 ]

betwixt | July 11, 22:37 CET

I just about fell out of my chair when they showed that House's address is 221B...

miri47 | July 11, 23:11 CET

Watson - Wilson, :-)

Caroline | July 11, 23:14 CET

miri47, i've had a long day at work so i'm not seeing the 221B reference...clue me in?

YellowBear | July 12, 01:23 CET

That might make Cuddy Mrs Hudson and the Housettes the Baker Street Irregulars. Or, y'know, not ;).

I saw it was 221 but I didn't see the B. Does he live in flat B or something ? Too cool. Sort of full circle since, for those that don't know, Holmes was inspired by a diagnostician that Conan Doyle studied medicine under at Edinburgh, a Dr. Joseph Bell (who also gets a blink-and-you'll-miss-it-unless-you-listen-with-your-ears mention in S2/28 of Doctor Who).

And instead of the game being afoot, House has a gammy foot. Err, *coughs, shuffles feet*. I'll get me coat.

ETA: And it turns out Gregory means watchful, vigilant or maybe observant. OK, that's possibly a bit reachy.

[ edited by Saje on 2006-07-11 23:41 ]

Saje | July 12, 01:24 CET

It was in the episode with the young man with AIDS (House's "stalker"). I don't know the ep title, but when the guy comes to House's... house, there's one shot that shows the building behind House, and there's a 221B pretty clearly on the wall. (Oh, and for those not familiar with Conan Doyle, Holmes lived at 221B Baker Street.)

Actually, I just recently watched a thing with the cast/crew of House from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (sorry, I don't have the link anymore) that was a lot of fun, but it sounds like most of the folks are only superficially familiar with Holmes. (For example, I would point out that both characters share a flare for the dramatic, along with the obvious mysanthropy, hatred of boredom, and a certain penchant for narcotics...) Hugh Laurie talked about the similarities with Joseph Bell, too, and how the character has kind of come full-circle now, back to a physician.

[ edited by miri47 on 2006-07-12 00:36 ]

miri47 | July 12, 02:34 CET

Thanks! I had no clue Holmes had such an address. I love that they made that kind of reference.

YellowBear | July 12, 02:40 CET

I read a Peter David article in Comic Buyers Guide a few months ago and he was making comments about how similar House and Sherlock are and that he was certain the creator was having a fun in joke. Of course I had to run to google and see what i could find. Its obvious to me that he is either really, really, really sharp (were talking PAD here) or he just regurgitated some internet hubub. I vote for the latter but thats just a fun poke at our friend PAD (love you Peter).

Anyway, one of the internet articles quoted the creator of House as saying (paraphrasing), "Yes you idiots, of course its Sherlock. All this excitement and debate ..... all they had to do was ask me."

Sometimes I wish Joss would have the same tact with regards to all the inside 'verse secrets rolling around in his idea machine. (The rest of us just have plain-old-garden-variety brains)

And no real comment on the backpack, other than maybe hoping it will be auctioned on Ebay some day, for charity. Then every time they show the scene where Dawn is dumping out the backpack, the lucky owner could say, "Hey thats my newly purchased backpack...yeah, that exact one!" cool.

alexreager | July 12, 02:57 CET

Yeah, how could you not notice that HOUSE was Holmes with six Watsons? I mean, ok, there's a piano instead of a violin, but the drug addiction's pretty much the same. [grin]

My favorite play on "221B Baker Street", though is Dorothy L. Sayer's when she gave Lord Peter Wimsey's address as "110A Piccadilly". Just like HAL being a step ahead of IBM.

kli | July 12, 03:25 CET

Back in September of last year, Hugh Laurie did an interview on "The Treatment" and discussed the Holmes influence. You can find the audio archive here:
http://www.kcrw.com/cgi-bin/db/kcrw.pl?show_code=tt&air_date=9/7/05&tmplt_type=show

yourlibrarian | July 12, 03:41 CET

Oh dear, kli, I never noticed that HAL was a step ahead of IBM, am I the slowest person on the planet? And how far OT can we get from the pink mesh back pack?

embers | July 12, 04:53 CET

"And how far OT can we get from the pink mesh back pack?"

Haha, how great is it that "pink mesh backpack" is the topic. This thread rot was caused by my lack of knowledge of Sherlock Holmes. But...

House saves people = safe as houses. IT MAKES PERFECT SENSE!

betwixt | July 12, 05:59 CET

Today, Jane satisfies the tease:

"Last time I asked if y'all know why Dr. House is named "House." Maybe this is common knowledge, and I suppose it's possible that it's apocryphal. But here's what I heard. I heard that "House" is like "Homes," i.e. "Holmes." Hee! Isn't that great?"

Just don't get me started on how IBM got involved with mass murder way before HAL's schizophrenic episode...

[Edit: I see betwixt already added that quote to his post, above. Call me bothered and bewildered! Or as Pogo da Possom's friends were named, 'Betwixt, Bothered and Bemildred', you may call me Mildred. ;-) ]

[ edited by napua on 2006-07-12 04:55 ]

napua | July 12, 06:49 CET

'Kay, now we’ve morphed from "pink mesh backpack" to "Pogo," which is some pretty surreal territory, stopping at Sherlock Holmes & House, with some twirling, Wonder Woman and Lord Peter Wimsey thrown in for good measure. How I enjoys y'all and your wandering dada minds...

(BTW, napua, I just purely love that you managed to work in a reference to the Okefenokee possum. There’s not a day goes by I don’t holler, as Albert the alligator once exclaimed, “My powerful brain done blowed itself up!” People look at me funny.

QuoterGal | July 12, 07:27 CET

And I frequently find myself singing (even out of season) "Deck the Halls with Boston Charlie"--and Boston Charlie was still another detective (though my fave is Sherlock, followed closely by Lord Peter)!

As for HAL and IBM, I knew that just ages ago! And, as another tenuous connection, I have a lavendar backpack. . . .

SangChaud | July 12, 08:48 CET

miri47, ah, very cool. Me and Hugh Laurie, clearly sympatico ;). Shame about the link, I don't think we got that show over here.

Did they broadcast 'Murder Rooms' in the US/abroad, BTW ? It was an excellent series of BBC dramas from a few years back featuring Conan-Doyle and Bell (played by the brilliant Ian Richardson) solving crimes together in Victorian Britain. Well worth rooting out for any fans of the world's (first) greatest detective.

FWIW, BTW, Arthur C Clarke denies that he got HAL by shifting IBM one letter back though I think most people believe this might be more to do with avoiding a lawsuit than what actually happened.

Saje | July 12, 13:17 CET

But what does Hugh Laurie have to do with Katie Holmes, is what I want to know. Oh wait...she's betrothed to Tom Cruise, and Hugh Laurie likes to 'cruise' on his motorcycles. All very clear to me now.

Now if I could just persuade Joss to write a House episode where he uses a pink backpack...that'd be hot.

Rogue Slayer | July 12, 19:46 CET

So Ben is Laurie?

alexreager | July 12, 19:52 CET

*rimshot*, LOL alexreager ;).

Saje | July 12, 20:02 CET

What the hell's a rimshot? The only thing I can think of has no place on this board!

lone fashionable wolf | July 12, 21:57 CET

What the hell's a rimshot? The only thing I can think of has no place on this board!

Oh lord, it's not what you're thinking! It has to do with striking the rim of a drum(and the head) with your drumstick. Like after a joke.

Rogue Slayer | July 12, 22:46 CET

"pa-dum dum"

newcj | July 12, 23:29 CET

Ah. Oops. Normally i'm as dirty minded as the next average male but that meaning had honestly never occurred to me.

Think I may stick with "pa-dum dum" for future sound effects ;).

Saje | July 13, 00:28 CET

I love this site. Just hilarious.

alexreager | July 13, 02:09 CET

My first thought had to do with basketball, which was equally confusing. You people have dirty, dirty minds :)
I think I'd spell it ba-dum pum, personally.

miri47 | July 13, 06:20 CET

lfw, so there with you :)

pink mesh + Joss Whedon = perfect bliss

Harmalicious | July 13, 08:20 CET

"I think I'd spell it ba-dum pum, personally."

I get that.

Now the big question. Why are animal sounds so different in different languages? Do the animals bark, howl, cluck, crow, etc. differently depending on what language the people nearby are speaking. It is a mystery, the answer to which I doubt is contained even Joss's pink backpack. (sigh)

newcj | July 13, 22:52 CET

OK, now I'm confused. Cows barking and pink ducks from France? I must have missed a topic or two.

I'm thrilled to hear Jane's thoughts. What a wonderful mind!

Madhatter | July 14, 01:49 CET

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