I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text.

Matt7325 | February 01, 20:08 CET

So... Topher is Joss?

VeryVeryCrowded | February 01, 20:14 CET

...and you're saying there's some connection between Ben and Glory?

filops | February 01, 20:41 CET

Short, but sweet article.

AnotherFireflyfan | February 01, 20:57 CET

Yes, Joss was Topher. And he was Edmond Dantes. And he was my father and my mother... my brother... my friend. He was you... and me. He was all of us...

(I know it's Evey's line but it felt apropos.)

alexreager | February 01, 21:05 CET

I wouldn't call it all that radical.

I mean, Joss isn't just Topher and Topher isn't just Joss. But that element is there.

WilliamTheB | February 01, 21:30 CET

Thought the show went out with a bang.

WheelsOfJoy | February 01, 21:37 CET

Joss/Topher totally should have figured out how to build a mind-bomb that could be detonated by remote. Some genius. :(

Sunfire | February 01, 21:52 CET

Yeah I thought about that too WheelsOfJoy but I think the author is talking about the public/media fanfare. Or more accurately, lack of fanfare. Did you see the news snippets of the 10,000 people that showed up for the opening episode of the LOST finale season? That's a "bang."

(Some day Joss will have his socko-boffo critically acclaimed mainstream smash hit and we're gonna hate the fact that everyone is a Johnny-come-lately, fair weather fan.)

alexreager | February 01, 22:01 CET

I agree with Sunfire; that beggared belief. The Trinity A bomb test was triggered remotely, as are IEDs in Afghanistan.

I liked the article.

janef | February 01, 22:06 CET

Eh, in earnest I think he wanted to die and Adelle was respectful enough of his wishes to let him go. I was just being tongue in cheek about all the JOSS=TOPHER stuff.

Sunfire | February 01, 22:11 CET

That link title made my brain do something funny. In a millisecond, I thought "omigawd! something else got cancelled?!?!" and jumped to "wait, what's left?". Before I realized the article in question was just about Dollhouse and not an announcement.

CaptainB | February 01, 22:25 CET

Oh, Topher is totally Joss, or at least parts of him.

ManEnoughToAdmitIt | February 01, 22:45 CET

This. The Whedon equivalent of Touch Heads.

eyes of the world | February 01, 22:52 CET

I disagree wtih the hating the bandwagon jumpers; the more Whedonites, the merrier, I say.

Don't tell me you don't have fun taking newcomers through the Whedonverse. One of my friends started with Dollhouse two months ago. He's now finished Firefly and up to the beginning of Buffy Season 5/ Angel Season 2. It's epically fun to randomly pull out an episode when he's watching it and watch it simultaneously. To get all the reactions from the jokes and plots and twists for someone elses first time? Good times.

But, getting friends addicted to shows I like is like my own personal drug, so...

Illyria | February 01, 23:36 CET

Joss is all the characters; all the characters are Joss.

"I am Joss Whedon!"

Pointy | February 02, 00:05 CET

No, i'm Joss Whedon ! *big sploosh of fake looking blood covers screen*

I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text.

It's true. I mean how many parachutes were there really ?

Saje | February 02, 00:09 CET

Agreed CarpeNoctem, there's nothing I love more than introducing a friend or family member to the Verse. However, I also agree with our Whedon-loving Grateful Dead fan, eyes of the world, with his Touch Heads comment. Touch Heads are the people who became Grateful Dead fans because they were pulled in by the only real commercially popular hit the Dead ever had, Touch of Grey. Touch Heads were blamed for changing the feel of a Dead show because they weren't fans of the Dead per se; the fans who were there first said Touch Heads were at the shows for that one song and the drug/alcohol filled scene.

The idea is that there's a specific feeling/sentiment that Joss evokes in his fandom--the article mentions how there's "always a ragtag pack of geeky underdogs who must save humankind." The way I see it, we are that ragtag pack of geeky underdogs and adding a few million fans to that mix overnight would most likely change the feeling of the fandom. (Maybe for the better maybe for the worse--but different nonetheless.)

alexreager | February 02, 00:19 CET

Very nice little article. One of the many reasons I like Slate is that the writers there, from what I recall, tend to be very Joss-friendly.

(I can't remember if it was from an article or one of their podcasts, but I do remember that one of the Slate writers said she loved Firefly partly because how wonderfully the show showcased a realistic interracial couple through Wash and Zoe.)

Also, I'm totally on board with the whole "Topher is Joss" thing.

MsPrufrock | February 02, 04:59 CET

I should have clarified - my questioning of the article is not because of the links between Joss and Topher (which there definitely are), but more because of their claim that Joss has admitted Topher was based on himself.

Matt7325 | February 02, 06:44 CET

Still havnt got Dollhouse in the sux world of Aussie poor tv. But keep it up Joss, dont let the Man get ya down. And when all else fails, Serenity sequel pleassssssssssssssee!

treenie | February 02, 07:23 CET

Nice little article. It's so hard to let this show go. :_(

Shey | February 02, 14:18 CET

treenie; Prequel? Explain to me what happened either between Objects in Space and Serenity (Counting comics as cannon, which they are) or before Firefly that could fill up at least 90 minutes. Sorry, I want a sequel for Serenity with maybe flashbacks, and a movie prequel for Epitah One/Two that takes place between Hollow Men And Epitah One, with flashbacks to Getting Closer and wherever else they're needed. Sry.

[ETA: I saw prequel not sequel. I'm really blind, sorry.]

[ edited by DeezyG on 2010-02-02 16:15 ]

DeezyG | February 02, 16:14 CET

Exactly, Mr. Reager, although I am only familiar with Dollhouse and Dr. H, so I suppose I am kind of a Dollhouse-touch-head. But I would like to see more of Joss's work. Touch Heads, when used derisively, referred to people who not only didn't get it, but didn't want to get it. They weren't interested in understanding what was underlying the scene that pulled everyone together. They were interested in getting drunk and inhaling nitrous, and generally had no understanding that drugs (not that there were any) were a means, not an end. So while others went to shows to tune into the vast interconnectedness among everyone in the audience and the band through the vehicle of the music, these folks were drunk, loud, obnoxious, and generally functioned along the lines of a black hole, sucking in the energy around them and degrading the experience for everyone. Umm, not that I have an opinion on that topic.

i.e. here - bringing in large numbers of people who want to discuss, analyze, theorize about, and enjoy Joss's work = good. Endless posts about what actor/actress is/isn't hot, who is dating whom, and paparazzi pics = not so good.

Edit: Not that I don't wish Joss every commercial success. Just saying that it would likely bring certain changes.

[ edited by eyes of the world on 2010-02-02 17:27 ]

eyes of the world | February 02, 17:18 CET

The recent cancellation of Dollhouse caused me to pull out my DVD's of both Serenity and Firefly. I was among those who watched Firefly on Fox, and admit I had a tough time follwing the storyline at the time as they ran the shows in such a haphazard fashion.

Watching Firefly in the correct order gave me more of an appreciation of what a gem of a series this was, and how wrong Fox was to cancel it. I could only imagine what a long life it would have had on a network like SyFy, and I even believe the Serenity conclusion would have been included had the show been given a run as long as Battlestar Galactica recieved.

The beauty of Dollhouse is that it reawakened my longing for more of Joss Whedon's genius.

Riverine | February 02, 19:11 CET

Riverine: Serenity was meant to be the plot to season two. Joss planned 7 seasons of Firefly. So obviously, it would have included, even if it had only been given half the life of Battlestar.

DeezyG | February 04, 20:05 CET