Good synopsis of the shows and their strengths.

"DISCLAIMER: Yes, this is a blatant attempt to get more readers stumbling through my lovely little blog by writing about a man with a large Internet fan base, especially the wonderful folks at Whedonesque (I lurk), but it also comes from genuine affection for the man's work."

I'm a sucker for honesty. I've started checking out the rest of his blog already.

newcj | March 12, 20:20 CET

Who is this Joss Whedon anyway?

Thank you, Simon. Very good read.

Madhatter | March 12, 21:34 CET

Maybe he's related to Joe. Joe Sweden, I mean.

By the way, searching for Joe Sweden (I'm like Neo, man) took me to this link:

WHEDONesque : Browse by category : joss
Our man Joe Sweden strikes again. Mostly to re-clarify that he really, seriously, guys, will NOT be at DragonCon. (Reg. req.) ...
whedonesque.com/tag/joss - 31k - Cached - Similar pages

gossi | March 12, 23:11 CET

That was an excellent,perceptive read. Thanks,Simon for finding it for us to enjoy. A big "Hats Off " to Mr.Cowgill!
Well done!

AncientMagicks | March 13, 01:10 CET

Cheers :). It is a well written piece of work. One of the best features I've read in the last few years about Joss and his creations.

Simon | March 13, 01:17 CET

I believe Variety referred to it as a "space oater."

What a strange term. Space Western, yes. Space opera, yes. Variety's slang is weird.

But cool articles, and nice to see that there will always be people who appreciate Joss' shows.

[ edited by Razor on 2006-03-13 00:11 ]

Razor | March 13, 02:07 CET

Funny...when I was a kid a western movie was often called a "horse opera"...some comics I used to read, if they had outer-space elements with good guys versus bad guys, were sometimes referred to as "space operas" (which confused the hell out of me till I got the reference)...and here we are back to "space opera"...regarding oaters, if I'm not mistaken, that's a reference to the dietary regimens of the horses in the westerns. Horses eat oats, horses are essential to westerns, hence, a movie about the old west, an "oater".

Very enjoyable link, thanks, Simon.

Chris inVirginia | March 13, 02:58 CET

That was really great. I feel like any non-fans should read that...except for the spoiler-y bits, of course.

UnpluggedCrazy | March 13, 03:22 CET

Yeah, I've seen "oater" before in non-Variety contexts. Okay, only in crosswords, but still.

KernelM | March 13, 03:56 CET

Horses eat oats, horses are essential to westerns, hence, a movie about the old west, an "oater".

Interesting.. Pass the fruity oaty bars around.

gossi | March 13, 03:58 CET

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, I LOVE Variety slang.

I mean, which sounds more fun and approachable, a "President" or a an elfin "Prexy"? Which sounds more fully in control, an ordinary "director" or an swashbuckling "helmer"?

bobster | March 15, 04:39 CET