Today, March 10th, 2017, marks the 20th anniversary of the official premiere of Joss Whedon’s enduring and iconic TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Underestimated and misunderstood by many from the beginning, Whedon’s humble series featured on the fledgling WB network quickly earned a loyal viewership and critical praise with its charismatic cast, clever and witty dialogue, and uber-relatable premise of high school as Hell. Twenty years later, Buffy’s popularity remains strong through its presence on Netflix, its canon comic book continuation currently being published by Dark Horse Comics, and the various impacts the series has had on pop culture, including contributing to the increase of female-led action pieces in current genre entertainment like The Hunger Games, Jessica Jones, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and many more.
Joss Whedon knows how to shock and awe. He is a master of the dramatic, the epic, and the apocalyptic. An average Whedon episode of television is filled with star-crossed love, heartbreaking loss, selfless heroism, sudden betrayal, bring-you-to-tears humor, looming suspense, and a healthy dose of kick-ass ass kicking.
I was still living overseas when Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on televisions across America in the spring of 1997. I missed the initial interest at the time of its broadcast, and the series has only recently come to my attention because of its accessibility on Netflix and my being colleagues with the #1 Buffy fan. (I’m looking at you, Bryant!) As the resident Buffy the Vampire Slayer newbie who has just finished watching the first season, I admit I wish I would have actively sought this show out much sooner. It’s not like I’m not familiar with Joss Whedon – I have watched Firefly (LOVED IT!) and Angel (the first two seasons, so now the pieces are starting to coming together) – and his innate skill at creating engaging characters that audiences quickly grow to care about, so I am glad that I’m coming to the franchise at this point – better late than never! As a result, I found there are several aspects of this midseason replacement show (It replaced a cancelled show, Savannah.) to appreciate and enjoy. In Season 1, the characters, themes, and social commentary were all factors that resonated with me as I watched the first twelve episodes (out of 144) and became familiar with the show.
Losing a beloved pop culture icon is always an occasion filled with sorrow and pain, but the circumstances seem even more cruel when we lose talented and creative artists from our community who still seem to have so much left to give to their craft and so many more years to share with family, friends, and fans. This sentiment definitely rang true over the past weekend, as news broke regarding the heartbreaking loss of prolific actor Bill Paxton. Passing at the all-too-early age of 61, confirmation of Paxton’s death occurred on Sunday, February 26, 2017, and the following statement was released by a representative for the family:
At Fanbase Press, we love #CelebratingFandoms of every entertainment medium, which is why we were so excited to learn about Geekscape's latest podcast, Seven of Wine! Part discussion podcast and part love letter to Star Trek: Voyager, Seven of Wine pairs a new episode of the TV series with an "episode-appropriate" bottle of wine for what is sure to be a lively conversation! Be sure to check out the show's official press release below and check out the first episode to celebrate your love of Trek!
Note: This essay is the result of the collaborative contribution of Alan McGreevy and Christina Fawcett.
Nostalgia gaming - appealing to players and the recent decades of gaming culture - has gained a greater foothold in the past year as the NES Classic launched in November. In addition, a Final Fantasy VII relaunch was announced for this summer, Bomberman has been announced for the Nintendo Switch, and Blizzard has just released a pixelated Diablo portal back to an earlier time in a time-limited special event entitled “The Darkening of Tristram.”
I first met actor Richard Hatch at a Hollywood Collector’s Show held at the Marriott Hotel in Burbank, CA, in October of 2009. Soft spoken and engaging, he immediately exuded charm as a warm smile graced his face. Although he had a long television career that touched on several of the most popular shows of the time, he was still Captain Apollo from the original Battlestar Galatica television movie and series (1978 -1979) to me. Hearing of his passing on Tuesday, February 7, at the age of 71, felt akin to losing a long-time friend.
The wait is almost over. I sit on the couch with my Chihuahua, Rocco, in my lap, wearing my granny shawl and Batman sweats. My boyfriend, Scott, is to my right, hootin' and hollerin'; it's the one time of year he acts like a caveman! It's Super Bowl Sunday! Or, as I like to call it: "The Lady Gaga Concert with Fun Commercials." Yay!
Barbara Hale, the last remaining main cast member from the classic 1950s-60s Perry Mason television show passed away on January 26, 2017, at the age of 94. Perry Mason has nearly always been a part of my life. As a little kid, it creeped me out because of the murders and the iconic theme song. As I got older, I found I liked the courtroom stuff. And Barbara Hale's Della. I really liked Della.
On January 27th, film legend John Hurt had passed away after battling pancreatic cancer. An old guard-generation actor with a career spanning sixty years, Hurt had a legacy with a profound impact on pop culture.