Normally, The Correctness is an original content only kind of site, and we aren’t the sort to get all link happy. But I think this is a special occasion.

The Avengers trailer just hit.

I think this is an excellent opportunity for all of us Correct heads to get together and have a good old gab about what we think of it. I am particularly looking forward to Admin_Rock’s take on it, as he will be torn between his dislike of the Avengers and his love of Joss Whedon.

As for myself…Fucking LOVED it.

So what do you guys and gals think?

As part of our continuing service to you, The Correct, we continually find things for you to be in favour of. In our crazy, fast paced, webmanic society, it’s easy to miss something. Our “A Case For” series presents something (a TV show, film, Book, Band etc) that might deserve a look.

Admin Rock is a big fan of Joss Whedon, as evidenced by “A Case For Buffy” and his letter to Joss Whedon. Anybody who devotes so much time and effort to tell great stories while having abuse heaped upon them by the fanbois deserves some accolades.

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1. Something Different

The mix of old west and Star Trek. It’s the last frontier meets the final frontier. The characters are believable. The are gritty they have problems people can relate to. They almost never get along with each other. They all have little hang ups that make them a pain in the butt for each other to be couped up with in a broken down flying chicken of a space ship.

Admin_Rock: I love the use of new vs. old, the fact that there are broken down things and people in this universe. It gives a very real feeling. I never had a problem with Western Sci-Fi aspect. It gives the show a unique feel and creates some interesting quirks.

2. Backstory

They have a great back story. A civil war that encompasses all the planets in the galaxy. A Federation that wants to govern all the worlds and make them all better whether they like it or not. The outer rim worlds resist and are crushed. As a result we have the Captain. Mal Reynolds who is just barely keeping his ship in fuel and food in the galley, going world to world looking for any way to make a buck. Legal or other wise. Along the way the pick up some unlikely passengers that just keep staying on the boat. One a fugitive Doctor and his sister. The doctor has taken his sister from a government facility that has been using her as a weapon. A preacher that is often at odds with the captain over his career choices, and a prostitute who the captain harbors more than a fondness for.

Admin_Rock:Whedon is great at populating his shows with strong characters, all of whom have their own stories. Even the much maligned (unfairly) Dollhouse has big expansive story lines and rich characters. River’s past and Book’s past bring complications to the characters, and provide a through line for viewers to dig in to.

3. Serenity

The ship. The ship is like I said a flying chicken. It is broken down most of the time and is just a pile of spare parts. But the ship is like a central character itself.

Admin_Rock: I’m not sure I see the chicken, I always though Serenity looks more like a horse, or a saddle for same. I do love that it’s constantly in need of repair, that the crew quarters are small and cramped, and only accessible by a small hatch. The mess hall area looks like a farmer’s kitchen, which is awesome, and one of the main sets on the show is a big ol’ hangar.

4. Jayne

The man named Jayne. He’s rude, he’s crude, he wants to be in charge, & he has a IQ of sixty. He either wants to kill it or have sex with it. What’s not to like about a guy like that.

Admin_Rock: Jane is great. It’s pretty rare to have a main character with such a strong self-interest, to the extent where he occasionally screws over his own team when it suits him. He calls a spade a spade, and doesn’t knuckle under easily, though he’s a big fan of the chain of command.

5. Reavers

Reavers. They’re like a cross between zombies and the Borg. The fly around in space with unshielded reactors. They are completely mad. They catch you, then kill you and rape you but not in that particular order.

Admin_Rock: Reavers! Great bad guys, creepy and scary. What really sells them is that the crew are AFRAID of them. What makes the viewer concerned is that there is some kind of reaction to these guys. People whisper when they talk about them. If Serenity (the film) made a mis-step, it might have been giving them a solid origin, de-mystifying them. But still, REAVERS!

This show is well written. In fact I have talked several people into watching it and after they get past the pilot episode they are hooked. Lets face it, pilots are ground work shows and you need another episode to show how great you are. Why this show was dropped who can say.

Admin_Rock: For me, I was sold from the point in “The Train Job” where Mal tries to give the flunky the money and a message, and is thwarted. What happened next was a bit shocking, and made me say to myself “Well, this is a show I need to watch”. It plays with hero conventions well, it’s funny and exciting. Really sad it didn’t stick around longer.

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If you have a show or film or book or band you’d like to make a case for, we’d love to hear from you. Read the rules below, and drop us a line.

send you entries to admin@thecorrectness.com

Check out the previous installments to see how it’s done.

As part of our continuing service to you, The Correct, we continually find things for you to be in favour of. In our crazy, fast paced, webmanic society, it’s easy to miss something. Our “A Case For” series presents something (a TV show, film, Book, Band etc) that might deserve a look.

Our first installment “A Case For: Farscape” was presented by one of our regular readers, and we encourage that sort of behaviour. If you have something you’d like to make a case for, write it up and send it to us at admin@thecorrectness.com . See the end of the article for more info.

This week, we bring you A Case For Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Buffy and I go waaaay back. Originally, Buffy was a very strange and quirky film starring Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry. It was your typical teen comedy romance film, except for the part where the hero was a dumb cheerleader type who had a talent for killing vampires. There was a creepy and ominous Donald Sutherland as her Watcher, and she had cramps when vampires were near. What really sold the film for me was its quirky sense of humour. Paul Reubens is hysterical as the minion of the head vampire (Rutger Hauer!) His death scene belongs in some kind of hall of fame for character exits. You know what, this is getting a bit long winded. Go watch it, I’ll wait….. Okay, it was better than you remember, right?!!??

At any rate, it spawned a television show which lasted 7 seasons, and a network change. In fact, it’s still going on as a comic book series from Dark Horse, but I’m sure if I can get on board with that just yet.

For the Case, we’ll focus on the tv show. If you’ve never seen it, I both envy and pity you. Buffy is a rare sci-fi TV show that doesn’t suffer from a bad first season, or require any ramp up time to get to the good stuff. The first season starts strong, and things stay that way, or get even better, until about the end of the “Adam” arc (though on a second watch I found I liked the later episodes more than I remembered). We have a new family member added in the 5th season(a sister, nonetheless) , which is a “jump the shark” moment for many shows, but as we’ll see below, this is no ordinary show. Season 6 stands out with some of the best one-off episodes, and season 7 takes us out with a bit of a whimper, but a lot of flourish.

1. The Characters

Buffy’s characters are the reason for its success. The four core characters are all likeable and interesting. We have Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a strong but cheerful high school student, and her two closest friends, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) a shy, bookish girl, and Xander (Nicholas Brendon), a fumbling sharped tongued boy. Anthony Stuart Head (brother of Murray of “One Night in Bangkok” fame) plays Rupert Giles, Buffy’s Watcher (a teacher/mentor). Along the way, we pick up many more, a few boyfriends and girlfriends, a vampire or two, a vengeance demon and a sister/key.

Whedon’s power lies in his dialogue, and having a team to work with and off of suits his style perfectly. His ability to use pop culture references and nicknames makes the dialogue snappy and clever. And over the seasons, he uses the framework of characters to develop them and have them grow and change. The show deals with family, obligations, and the role of the individual within the group.

2. Perfect Tone

Buffy walks a fine line in tone, usually to perfection. A show filled with the supernatural and darkness could easily become morbid, slow, and gloomy. But Buffy balances that with hopeful characters, spirit and humor. We grow to love them, and root for them, even when things are looking hopeless, which is pretty much always. It’s a show that knows when to lead with a smaller card, rather than try to place the Ace every time.

There is a great variety of tone and emotion throughout the show, ranging from pathos to broad comedy. It wasn’t afraid to go for the throat, make you sad, or make you laugh. Sometimes, all three inside of a few minutes.

3. The Ladies

It should comes as no surprise that Buffy is filled with strong female characters. The ratio of female to male characters is at least 2 to 1, and they’re all taken seriously. There’s none of this Hollywood type feminism, which is having a woman talk tough, and later be saved by the man. The women of Buffy fight, solve the problem, back each other up, and do so without needing a man. One of the later seasons deals with Buffy’s new boyfriend having trouble coping with the fact that she’s much stronger than he is.

Trying to find a good segue from that last paragraph to showing you pictures of the hot girls now…. Ummmm…. they are strong and steadfast in their appearance as well? Screw it… here you go. By the way, this is now referred to as “Tbinnsing”

Buffy

Willow

Tara

Anya

Faith

Cordy

Dawn

4. Breaking Conventions

Buffy was never afraid to shake things up. There are some characters who don’t make it to the end, some change ups in the look and feel of the show, and a few episodes that throw the book of normal out the window. A few examples:

Hush (Season 4) The town is invaded by a group of creepy looking “gentlemen” who steal everyone’s voices. The episode is mostly silent, forcing the characters to find ways to exchange information. (Nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series).

The Body (Season 5) Buffy discovers a body. The implications of which change everything once again. A painful, somber, and uncomfortable hour of great storytelling.

Once More With Feeling: See point 5.

Tabula Rasa (Season 6) This one is completely overshadowed by the giant awesome musical that precedes it (See point 5), but is fantastic in it’s own right. The characters have their memories wiped by way of a spell, and spend most of the episode attempting to figure out who they are, and how they relate to one another. “We’re both English, we must be father and son”.

Conversations With Dead People (Season 7) The original part isn’t that the characters are visited by the dead, who bring messages to them, the original part is that one of them pyschoanalyzes Buffy between rounds, and that we’re left at the end unsure of what was real and what wasn’t.

5. Once More With Feeling

This may very well be the strongest episode of episodic television yet. I realize that seems like a strong boast, but, seriously, this thing is amazing. Not only do we have an episode done as a musical (before this sort of thing was in fashion), but it’s a great one. The plot involves a Demon being summoned who makes everyone break in to song and dance occasionally. As usual, it’s self referential, and the plot device itself is discussed in the show. The songs run the gamut from okay to amazing, and the supporting cast steps up, due to strong vocal talents from specific actors. This makes for an interesting plot, as the songs carry the episode to its conclusion. Bonus points, as it’s not even a stand alone. In fact, a MAJOR plot point for that season is brought up moments before the end.

On top of that, it’s a funny episode as well. We have a great duet between Emma Caulfield and Nicholas Brendon, which both amuses and sets up a storyline which will play out over the year. Later we hear Anya (Caulfield) complaining about the fact that song was just a book number, and not a breakout hit.

Here’s a very crappy looking you tube video of one of the early numbers. Note the essence of “lousy capture”, note the odd “this is mirrored from the actual version”-ness. But mostly, enjoy the witty fun sing-y part.

If this episode alone doesn’t give you enough faith in Joss Whedon and the show, you might just be too cynical to go on.

So there you have it, 5 reasons to go back and watch Buffy again, or maybe for the first time. Sci-Fi fans are constantly looking for a mythology to wrap themselves in, a show that lasts more than two seasons. Here it is. Seven seasons of goodness. Enjoy.

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If you have a show or film or book or band you’d like to make a case for, we’d love to hear from you. Read the rules below, and drop us a line.

The rules:

1) Give us 5 good reasons we should care, or watch, or listen etc. Make them compelling. Remember, you’re trying to sell this to us, and our readers.
2) Send pictures along with the article. Admin_rock doesn’t like to work harder than he has to, so be sure to send pics, or links to pics in the article.

Check out the previous installment(s) to see how it’s done.

A Case For Farscape

A Case For Babylon 5

Hey Folks, admin_rock here. It’s come to my attention that it’s been a long time since we armed you with any new ammo for causing nerds to fight and argue. And really, it’s so very pleasing to sit back and let them have at, guaranteed entertainment for the entire evening, IF YOU DO IT RIGHT. Any ham-fisted, slack jawed noob can throw out a “Heroes Sucks”; and to be fair, that wouldn’t start a fight, so much as a tacit agreement amongst everyone in the room.

So, here’s a few more to keep your nights lively! Keep in mind, you don’t actually have to agree with the statment. It’s effect will be that of throwing a big meaty bone into Michael Vick’s living room. (ed: Michael Vick is Football player. He was arrested for being involved in a dog fighting ring.) (ed: Football is a “Sport”.)

Don’t worry, we’ll walk you through these slowly.

1) The X-men has sucked since Claremont left.

The X-men comic book began in 1963, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. No finer beginning could one wish for. In 1975, after a number of changes in the creative team, a new X-Men team was introduced, and soon after, the writing job was given to Chris Claremont, who would make the job his own from 1975 until 1991, shortly after the relaunch of the book, arguably at the height of it’s popularity. Since his departure, the X-Men have grown larger and larger, spread over more and more books, and have an endless number of characters with an “X” in the their names.

Nerds will drool over the chance to not only discuss the X-men, but to stick up for their favorite team or character, whom will almost certainly fall out of the Claremont years. If anyone mentions Grant Morrison’s run, you’ll know the argument has gone “full retard”.

2) UFC is the closest thing on TV to gay porn

This one might not get the Nerds as riled up as the the others, but the sheer enjoyment of watching MMA advocates defend their beloved grope-fest is worth it. (ed: We’re not making fun of gay porn here, btw, it serves its purpose to those who enjoy it). Try pointing out things like the graceful way the “top” straddles the “bottom”, how even though they’re sweaty and tired, they still seem so happy, and how there’s less blood than you’d expect.

3) Tech Support workers are overpaid, and useless.

This one is clearly untrue. Most tech support workers make next to nothing, and they do tend to solve your problem for you. The joy in this one is watching those who take their job just a bit too seriously become livid and list out the intricacies of their job in minute detail, as though it were akin to national security. Stoke the fire by asking whether it’s okay to use “password” as your password, and whether you can load itunes at work.

4) The upcoming Avengers movie will suck balls.

You can say things like “The Avengers are a cut rate copy of the Justice League”. A group of superheros from the Marvel universe, The Avengers have been around for a long time. Now, over the course of a few years, Marvel has been introducing them in their own films, with a plan to culminate in an Avengers film. Will it suck balls? Who can say. On one hand, Joss Whedon is signed on to direct. On the other, there are a lot of parts to cover, and the success or failure of the next few movies will affect what’s up on the screen. Bad sign: Edward Norton is out as Bruce Banner. Good sign: Mark Ruffalo will reportedly play Bruce Banner. This one will keep them arguing for days.

5) Harry Potter books are for kids.

Hidden away in the middle of the list, due to being a few years past its prime, the Harry Potter argument will flare up like the Herpes of midwestern co-ed after a year in the “big city”. There will be wailing, disbelief, and the gnashing of teeth. You will be told, in no uncertain terms that “anything that gets kids reading is awesome”, that “they get darker as they go on”. Whatever, you’re not here to make a case for your point, some other nerd in the area will take care of that. The books were too damn long, and poorly written for us to care.

6) William Shatner is fucking awful.

The “nuclear” option, this one should be saved until later in the evening, when your favorite geek is about to snap. He won’t even know how to argue this, he’ll just be in shock that anyone could possibly attack his golden calf. For bonus points, attack Shatner’s recordings, and claim that he’s not relevant.

7) Android Phones are superior to iPhones.

Look, it’s pretty clear from Nerd Fight 1 that Apple fanboys will argue to the death the superiority of their companies goods. It’s also pretty clear that most people will, after purchasing any of these insanely expensive devices, find ways to justify and back the one they got. The important thing here is to keep the argument going when it starts to flag. Throw in comments like “why doesn’t Apple ever have expandable memory on their devices” or “Did you know ‘droid’ is a trademark of Lucasfilm?’ That last one could work as a nice crossover into “Episodes 1-3 were better than 4-6″.

8 ) All Star Batman and Robin is the finest Batman work yet.

Frank Miller went from beloved God of comic fanboys to an outcast after some of his hard right-wing jingoistic comments came to light. But even before that, he started alienating fans by publishing All-Star Batman and Robin, a gritty, in-your-face version of our beloved Bats. This Batman is arguably psychopathic, unbalanced, and dangerous. He essentially kidnaps Robin, forces him to stay in the Batcave without food or heat for days. Meanwhile, he’s out nailing Black Canary near the docks. The infamous phrase “I’m the god-damned Batman” came from the series.

The concept for the character is extremely contentious, and sure to start a Batman jihad, especially if you add some discussion of the recent Batman films in to the mix. Say things like “Miller should be directing the Batman films, then they’d be good”, or “Green Lantern must suck if he can be taken out by paint and a tween”.

9) Kevin Smith hasn’t made a good film.

There’s a ton of potential here, and we’re not just talking about Kevin’s weight! (pow!) There’s a camp of people who believe Kevin Smith can do no wrong. There’s another who see a string of average movies that tend to fizzle at the box office. There’s a third camp that are jealous that he’s living the ultimate fanboy life. Also, there’s a girl’s camp across the lake.

For this one, you’ll need to suss out where everyone stands on the subject early. Then, either bring up box office returns, or maybe Rotten Tomatoes scores to fan the flames. You can also take veiled shots at the films themselves by forgetting their names, and describing them vaguely: “What was that one where the characters talk endlessly about dicks?”

10) Comments on blog for nerds shouldn’t be allowed if they’re only “stupid hate”.

This one will take more work than most of you want to involve yourselves in. You’ll need to start a blog, write a bunch of articles that will draw in fanboys, get some of them linked to fark.com, then, after establishing that you will allow pretty much any comment to go unedited, suddenly announce that you’re annoyed with some of the comments, and claim that you’ll be suppressing any that don’t measure up. Oh, and then don’t suppress any of them. Throw in phrases like “stupid hate” and “cum-eating intern”. This will answer the question “is anybody out there?”. Watch as the argument verges on a free speech issue, while examples of comments previously allowed come to light.

It’s no secret that The Correctness are big fans of Joss Whedon. He’s made a string of shows that are brilliant, funny, and engaging. We watched Buffy (movie and show), We watched Angel. We loved the hell out of Firefly and Serenity. We crushed on Dr Horrible. We (well, at least some of we) really dig Dollhouse. But Joss, buddy, we need to talk about how the networks (we’re mostly looking at you, Fox!) treat you.

The Friday night death slot is just that. Death. If they air you on Friday, they cancel you soon after. You know it, we know it. The executives and their notes, asking you to change this or that, showing episodes out of order, making you reshoot pilot episodes, etc. The list goes on.

Here are the facts: You know how to make good TV. You know how to find like-minded people to help you do this. You have a great rapport with your actors, and have gathered a stable of folks who will do anything you sign on for. And, hey, millions of fans who feel likewise.

We know you were doing Eliza a solid by taking on Dollhouse through Fox. But after the reports that Fox will “air all 13 episodes this season” and that you’re being shelved for the sweeps period, we’re all in agreement that Fox doesn’t give a crap about you.

So, we’ve been thinking about this, and we think that you should ditch TV once and for all. We keep our eye on things like DVD sales, and we noted that even a show like Babylon 5, which was a cult favorite, and not a mainstream hit, in the words of its creator “have raised over 500 million in revenue.” Dr. Horrible was a big hit, and it wasn’t made for TV at all. You see what we’re getting at?

Get a few backers together (or hey, maybe you have the cash to bankroll the thing yourself), and produce your own show, make it, slap it on iTunes, sell DVDs at the end of season, get it on Hulu. You KNOW we’ll all fork over some cash to see more great storytelling. At the very worst, we’ll still treat you better than the network execs.

The press will still cover you, network or no. The ComicCon crowds will spread the world. The fanboys will love your bold steps, and we’ll be done with the Fox network entirely (well, okay, we’ll keep watching House, but that’s it!). We’ll even start a whole new site called “The Jossness”. Or not, that sounds pretty lame. Then, when you’ve proven the model works, when the Season 1 DVD sales roll in, you can ramp up the production values for season 2, when everything gets good anyway.

Also, when all this works out, remember your old friends at The Correctness. And give J.M.S. a call, and tell him to do this too.

Love, The Correctness.

It’s the Calgary Comic Expo, 2009 and unhinged nerdery abounds. At an autograph table, right across from Edward James Olmos, (If you don’t know who that is, stop reading. RESPECT THE OLD MAN, FUCKERS!!!)TV Uber cutie Jewel Staite signs a picture for a pudgy anime princess. Not realizing that destiny had just paid 20 bucks, and was approaching her with a DVD of Firefly in hand, she takes a quick sip of water, and stretches.

When they lock eyes, time stops. The vibrations are palpable. It echoes throughout the showroom floor, causing Margot Kidder to pause in her carnival barking for autographs and cock her head like a curious dog. Several aisles away a woman dressed as Emma Frost gets a shiver. (Although, to be fair she wasn’t wearing much, but we stand by the palpable echo nevertheless)

Finally after both an instant and an eternity, Jewel speaks.

JEWEL: Hello there!
(What she meant was “As I look upon you, I know at last what it truly means to be a woman. With needs.”

Tbinns: Hi. How are you?
(Please, I’m married, you are embarrassing both of us)

JEWEL: I’m good thanks. Do you want it personalized?
(“Tell me your name at least, I must know who you are!”)

Tbinns: Yes, please. My name is Tony
(I’m only giving you my first name, I can’t have you looking me up)

JEWEL: Sure, no problem
(I belong to you now. That’s why I’m signing this with a little heart on it. To let you know that I am utterly yours)

Tbinns: Long day?
(I’m changing the subject now, because your obvious carnal desires are making me uncomfortable)

JEWEL: Not too bad. Getting near the end, though.
(I’m done here at 5, I’m staying at the Hotel Arts just a little ways away from here, please meet me there. I find pudgy Kevin Smith types highly arousing and you are making me crazy. I mean, there are a ton of those guys here, but you clearly are the best one. I must have you!!!)

Tbinns: Well, thanks very much for coming, it was a pleasure meeting you
(I have to go now, Kandyse McClure from Battlestar Galactica is checking out my ass and I have to go tell her to cut it out)

JEWEL: Oh, you’re welcome it was a pleasure meeting you. Take care.
(NO!! Don’t leave! You mutsn’t!!! How will I live? Whatever will I do? Come back, I will totally introduce you to Joss Whedon and you guys will be best pals!!! YOU ARE MY UNIVERSE!!! COME BACK!!!)

So there you have it. Tragic really, that I had to utterly destroy her heart like that. When will these people learn that all I want is an autograph? Why do they always go that extra step with me? I’m not even going to get into the nightmare that was the Sean Astin autograph session.