Do Joss' characters have an effect on you?

[The Ferg]

I was just watching the Angel S4 episode, "Shiny Happy People", and I have to say, I actually wanted to... idk, worship Jasmine..? It's almost like Joss made me feel like she actually did have a power over me. Also on Buffy I have cried numerous times. I even broke down when Joyce died. When was the last time someone (a guy btw) truly cried about a fake character on a TV show? Another time, after watching Normal Again for the thousandth time, it was kinda like I felt like, wow, is this real? (But then I remembered I didn't have many friends... :) )

So, really, I was just wondering if anyone else felt like this when watching Buffy or Angel (or maybe Firefly, Serenity, any other show created by Mr. Whedon.)

[palabravampiress]

The short answer is "yes."

Joss is great. I put him right up there with Shakespeare and Jane Austen, two personal favorites of mine, simply because he has the power to evoke emotion. I felt similarly about Jasmine. She made me smile. She was just so pretty and happy and nice -- until she started eating people. I'm not much of a crier, but The Body got to me. Even when I read the comics, I giggle and carry on like a mad woman. Xander's lines, man, they always crack me up.

Joss Whedon shows are amazingly well-crafted. The fact that you respond emotionally just goes to demonstrate that point.

[InsaneMystic]

100% agreement from me on both the Jasmine arc (she'd have had a more than willing slave in me) and "Normal Again" (me getting stuck in solipsism during puberty, you'd know I'd have to "creep love" that ep :wink: ).

And with Joyce... well, she's definitely gotten under my skin too, even though it was plus/minus signs reversed for me. You don't start despising a character like I do Joyce, if the char were'nt excellently and convincingly written and portrayed!

Also, even though some people seem to think it was "overdone" (and I couldn't disagree more!), the addiction storyline with Willow S6 was literally more than I could bear watching at that time. I haven't seen a portrayal of addiction (including hit-bottom, recovery and relapse) more convincingly done on TV... and with my fave char too. Breathtaking.

Yes, those people get to you, and that's exactly what makes these two shows so real, even though the setting is (I hope :) ) very unreal.

[The Ferg]

Yeah, Willow's addiction was crazy. I was like, "NO! Willow, come back!!"

[wiccianslayer]

I did get very emotionaly involved.

[Cangel]

I know this might sound weird, coming from me, hardcore shipping Cangel, but 'I will remember you' actually made me cry. And that's not the only moment I cried during either of the show. Anybody remember 'The Gift'? God, right now I'm only thinking about it (the end, where Buffy jumps) and it already brings tears in my eyes.

And, after each fight scene, especially the big ones with more people, after Buffy and the gang or whoever defeated something very strong, I always feel just SO enthusiastic and everything.

It's amazing what a show (or two shows) can do to you.

[The Ferg]

I have to disagree with you on The Gift. To me, it wasn't really sad, it was just so friggin depressing. This may only be because I watched S6 before S5 and I already knew that Buffy was coming back, but... I did shed a couple tears when Spike looked at Dawn right before Doc threw him off the tower (I pulled a Luke Skywalker on that one. "NOOOOO!!!"), and when Spike broke down after he saw Buffy's body.

[palabravampiress]

^ That moment at the end, when Spike broke down, was actually pretty touching; I agree. It was good acting (and probably good directing, as well). It looked sort of like he was being crushed by the weight of his grief or something. Very neat.