I think that the Buffy comics were better pre-Twilight arc than AoS is now,
Oh I'd agree. I actually enjoyed the comics pre-Twilight arc. But there were better writers involved and Whedon was more heavily involved and less distracted by other venues. You can sort of tell when Whedon stopped caring about the comics and began to phone it in so to speak or hand it over to others. Writer burn-out, not a pretty thing. This is why most tv shows shouldn't last more than 5 seasons and why there's a lot of turn-over in writers for on-going print serials.
I don't necessarily dislike AoS, it just doesn't interest or compel me at all. But part of this is due to what interests me in stories - which is quite different than what you describe above. A college friend used to call me "character girl", she was always interested in the plots or thematic structure, while I cared about the characters and how they handled things and their struggle. This is why Buffy worked for me but Dollhouse and Firefly not as much, because I didn't care that much about the characters and felt those shows were more thematic than character oriented. It's also why I've lost interest in Whedon, he seems to be more interested in "meta-narrative" and exploring specific ideas, than he is in creating and building complex characters. Which is okay, nothing wrong with that - it just doesn't interest me. It's also why I have a love/hate relationship with the novelist Neil Gaiman - because he's more interested in the world and themes, then he is in character - as a result his characters often feel flat or cyphers, I'm noticing this with Whedon as well.
It's why I enjoyed BSG more than you did and LOST, the themes I could care less about - I was interested in the characters journeys and how they handled difficult problems. The difficulty I have with The Wire is that it often is more interested in message/idea/theme than character as well - and to me that feels preachy. It's a personal thing.
The other issue I have Agents of Shield - is I was an X-men fan. And in the X-men, Shield and the Avengers are portrayed as fascist/mainstream superhero groups, while the X-men are the outcasts and disenfranchized minority. Shield's casting choices, and use of Clark Gregg as a lead sort of reinforces that feeling.
And...I admittedly do not see the appeal of Clark Gregg's Coulson. I don't dislike him, he just...doesn't register as interesting? I forgot about him after the movies. Which is a big problem for me as a viewer - in order to watch or read a story - I have to find at least one character "engaging or interesting" - they don't have to be likable, they can be a nasty piece of work like Walter White, but as long as they intrigue me and I care what happens to them next or am curious - I'll watch. AoS - five minutes in? I was surfing the net, and half watching. Not a good sign.
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Oh I'd agree. I actually enjoyed the comics pre-Twilight arc. But there were better writers involved and Whedon was more heavily involved and less distracted by other venues. You can sort of tell when Whedon stopped caring about the comics and began to phone it in so to speak or hand it over to others. Writer burn-out, not a pretty thing. This is why most tv shows shouldn't last more than 5 seasons and why there's a lot of turn-over in writers for on-going print serials.
I don't necessarily dislike AoS, it just doesn't interest or compel me at all. But part of this is due to what interests me in stories - which is quite different than what you describe above. A college friend used to call me "character girl", she was always interested in the plots or thematic structure, while I cared about the characters and how they handled things and their struggle. This is why Buffy worked for me but Dollhouse and Firefly not as much, because I didn't care that much about the characters and felt those shows were more thematic than character oriented. It's also why I've lost interest in Whedon, he seems to be more interested in "meta-narrative" and exploring specific ideas, than he is in creating and building complex characters. Which is okay, nothing wrong with that - it just doesn't interest me. It's also why I have a love/hate relationship with the novelist Neil Gaiman - because he's more interested in the world and themes, then he is in character - as a result his characters often feel flat or cyphers, I'm noticing this with Whedon as well.
It's why I enjoyed BSG more than you did and LOST, the themes I could care less about - I was interested in the characters journeys and how they handled difficult problems. The difficulty I have with The Wire is that it often is more interested in message/idea/theme than character as well - and to me that feels preachy. It's a personal thing.
The other issue I have Agents of Shield - is I was an X-men fan. And in the X-men, Shield and the Avengers are portrayed as fascist/mainstream superhero groups, while the X-men are the outcasts and disenfranchized minority. Shield's casting choices, and use of Clark Gregg as a lead sort of reinforces that feeling.
And...I admittedly do not see the appeal of Clark Gregg's Coulson. I don't dislike him, he just...doesn't register as interesting? I forgot about him after the movies. Which is a big problem for me as a viewer - in order to watch or read a story - I have to find at least one character "engaging or interesting" - they don't have to be likable, they can be a nasty piece of work like Walter White, but as long as they intrigue me and I care what happens to them next or am curious - I'll watch. AoS - five minutes in? I was surfing the net, and half watching. Not a good sign.