What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batman?

[Thrall]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

He could barely write a decent X-Men story. There's no way he could handle Batman.

Whedon's too nihilistic, deconstructive, and he lacks basic creative restraint. There comes a point where his bucking of cliche's and his unpredictability becomes a predictable cliche. JJ Abrams wouldn't be bad though.

 

[Joe Washington]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I think we're getting a little off topic. The point is, if Joss Whedon and his team of writers did a show based on Batman when he was just beginning as a crime-fighter, based on your experience watching shows like Buffy, Angel, or Firefly, how would it turn out?
Would it be better or worst than the trainwreck known as Smallville? How? Why?

 

[Sephiroth]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Bruce would be a whiny lil punk surrounded by retarded hot chicks
He'd keep the no cape, no cowl thing that smallville has going on
Harley Quinn would be a stand alone villan or Poison Ivy's lover

 

[Venardhi]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I can pretty much picture it unfolding something like this:

The show would begin somewhere within his travels. He would have an older detective mentor named Henri Ducard, and maybe a sidekick or two helping out and Alfred back in Gotham to help with Intel. He would have much of his inventory already, but minus the bat theme. Perhaps he is in Europe seeking the mob boss that hired Joe Chill to kill his parents, which eventually leads to him discovering the League of Shadows and Ra's al Ghul. The first season would slowly build up the LoS plot, allowing Bruce and Ducard to foil it at some level of sacrifice (perhaps Ducard has a daughter that can die?). The second season has them actively seeking revenge on Ra's who then brings the fight to Gotham, leading into Bruce setting up a new base of operations there that will eventually become the bat cave. After Bruce befriends Gordon and an up-and-coming Harvy Dent and begins using them to help his missions, Ducard will leave or die in the second season, and Bruce will finally have to shape up and become his own man, which leads into the Batman persona. Third season sees the Batman becoming the urban myth that he works best as, Bruce taking a teenaged Barbara under his wing after saving her and accidentally revealing himself. A love triangle betwen her and Selina Kyle that ends up working out with neither, The rise of a new villain in town known as the Joker, and some big plot that ends up with Barbara paralized, Selina traumatized over something and becoming Catwoman to exact revenge. And then it would get cancelled.

 

[Warp Coil]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Joss Whedon wrote and/or directed some of "Buffy" most memorable episodes: "Becoming, pt1-2", "Dopplegangland", "Hush", "Restless", "The Body", "The Gift", "Once More, With Feeling". He also wrote and/or directed a few of "Angel"'s great episodes like "Spin the Bottle" and "A Hole in the World." I can't see how anyone could deny that the guy has creative talent. He isn't God. he isn't perfect. But he's pretty darn good, especially when he's left alone (i.e. no network interference) and can surround himself with his favorite team of writers (which he often does on his shows). Joss is usually pretty good at picking some really good writers for his shows - David Fury, Drew Goddard, Tim Minear, Jeff Bell, etc.

 

[3D Master]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Joss Whedon wrote and/or directed some of "Buffy" most memorable episodes: "Becoming, pt1-2", "Dopplegangland", "Hush", "Restless", "The Body", "The Gift"

David Greenwalt was still present, don't think this had no impact on the stories and episodes made.

"Once More, With Feeling".

Which was nothing compared to Xena's musical episodes. Besides which, this is where we get to see some of the worst signs of Joss Whedon's Spike-fest.

He also wrote and/or directed a few of "Angel"'s great episodes like "Spin the Bottle"

It isn't horrible, but there's nothing special about it. It's medicore at best.

and "A Hole in the World."

Better known as a "1,000 Plotholes in the World". This is truly one of the worst episodes ever written and filmed in the history of television. Scenes that should be moving; have you laughing your ass off because your still laughing at the utter idiocy of characters and plotholes so large you can fly the world through without effort. Captain Hairgel looks down lamenting the fact that he can't save Fred because she wouldn't want him to sacrifice 6,000 lives to save her life; but if he only pulled his head out of his ass and stop feeling sorry for himself and make a phone call to Wesley they could have saved her without sacrificing a single life - not to mention that as a champion and warrior god-king was about to be resurrected what he should be brooding about is whether he's willing to sacrifice 6,000 to save 6,000,000,000 - making him look like a selfish douch and a total idiot.

I can't see how anyone could deny that the guy has creative talent. He isn't God. he isn't perfect. But he's pretty darn good, especially when he's left alone (i.e. no network interference)

When he's left alone, things get worse.

 

[Bishbot]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

He'd keep the no cape, no cowl thing that smallville has going on

Considering how much of a comic book fan Whedon is, I really doubt that.

 

[Joe Washington]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I think Whedon would have let Batman have the traditional suit and all that. But he would have gave him a different attitude compare to those of the other Batmans and Bruce Waynes from movies and TV shows. Maybe he would have been a bit messed up in his mind concerning that he lost his parents violently and dresses himself up as a bat to fight criminals as some kind of outlet for his grief and rage. I doubt his reason for doing what he does is only out of some noble cause to fight aganist crime.

I think Whedon would pick a younger actor than Nathan Fillon to play him.

Alfred would be the Giles to Bruce's Buffy. Maybe he would have a checkered past like Giles.

 

[Warp Coil]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

and "A Hole in the World."

Better known as a "1,000 Plotholes in the World". This is truly one of the worst episodes ever written and filmed in the history of television. Scenes that should be moving; have you laughing your ass off because your still laughing at the utter idiocy of characters and plotholes so large you can fly the world through without effort.

Okay, so you didn't like the episode, but I found it to be quite emotional.

 

[Maestro]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Special Guest Stars
Allison Hannigan as Poison Ivy
Amber Benson as Harley Quinn

and

Katee Sackhoff, Gina Torress, Charisma Carpenter, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mercedes McNabb, and Leah Cairns as unrequited love interests who all eventually DIE.

With

Amy Acker, Kandyse McClure, and Nicholas Brendon as random Nerds or Cops as needed.

And

Emma Caulfield, John Barrowman, Christopher Eccleston, and James Marsters to portray non-canon-Wheadon-Created "New Villians"

And Masi Oka as Hiro

 

[iguana_tonante]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

What if? I would have probably loved it, as I'm both a Batman and Whedon fan.

 

[TremblingBluStar]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I do agree that the first mistake that would occur would be the rabid-Wheadonites demanding the casting of Nathan Fillion as Bruce/Bats. No. And not Tamoh Penikett either.

Couldn't possibly be worse than Bale.

Besides, how would Fillion play a young Batman? The man is 38 years old!

 

[Maestro]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I wouldn't be clamoring for Fillion to play Bruce, but I'm not a rabid-Wheadonite either. I thought that Buffy, Angel, and Firefly were brilliant, but I also realized that they were team efforts with people who worked well together led by Joss's creativity.

 

[Captaindemotion]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

I don't think it's any secret that Whedon pitched a Batman movie to WB some time before they went with Nolan and Goyer's take instead. I'd love to have seen a JW Batmovie, but I'd be surprised if it was any better than the two movies in the Nolanverse to date.

I'd certainly watch his tv version of Batman in the unlikely event it were ever made. Funny enough, while Christian Bale has been my first choice to play Batman since American Psycho, David Boreanaz would have been my second. He's obviously too old to play a young Dark Knight now, though.

But for all the talk of Whedon doing The Bat (possibly because of all those Angel-Batman comparisons), I think he'd be much more suited to another superhero, namely Spider-man. Wise-cracks, teenage angst, doomed love interest (Gwen Stacy), fantastical villains - hell, Spidey even has a vampire enemy, ferchrissakes! Surely that would be right up his street? (and for what it's worth, a young Nicholas Brendon would have been a good Spidey, IMHO).

 

[Maestro]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Spider-man Beginneth
Written, Produced, and Directed by Joss Wheadon

Cast
Nicholas Brendon as Peter Parker
Georgia Moffett as Gwen Stacy
Allison Hannigan as Mary Jane Watson
Nathan Fillion as The Green Goblin
Marc Blucas as Harry Osbourne
Anthony Stewart Head as Uncle Ben
Mary McDonnell as Aunt May

With

David Tennent as Peter's Science Teacher
Edward James Olmos as Peter's Math Teacher

 

[Ethros]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

and "A Hole in the World."

Better known as a "1,000 Plotholes in the World". This is truly one of the worst episodes ever written and filmed in the history of television. Scenes that should be moving; have you laughing your ass off because your still laughing at the utter idiocy of characters and plotholes so large you can fly the world through without effort.

Okay, so you didn't like the episode, but I found it to be quite emotional.

And I'd say 99.99999% of every single Buffy/Angel fan would disagree with 3DM, A Hole in the World & Shells are widely considered some of Angel's bestest best.
I can't be bothered reading the reasons again, mainly as I've seen them all before trotted out on this board a billion times by him. To single out that that episode alone for "plot holes" is fucking ridiclious, has he not see Season 4? The whole Jasmine/evil Cordy/Beast arc really makes no sense when you analyse it... but I don't really care. It's still my favourite season of Angel as there's tonnes or terrefic episodes

I like how 3DM just comes up with these really shitty weak excuses to bash Whedon at any opportunity, not responding to logic at all-
-He wrote and directed all these episodes
-er... no Greenwalt did them all really!

-OMWF is a fun episode
-er... not as good as Xena!

The Greenwalt thing in particular stands out as just a way he's come up with to still say the show had some good episodes and yet bash Whedon at the same time. it's nothing to do with Greenwalt at all, he was just a recurring writer he picked out of a hat, you could easily say Tim Minear, Doug Petrie, Jane Espenson, David Fury, Steve DeKnight, or any other recurring Buffyverse deserve the real credit over Whedon.
He just gets his rocks off bashing him, even when it makes no logical sense to do so. It's quite sad and pathetic really with how much time and effort he puts into it


At least when he used to go in the BSG forum and bash the show to death, (despite openly admitting he hadn't seen the episode in question or indeed much of the show as a whole), at least it was actually on the air.
But Buffy has been over for six years now, and Angel for five.
GET.... OVER... IT

 

[Joe Washington]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Thank you, Ethros!

 

[Thrall]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Umm....Greenwalt was more the just some writer. He was Joss's producer. He was the head honcho for the first 3 seasons of Buffy and Angel. Without his involvemnt I did see a descent into mediocrity under Whedon's watch.

 

[Joe Washington]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

Can we please stop getting so off topic!

 

[Ethros]

Re: What if Joss Whedon did a TV show based on the early years of Batm

^ You must be new here, it's impossible to have a normal thread about anything Joss Whedon related on the TrekBBS without having folk come in saying stuff like "well he's a fucking fuckwit cunt who rapes babies and stole Christmas from me every year as a child" etc

I'm not saying everyone should kiss his arse, not at all, but I don't care who or what it's about, many go OTT with their drive by bashings to makes themselves feel like big men

I saw the title of this thread and knew it had disaster written all over it