Foray into Science Fiction Fandom (11)

The hottest topic currently in realms of the supernatural must be Vampires, and Joss Whedon (of Firefly/Serenity fame) created arguably the most successful Vampire franchise so far (the Twilight series being the only competitor). The stories are based on Joss's pet idea; a vapid or intellectually unstable little girl kicking bum. Buffy was a really stupid cheerleader until she became the "slayer," exhibiting abnormal reflexes and strength to aid her.

When one of Buffy's vampire enemies was given back his soul, he turned into a love interest named Angel. It was a star-crossed affair, though, so he left their little town and got his own show. Both series were hopelessly convoluted soap-operas with overwhelming amounts of magic and demonology. Aside from this, Whedon also exhibits an amazing grasp of critical theory and wrote some incredibly creative episodes, including one completely silent called "Hush," and another that was a musical.

Buffy's soap-opera convolutions without the clever writing was a popular show on TNT called "Charmed," which doesn't get a single star from me.

"Moonlight" was another brief show about vampires, and it seemed similar to "Twilight." A common theme of these stories, including "Charmed," seems to be the proximity of mortal danger simultaneous with absolute emotional security (both of which are illusory, although authors pretend well). They cash in on the idea that a vampire can kill you, or take your soul and send you to hell, but a vampire in love would never succumb to that temptation. Anyway, "Moonlight" is by far my favorite vampire story, which isn't difficult to achieve, as I always found vampires and their ilk theologically contradictory. My imagination gets annoyed at their insufficient internal logic.

"Moonlight" caught my attention for three reasons. Firstly, the main actor was adorable. Secondly, the best friend is played by an actor from Veronica Mars. Thirdly, the girl love interest is played by a British actress featured in one of my favorite episodes from my favorite Science Fiction show. She is also rumored to have had a relationship with one of the actors who plays my favorite Science Fiction character. "Moonlight" kept my attention by the systematic fulfillment of several female fantasies. It's cheap, but accurate.

Generally, I wouldn't think vampire stories appeal to a masculine audience. I'd love to hear what guys think, though.

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