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Joss Whedon has done an astonishing amount for 'genre' TV.
His brand of storytelling is first, middle and last about character. He loves his creations, they make his toes curl, you can tell - even the nefarious scumbags. Maybe even *particularly* the nefarious scumbags. He knows when to nurture his babies, and when to let them go - sometimes controversially, unfairly, in a way that tugs at the heart - because that's what happens when the stakes are high.

And yet?
He's been mistreated. Messed around. Disrespected, to his face. In the modern reality-TV-addled climate of network television, his brand of deep, deep story investment just isn't seen as hot, nowadays. Never mind how the DVD boxsets of Buffy, Engel and Firefly block the postal system on the way out of Amazon.com. Never mind how critics and audiences alike backflip whenever his name is mentioned. Never mind the reception he receives at conventions. He's simply not given the respect he is due.
Everything Joss Whedon touches turns to gold. But it's not an immediate process. It takes time. The same amount of time for his work to lodge firmly in your heart, almost without you noticing.
Why can't a network give him a green light and a thumping great budget for a new project? Don't they check Amazon occasionally? Can't they see what an investment it would be?

Learn more about this author, Mike Sowden.
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