Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy

by Candace Havens

Joss The Genius Behind Buffy is a biography of Joss Whedon , the wunderkind creator of television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Angel and Firefly .

From Booklist : Writers, actors, and fans often call Joss Whedon a genius. It's easy to see why. Whedon, who got his start writing for Roseanne, dreamed of writing movie screenplays. He got his shot when he sold his script for Buffy the Vampire Slayer , but the movie fell far short of his hopes for it. After a few years of working as a script doctor, Whedon got the chance to do Buffy again, this time as a TV show.

Few expected it to succeed, but Whedon's humor and intelligence shone through in the scripts, and viewers quickly became attached to the engaging, witty characters. Buffy kept getting each season of the show featured a complex story arc possessed of a real sense of danger and further developed the characters. The last few years have brought the Buffy spin-off Angel , the lamentably canceled Firefly (a space western), and the comic book Fray. Engaging and filled with fun quotes, this is a must-read for Whedon's many fans.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Biography Memoir, Tv, Media Tie In, Autobiography

171 pages, Paperback

First published April 10, 2003

About the author

Bestselling author Candace Havens has published more than 25 books. Her novels have received nominations for the RITA's, Holt Medallion, Write Touch Reader Awards and National Readers Choice Awards. She is a Barbara Wilson Award winner. She is the author of the biography “Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy” and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation's leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. Candace also runs a free online writing workshop for more than 2000 writers, and teaches comprehensive writing classes. She does film reviews with Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS, and is a former President of the Television Critics Association.

Reviews

[Spuddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Biography of the innovative creator of the Buffy, The Vampire Slayer TV series as well as several other acclaimed works including Angel and the short-lived Firefly series, all of which I greatly enjoyed. Interesting read, though unfortunately it wasn’t really very in-depth and mostly seemed like a fan’s praisebook more than anything. The book seemed to be more about the whole Buffy series than about Joss himself and only alluded to his actual history, motivations and glossed over the real “biographical” details as well.

It was also painfully out of date, written when Buffy was still in season seven production and nothing was known of its’ impending cancellation. While I did glean some interesting information that I didn’t know about Joss (for example, his birth name was actually Joe, and he later changed it legally to Joss), to call this a biography is a real misnomer. It was a quick, easy read and did help me to understand some of the things that happened in Buffy—why they happened as they did—but that’s really about it. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone looking for real information or insight into the man himself.

[Eddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rather hagiographical, and particularly in light of more recent reports about Whedon's character and behaviour, rather shallow.

[Stefanie Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting but somewhat fluffy look at Joss Whedon's career. This book has the same almost naive as the Mary Tyler Moore biography I read last year. The book was written at a time when Buffy and Angel were both on the air. Firefly though floundering was still on the air but there's no mention of the upcoming film, Serenity.

What the book doesn't admit to is the possibility that Joss could burn out -- which it appears he has from recent interviews. Joss is clearly very driven and clearly loves his work but does he know how to slow down?

I found the insights into the storylines fascinating. Joss clearly lives by the adage of "write what you know" and it shows in his work. Can you tell that I'm a fan? :)

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fun to read, with lots of behind-the-scenes and biographical info I didn't know before. It was kind of like reading a really long Entertainment Weekly article. What made me sad while reading it were the projects he was talking about so optimistically (this was written around the time that Firefly got canceled) that never got off the ground-the animated series and Ripper, which I would have dearly loved to see. But he's had lots of success since then, and I can't think of anyone in the entertainment industry that I'd cheer on more.

Quick informative read for diehard fans.

[Simeon Berry · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could claim that I read for this research... which isn't really true (although I did get a great David E. Kelley quote out of it). Alas, this reads exactly like something posted on a fan site. Some good gossip gets through, despite the author's best efforts at burying everything under pixie dust (and the severely annoying quote blocks sprinkled throughout the text, which are among the most clumsy examples of the species I have ever seen).

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book, written in 2003, does not cover a lot of unknown things about Joss or his shows if you have already read all the watchers guides and casefiles books. Kinda lame really, and slightly disapointing.

[Dichotomy Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

For the writing I give it 3 stars, for the subject matter 5 stars. This is an older book, written when Buffy and Angel were still on the air and Firefly had just been cancelled. This was pre- Dr. Horrible, etc. And the author is obviously a Joss-groupie, to which I can totally relate!

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of Buffy,Angel and Firefly, I really enjoyed the background stories of the development of the characters and the storyline. A must read for fans of Joss Whedon's work!

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to see where the man who created so many of my favorite shows was coming from.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was some good info in this book...it is a bit outdated now, but still enjoyable.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just got 3 books back from my friend in Kingman. This was a very enlightening look at the genius of Joss Whedon.

[Patty A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great background on Joss Whedon for us Buffy and Firefly fans!!!