Whedonesque Mobile : Comments on 14441 : "Grey's Anatomy" Creator / Exec. Producer Shonda Rhimes Cites "Buffy" Influence.

October 11 2007

"Grey's Anatomy" Creator / Exec. Producer Shonda Rhimes Cites "Buffy" Influence. Joss' seminal series featuring our favorite butt-kicking blonde heroine was apparently an important influence in the creation of Rhimes' own strong female characters and the overall structure of her storytelling.

"I spent a lot of evenings with my daughter lying on my chest catching up with DVDs on a lot of television shows I had never seen before like "Buffy" and "The West Wing." I admired all this great long-term character development that was happening on television. It doesn't happen in the movies because you only have two hours. I also saw a lot of strong female characters on television."

Even now, in a TV-scape that's sadly bereft of Joss, he's still making with the ripples. So proud! *sniff* Rhimes will no doubt prove to be a guide for other women writers and producers of the next generation (although it must be said: there's only one writer with the Joss Whedon touch, and he ain't doing any medical shows -- though if he was, I'd be glued to the tube).

(Also, nice to see props given in the same breath for Aaron Sorkin's West Wing, which endures as one the finest shows America's ever produced.)

Wiseblood | 11:07 CET | 2 comments total | tags: women in the biz, shonda rhimes, strong female characters, buffy, joss whedon

Thanks for that Wiseblood. I've been a fan of Grey's since the beginning and I've always sensed a "Buffy-like" heart and wit in the characters, as well as in the way drama is mixed with humor. This show may not be high art, but I love the eccentric way the characters unfold and the sense that these are real people with strengths, weaknesses, contradictions and complexities.

The women are diverse .... ethnically, in age and looks and personality. And OK, the men are the stuff of fantasy .... and I don't mean just looks-wise, although they certainly aren't hard to look at. But hey, what's wrong with that? at least they're real human beings with flaws as well as qualities every woman looks for in a man, not the cardboard cut-out models that most women in TV series' get stuck with. Or the Desperate Housewives "every woman is a conniving, neurotic, manipulative bitch or a total ditz - or a combination of all the above" model.

Shey | October 11, 16:02 CET

there's only one writer with the Joss Whedon touch, and he ain't doing any medical shows -- though if he was, I'd be glued to the tube

Joss doing medical TV? I shudder to think. It would be...different, to say the least. ;)

deepgirl187 | October 11, 20:43 CET

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