Talk:Buffyverse
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This Buffyverse-related article is part of WikiProject Buffyverse, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to Buffy, Angel & the rest of the Buffyverse. You can help! Visit the project page, episode checklist or discuss an article at the project talk-page. |  Buffy Portal |
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This article was nominated for deletion on 16 July 2006. The result of the discussion was keep. |
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[edit] Whedonverse, etc.
I added some clarification to the ambiguous nature of "Whedonverse", "Jossverse", and "ME-verse", based on Whedon's Firefly. I'm not sure I'm happy with the wording, but I'm hoping it conveys the scope and aspects of these terms. Criticisms and amendements are invited. — Jeff Q (talk) 08:40, 16 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I fleshed out the article and added detail. As above, would be interesting to hear peoples views on the terminology. Especially as WikiProject has opted to use the lesser-used term 'Whedonverse' yet largely discluded Firefly as separate from the project, and suggested the Whedonverse is the fictional universe encompassing Buffy and Angel but not Firefly, as the term on the internet largely includes the all three shows. -- Paxomen 20:33, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Angelverse
I've seen this term used almost as often as the Buffyverse term, and since their both in the same canon, this term should be featured somewhere in the article... --GaryColemanIsLegend84 5 July 2005 15:23 (UTC)
- I've added "Angelverse" and "Buffy/Angelverse" based on a quick Google check to see that these terms are indeed in use in thousands of web pages. — Jeff Q (talk) 5 July 2005 21:22 (UTC)
[edit] Are They Canon?
Please check the Slayers page for info on Canon Books/Characters and Non Canon. Thanks.
-Lil_Flip246 Jan/1/06
[edit] Buffy E COMICS
http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/ecomics/
What are those? Are they part of the buffyverse? Are they canon? Are they only available online? -Lil_Flip246
They are just various issues of the Buffy comic from Dark Horse, put online by the wonder of BBC (see Buffy comics), mostly considered uncanonical
[edit] Remove the terminology section.
I encountered this article by accident but it is largely filled with useless information about the subject. A large section discussing various terms is hardly needed. Mention that it can be attached to Whedon's name but is often not because Whedon has done other things not related to Buffy and let it rest. - 24.10.95.220 19:15, 5 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Rewrite required
This article requires a complete rewrite, or at least some major surgery.
Firstly it needs an introduction simple, direct description of what the "Buffyverse" actually is.
The fan-cruft sections about what is-and-isn't and various fan-spats about what to call the derivatives of the Buffy franchise should be heavily reduced or dropped entirely. Theres really no reason why Firefly should be mentioned whatsoever.
The termininology section needs to go entirely. That big block of junk at the bottom can probably go as well.
The "supernatural" section can probabably be rewritten to form the bulk of an article describing the features of the buffyverse. It's a poor choice of section title though. Artw 20:54, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
- OK I've done a some slight rearranging, but the article still needs lots of work:
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- I expanded the intro, so hopefully it's clearer what the Buffyverse is, and the issues surrounding it.
- I reduced the 'terminology' section. I think it's still appropiate to keep this section, though perhaps it could be reduced further. I'd also argue it's worth explaining what 'Whedonverse' is (the fact it usually includes Firefly), since people often confuse the terms 'Buffyverse' and 'Whedonverse', and also since this article is supposed to be useful to people who might not know anything about Buffy/Angel or have any idea the difference between 'Buffyverse' and 'Whedonverse'. Furthermore on Wikipedia, typing in 'Whedonverse' leads to the 'Buffyverse' article.
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- The 'supernatural' section (anyone got any ideas for new title?) really needs to be expanded upon and improved. -- Paxomen 01:26, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
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- I've renamed it "Characteristics of the buffyverse". I've also moved some other stuff around and deleted a bunch of "cannonical issues", since they have their own page. TBH I find the focus on "canon" a bit strange - possibly it's an obsession of the fanbase, but an outsider it;s a bit strange that it should be such a major issue, requiring it;s own page and spilling over so hgeavily onto this page. Terminology is now "Alternate terms".
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- The article is still in need of a lot of work IMHO. Artw 00:16, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
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- Perhaps it was overkill before on the stuff about different Buffyverse stories, but I'm not convinced that one sentence in the "Alternate terms" section is the way to go either. Why not just summarise the section that was there before. Buffyverse canon is a direct sub-page of this page, and the issues of that article really should at least be briefly mentioned here Essentially this is a whole article about a fictional universe. "Characteristics of the Buffyverse" is a useful title and I'd agree that it should include the bulk of the article. However ignoring the differing stories in which Buffyverse tales are told is ignoring how this fictional universe has come about. The Buffyverse is nothing without the stories that collectively build the fiction? The choice to ignore the stories is puzzling to me. --Paxomen 02:10, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
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- The Star Wars and Star Trek main pages do perfectly well without huge discussions of what is and isn't "canon". Perhaps just listing the various properties that spin off from the Buffy would surfice, whithout the emphasis on what is and isn't canon. And as you say there is the canon page (which is linked to above the index) which should be enough coverage for those that care about that kind of thing. Artw 02:23, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
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- They actually do have text dedicated to looking at what stories build their fictional universe ("Star Wars" has loads and "Star Trek" section is about the same size as the 'Boundaries of the Buffyverse' section before it was deleted - see both below).
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- I understand what you're saying, emphasis on 'canon' looks geeky and may seem unimportant to the uninitiated. But the stories themselves are the building blocks of the Buffyverse, and this article is not called 'Characteristics of the Buffyverse', it is just called 'Buffyverse', and since we know what it's building blocks are, they really should be explained. -- Paxomen 03:05, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
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[edit] Star Wars Expanded Universe
The term "Expanded Universe" has come into existence as an umbrella term for all of the officially licensed Star Wars material outside of the six feature films. This includes television productions, books, comics, games, and other forms of media. The material expands and continues the stories told in the films, taking place anywhere from 25, 000 years before The Phantom Menace to 120 years after Return of the Jedi. It officially began in January 1978 with Marvel Comics' Star Wars # 7 and was further expanded by Alan Dean Foster's February 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye.
George Lucas retains ultimate creative control over the Star Wars universe. For example, the death of central characters and similar changes in the status quo must first pass his screening before authors are given the go-ahead. In addition, Lucasfilm Licensing devotes considerable effort to ensure continuity between the works of various authors across multiple companies.
Some purists reject the Expanded Universe as Apocrypha, believing that only the events in the film series are part of the "real" Star Wars universe. However, elements of the Expanded Universe have been adopted by Lucas for use in the films. For example, the name of the planet Coruscant first appeared in Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire before being used later in the prequel trilogy.
[edit] Television
To date, three films and three animated series have been produced for television, with a live-action series in pre-production. For the most part, Lucas has played a large role in the production of the television projects — usually serving as storywriter and/or executive producer.
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[edit] Audio dramas
- See also: Star Wars (radio)
A radio adaptation of A New Hope was first broadcast on National Public Radio in 1981. The adaptation was written by science fiction author Brian Daley and directed by John Madden. It was followed by adaptations of The Empire Strikes Back in 1983 and Return of the Jedi in 1996. The adaptations included background material created by Lucas but not used in the films. Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, and Billy Dee Williams reprised their roles as Luke Skywalker, C-3PO, and Lando Calrissian, respectively. The series also used John Williams' original score from the films and Ben Burtt's original sound designs.
[edit] Books
- See also: List of Star Wars books
Star Wars-based fiction predates the release of the first movie, with the 1976 novelization of "A New Hope" (ghost-written by Alan Dean Foster and credited to George Lucas). However, Foster's 1978 novel, Splinter of the Mind's Eye, was the first Expanded Universe work to be released. In addition to filling in the time between the movies, this additional content greatly expanded the Star Wars timeline before and after the film series.
Star Wars fiction flourished during the time of the original series (1977-1983), but slowed to a trickle afterwards. In 1991, however, Timothy Zahn's celebrated Thrawn Trilogy debuted, sparking a new interest in the Star Wars universe. Since then, several hundred tie-in novels have been published by Bantam and Del Rey.
LucasBooks radically changed the face of the Star Wars universe with the introduction of the New Jedi Order series, which takes place some 20 years after Return of the Jedi and stars a host of new characters alongside series originals. However, several significant events which occur during the course of this series (such as the death of a major film character) have sparked much fan criticism.
[edit] Comics
- See also: List of Star Wars comic books
Marvel Comics published Star Wars comic book series and adaptations from 1977 to 1986. A wide variety of creators worked on this series, including Archie Goodwin, Howard Chaykin, Al Williamson, Carmine Infantino, Gene Day, Walt Simonson, Michael Golden, Chris Claremont, Whilce Portacio, Jo Duffy, and Ron Frenz. In the late 1980s, Marvel announced it would publish a new Star Wars comic by Tom Veitch and Cam Kennedy. However, in December 1991, Dark Horse Comics acquired the Star Wars license and used it to launch a number of ambitious sequels to the original trilogy instead, including the very popular Dark Empire stories. They have since gone on to publish a large number of original adventures set in the Star Wars universe.
[edit] Games
Since 1983, over 120 video games have been published bearing the Star Wars name, beginning with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back published for the Atari 2600 by Parker Brothers. Since then, Star Wars has opened the way to a myriad of space-flight simulation games, first-person shooter games, roleplaying games, RTS games, etc.
Two different official tabletop role-playing games have been developed for the Star Wars universe– a version by West End Games in the 1980s and '90s and one by Wizards of the Coast in the 2000s.
[edit] Fan works
- See also: Star Wars fan films
The Star Wars saga has inspired many fans to create their own stories set in the Star Wars galaxy. In recent years, this has ranged from writing fan-fiction to creating fan films.
In 2002, Lucasfilm sponsored the first annual Official Star Wars Fan Films Awards, officially recognizing filmmakers and the genre. Due to concerns over potential copyright and trademark issues, however, the contest remains open only to parodies, mockumentaries, and documentaries. Fan-fiction films set in the Star Wars universe are ineligible. Initially this limitation caused an outcry for those interested in creating serious fan-fiction for a competition.
While many of the serious fan films have used elements from the licensed Expanded Universe to tell their story, they are obviously not considered an official part of the Star Wars canon. Lucasfilm has, for the most part, turned a blind eye to the creation of these derivative fan-fiction works, so long as no such work attempts to make a profit from or tarnish the Star Wars franchise in any way.
Lucasfilm's open support and sanction of fan creations is a marked contrast to the attitudes of many other copyright holders. Some owners, such as Paramount Pictures with the Star Trek properties, have been known to actively discourage the creation of such works by fans.
[edit] Star Trek: Other storylines and canonicity
The Star Trek canon comprises the five live-action TV series and ten motion pictures. The animated series, books, comic books, video games, and other materials based on Star Trek, though licensed by Paramount Pictures, are generally considered non-canon, as are fan-made (or "fanon") productions set within the Star Trek universe.
Outside of the television series and motion pictures produced by Paramount pictures, the Star Trek franchise has been officially expanded and elaborated on by various authors and artists in the so-called "Star Trek Expanded Universe," despite the fact that Paramount does not consider these derivative works canon[citation needed]. The creators of these works are generally free to tell their own stories set in the Star Trek universe, and are free to either keep an existing continuity, or use their own. (Similarly, writers for TV and film are under no obligation to pay heed to any of the derivative works.) These works often expand the back stories of characters, species, planets, etc, already seen in the official live-action productions. For example, the Voyager novels Mosaic and Pathways are known to have given essential background information for characters in the Voyager live-action series.
The Star Trek series has also inspired many unofficial fan-made productions. For example, in recent years, Star Trek fan films have been created for distribution over the Internet. Currently, Star Trek: Hidden Frontier which is a continuation of the timeline after the Dominion War from the perspective of a station and fleet in the Briar Patch, and Star Trek: New Voyages, a "continuation" of the original Star Trek, are prominent fan series. While none of these projects are licensed by Paramount, some have attracted participation from official cast and crew.[citation needed]
