Just Let Buffy Rest in Peace

As fans learned in Season 6 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, its darkest and arguably best season (don’t @ me), Buffy should be allowed to rest in peace. To resurrect her would be a cruel and ultimately selfish act. So, of course, network execs want to do it.

Variety reports that there’s been talk of a Buffy reboot, much like with every other series you said your final goodbyes to as a teenager. Fox TV Group Chair Gary Newman told reporters at the INTV Conference on Tuesday that Buffy is “the most ripe show” Fox has the power to revive. Ripe for the picking or ripe in the ground, Newman? Either way, it’s up to creator Joss Whedon to slit the fawn’s throat over our fallen hero’s grave:

“It’s something we talk about frequently, and Joss Whedon is really one of the greatest creators we ever worked with,” he said. “When Joss decides it’s time, we’ll do it. And until Joss decides it’s time, it won’t happen.”

Let’s pray Whedon never decides it’s time. Watching Buffy was a formative experience for many, but things have changed—in particular, the perception of Whedon as a feminist hero, following a very public accusation of cheating from his wife on the set of that very show, as well as other emotional manipulations.

While I personally can’t dismiss this beloved show, I still can’t imagine that a reboot with Whedon at the helm would be anything short of a total disaster. Buffy had her moment, but that moment has passed and is also still available to stream online when the mood strikes. Newman went on to say that Buffy’s built-in fanbase would make it easier for a revival to break through in a “noisy landscape,” but admits there’s no reason to do it without a true creative impulse.