Into Every Generation...

So, about that Buffy reboot. Late last week it was revealed that a reboot of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” with a black actress stepping into the role of the eponymous heroine. Obviously, the amount of feelings about this were great. From “Oh no!” to “Oh yes!” and “Wait, what?” and “Wait, really?”

Joss Whedon will serve as executive producer and Monica Owusu-Breen has signed on as showrunner and will write the pilot. You might not think you’re familiar with Owusu-Breen’s work, but you most certainly are with her work. She has written and produced for “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Fringe,” “Lost,” “Brothers & Sisters,” “Alias” and “Charmed.” Most recently she created “Midnight, Texas.” So there’s some good stuff there for sure – but I gave “Midnight, Texas” an honest shot and could not recommend it. So, hm.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “the new Buffy will be richly diverse, with some aspects of the series, like the flagship, seen as metaphors for issues facing society today.”

I am 100 percent down for a diverse Buffy. And I am 100 percent down for a woman of color helming the project. But, here’s the thing, why a reboot?

I would much rather we see a passing of the torch – or more like stake – than retell the original story again. Why not acknowledge the passage of time and start over with a new slayer? We all know into every generation a Slayer is born. It’s already built into the mythology. It’s in the damn credits. It’s a major part of the show. New Slayers, all the time, like clockwork.

Sure, at the end of Buffy they turned all of the Potentials into Slayers. But there are clever and smart ways to explain that. Plus, it would be pretty kickass to follow one Slayer, but then have other Slayers pop in sometimes. Why not? How much more “richly diverse” can you get than that? Or, pretend the spell was broken and start over from one again.

But to take a series as iconic as Buffy and just reboot it instead of continuing the story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Have we learned nothing from the “Heathers” reboot? Let next generation show how they wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness. And she could still be named Buffy, after one of the greatest Slayers of all time.