I haven't been in this forum in ages. I only just found out Hulu cancelled Buffy reboot...back in like March lol. So that tells you how out of the loop I've been.
Was going to make a thread, but this exists, so may as well post here instead.
Personally, I'm quite pleased.
I caught a clip on Roku TV of Magnum P.I.--only it wasn't the real Magnum P.I., it was the modern remake where everything is the same except Vietnam is Afghanistan and Higgins is a will they/won't they love interest instead of older veteran/mentor.
While I'm sure it is competent-ish TV, it's not as excellent as the original, and it has no right to exist. It is such a defining, lasting show that stands the test of time and it's just not right to do over it because modern writers can't have an original idea.
I feel the same about Buffy, and I have since I first heard of this reboot.
Let's face it, the odds of a modern reboot/remake actually doing justice to the source material are very slim, they almost always just insult the source material and its legacy while generating ratings purely on brand recognition. It's dirty and lazy.
I know SMG was very on board with this project, but she is at the end of the day, an actress, even if the leading one. Actors mean nothing without intelligent writers to give them lines and craft worlds and scripts. Joss Whedon wouldn't have been involved as he's been practically blacklisted in Hollywood I think. Not that having him on board would've necessarily made this a sensible idea or a successful one. It's not like creative people 30 years later are at the same level of brilliance always as they were in their prime. Sometimes they are, sometimes not.
My feeling is to just respect the legacy by leaving it well alone. Let it be a time capsule, let its themes and characters stand on their own feet. The story and its pun of conquering demons of growing up versus literal demons has been done. No need to re-do it. There weren't any open questions left unanswered or unfulfilled that beckon a revival. And Buffy in the early 90s (began with movie), being the badass action hero rather than the damsel in distress was very 90s in eschewing the old norms and being pretty feminist in a way. These days that isn't counter-culture anymore but a traditional cliche. Going back to old traditions of actually celebrating masculine heroes with female damsels would be more breaking trends in the modern world. Just like how we had so many "Superman, but he's evil!" movies and shows that actually showing Superman being Superman the hero again is somehow remarkable and unique once more.