TV Meme: Day 19 - Favorite TV Cast

The nineteenth day of the TV meme asks what my favorite TV cast is. Quite immediately, three shows hit my super fast brain waves, and I think it's no coincidence that all three of these shows were written, created, and directed by Joss Whedon [select episodes, of course - at least with the 'written' and 'directed' part]. Joss and his team of writers have the best ability at creating a fantastic ensemble program in all of the TV-verse. Three-dimensional characters inhabit the screen every second of the shows running time, and thanks to the guidance of Whedon & Co's powerful penmanship, these great characters deliver the goods week after week. The drama, the humor, the turmoil, the campy, the action - you name it, a Whedon show has it.

In programs that have a cast bigger than three main actors, some characters end up getting short-shafted. Not in a Whedon show [and no, Oz doesn't count]. His characters are so alive and so real and so freakin' amazing, it was inevitable that a show of his would get this crowned spot. But which one? Buffy? Angel? Firefly? [not Dollhouse, sadly] I love the Angel cast with two exceptions - Charles Gunn and Connor. Granted, they get better as their characters evolve and they get better storylines, but for the most part, they did break down the sheer awesomeness of the cast. But then season 5 came, and Angel featured the best cast of any show ever. However, if I'm judging this in a general way, then no, I can't (despite how much I want to) give this one to Angel. So Firefly? Way too obvious, and way too true. But then again, Buffy is far too obvious as well. Plus they've both been written about a lot...

Ah, hell. My favorite TV cast is the Buffy, the Vampire Slayer lot. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Giles, Oz, Cordelia, Angel, Kendra, Dawn, Faith, Andrew, Jonathan, and Spike (plus more I neglected to mention). Great, great, great chemistry and writing makes every episode - even the ones that are truly rubbish - mildly entertaining and somewhat worth it [e.g., season 2's "Bad Eggs"]. I can't think of a more perfect cast and more perfectly constructed characters. Plus, and this is a major plus, just watching these guys onscreen interacting is freakin' awesome enough - all the other stuff (the writing, the direction, the performances, yada, yada) is just groovy icing on the cake, mate.

Another great thing about this particular cast: we get the opportunity to watch these characters and actors grow up right before our eyes. We get to see Buffy Summers and by extent Sarah Michelle Geller go from a young woman uncertain about her life to being quite comfortable in her own shoes and empowered by her own choices and actions. There's Willow Rosenberg, who discovers herself from the beginning of the series all the way to its end. Xander Harris, the bumbling nerd who ends up having more stones and depth than anyone would have thought possible. The school librarian Giles who is as fallible as any human alike, despite his nearly indestructible power Buffy pictures him as.

Basically, this cast rocks. These characters rock. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, like Transformers, has "more than meets the eye."

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[BTW, I am SOOO proud of myself for that Transformers reference!!!]