4. Willow
Because frankly, there's never been anything quite as good as
Buffy The Vampire Slayer since it left our screens. The original and best Joss Whedon series, the world of Buffy had the scope for numerous spin offs. One succeeded (
Angel) and that was brilliant. One seemed all but set to go (
Ripper) but sadly it never materialised. And there was the glimmer of a third (
Faith The Vampire Slayer). Faith was as easy choice and one that would have been fantastic to watch. However Eliza Dushku decided to go with the less spectacular
Tru Calling, which only started to get rather good in its final run of episodes, before being cancelled very early into season two. Faith was an interesting character as she had the same redemption article as Angel and could carry on the 'chosen one protecting the world' arc from Buffy (except of course there were 100s of Slayers at the end, but you get my point). Plus she was the hottest character on the show, but that's just my personal preference. However, 10 years on, I think that shipped has sailed. Eliza has already taking a leading role in a J0ss Whedon TV show (
Dollhouse), pretty much ruling out a lead role again. Instead, I think a better option for a spin off would be Willow - witch and best friend of Buffy herself. Alyson Hannigan brought so much depth and warmth to the role of Willow and I don't think I've seen her close matching this performance since. Sure, she's fun as Lilly in
How I Met Your Mother, but she's definitely the weakest of the five leads and besides, that long running sitcom is about to come to an end. Which means Cobie Smulders can head over to
Marvel's Agents of Shield as Maria Hill as a regular for season two and Alyson can return to the role that made her famous. I would love to see Willow ten years after the destruction of Sunnydale. A more powerful, confident witch, she would be a leading heroine in her own right. She could be anywhere in the world, battling the forces of evil while fighting off the temptation of dark powers that would tip her over the edge into becoming Dark Willow all over again. A great redemption arc right there. And it would be the right time to see a world post multiple slayers and what that has done to the balance of good and evil, something the final season of
Angel only briefly acknowledged. I know we've had seasons eight and nine in comic book form, but who wouldn't want a return to the Buffyverse on our screens? Willow herself became an icon of LGBT culture with the beautiful depiction of her romance with Tara in the show, and taking a lead role would only help that. Plus it would be a good chance to catch up on other characters from time to time. Sarah Michelle Gellar has never come close to as good a performance as her role as Buffy and her recent return to TV in
Ringer was lacklustre and was soon cancelled. It is shocking how Nicholas Brendan never became a big star. He was in a few episodes of
Private Practice as a wife-beating rapist and plays a recurring, somewhat lovable techno-geek in
Criminal Minds but he needs to be on TV more. Surely the occasional appearance of Xander Harris would solve that? Its not something Joss Whedon could mastermind, not with his current Marvel commitments tying him up for years to come. But I'm sure he'd help get it kick started. And there's plenty of Whedonesque writers who could manage the show - Jane Espenson, Marti Noxon or David Fury...it would be a safe bet in their capable hands. Plus it would put to be the awful recurring rumours of a Buffy reboot. Is there anyone who would want
that?