The Greatest Drew Goddard Episodes Ever (And Stuff about his Career)

Credit: Variety

The Cabin in the Woods hits theaters today. The movie is written by Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard and directed by Goddard. A review of The Cabin in the Woods in the Philadelphia Daily News forgot to mention Drew Goddard's name. Joss, of course, received all of the credit for the film, which is a shame. Fortunately, the internet hasn't snubbed Mr. Goddard like the Philadelphia Daily News. EW let Drew write a diary of SXSW experiences and many other entertainment sites recognize Drew. More people, though, will be guilty of overlooking Drew because of the gigantic name that is Joss Whedon on the movie's poster. Again, this is a shame because Goddard's one of the most talented writers in Hollywood. Now I'm sure he'll be the most sought after director in the business--he'll finally be that rare total package of stylish and moving writing combined with stylish and moving directing. I haven't seen the film yet, but I know Drew directed the hell out of The Cabin in the Woods.

Here's what I wrote about Drew during 2010's Seven Business Days of Whedon (The Writers):

Goddard is one of the fans' favorite writers and he's one of my favorite writers. There was a fight between the Buffy and ANGEL offices for his talents after they read his infamous Six Feet Under spec script. He breathed some much needed life into Buffy in season seven. In "Selfless," a plot point that was seemingly forgotten re-emerged. Goddard admits Joss re-wrote some scenes because Goddard was too wordy in his first ever television script. Goddard joined ANGEL for its final year and delivered the superb "Linage." Goddard wrote a freelance script for LOST during its first season and joined the staff in season three. He wrote Cloverfield. He's best friends with JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon. He co-wrote Cabin In The Woods with Joss and directed the movie. He wrote the Alias series finale. Goddard believes in the importance of an insane/action packed teaser. His description of the Six Feet Under teaser he wrote sounds insane and the teaser caught the eye of Marti Noxon who hired him. I read the script for "Outlaws" a few weeks ago. It's one thing to watch the teaser and a different experience reading the teaser. The teaser for his episode of LOST, "Outlaws," is fantastic on the page and much more gripping than the filmed version (and the filmed version is great). His scripts are worth checking out as well as his commentary tracks.

Anyway, since I'm convinced Americans will go crazy for The Cabin in the Woods and demand more Goddard content, I've decided to compile a list of his best episodes of TV.

FROM BUFFY--"Selfless," "Conversations With Dead People," "Never Leave Me," "Lies My Parents Told Me" and "Dirty Girls."

Drew wrote five (two were co-written) episodes during Buffy's final season. Some fans credit Drew for saving the season from complete misery. We know that he wrote "Selfless" when the bulk of the writers were on maternity or paternity leave, according to interviews. "Selfless" came out of nowhere. Fans didn't like season six. Season seven, four episodes in, didn't entirely recapture what fans loved about the show, but then came "Selfless"--Anya's first centric episode helped relieve some fears about the season and the show, and everyone seemed to notice of the name on the script.

Goddard became one of the most popular writers on the old Bronze boards. He eventually had a group of minions, which he named Minions, and offered innumerable insights into his writing process as well as process of writing the show in a writers' room. Drew then wrote the Trio's part of "Conversations With Dead People." "Never Leave Me" is a self-contained episode that doesn't stand apart from its mini-arc. The episode's heavy on dialogue with bits of action thrown in; Buffy's and Spike's various exchanges are the episode's highlights. His work on #717-18 is great too; on the commentary tracks he's all too eager to pass credit to David Fury and Joss Whedon. He sounds forever grateful for the opportunity to write for his favorite show of all-time. The dude has a quick wit too. His episodes and commentary tracks are equally entertaining.

FROM ANGEL--"Lineage," "Damage," "Why We Fight," "Origin," "The Girl in Question"

ANGEL finally got their guy after BtVS ended in May 2003. They wanted him in season four, but Joss took him for Buffy.

Goddard walked into a group of writers who were instructed to revamp the show after an insane fourth season. The fifth season of ANGEL has its critics but it has its fans as well. Don't all things have that? I'm among the fifth season supporters. I began watching the show weekly during its fifth and final year (in the afternoons, after school, I watched the show on TNT); therefore it has a special place in my heart. But, really, the storytelling is magnificent.

Drew had a hand in some of season's most iconic moments, such as when Wesley shoots his father in "Lineage". "Lineage" is the definitive Wesley Wyndham-Price episode. He co-wrote "Damage" with Steven S. DeKnight (another dude who deserves his own blog post--he currently runs Spartacus) and I named it the 11th best ANGEL episode during the Seven Business Days of Whedon in July 2010. "Damage" explores what it means to be a victim and a villain. Words do not do the episode justice. Buy and watch it on Amazon or stream it on Netflix. "Origin", the episode when Connor re-enters Angel's life months after everyone's, but Ange'sl, memories have been wiped clean of him so that he could live a normal life with a loving family, is that character's definitive episode. "The Girl in Question" displays more of Goddard and DeKnight's comic chops (it couldn't be more different than "Damage" though both do involve a Slayer). As for "Why We Fight," it's a flashback episode which brings Angel's past to the present once more. I think the ending, along with the "Damage" end, is among ANGEL's most moving scenes. In sum: the talent Goddard displayed at Buffy GREW on ANGEL and produced BETTER episodes.

FROM ALIAS--My apologies, I never watched Alias. I can only assume Goddard kicked the show's ass. His work on Alias and LOST led to the Cloverfield script after all.

FROM LOST--"Outlaws," "The Glass Ballerina," "Flashes Before Your Eyes," "The Man from Tallahassee," "One of Us," "The Man Behind the Curtain," "Confirmed Dead," "The Other Woman," "The Shape of Things to Come."

Damon Lindelof and JJ Abrams have nothing but glowing things to say about Goddard. Now, LOST scripts were written by two people from season two until the end of the season because Carlton Cuse preferred that. Lindelof and Cuse actually answered my question on the LOST wiki page before the finale about that specific two person team writing approach and it was more poetic than 'Cuse wants it that way.'

Anyway, Goddard wrote a top five season one episode in "Outlaws" and returned to the staff for seasons three and four (after Alias ended). I'm an ardent season three supporter. I think the season is nearly as good as season 1 from #308 until the game-changing finale. If you read the listed episodes, you'll note that Drew co-wrote three of the season's biggest episodes. "One of Us" is spectacular because it humanizes Juliet. The audience would be able to identify with her more easily. I don't know whether Drew understood the character in a special way but he co-wrote season four's "The Other Woman," which is another Juliet-centric hour. His last credited episode is #409, which is the Ben flash forward, and features one of the most agonizing scenes in television history. What a talent. Also, he wrote two webisodes: Jin's temper tantrum on the golf course and "So It Begins." Jin's temper tantrum is a goddamn gem.

CLOVERFIELD

Drew was overlooked during the Cloverfield craze because of JJ Abrams' involvement. Jeff Goldsmith, formerly of Creative Screenwriting, had an hour long discussion with Drew about the movie and his career. The podcast should still be available for download on the internet. Cloverfield is a good film. Many contemporary films, regardless of the genre, blend together for me. Ask me to name one particular scene in The Crazies or any horror remake and I'll stare blankly into space. But I remember a great deal of Cloverfield because of the well-drawn characters and the concept. Matt Reeves' direction is responsible for part of that, of course. But it all starts with the script, and Drew turned in a wonderful feature film screenplay debut.

AND THEN...

Drew disappeared for awhile. The Cabin in the Woods was completed three years ago but MGM's financial situation kept the film in limbo. Unfortunately, Drew never returned to TV after his run on LOST ended. I would've love if he wrote a single script for Dollhouse. I mean, DeKnight came in once, banged out "Target," left to run Spartacus, and it's a top five episode in the series. Goddard made his acting debut as Fake Thomas Jefferson in Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Goddard wrote, or is writing, Spielberg's next film which is titled Robopocalypse." The Cloverfield sequel is a go as well and he'll be writing it. His career path has been sensational. The dude's worked with the best creative minds in the business. I hope The Cabin in the Woods is a great success. I hope he continues to write the terrific stories he's been writing for over a decade. Cheers!