Okay, so here’s the story.
I was a fan of Buffy/Angel. I got into Buffy late, but with some coaching from my dear friend Stephanie, I was able to catch up. I watched Buffy faithfully through to the end, but missed the last season of Angel (scheduling conflicts).
I’d heard all the buzz about Joss Whedon’s new show, Firefly, but never did get the chance to see it when it was on the air. Partially because, as we all know, it didn’t last long, and partially because the premise didn’t sound all that appealing to me. (A Space Western? Really? Hmmm…)
Well, I finally watched it, and I’m SO glad I did. It seemed like everywhere we went, someone was telling Rand and me that we had to watch Firefly and we had to do it now. Recently, the series was selling on Amazon for cheap, so we picked it up. And since our regular season shows were dying down, we found the time to watch.
Spoilers may follow. Proceed at your own risk. 😉
The series was great. Really, really great. Outstanding cast, wonderful characters, witty dialogue–all the stuff Joss fans have come to expect. Loved it. It did take me a bit to get into it. The first quarter of the pilot, I wasn’t quite feeling it. But before I knew it, I was completely won over.
I had seen Nathan Fillion (Captain Mal Reynolds) in James Gunn’s Slither, and rather enjoyed him. I had also seen him in an episode of Lost, which I also enjoyed.
Only 14 episodes of Firefly were made. Of those 14, only 11 aired, which is really a bummer. Not only that, but the original pilot never aired (FOX didn’t like it), and the episodes were shown out of order. The wha? It couldn’t have possibly made much sense. Knowing that, it’s a miracle anyone saw it at all.
(For more history/backstory, there’s an extensive article at wikipedia.)
I was lucky, getting to watch the entire run of the series and going straight to the movie, Serenity. It must have been rough waiting for that. It was pretty clear that Whedon & crew believed more episodes would be picked up, because it just kind of…stops, without any definitive ending.
The film picks up later than where the series ended, with two of the original crew members off the ship. Both play a part in the film later on. The film’s tone is much darker (and reading up on it a bit, I see that this darker tone is more what Joss wanted from the series), and I was rather annoyed by some character stuff that I thought was wrong–the highly antagonistic relationship between Mal and Simon, for example. It was as if any character development that had taken place during the series had been erased. Hm…but anyway…
I enjoyed Serenity, and it was definitely necessary to finish by letting us know what exactly had happened to River, and what it was she knew that the Alliance was so determined to keep secret.
What I didn’t like? All the dying. Gaaaaah. I cried my little eyes out for the last 10 minutes of the movie. I only found solace in the fact that there were a few horrifying moments when I thought everyone was going to die getting the message out. (one small criticism–I’m not sure this would have had the emotional resonance that it had if one had not seen the series before seeing the movie. I’m not sure I would have effectively bonded with the characters from the film alone.)
People always want to know who your favorite character is…and since I seem to be attracted to shows with great ensemble casts, it’s difficult to choose. These were all great characters. It’s pretty hard not to like Mal, of course. Jayne is a great blend of psychotic and hilarious. Kaylee is a sweetheart. (Imagine my surprise, when looking her up on IMDb, that she had played Eric’s evil wife Heidi on Wonderfalls! Ah, Wonderfalls…yet another great show that fell under FOX’s axe before its time.) Zoe and Wash were such an amazing couple. (sob!) And…I could keep going, but you get the idea.
One particular idea that I found interesting…here, we have a show set in the future, in outer space, and there are no aliens–humanity has simply taken over the universe, outlasted Earth and moved on to any planet or moon that could be “terra-formed” for human life. Cool. And scary.
I wish this show had been given a longer life. I think there was a lot of potential, and a great deal of territory to be explored.
I know there are a lot of people out there who are fans, and I’m excited to hear from you–thoughts, questions, comments, whatever! 🙂
I too was not really sure about the premise of the show. A space western? However, my boyfriend LOVED the show. All I knew about it was that “Joey” was on it. Nathan Fillion played Joey on One Life to Live a while back. So for his birthday, I got him the series and the movie, which was about the time I moved in. All I was thinking was “great, now I am going to have to sit through those too.” I have a very hit or miss like of SciFi. I liked Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and only like the Next Generation version of Star Trek. I really dislike the original and all of it’s movies, the spin offs I don’t hate but didn’t care for. And as much as my bf tries, I can’t get into Battlestar and the Stargate series he watches.
I had seen most of the Serenity movie before I saw the series, but I hadn’t been paying much attention to it when it was on. I thought it was “OK”. I haven’t sat back down to watch it since watching the series. I must say the first time we sat down to watch an episode of Firefly (in LAX on our mini DVD player – didn’t have much of a choice), I was really surprised how much I found myself enjoying it. I thought it was fun, and funny. It just had this great feel to it. I like Mal too. :)The boyfriend says that he knew I would like Kaylee, and she reminds him of me sometimes. I am not sure I am surprised that it didn’t last long – only due to the goofy way Fox did things, and all the networks pull shows too quickly, before they get a chance to find their audience. If a show isn’t THE NEXT BIG THING the first night out now, it won’t last long.
Ok, I will stop hijacking your comments now. 🙂
I actually watched it when it was on TV. They had a lot of hype commercials and I thought, “Hey, right up my alley.” I watched the first ep they aired, which was ‘Train Job’. At the end, Mal kicks the big nasty guy into the engine of his ship. The second nasty guy is all about helping Mal. I was an instant fan.
Favorite character? Heck, have one for every day of the week. On Monday I’m Mal, taking the world by storm. On Tuesday I’m Zoe, tough and getting the job done. On Wednesday, I’m Simon and analyzing everything! Thursdsay I’m Jayne, an obnoxious fighter with a big gun. Friday I’m Kaylee because everything is shiny! Saturday I’m Wash and slobbing around while making quips on the internet. Sunday I’m back to work and like River, have a brain that’s going everywhere backward and forward. (I don’t think I’m religious or mysterious enough to be Book!)
Fox has a goofy way of determining what shows stay and what goes. They also have a crappy way to showcase them. Nathan was in “Drive” recently, which they aired 3 episodes of and cancelled. It was a great show with a grand premise and they pulled it before it had a moment to breathe the air.
I really loathe Fox. They have no sense.
I had no interest in watching “Firefly” at first, either. I wasn’t a fan of “Buffy” and I’d never seen “Angel”. Still, enough people were raving about it that I finally got curious to borrow the first disc from a friend.
I very shortly regretted that I didn’t get the -other- three discs, too :). I borrowed them as soon as I could after seeing Disc 1. Asked for the set for Christmas right after that.
I really do love the series and totally regret the potential that was lost when it was prematurely cancelled. I like the dark feel of it, the wit, the grittiness, the thought that had gone into where humanity is headed. Like you, I’ve never been able to choose a favorite character, or even two or three, a sign of a truly excellent ensemble cast. John was smitten with Kaylee, though :).
Yeah, I was appalled by the deaths in “Serenity”, too! In fact, I’m not at all upset that the movie didn’t do well enough to produce a sequel. I don’t want to imagine a second “Firefly” movie without Sheppard or Wash, anyway. I’m content to watch the fourteen episodes I already have.
Love, too, how many really good filksongs have already come out of “Firefly”. It seems to be a real source of inspiration for the filk community.