A friend clued me in on this “Firefly” thing. Glad he did. In the 2002-03 TV season, Joss Wheedon, who is the guy behind “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer” & “Angel,” (I’ve never seen a single episode of either), had a science-fiction series on Fox that ran for 11 episodes before being unceremoniously cancelled by Fox. In that short time, it developed a rabid fan base and sales of the DVD box set (which includes unaired episodes) has been brisk and added to the ranks of fans. This allowed Joss Whedon to get support to make a feature film based on the series. The film is called “Serenity” and is due out Sept 30.
Anyway, I’m nearly done working through the DVDs and I can very highly recommend them. Now, if I tell you that it’s a sci-fi western, which it is, you have every reason to be skeptical. But, I have found it to be smart, funny, and exceptionally entertaining.
They’re very good fun. I also came to them via the DVD – hadn’t even known there was a TV series before these were given to me – and have become a fan. Funny, smart, entertaining, very clever stuff.
Watching the discs with the commentary on is fun, too, by the way. Along with the usual anecdotes and explanations, the actors point out a couple of funny flubs, including one shot where the ship’s navigator, Wash, is sitting in a chair in front of a console and just sort of waving his hands around pretending to steer the ship (his hands were supposed to be out of the shot).
Joss has given many interviews saying that it was difficult writing a script that would not alienate new viewers, but also would not bore the die-hard fans of the series. I believe the movie revolves around a subplot that was supposed to be fleshed out later, but was only somewhat touched on during the first and only season. So, I wouldn’t lose sleep over it. You can probably get away with not seeing the whole series before the movie, but it might help you get pre-aquainted with the characters to see at least one or two.
For Pete’s sake, definately see the series eventually. It is great stuff. Joss Wheedon likes to make fun of Sci-Fi stereotypes. A lot.
I think I stumbled into this when it was on TV. I have it on videotape somewhere.
Wasn’t there an episode where they were trying to find some escaped or kidnapped people on a medieval planet and there was a little outdoor festival with a band playing a tune that sounded familiar but I couldn’t quite place… and because of that tune, I haven’t recorded over the videotape yet, in the expectation of transcribing it and identifying it.
Thanks for the update, Dale! I wondered what had happened to it.
Just finished the second disc (seen 5 episodes so far) and loving it. I’ll watch the next disc next weekend (or sooner). Netflix has them. It really is a western with a few sci-fi props. Funny dialogue and circumstances. I love the theme song and the instrumental with the fiddle and banjo (3 seconds of banjo) and the slide guitar stuff. I’m still wondering where the crew or captain came up with the money to buy the ship. And the shepherd sure has some secrets in his past that haven’t been exposed yet. hmm…
Tony
We missed the first run of Firefly, but a friend had taped all the episodes and insisted that we watch them. I’m very glad she did. We now own the DVD set, and have watched all 13 episodes multiple times. I believe it is Joss Whedon’s best work, to date. Firefly is intelligent, funny, well-written and well-acted. So, naturally, it was cancelled after one season. Had to make room for some new “reality” show, I suppose. :roll:
I was surfing through the channels and stumbled upon the opening credits of Firefly… needless to say I was hooked after 5 minutes of watching it. I haven’t seen more than a couple episodes since then, but I try to every Friday evening… It was nice to see Ron Glass still in ‘show business’, he was my favorite character in ‘Barney Miller’.
Hmm… I’ve always gotten the impression that he was formerly in law enforcement or the Alliance military; perhaps a judge or interrogator. How else do you explain the reaction and special treatment he received for his gunshot wound after the Alliance officer saw his ID card?
A little, yes. What about the distances traveled. No mention of warp drives or time dilation, or any of that good stuff. Oh yeah, it’s a western.
And back to Shepherd, remember he said in an early episode he saw a man killed he was sworn to protect? This was a government agent who got killed by one of the crew. And he threw a few martial arts moves during the ruckus before that happened. I thought, oh, he’s from a Shaolin monastery.
I hope they do more with River’s psychic development. Weird kid.
Speaking of other sci-fi westerns, have you seen Outland with Sean Connery?
