I think ‘Firefly’ could solve most fertility problems.
Because I’m pretty sure I ovulated at least once per episode when I marathon-watched the series last weekend and am now quite possibly pregnant even though the only man in my life is on the other side of the country wearing body armor by day and sleeping on a cot in a barracks by night.
(I hope people understand what I mean by my whole ovulation theory. It’s not dirty; it’s science.)
Mal: “Now you only gotta scare ‘im.”
Jayne: “Pain is scary.”
Yeah, stud. Tell me more. Rowr!
I don’t know what I like more about this show, the dialog or the actors. I’m not sure I’d like the dialog with different actors, and I’m not sure I’d like these actors with different dialog, but why make it complicated? The show is shiny. (Edited to add later, after watching a few episodes twice - I’m so full of shit. I would love most of these actors on anything, and I would love this dialog at least a little even if spoken by Rosie O’Donnell.)
Forget C.S. Lewis - I’m pretty sure the cancellation of this show after only one season is proof there is no God. Seven years of American Idol on the same network that gave us only one year of Firefly. Do the quantum math on that one.
I didn’t love everything about the show. Namely, Shepherd Book. He didn’t seem to have any purpose, and the mystery about his background was both uninteresting and never solved, even in the Serenity movie. Meh. But there is plenty to love otherwise. Almost more than I can even handle.
If I were a lesbian or a man, I would stalk Jewel Staite (Kaylee the mechanic) and make her be my wife just for that strawberry-eating scene alone. She herself is absolutely delicious and I am having a very hard time comprehending why she’s not on every TV show currently in production. I knew her from Stargate Atlantis, but now I can see that she is so…neutered on that show. You know what I mean? I had no idea she was so funny and sexy and completely adorable. Rarely am I so charmed by young female actresses, but this girl really is priceless.
I’m not quite sure how to blog about Adam Baldwin (Jayne Cobb the mercenary) without offending Rupert and every other heterosexual male reading this. Ladies, you know what I mean. Am I the only one with a newfound fetish for cream-colored pants on men with solid thighs? It doesn’t hurt that he talks about guns and killin’ a lot. Serious man candy. By the way, when is “Chuck” coming back????
Summer Glau (River the crazy genius) is utter brilliance. Much like Jewel Staite, it confounds me why this girl isn’t more famous. Speaking of shows coming back, where is “Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles”? I DEMAND IT. In the Serenity movie when she finally gets in touch with her true nature and beats the shit out of an entire room full of men, with ballet moves no less, I almost passed out from the awesomeness.
Nathan Fillion (Captain Mal) has the best lines and the best delivery. Again: why not more famous? What does freakin’ David Caruso have that this guy doesn’t? Come on! I saw Fillion in a movie a few weeks ago (”The Waitress”) and he’s funny. Cute, too. What is not funny or cute is his pants on Firefly, though. What the hell do you need pants up to your ribcage for?
The others are all great, too, including the chick playing Inara (the hooker/Companion), although she is impossibly beautiful and still somehow not as appealing as Kaylee.
I don’t even know what else to say. I promised to blog about Firefly but if you’ve seen it, you already know, and if you haven’t, you don’t care. I think the ultimate lesson really is that television executives are IDIOTS. They aired the episodes out of order, bumped the show a few times, and then canceled it before all the episodes even aired. IDIOTS. What thought processes does a person have to go through to pull a show like that from the same network that gives us years and years of pure Grade-A crap? It’s just not reasonable and I am personally offended by it.
Good to hear you enjoyed it.
I’ll be in my bunk.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:12 pmI’m pretty sure the cancellation of this show after only one season is proof there is no God
Amen! Must. Have. More. Kaylee. Engines make her hot, y’know.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:14 pmSo glad you love Firefly! I’m a big enough dork that I and 8 of my closest friends went to the premiere in costume. Yeeaaah…we’re MEGA dorks.
My favorite character will always be Wash. He had the best random lines. Zoe definitely had the best sarcastic backtalk, though.
“Sir, I think you have a problem with your brain being missing.”
May 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pmI think the Shepherd Book storyline was one The Powers That Be intended on playing out through the series… Well, you can see how THAT went.
Adam Baldwin also played A Very Bad Guy in the last couple of seasons of The X-Files, and was very cool (but nowhere near as funny as he was in Firefly). And there is a YouTube video out there somewhere of him singing “The Man They Call Jayne”… in his knit cap. Find it and laugh hysterically.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:19 pmThey are also the ones that canceled Wonder Falls and John Doe (on for one season the hour after Firefly). Add revenue. Sci-Fi, for whatever reason has never been widely accepted. Karaoke has, (which may be one of the signs of the pending apocalypse) so it gets renewed, season after bloody season.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:24 pmAdam Baldwin was also a strong antagonist in “The Visitor” back in the ‘97/’98 television season. He was a menacing villian (and a lawyer) in the last season of Angel too. Heck, he was even an Air Force Colonel (I think) at Area 51 in Independence Day. He does good work.
To borrow Mal’s line to Jayne in “Our Mrs. Reynolds” (I believe) “My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle.” The reason I bring it up? He is unfortunately cursed with having the last name of Baldwin. He isn’t related to that family, but it is hard to take seriously anyone named Baldwin, especially if they are an actor (played to excellent humor in “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” for a Baldwin’s role in “Crime Scene”).
May 7th, 2008 at 12:26 pmFuturama and Firefly, both dumped by FOX because they wanted to be the big network with teh football. But the geek shall inherit the Earth, and when our day of glory comes we shall remember FOX’s transgressions and look unkindly upon them.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:29 pmSpeaking of shows coming back, where is “Terminator: Sarah Conner Chronicles”? I DEMAND IT.
Don’t fret: it’s been renewed.
With regards to the morons at Fox, well, I remember watching the train robbery for the first episode and I wondered who these people were and why I should care about them. A few weeks later, when they FINALLY showed the first episode, I knew. So I followed the bouncing show from timeslot to timeslot, waiting for what I knew to be the inevitable. About the only scifi show that Fox moved that thrived was the X Files, but they had an established audience by then.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:32 pmif you remember the “agent” in Serenity, you have a good idea where the Shepherd came from … at least that’s what I gathered from watching the marathon.
Sure makes for better TV when you watch it in the right oder and all at once, doesn’t it. As soon as I (finally) get the widescreen HDTV hooked up in the living room, there;ll be a repeat of that Firefly marathon … heh.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:36 pmI loaned my Firefly DVD’s to co-workers for a year or so and made belated converts galore. What a shame that they cancelled this gem. I’m still mad. I don’t watch much TV but I’m pretty loyal to the few shows that I do enjoy. Homicide: Life on the Street, Firefly, B&W Andy Griffeth and LOST. I could watch re-runs of these over and over.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:46 pmCould - and do.
I was pretty furious when “Smith” got cancelled, too. A show that follows the crooks, instead of the cops? I liked it, but they didn’t give it a chance to find its audience.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:47 pmHa-ha, all the ads right now are Firefly/Serenity-related!! Score!!
May 7th, 2008 at 12:47 pm*sigh*
You know Rachel, it would be a lot harder for us to speculate that you might be preggers if you would stop saying things like this. : )
To be fair, part of the reason Firefly went under was the marketing. It was advertised as “From the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alien: Resurrection”. People who hated Buffy and Resurrection stayed away and people who loved Buffy and Resurrection tuned in at first but then stopped watching because Firefly was nothing like either.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:49 pmAbsolutely. Sparkling. Dialogue.
IIRC, Mal’s high-waist-y pants are old-fashioned, as in Old West. Suspenders and all. He just so seldom wears a waistcoat and frock coat to round out the look.
At least he doesn’t have to worry about the gun belt riding over the belt holding up his pants.
On the cancellation: Yeah, the studio execs are ‘tards, but in so many different ways!
I remember reading, long time back, that Whedon had a three-show deal with Fox’s production arm. The first two shows (Buffy and Angel) Fox sold to other networks, where they be came monster (pun intended), seven-year hits.
So Fox decides to keep Whedon’s third show for themselves, but didn’t like the result and gave it a crappy time slot (Friday night, I think - which the older folks here will remember is where NBC sent Star Trek when they wanted it to die)and very little marketing. (I don’t remember a single ad. It had been canceled by the time I picked up some word-of-mouth. I had to hear about it from a friend living in England.) Virtual guarantee of early cancellation.
In an interview (I think it’s in the bonus material on the DVD), Whedon is asked what he’d do different and he says “Next time, I won’t promise the actors a seven-year run.”
May 7th, 2008 at 12:54 pmWell, it didn’t help that Joss did everything he could to piss off the network.
He wanted to shoot in high def, and got told by the network to not shoot anything that couldn’t easily be turned into standard video.
The first scene that went to the editors was a scene with Mal talking to someone across a street. (I think it was a gunfight.)
Running it through the cheap process would have produced a view of an empty street with two characters talking off-screen. To make it usable for standard TV, you had to hand-edit it to cut from one character to another.
Apparently the entire production was full of crap like that. Love the show, love Joss’ vision, but if that’s the attitude he takes with his senior management, it’s no wonder they did everything they could to kill it. If he’d been working for me, I’d have torpedoed his ass too.
Lamont
May 7th, 2008 at 12:54 pmAdam Baldwin also shows up in Stargate SG-1 from time to time.
May 7th, 2008 at 12:56 pmFun link: Firefly-Serenity Chinese Pinyinary
May 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pmI encourage everyone to check out these websites:
http://allecto.wordpress.com/
http://users.livejournal.com/_allecto_/34718.html
This is a blogger, and a relatively popular one. She’s a radical feminist that, get this, bashes Firefly to no end. She makes claims that Joss Whedon is a rapist, a wife-beater, and racist, just on her analysis on the show.
It’s a terrible tragedy. The show is pure genius. The characters were written beautifully (though I agree with your take on Book).
May 7th, 2008 at 12:59 pmThat really says it all… I watched part of the first episode (I think it was actually supposed to be the third) when it originally aired, and didn’t even finish it. When I got the DVDs and watched them in Whedon Order, I absolutely loved it.
Same reasoning that screwed up the last season of Babylon Five… network execs are IDIOTS
Au Contraire, mon frere… I found Firefly to be very much like Buffy… in the *awesome* character and dialogue way, which is why I loved Buffy in the first place.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:00 pmThe actress who plays Inara, Morena Baccarin, also plays Adria, a villain during the last season of Stargate SG-1.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pmI can’t add anything to what’s been said. Again, welcome to the Browncoats.
Now…if you want to kill the summer, start pulling seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and adding Angel at Season 5…I know…it’s called “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” but it’s also some of the BEST…TELEVISION…EVER.
And if I was a studio exec, I’d let Whedon do whatever he wanted. I mean Jeez…good is good.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pmThat’s right rocinante, the episode with the wormy documentary guy. You’ll like this Rachel, his SG-1 Character has a lot of kids
May 7th, 2008 at 1:03 pmJust sharing the Geek love. Hindmost I absolutely agree with you on Babylon 5 season 5 (and TNT mucking with Crusade didn’t help, I liked that show too).
But I want to commend you. I think you are the first I’ve seen make reference to the Pearson’s Puppeteers. Known Space, now there is a property ripe for development.
Unless your Hindmost is a completely separate reference that I’m not getting, in which case, ignore me.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:08 pmYes. I’ve run across her before. Some people really do have too much time on their hands.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:16 pmBrad,
The woman who wrote that diatribe is obviously seriously troubled, if not insane.
Timmer,
Buffy rules! I only caught one rerun by chance, then went and watched them all. Yes, maybe some of the best television ever.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:17 pmHeh. From the top of “alecto’s” post:
I stopped reading there. The Capellan proverb comes to mind: “Her words are unimportant, and we do not hear them.”
May 7th, 2008 at 1:18 pmOMG, I think I just ovulated reading your description of it. I don’t think I’ve watched it in 2 years, and man, oh man, I love that show. They suck for cancelling it. And yes, they should all have their own shows. Network. Whatever! They all rock.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:24 pmAgreement abounds. It’s sad how many people agree with her though. It’s almost cult-like.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:29 pmBrad,
Wow. Just…wow.
I spent about a minute and a half perusing your two links and I just have to say…wow.
I do believe that “woman” is the most insane person I have ever known who wasn’t actually clinically insane. I would not be at all surprised if she appeared on the nightly news in a few years.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:34 pmOkay, it’s a generalization. But I still maintain it’s basically true.
*Most* of the people who really enjoy Buffy the Vampire Slayer are not the sort of people who would really enjoy Firefly.
EDIT: There’s also the matter of attracting new viewers. No genre can ever survive by simply giving the old veterans what they want all the time. You have to get new viewers who were never interested before and turn them into fans if you want to survive. And that’s part of the reason why the commercials that said “From the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Alien: Resurrection” helped kill the series. Because like it or not, most people who are not acquainted with Buffy view it as pop-culture claptrap, and A:R was a bit of a disappointment to everybody. By running commercials that juxtaposed Firefly with those two works, the advertisers created the impression that Firefly was a similar piece. I don’t think that was their intent, I think they were trying to associate Joss Whedon the writer/director with Firefly. But instead they ended up associating Buffy and A:R with Firefly by mistake. That, combined with the poor timeslot, the friction between Whedon and the execs, Fox airing the episodes out of frikkin’ intended order (damn you Fox!), and the fact that many critics panned it at first, ended up killing the show.
(Also, I didn’t appreciate the way they ripped off Outlaw Star in the pilot episode, but that’s just a minor gripe.)
May 7th, 2008 at 1:36 pmFirefly was just so good. I loved the contrast between the high-tech and the Western theme and where the two would meet- like throwing a guy out the bar window, but nothing happens because it’s plasma! Really, though, if people had to colonize quickly due to an exploding population, falling back on the low-tech lifestyle for a while would be exactly what they’d need to do. Food and water and worry about the computers later.
That is one of the funniest rants in the entire series- Heroes Part 1. I copied it down and send it to all my friends with kids. Especially when they hit number three or four.
And that’s just the beginning of it. You really need to have bunch of kids to fully appreciate his tirade. He’s not being mean, he’s being truthful!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:50 pmThe show was brilliant. Shame the dumbasses killed it. Morons.
May 7th, 2008 at 1:56 pmI loved Firefly, but found River’s character to be overplayed and annoying.
You are correct about Adam Baldwin, Pure man candy.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:04 pmTo accentuate the glory that is Nathan Fillion’s ass, that’s what.
(I’ll be in my bunk.)
Now, go watch Buffy. Srsly.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:05 pmNope; you got me… been my online handle for years. You’re in good company though… Bill Whittle commended me on it ages ago.
I’d go and see a Ringworld movie… But I think a miniseries called “Life on Mount Lookitthat” would be more fun.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:14 pmCaptain Tightpants…mmmm…and yes, a complete infatuation with Inara and Kaylee…you’re spot-on re: Book.
I had to get my husband the Blue Sun tshirt. So I can have my own Jayne. If you rec’d the DVD set, the “Easter Egg” is:
1. Insert Disc 4.
2. From the main menu, select “Special Features”.
3. Select More.
4. Highlight, but do not select, “Joss Sings the Firefly Theme”.
5. Press Left-Arrow, highlighting the ornament above.
6. Press SELECT.
And DEFINITELY listen to the directors track on all the eps. You learn of the big red button…many other things…
“Yeah, but she’s OUR witch.”
May 7th, 2008 at 2:15 pmOh - and did everyone notice in the first episode (I think!) where Wash is steering the ship without holding anything? Continuity issue…hilarious!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:18 pmAdam Baldwin was also very awesome as “Animal Mother” in Full Metal Jacket. Although, to be fair, he appears in the second act of the movie, and not many people watch past the first act, which is the greatest 45 minutes of film, ever.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:21 pmThe person who introduced me to Fire Fly challenged me to watch it (all in order on DVDs) and if I didn’t love it, he’d buy the series from me. I loved it.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:35 pmI’ve done the same to three other people so far…I’ve yet to have to buy the series back from anyone.
As for Captain Tight Pants… well… I’ll be in MY bunk!
some of Ace’s posts on Firefly are really funny. I agree with him that the big problem was with the title. A real kick-ass, intense, funny sci-fi actioner, and you give it a wussy name like ‘Firefly’? Like Ace said, it should have ripped a page from Buffy and clearly should have been called ‘Saffron the Intergalactic Space Whore’.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:37 pmJewel Stait is completely unleashed in an episode of Dead Like Me where she gets it on with Mason the grim reaper. I never really saw Kaylee quite the same way.
Adam Baldwin is just plain delicious. Nathan Fillion showed up in a episode of Lost - but I think he needs to show up more.
And Zoe is in the second to last season of Angel as a demon - where as Adam Baldwin shows up in the last season of Angel… oh, he just kicks so much ass. Need cold shower now
May 7th, 2008 at 2:40 pmDearRachel,
1. As a Navy guy I am not always (**cough**) a big fan of Air Force characters (except for Pararescue/PJs, who I buy drinks for). But I liked Adam Baldwin in Independence Day. I did have to be snarky and state that he is the only AF guy ever to be able to actually shoot a pistol. I also had to allow as how it was only fair to have him be a heroic AF guy since almost all of the actual fighter pilots were Marines.
2. Having said this, however, I never watched FIrefly. Somehow I realized early on that it was doomed to a short TV stint and did not want to get invested in it.
3. Every time you post something about spontaneously ovulating it turns me on. You need to stop doing this because the other folks here at work keep looking at me funny when I dry hump the computer monitor.
Yr obdnt srvnt.
May 7th, 2008 at 2:42 pmmike
Totally concur with all the raves for Firefly. If you like Jewel Staite, go get Wonder Falls, cause she’s in it. Plus that show is another canceled-way-too-soon gem, along with Dead Like Me, Ultraviolet (the British one) and Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Oh, I actually meant that show went on waaaay too long)
May 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pmThat’s why I seriously watch no TV anymore. Better to avoid the heartache and just good stuff on Netflix.
YMMV of course,
Sluf
Well I’ll stick out like a sore thumb and say I liked Book. He wasn’t my favorite, but he wasn’t just a pointless character. As someone else said, I believe his story was meant to be played out over the seasons. Note that, when watched in order, it begins with Mal falling from grace and losing faith in pretty much anything in Serenity Vally, and in the movie, he finds his purpose, something to believe in and fight for again. I think that was intended to be Mal’s character arc across the series, but due to Fox’s mismanagement, rendered it moot. A preacher would be a logical character for that type of arc, and the tension bentween them initially helps set it up. Note Book was someone he looked highly upon by the end. You could only tie up so many threads in a two hour movie, and since Book never had a major part in any of the few episodes that made it to production, it would be the lowest priority for film.
And Kaylee? Oh My. I never found her extremely good looking, but she did make you want to scoop her up and beat the living shit out of anyone who got within 10 yards.
Anyone can defend Fox if they want, but studios take much worse crap from lesser talent all the time in the name of revenue, something Whedon was a proven force for. I find no other explanation plausible other than they are idiots, and chose titilation (Fast Lane) over quality. That does tend to be Fox’s MO.
My favorite part of the series: Definitely the sharp witty dialogue. You just don’t find it that often on TV.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pmMorena Baccarin is gorgeous, and I’d chose Jewel Staite over her any day. Jewel (Kaylee) has a homey reality to her, seems like the sort you’d know, “the girl next-door type.” Morena (Inara) is for painting, Jewel is for dating
May 7th, 2008 at 3:15 pmOne of the ever-present residuals of watching the whole series and movie with my daughter is that she has perfected the look that River gives her brother when he asks “Are YOU Miranda?” See uses it on me regularly, with just cause for the most part.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:25 pmShe also knows she has permission and backing to kick the royal ass of any boy who deserves it.
I disagree. If you haven’t you don’t know what you’re missing. So blog about it, because what you have to say could be the straw that broke the camel’s back in convincing someone to check it out. And having one more person watch it is definitely not a bad thing.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:28 pmFirefly = best ever. I’m going to marry them all.
Nathan Fillion was on quite a few episodes of Desperate Housewives this season.
I didn’t just admit that I watch that show, did I? Oops.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:29 pmNathan Fillion was pretty convincing in White Noise 2, as well. Couple with Katee Sackhoff (Galactica) made an interesting pair. Also seemed unusual to see her outside of Starbuck.
May 7th, 2008 at 3:53 pmhindmost - I had wondered about that moniker, but never got around to asking about it. I’m glad Chris_RC did it for me.
I would like to see a show based on the character in The Long Arm of Gil Hamilton. Whaddya think?
May 7th, 2008 at 4:07 pmI didn’t realize that was her - will have to go back and watch it again. DLM is another of my favorites. Why is it they always cancel, the quirky, intelligent shows. Damn, Pushing Daisies will probably be next.
Mmmm, Kaylee… yeah, my favorite. But if you’re talking about finger painting, I’d be happy to oblige Morena as well. And she was such an evil hottie on SG-1!
May 7th, 2008 at 4:24 pmI’m completely lost and want more doggy blogging.
However it sounds like I may have to cave and order this Firefly series on Netflix because I LOVED Buffy the Vampire Slayer and can’t wait for Sarah Conner to return.
Anyone else watch Eureka? Is it coming back? I loved it too.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:45 pmEureka was renewed for a third short season. If Sci-Fi follows its own pattern, it will be back in the last half of July.
May 7th, 2008 at 4:47 pmJewel Stait just ain’t as hot since she lost 10 or 20 pounds after Firefly.
That’s just my opinion.
May 7th, 2008 at 5:57 pmI’m so happy, I’m not just wagging my tail, I’m wagging my whole butt.
Glad you liked the show. I do too, so much. Life is not good when they cancel something so wonderful.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:00 pm[Warning: If you don’t like puns, avert your eyes NOW.]
So, Rachel, you give “Firefly” a standing ovulation?
May 7th, 2008 at 6:14 pmAny body remember “Dark Skies” from the mid 90’s? It ran for 19 episodes.
If it were aired today it would be a hit. Ahead of it’s time and bounced around like Firefly was.
Worth checking out if you are a sci-fi fan.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:21 pmOh, and if you need another reason to check out “Dark Skies” Jerri Ryan is in several episodes, back when her high beams were err.. still high beams.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:23 pmJewel Staite was in Wonderfalls, a great show canceled too early by Fox, and played a lady on her honeymoon who “practiced” on the bellboy so she could please her husband. Fox always seems to cancel shows too early before them finding an audience but they could cancel Family Guy and American Dad right now.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:47 pmMmmmmmm…Jane!
That Reagan picture in his apartment on Chuck, is his. He brought it to the set.
MMMMMMMmmmmmmm…Jane!
Buffy and Angel were awesome shows, too.
May 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pmEureka-aholics:
– “Eureka” will return for its third season in July with the first of 21 new episodes. Said season - likely due on Tuesday, July 29 at 9:00/8:00c - will not surprisingly be split into two halves. Executive producers Charlie Craig and Jaime Paglia said they haven’t settled on how the 21 installments would be split, however at least eight will run this summer.
– “Battlestar Galactica’s” final season will likewise be split into two parts, the first of which wraps up on Friday, June 13 at 10:00/9:00c. The 10 remaining episodes will then roll out sometime during the 2008-09 season
May 7th, 2008 at 6:56 pmI seem to remember from one of the DVD commentaries that she had to put on 10-15 lbs. for Firefly.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:05 pmI don’t know about renewing Firefly as a series. I’d rather they made a sequel miniseries, ala Farscape: Peacekeeper Wars, than put the show back on the air.
The longer any television series remains on the air, the more likely it is to start sucking. (Yes, I know there are some shows out there that don’t succumb. But I think we can all agree that those shows are the exception, not the rule.)
It happened to Star Trek, it happened to StarGate: SG1, and it’s happened to every single anime in the history of television. I don’t want it to happen to Firefly.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:07 pmHawt!
: )
May 7th, 2008 at 7:08 pmI’ve been watching a replay of the short (canceled) season of Daybreak on one of those obscure cable/satellite only channels. I missed it when it originally aired. Pretty good show (cop played by Taye Diggs keeps reliving same day over and over, trying to solve a mystery and sometimes resolving issues that then stay resolved the next time he wakes up). Adam Baldwin plays an Internal Affairs detective who is the ex-husband of Taye Diggs’ girlfriend. He’s in every episode, and as you might suspect, he’s great.
And you’re right, Rachel, about Inara vs. Kaylee. It’s the old Ginger or MaryAnn argument all over again. Except Kaylee could kick MaryAnn’s ass all the way around the island and then get that damn boat up and running again.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:20 pmGroooaaann!
May 7th, 2008 at 8:12 pmRe: the Kaylee weight phenomenon, I wish she had kept it on. She’s downright hot in the show, and I have permission from my wife to speak this thought occasionally. I have an aversion to overly scrawny females.
Sig
May 7th, 2008 at 8:49 pm“Good day!”
May 7th, 2008 at 9:01 pmDelurking to state the very, very obvious: With all this Inara / Kaylee tug-of-war going on, am I the only one here who thought Zoe was the hottest chick in any sci-fi series EVER?!?!?
Also, I agree that Nathan Fillion should be WAY more famous than he is. Same goes for Adam Baldwin.
Fox can kiss my fat ass for canceling such a remarkable show. Firefly was cut down in its prime!
Anyway, glad you finally discovered the glory that is Firefly, Rachel. I was late to that party too, but my DVDs of the series and the movie are in heavy rotation and I’ve turned on several friends to the show, which helps ease the pain somewhat.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:04 pmAs much as I’m liking the show now that I’m catching it on Hulu, I’m kind of glad nobody’s picked it back up. If there’s one thing I learned from Comedy Central’s excursion with Futurama, it’s that, the longer you let a show sit, the harder it is to get it going again. I mean, e-mail scammers? That’s the best Futurama could come up with after a five year hiatus? Really? Now, imagine somebody doing that with a show like Firefly… it just wouldn’t work. Heck, I’m even having nightmarish flashbacks of SeaQuest 2032… *shudder*…
May 7th, 2008 at 9:44 pmPonch: yes, probably you are. Even if you limit the search parameters to lead or major supporting characters on primetime sf shows from the broadcast networks during the last 10 years. There’s a lot of competition, and everyone has different eyes with which he beholds.
May 7th, 2008 at 9:53 pmYes Ponch, Zoe was indeed hot, and I say that as one who ovulates regularly. In fact, I think Gina Torres (aka Zoe) is so hot, that I am considering writing a screen play for her based on the 60s ballad, “Brandy.” Set in turn of the century (um, that would be the 20th century) Seattle, with lots of tall ships lining the harbor. But who should I cast (write for) as the man who went away and never came back?
May 8th, 2008 at 12:08 amFirefly was quite possibly the best show that was never promoted properly EVER.
The show is from a guy named Joss Whedon and if you liked firefly you should really give his other series a chance. Buffy The Vampire Slayer (the show with the dumbest title ever) was after a rocky first few shows absolutely awesome and Nathon Fillion does appear in this series as well. Follow that with Angel which was almost as good as Firefly and Buffy.
The networks really seriously wasted Joss’ posibilities because he had major fanbase appeal and yet they canned all three of his shows while they were still very immensley popular.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:33 am“The legs! Oh, yeah! I definitely have to say it was her legs. You can put that down! Her legs, and right where her legs meet her back. That — actually that whole area. That and — and above it.” — Wash, Bushwhacked
May 8th, 2008 at 1:04 amWe are not responsible for any babies that might result from Firefly viewing. It could just be stones.
The management
May 8th, 2008 at 1:23 amYep, to CINC house to see Serenity when it came out…she didn’t ovulate, but it worked out fine for me
May 8th, 2008 at 1:27 amHeh…Tim Minear made a cameo on Rachel’s blog.
Oh for the love of…does knowing who Tim Minear is make me too much of a geek? It does doesn’t it?
May 8th, 2008 at 2:52 amDear Tim,
What say you, and Joss, and Nathon, and Adam, and Jewel, and Summer, and the rest of the cast and crew, come over to my garage every other weekend and shoot a couple of new episodes?
We could blue-screen everything man… we’ll make sandwiches, or maybe order a pizza…?
I’ve got fudge… …
Think it over. I believe you’ll see this is a sound plan for everyone.
Cordially,
B
May 8th, 2008 at 5:37 amI liked Firefly so much, and loath most everything on tv right now … so this is a painful subject.
BSG will be coming to an end soon. I guess I can just give away my tv after that.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:52 amWhile I agree completely with the first part of that statement, I believe the second part to be wrong. Buffy wasn’t canceled, it ended because I believe SMG decided she had enough. It was a bitch what they did to Angel though.
Not around here -seeing as there are so many Buffy/Angel/Firefly fans, many of us know his name!
May 8th, 2008 at 7:07 amOh my dear god yes, that was the most withering “are you freaking KIDDING ME?” expression I’ve ever seen on film. Absolute perfection.
Rachel, thank you for this discussion. Nothin’ warms the cockles of my geeky little heart like seeing this many browncoats in one place.
And given the choice…definitely Kaylee. She’s just so damn cute.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:26 amFirefly is teh awesome.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:40 amNathan Fillion also had a small, but significant, part in Saving Private Ryan. Anybody else catch that?
May 8th, 2008 at 9:01 amAh yes, ovulation: The four days a month a woman gets to know what it’s like to be a man … sort of.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:11 amEven though I think it’s terrible that Firefly was cancelled, in a way it’s good that it happened. The show never jumped the shark. It never became stale. Nobody ever did a lame parody of it on Saturday Night Live. Nobody disrespects it. It never had a 3rd season letdown like BSG. It’s perfect because its short. It’s more like a miniseries than a series. It’s better that way. 12 hours is all you need to take it all in. Sorta like Band of Brothers in that way.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:13 amHOLY SHIT.
I’m working on finding out, but there is an actual chance that the comment from Tim Minear above is not fake. Seriously.
I just had triplets.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:18 amIt is useful to remember that the entertainment industry is not a real business. Decision making is a product of some combination of spite, malice, and hubris. Whedon is indeed a difficult character, but in any real business he would be tollerated for his ability. Dont forget that studio execs tried to destroy Star Treck, one of the most profitable franchises in broadcast history.
May 8th, 2008 at 9:26 amFWIW, Fox also cancelled The Ben Stiller Show and Brisco County, Jr., which starred my all-time hero, Bruce Campbell, with R. Lee Ermey as his dad. I mean, how cool is that? R. Lee Ermey playing Bruce Campbell’s dad? That’s total geek nirvana. And they went and cancelled THAT? WTF? Based on that decision, maybe Firefly was lucky to have the one season…
May 8th, 2008 at 9:44 amIn the same episode Kaylee eats a strawberry, and Inara takes an onscreen sponge bath. Kaylee and the strawberry were sexier.
(Not to take anything away from Morena Baccarin, who is a stunningly beautiful woman.)
And, yes, Kaylee looked much better with the extra 10 to 15. Compare her face when eating the strawberry to her rather drawn appearance in the “Hell with this! I’m gonna live!” scene in Serenity.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:47 amkaylee….
scuse me, cold shower time.
http://jewel.rav-ished.net/gallery/albums/photoshoots/glenncampbell2003/01.jpg
May 8th, 2008 at 12:28 pmAdam Baldwin is indeed man candy. Dammit! I’d remembered him from Independance Day and was happy to see him in Firefly/Serenity.
From an ovulator: Zoe rocks. If I were inclined to have girl crushes, she would be it.
May 8th, 2008 at 1:13 pmGIRL.
Just give Buffy a TRY.
You GOTTTA.
BUFFY.
DO IT!!!!!
May 8th, 2008 at 2:16 pmIMDB lists Nathan Fillion as the next Col. Steve Trevor for Wonder Woman. Dang it, he’s perfect!
May 8th, 2008 at 3:23 pmFor readers new to your (kickass) blog, what is your theory on ovulation?? Link?
May 8th, 2008 at 4:41 pmDon’t forget honorable mention for Zoe and Washburn—very fine performances along with the rest. Hopefully someday they’ll continue the series!
May 8th, 2008 at 6:09 pmTO: Rachel Lucas
RE: Who Are YOU….
“Forget C.S. Lewis - I’m pretty sure the cancellation of this show after only one season is proof there is no God.” — Rachel Lucas
….to talk?
You ‘killed’ me years ago,30 minutes after I called you out for misrepresenting Him, vis-a-vis something about casting stones, Old vs. New parts of that old Book.
Regards,
Chuck(le)
May 8th, 2008 at 6:22 pmI dunno. I think that in one of the commentaries, Joss basically says that Jewel was Just Working There. He puts it in the gentlest of terms–something about “she was very professional, if I said I wanted it a certain way then she did it just like I said”–but I got a really strange vibe from that comment. Like, if she’d been really enthusiastic or super-interested, then he’d have said it differently.
May 8th, 2008 at 6:58 pmDamn it, you got me all pissed off at the foul bastards running the television business all over again. I was overseas when Firefly was aired and killed and never even heard of it until Serenity was about to be released.
Did a little research and was so impressed by reading the many intelligent people rhapsodizing about the show that I bought it sight unseen.
Nearly every show on air is Doctors, Cops and Lawyers, an Idol ripoff, or some stupid contrived “reality” show, and nobody could find a niche for Firefly? Choke on your own blood, studio jerks, and then burn in Hell for eternity.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:36 pmwww.hulu.com/
Watch all 14 episodes at your leisure.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:37 pmJeez, Chuck(le)head, when did you choke your sense of humour to death? It was freakin’ joke.
May 8th, 2008 at 7:40 pmNathan Fillion was also Kate Austen’s (LOST) husband for a brief part of one episode. He was a cop and she disappeared on him. (So it was after she blew the house up.)
Watched the whole Firefly series (in order) with friends at the beach a couple years ago for the first time. I blame the Puppy Blender.
May 8th, 2008 at 8:08 pmTelevision has been nothing but garbage for some time now and usually best viewed at 200 yards through iron sites. Having said that, I had purchased the “Firefly” DVD set on a whim while I was picking up the “Serenity” movie. I watched the movie, but without the background of the series I only thought it as okay rather than great. Months later I put the first episode in to watch while I was working on a project, I was about halfway through it when my wife came home from work so I set her down and started it over as I could see that this was going to be “amazing”, needless to say, we were literally “blown away”!!! We marathon watched the rest of the series and when our kids (well, they’re 20 and 21) were home the following weekend we made them watch it too (well, after seeing the initial episode we really didn’t have to twist thier arms to watch the rest.) I do however understand why it was cancelled, it was simply too good for television for one thing and displayed far too many conservative frames of reference for another (which is exactly why it was so good.)
May 8th, 2008 at 8:43 pm*delete me plz*
May 8th, 2008 at 8:52 pmAs a stereotypical hardcore geek… I <3 Firefly.. Favorite series scene: when Niska’s (first) goon refuses Mal’s offer to return his money..
And _never_ tell Adam Baldwin he’s your favorite Baldwin brother. He HATES that.
(and _Blake’s 7_ heavily inspired this series, and lasted longer, but it is far more concentrated, geekery.. Imagine, say, _Firefly_ crossed with _Doctor Who_ but with the writing quality of _Babylon 5_.. (warned you, hardcore geek))
May 8th, 2008 at 8:52 pmTold ya so (quite a while ago.) You loved it! :bigdumbgrin:
Entirely reasonable and simple-minded: “Firefly is not crap, cancel it!”
May 8th, 2008 at 9:20 pmRe: JAL Yes, I know of the “Puppy Blender” (aka Glenn Reynolds) as well as Frank J. (he who hath named the Puppy Blender.)
Re: Hindmost And yes, I’m also a big Larry Niven fan and wish they could do him justice on the screen (but often worry about being dissapointed.)
Actually some really wonderful material for a movie (or even better, miniseries) would be Poul Anderson’s “The High Crusade”. Unfortunately it would definitely be far too politically incorrect for the network pinheads (unlike the Comedy Central show “Politically Incorrect” which is not, as well as not terribly humorous either as it tends to be more of a PC rant.)
May 8th, 2008 at 9:48 pmOf COURSE Fox execs are morons. It’s a job requirement.
It’s the same studio that opened “The Stunt Man” in 150 theaters and closed it after a week.
“It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Actor in a Leading Role (Peter O’Toole), Best Director (Richard Rush), and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. However, due to its limited release, it never earned much attention from American audiences at large[citation needed]. As O’Toole remarked in a DVD audio commentary, “The film wasn’t released, it escaped”
May 8th, 2008 at 9:50 pmAm I the only one who was dumb enough to disregard my better judgment and get sucked into Drive?
I really want to see the rest of that show.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:06 pmI liked Firefly. A lot. And I too want more.
But OTGH, it’s clearly a Joss Whedon show. And that means certain things. Things having to do with gender. And stereotyping. And, frankly, chauvanism.
I could never stand to watch Buffy for more than five to ten minutes because every single time I tried, within that period of time either some blatant example of idiot femelitism would be portrayed, or some traditional gender canard or straightjacket would be applied to a male character or males in general, and I would immediately stop caring how good it was supposed to be. I got enough of that crap already back in the eighties, and today I am long past done with it.
Whedon gets a lot of kudos for his work in terms of feminism. And to any rational person, that should be a warning sign.
When your heroes are mostly female but your villains are all still male, you’re not really transgressing gender roles yet. You’re just pandering to your female audience members.
And annoying your informed male ones.
May 8th, 2008 at 10:47 pmRachel, are you single? ‘Cause I’m in love with you after this post
May 8th, 2008 at 11:15 pmWithout a doubt, my favorite Firefly scene.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:38 pmBTW, Nathan Fillion can also be seen playing a small-town Sheriff in a cheesy/charming little B-horror movie called ‘Slither’.
May 8th, 2008 at 11:40 pmOoooh Someone else mentioned Babylon 5 another Series I feel is worth it’s wait in green stuff to have on DVD. Ok for the Geeks heres a list of what I consider Must have series collections (not necessarily in any order)
)
Buffy The Vampire Slayer (7 seasons)
Angel (5 Seasons)
Firefly (1 season
Stargate SG1 (10 glorious Seasons)
Babylon 5 (5 seasons)
Farscape (4 seasons)
Andromeda (not quite as good as the others but not bad)
The season counts are off hand memory…so dont pick
Buffy I think started with a few slow episodes but half way through the first season it had me hooked and never let me go. Now get Kaylee and Willow at the end of the series together in one place…..is droolz city for us men folks!
May 9th, 2008 at 12:13 amAcksiom…you should have watched more Buffy…I’d say there were just as many female villains as male…if not more.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:29 amAgreed Timmer, there were quite a lot of female baddies in BtVS. Yes it was kind of hard to believe this little girl was kicking butt against all these big bad men, but then remember, she was not just a “girl” and the show did develop to a place where it wasnt just girl muscles vs man muscles, she had a team and support personell, she ended up being a small army
And he even got his own theme song in one episode…
———————————————-
Back to Firefly, ya gotta love Jane and his relationship with Vera
Rachel I do like this blog of yours
Appreciate you sharing your thoughts and opinions.
May 9th, 2008 at 5:00 amFirefly is indeed awesome.
But I can’t believe anyone would say that SG-1 had TEN “glorious” seasons — even more obvious than the fact that Firefly should not have been canceled and Angel should have gone past the fight with the dragon and that the peanut campaign backfired on Jericho fans is that SG-1 needed to end before Season 10 started. Maybe the best final scene was the fishing episode, maybe it was Daniel blowing up Anubis — reasonable people can differ on such issues. But there can be no doubt that the final season, at an absolute minimum, was inescapably drecky. Personally, I’m a fishing scene girl.
(and people who think Whedon is a reverse sexist whose female characters are all sunshine/light/heroic clearly forget Darla, Lila, and Saffron — not to mention complex and non-stereotypical men like Wesley and Principal Wood.)
May 9th, 2008 at 5:20 amI don’t know how no one else has mentioned it, but Joss has a new show on Fox coming out this fall called Dollhouse. It stars Eliza Dushku (Buffy fans should remember her as Faith), and one of the recurring actors is Amy Acker (Angel fans should remember her as Fred). Not related to Buffy in any way, but should be interesting.
May 9th, 2008 at 6:31 am“Without a doubt, my favorite Firefly scene.”
Wash is my favorite character…and Jayne…and Mal…and Kaylee…and Zoe…
May 9th, 2008 at 7:02 amAnd with Whedon’s record with Fox and Dushku’s (Tru Calling) you can expect it to last less than half a season no matter how good it is. Whedon should refuse to work with Fox.
May 9th, 2008 at 7:23 amDoll house didnt catch my interest when I first heard about it, will have to look it up and see what it is about…I was kinda drooling for Fred there for a while too
She cleans up real nice.
Sarah, sorry to disagree with you but I liked season 10 too. It helps that I was a MAJOR Farscape fan which is where all the new SG1 members came from
May 9th, 2008 at 8:12 amI will say that when Jack O’neil left the crew, I had to find a different way of looking at the show his dry wit and humor is just exactly how I expect leaders to be…course he reminded me of my Division Chief from my Navy days
Firefly RULES.
JAYNE totally rules. Shirt!
Another series you might like if you haven’t seen it already or opined on it otherwise: Deadwood. LOVED IT.
May 9th, 2008 at 8:22 amActually C.S. Lewis would probably politely smile to hold back the laughter. The existence of Good aka Firefly is a partial and imperfect reflection of Total Good aka God.
However Man’s reason is corrupted and fallen as evidenced by Fox execs.
I liked Shepherd, and agree with the previous poster who noted the connection between the villain in the movie and him. If the show had continued, and they had more time, then maybe that could have turned into an interesting relationship of the redeemed and the still damned.
However, I did dislike Shepherd’s statement to Mal of ‘just believe, I don’t care what you believe’. It seemed to me that the villain had a very strong belief, and I suppose the commies w ho machinegunned villagers had strong beliefs as well. It helps to have the Right beliefs. Although Lewis’s theology is a bit off, he’s a good place to start.
Edit: Oh yeah, I did see Adam Baldwin in person at a con. I was just leaving the bathroom, and he was heading for it. I’m not sure if he’s taller than me (I’m a little over 6′1″, and on TV he looks 6′6″), but I am sure I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley.
May 9th, 2008 at 9:29 amWhat all of you said. While I am many kinds of geek, I’ve never been the kind to mourn and rage and shake my fists at the heavens over a teevee show cancellation… until FIREFLY.
When I’m being stupid enough to dream about a return to the ‘verse, I think the ideal solution would be what they did with Alien Nation: bring it back as a series of made-for-TV films. That would ROCK.
Oh, and as for filming Niven, etc: when I was a kid I used to hope that the movies or TV would finally, someday, tackle the real classics of SF. Now I hope they don’t.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:20 am… Must have series collections (not necessarily in any order) Buffy The Vampire Slayer (7 seasons), Angel (5 Seasons), Firefly (1 season), Stargate SG1 (10 glorious Seasons), Babylon 5 (5 seasons), Farscape (4 seasons), Andromeda (not quite as good as the others but not bad)
Another must-have collection: The Prisoner. Uneven writing quality, stone-age special effects, occasionally slow and padded … but damn, the good parts are worth it. Only seventeen one-hour episodes.
May 9th, 2008 at 10:29 amOh, and as for filming Niven, etc: when I was a kid I used to hope that the movies or TV would finally, someday, tackle the real classics of SF. Now I hope they don’t.
For the true geeks out there: has anyone seen the Star Trek animated series episode based on Niven’s short story “The Soft Weapon”? A surprisingly good adaptation, with Sulu and Uhura replacing NIven’s two human characters and Spock substituting for the puppeteer. And it put Kzinti in the Star Trek universe. Niven liked it.a
May 9th, 2008 at 10:37 amFox really seem to have it in For Whedon/Minear and Fillion.
Not only did the studio execs cancel Firefly (May they all be mercilessly beaten by a squad of purple-bellies for such transgression). They’ve further transgressed by refusing to allow the rights to the show to be released. I’d love to see Sci-Fi get it as a series (Think BSG but so much better) rather than the appalling and forgettable C movies they keep producing and running now.
Just as bad, Fox has even more to answer for as they also canceled Drive staring Fillion and directed by Minear before it even got to a full season (May their head gaskets blow for such wrongheaded action).
Fox - good for news and sports, but absolutely teh suck for good television.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:42 amI thought Firefly struck a pretty perfect balance. (I’ve never watched an episode of Buffy, so coudln’t speak to that)
By and large, the entire cast, male and female were admirable, interesting, complex characters that were each strong in their own ways. (I found Book to be uninteresting and full of platitudes “Just beliEEEEEve!” and Inara rather grating). The physical prowess seemed to be divided up pretty realistically, and it wasn’t as though all the men were portrayed as morally spineless.
It avoided the “women are nothing but eyecandy” pitfall, the “guys are all big and dumb” pitfull, the “the every woman can outfight every guy” pitfall, the “guys do the fightin’ girls do the thinkin’ pitfall” etc etc.
I’m sure if you look really hard and set your mind to it it’s possible to find echoes of stereotypes, but hey, stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason, and frankly, I can’t think omorf a single sci-fi show with a cast whose interactions and relationships felt more realistic.
May 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am[quote]I did dislike Shepherd’s statement to Mal of ‘just believe, I don’t care what you believe’. It seemed to me that the villain had a very strong belief, and I suppose the commies w ho machinegunned villagers had strong beliefs as well. It helps to have the Right beliefs. [/quote]The whole point of this line is that without faith in something, a non-believer is at an disadvantage when fighting a believer.
Yes, having the right belief is important to get the results from your actions that you desire. Having false beliefs will lead to things like, finding out the regime you are working for killed millions of innocent people by accident, and turned thousands more into homicidal psychopaths.
But when fighting a believer, fighting someone who believes he is God’s instrument with all his heart, mind and body, you better believe as strongly as he does that you are just as right (at least).
Its the riddle of steel all over again. It ain’t in the weapon a person weilds, but whether he has the motivation, the strength to use it.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:31 pmNo no; I was referring to Firefly. I haven’t watched enough Buffy to comment intelligently on the villainess balance there. My problem with BtVS is — to describe just one example — things like SMG sitting on a gravestone staying clean and pretty while the menfolk do all the digging, compounded with interest by the dialogue actually pointing out the discrepancy and blatantly attempting to rationalize it.
So, again, thank you for the recommendation, but no thank you. I’ve seen too much of that too often over too many years already. It doesn’t matter how good the rest of it is; the intrinsic sexism triggers my aversion reflex, and in the end there’s just too much superior competition out there for my entertainment time.
I mean, thanks to Netflix, I have the 3-disc set of the original GunBuster OVA sitting here — talk about emancipated female characterization, ha! Hideaki Anno & Gainax were already doing it far better 20 years ago — and later tonight I’m going to get all choked up and misty at the final episode’s resolution.
And that will happen because I like and identify with Noriko and Kazumi, just as I do with Mal, Wash, Zoe, and even, a bit, Jayne — something that has never happened with Buffy Summers, or any of the other BtVS characters, and based upon their observed characterization to date, is highly unlikely to ever happen.
I’m not saying the latter is a bad show. All I’m saying is that as far as the aspects that matter most to me, both positive and negative, it’s at best average and at worst grindingly annoying, and therefore just not worth the time — especially when there’s so many alternatives that are so much more personally appealing.
Addendum to JD: When I say mostly, I mean mere majority, not overwhelming; the female characters are just as proactive and competent, but overall less flawed, mostly due to Jayne and a bit to Dr. Pretty Boy Floyd weighing the scale down on the guys’ end. Kaylee needs to emotionally Cowboy Up a bit on the other end, but that’s about it.
Yes, River included; she may behave aconsciously, but mythically (and functionally) speaking, she’s the family’s mystic and is thus guided by authorially omniscient supernatural awareness that effectively defines correct behavior.
The issue is that the Bad Guys in Firefly are consistently just that: Bad Guys.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:36 pmThere is a line in the movie where Mal tells Book someday he is gonna have to explain his past. Book just says, “No, I really don’t”
And he was right. Instead of sitting us down and spoon feeding us Book’s mysterious back story, he showed us another Book, what Book was like just before going to the abbey.
Firefly was my show. Usually, one of the kids or my wife will find the new shows and get the rest of us hooked on it. My daughter got me hooked on Buffy, which I resisted because, come on! A cheerleader who fights vampires on the side??? But she was right, it was well written and had fun and interesting characters.
But I have been and always will be a sci fi geek. Vampires, while interesting, just are not that big a draw for me. But a guy who captains his own spaceship, and struggles to make a living for himself and his crew, that is my kind of show.
I am the one who hooked my family, who discovered the show. I got everyone to watch every episode, again and again, to the point that if I had a less geeky family, they probably would have locked me away. But they are hooked too.
May 9th, 2008 at 12:40 pmHuh. Definitely a taste thing. Once I finally brought myself to watch it, I found myself disliking more than I liked. I mean, I saw what it was trying to do, but I didn’t like the execution. I’ll probably get crucified for this, but oh well…
May 9th, 2008 at 1:34 pmFontessa Says:
Yes Ponch, Zoe was indeed hot, and I say that as one who ovulates regularly. In fact, I think Gina Torres (aka Zoe) is so hot, that I am considering writing a screen play for her based on the 60s ballad, “Brandy.” Set in turn of the century (um, that would be the 20th century) Seattle, with lots of tall ships lining the harbor. But who should I cast (write for) as the man who went away and never came back?
Well, he would obviously have to be blind and an idiot to boot!
May 9th, 2008 at 2:02 pmVery interesting, Mr. Gibson. I do wish they’d thought of some other way to do the scene (well actually, I wish they’d kept Book and Walsh from dying because I liked all the characters) that was clearer because I think there is a whole host of people who think ‘believing in something’ is enough, without verifying that what they believe in is worthy.
May 9th, 2008 at 2:38 pm