A few weeks ago, I finished FIREFLY, the short lived series, which lasted only 12 episodes, by Buffy’s Joss Whedon.
To be honest, I was impressed at first buy the top notch effects and the scripts.. but the pilot episode really didn’t take any time to explain what was going on. It just assumed eventually that I would catch on.
I remember, actually, feeling a bit like this when I first started Buffy.
The scripts though had that snappy, smart, sometimes tongue in cheek, sometimes heartfelt dialogue I came to expect on Buffy and Angel, the action was amazing, and the characters were interesting and well acted. (The captain is “Caleb” from Buffy’s seventh Season, the 1st officer is “Jasmine” from Angel’s fourth, the ingenue is the ballet dancer from the Ballet episode of Angel.)
The one thing the first episode did do was to establish the “reavers” as terrifying villains without ever showing them.
The concept is this, in a bueareaucratic interplanetary “Alliance” a group of crooks for hire make what money they can pulling small jobs on border worlds. It has a deliberate western feel, with horses , gunfights, cowboys, and a fronteir feel. Still, its a rockin sci-fi show too. By the end of the fourth episode, I was hooked.
QUOTE: From a main character to an interloper on the ship SIMON: Are you alliance?” EARLY: Am I lion? SIMON: What? EARLY: I don’t think of myself as a lion. You might as well, though. I have a mighty roar. SIMON: (Pause) Umm… I said Alliance. EARLY: Oh..(pause) Thats weird
I would reccommend this show to anyone who is either a Whedon, Star trek, or Star Wars fan. It has all the elements I loved from Buffy, it has that 1977 star wars feel (a la tatoinne), and it seems like what Enterprise should have been. (But it has NO aliens).
Unfortunately, the show ends without resolving any of its thickening plot, as it was yanked from the air due to low ratings… but thats not the end of the story.
The good news is that the show is going to live again as a Major Big Screen Motion Picture Event next September. Non-fans have said it is better than seeing Star Wars for the first time. Fans are tripping out.. and it doesn’t even have the effects yet.
So, next September.. look for: SERENITY
Until then, check out Firefly. Its awesome.
PREACH ON!!!!
Jay again.
I’ve been trying to spread the word on Firefly since before it went off the air. It was stuck in a TERRIBLE timeslot, cost a lot per episode to make, and it was only making numbers equal to, oh, say, Buffy’s first season. I guess the execs expected it to pull in numbers equal to Buffy in her hayday – they REALLY weren’t willing to give it time (or a good time slot) to build up its audience.
I’m a big Babylon 5 fan. Yeah, one of THOSE people. I discovered B5 when I tuned in early during the first season of ST:Voyager. I started tuning in an hour early each time to watch both shows. Then I started turning the TV off after B5 because Voyager sucked so bad in comparison. Babylon 5 was an absolutely brilliant, wonderful, powerful show about intriguing characters getting making tough decisions that affected multiple civilizations. Sometimes those weren’t the right decisions, and right or wrong they always had consequences that weren’t pleasant. Everyone went through the crucible, you learned that they weren’t who they first appeared to be, but when it was over they were changed – usually for the better, stronger, but it was incredibly interesting to watch.
Firefly had the potential to leave Babylon 5 in the dust. The writing was just THAT smart and good. This is no slight against Straczynski – it was just extremely potent stuff.
If you STILL want more Whedon, I recommend “The Astonishing X-Men” comic. The first six issues were just released as a compilation. Joss Whedon is the writer. There are a couple of very Buffyesque / Firefly-ish moments in the dialog – such as when Cyclops says that Kitty Pryde thinks that Emma Frost (former arch-villain, now co-leader of the X-Men and his girlfriend) is mind-controlling him to make him say certain things… then he turns to Emma and says, “You’re not, right?”
Emma turns away from him and responds, “You will never see me naked again.”
That reminded me of the line in Firefly where Zoe tells Wash, “Remember that sex we were planning to have, ever again?”
I can’t wait for the movie. Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait…
Firefly rocks. If you haven’t seen the series yet, DO so. Beg, borrow, or buy (don’t steal!) the DVDs. It’s just brilliant stuff.
Preempted, no promotion, aired out of sequence, crappy time
Is it any wonder Firefly never rated any better than Buffy’s first season? It’s like they didn’t WANT it to succeed! UPN proved (with Enterprise) that anything will get poor ratings if you preempt it often enough for sports.
But Buffy’s first season was relatively lame compared to what came later. Can you imagine what Firefly coulda been after a couple of years? After everybody’s romantic relationships had formed, complicated, and then shifted a bit? After maybe a couple of new crew members got added, and someone got dead? I’m sure that nassty redhead is bound to show up again, maybe she’ll actually get into Malcolm’s pants someday – if Inara doesn’t kill her first.
And what’s up with that ‘shepherd’, anyway? He’s the criminal mastermind aboard Serenity, if there is one.
I was hooked when Reynolds kicked the bad guy into the spaceship engine:
CPT. REYNOLDS: OK, Here’s all the money Niska paid us up front; just give it back to him and tell him we’re not taking his job.
BAD GUY #1: Keep it, and buy yourself a nice funeral. I’ll hunt you down myself, and the last thing you’ll see will be my face as I kill you.
< Reynolds gives the bad guy a kick in the midsection, knocking him off his feet and back into the intake stream of the idling engine behind him. He's immediately SUCKED UP INTO IT! >
< A second bad guy is brought before the Captain. >
CPT. REYNOLDS: Here’s all the money Niska paid us up front–
BAD GUY #2: OK, SURE, I”M RIGHT WITH YOU ON THAT!
I hadn’t seen the beginning of the episode, and I didn’t realize it was Joss Whedon until I saw the closing credits, but I shoulda known who was responsible.
Just one movie isn’t gonna be enough. Supposedly there’s a deal for a trilogy if it grosses well, but that’s still pretty pale next to the five or six years of TV that it shoulda run. Perhaps the Sci-Fi channel can be shamed into buying it and producing some more.
Best TV moment ever
The engine intake scene from Firefly goes in my personal list of “one of the best TV moments ever”.
—
Matthew P. Barnson
Not Really That Impressed
Hey Gang,
I’m sorry to be the contrarian here, but I finally got around to watching a couple episodes (they’re free! online!) and just wasn’t that impressed with Firefly. I was watching it thinking, “So it’s Brisco County, Jr. in space with more characters?” I was watching the scroll bar waiting for something to happen that would make me forget that I was watching the scroll bar and waiting for time to pass by.
It gets better..
I wasnt so sure at first too, really.. almost turned it off after two eps..
Watch it on a TV (or big screen or projector) and give it till ep 5 or so.. it gets better..
I miss Barnson.org.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
FF
Yeah, for the first two episodes, my wife was ready to turn it off. It grows on you, a bit like moss or fungus if you don’t move long enough.
I assume this references exigencies related to your movie which reduce your free time to participate? Because, well, I may slow down now and then, but we’re not gone 🙂
—
Matthew P. Barnson
Miss..
Yup.. its all about the movie.. speaking of which.. I have an idea.. we’ll chat soon.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
No Thanks
Wait 5 episodes until it gets better?!? Um. No thanks.
I was hooked on ‘Law & Order’ within 10 minutes and have never turned back. Still 70+ episodes backlogged on my DVR that I have to watch 🙂
Fanboi
I 4m t3h Joss Whedon fanboi. I suffer for his art.
For me: Scrubs sucked me right in. Sixth season mostly sucked except for the musical, but other than that I’ve enjoyed it a lot.
—
Matthew P. Barnson
But by that rationale..
Wine and coffee should never be liked because no one likes them the first time.
I’ll tell you, now that I have the context, the pilot episode is my favorite… all the underpinnings of what is to come is in there.
It is an acquired taste, and not for everyone, granted… but I loved it.
Oh.. and Brisco County? Awesome.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com
Which Is The Exact Reason…
Yes! That is the exact reason I don’t drink wine and coffee! I understand that over 100 years ago cowboys sitting out in the western plains, cold at night, wanted to push hot water through dirt and beans in order to have a ‘refreshing’ drink. Then someone invented Diet Coke. Thus, I don’t need to drink hot water pushed through dirt and beans anymore. Same rationale with wine.
To Catch A Weed
These-a-days, if you want to get me watching a series, it better have either great word-of-mouth or get lucky to catch me channel surfing and hold my attention.
The Sopranos got me with the former, and even tho the series declined towards the end, I watched it. I will be watching the Wire for the same reason.
Battlestar Galactica nabbed me by getting lucky on a channel surf. I am now hooked. Deadwood got me the same way, even though it did follow the Sopranos. It was wholly superior to the Sopranos, IMHO.
Otherwise, it’s sports or Ben 10/Little Einsteins/Wonder Pets/Backyardigans/Dora/Diego/etc/etc/aiiiiigggggghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
My $.02 Weed
Tivo
I need a Tivo or a Tivo-like device. My time is too short to bother surfing, so I tend to tune to Discovery Channel. If I like what’s on, I watch; if I have seen it before, or I am not into that program (like the current lame-o “Alaskan Survival” thing with a bunch of families/couples/whatever, ugh), I just turn off the TV and go do something else.
—
Matthew P. Barnson
TV on DVD
And if I may say so.. try LOST.
Visit the Official Justin Timpane Website Music, Acting, and More! http://www.timpane.com