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| No power in the 'Verse can stop us. Except Fox. |
I'm doing more television.
Firefly was an American space-western drama television show created by Joss Whedon and Tim Minear that ran for four months on Fox in 2002.
I have been rolling the idea of an article on it around for a while. It seemed unfair to cover it because it was never finished. However, it's good stuff and it deserves a mention. Also, I plan to cover Serenity at some point and I thought it would be a good idea to explain Firefly first.
Firefly is a much beloved work, short lived as it was. It was well reviewed by critics, but it didn't do very well ratings wise, being 125th in Nielson ratings, but it did well in DVD sales. In 2005 it got a continuation in the form of Serenity*, a feature film that was also well received by critics, but had a mediocre box office take, which probably kills any chance of a sequel. The franchise has a vehement following that lasts to this day, and in 2014 a mobile game will be released.
Let's get to the "is this worth your time" aspect of my blog.
Setup: Earth was becoming overcrowded, so an allience between the US and China lead a mass exodus to a new star system, and terraformed it into the American Old West. The Central Planets wanted to bring everyone under their rule, there was a war over it, the independents lost.
Firefly is a much beloved work, short lived as it was. It was well reviewed by critics, but it didn't do very well ratings wise, being 125th in Nielson ratings, but it did well in DVD sales. In 2005 it got a continuation in the form of Serenity*, a feature film that was also well received by critics, but had a mediocre box office take, which probably kills any chance of a sequel. The franchise has a vehement following that lasts to this day, and in 2014 a mobile game will be released.
Let's get to the "is this worth your time" aspect of my blog.
Setup: Earth was becoming overcrowded, so an allience between the US and China lead a mass exodus to a new star system, and terraformed it into the American Old West. The Central Planets wanted to bring everyone under their rule, there was a war over it, the independents lost.
This is the story of one of them, Malcom Reynolds, captain of the Firefly-class transport ship Serenity, and his crew, who now survive by doing odd jobs on the edges of the system, both literally in that he operates in the Outer Planets, and figuratively in that he works where the legal system can't quite reach him.
It is a unique piece. Combining westerns, science fiction, and a hint of the Orient to create an original world that could be its own post. Sure, the space-western isn't new, but this is a well done version of it.
Primary Cast: We have an ensemble cast of nine. Nathan Fillion as Malcom, Alan Tudyk as Wash, pilot of Serenity and wife of Gina Torres's Zoe, first mate. Ron Glass as Book, a passenger who is very probably a holy man.
Adam Baldwin as Jayne, a simple and violent man working for Mal mostly because no one else has offered him more. Jewel Staite as Kaylee, Serenity's ever cheerful mechanic. Morena Baccarin as Inara, a Companion** that works out of one of Serenity's shuttles, and Sean Maher as Simon, ship medic who broke his sister River(Summer Glau) out of an Allience facility that drove her to madness.
Each of them is great in their part and interact well, it's remarkable how quickly you become attached to these characters, my personal best however, must go to Summer Glau as River, Her behavior eerily resembles autism and in that respect she has it down perfectly.
Joss Whedon intended for Firefly to last seven years. It got canclled after fourteen episodes, three of which were not aired, for low ratings that stemmed from various things, airing episodes out of order, misleading advertizing, friction between Whedon and Fox, and many others. The only real problem I can think of really wasn't Firefly's fault. Since it was canceled it didn't have a conclusion, not until Serenity anyway, and after the last episode you are just left wishing there was more.
Then again, if it's good enough that you want more, is that really a flaw?
In conclusion, Firefly was fantastic, and I reccomend it wholeheartedly. It can be found of DVD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix Instant Stream. Serenity is also worth your time and is avalible on VHS, DVD, UMD, Blu-Ray, and Netflix Instant Stream.
Have a nice day.
Greg.B
*According to Whedon Fox still owned the name Firefly.
*According to Whedon Fox still owned the name Firefly.
**Combination private life coach, prostitute for rent, and philosopher.
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