Losing my Firefly virginity

Television, Movies Games and Books Firefly
#1

So earlier this week Lucy sent me a very nice DVD copy of Firefly which he just happened to not be using anymore. He totally rocks. Anyway, I just finished watching the pilot, “Serenity” and, since I promised I’d give a full report over on the off topic side (I haven’t been coming over to the on-topic side lately. Sorry) I figured I’d start jotting my thoughts down here.

So far I’m impressed, although any show that makes such an obscure reference to a little known Beatles song, “Cry Baby Cry” in just its first five or six minutes gets serious nods in the coolness meter from me. Some of the plot would’ve escaped me, I think, had I not seen the movie Serenity before (like the concept of reavers, which is not entirely clear, though that seems purposeful. Keeps 'em mysterious). Some of it seemed a teeny bit slow at times, but for the most part I was won over by the sense of humor and the western style and sensibility.

Besides, I have such a crush on Kaylee now, it’s not even funny. :smiley:

Ehem…

So, while I wouldn’t consider myself a browncoat yet, I’m going to keep on this ride and think I’m going to enjoy it. I’ll write more on the next episode when I get to watch it. Perhaps tomorrow night…

#2

Lucy, huh? Did Lucky have an operation that only you know about? :stuck_out_tongue:

Besides, I have such a crush on Kaylee now, it’s not even funny. :smiley:

Everyone loves Kaylee - even us chicks! She’s my role model. Well, my role model as far as mechanical devices. Crap - never mind.

I’m waiting, GR…

So, while I wouldn’t consider myself a browncoat yet, I’m going to keep on this ride and think I’m going to enjoy it. I’ll write more on the next episode when I get to watch it. Perhaps tomorrow night…

Hope you get to watch more but I also hope it’s not because your youngling is still sick!

#3

I second. Lucy…ahem…I mean Lucky totally rocks.

High Five, me Beatles brother. I dug that also.

Keep posting, I love to hear newbies views on stuff. Gets prespective. Oh whut am I talking about? Anyway, the first thing.

#4

:eek:

Nope. But I did shave, and now I apparently look eleven years younger. I actually got carded for the first time in a long time the other day!! The clerk thought my ID was a fake. So I cut a decade off my appearance, but still have all my original body parts.

I would warn you Armando the first few episodes sort of rehash some of the information because Fox didn’t originally air “Serenity” the pilot. Smart move on their part, huh? Stupid Fox.

#5

Way to go Armando! I am glad you didn’t make the mistake friends of mine did when I leant them my box set.

“Solai…why is Serenity last? It has all the important introduction stuff.”

“Wait…why did you watch Serenity last?”

“Well we thought we should watch them in order in which they were aired…”

Good luck! My personal favorite all around disc is the third one…although my favorite episode is on the last disc…

…more on that later. :smiley:

#6

Well, having had dealings with Fox and their stupid ways (cancelling Arrested Development, for instance, not to mention Andy Richter Controls the Universe. Stupid Fox!) I knew about their not airing the series in order.

#7

Well, seeing Serenity before the series sorta takes some of the mystery out of the whole thing, but sure, whatever floats your boat.

There are many plot points in the show, many of which remain unexplored due to the show’s untimely demise. Reavers are the thread which unravels the mystery of the outer planets, at the edge of known universe. But there are mysteries in the central planets, the Core Worlds, that are just as interesting, if not more. Who’s in charge of Core government? Who are the people that kidnapped River and are so desperate to get her back? Where has River been, what has she seen, and what does she know? How does Shepherd Book knows these things, what is he exactly?

It’d take 3+ seasons to touch upon all the plot points that remain unresolved. And that unintentionally become the greatest strength of the series… that we can continue to imagine so much because so much is still left to our imaginations.

Sweet, caring, cute as a button in a strawberry layer cake dress, and knows how to fix engines. Doesn’t that basically describe the perfect woman?

#8

In terms of seeing Serenity before the series… my mother saw the last hour or so of Serenity and is now watching Firefly (the sale on Amazon was awesome timing for a present for her!) and she said to me that [SPOILER]knowing that Wash dies in Serenity really sucks. Plus, the reavers aren’t as scary.[/SPOILER]

#9

Clarification: The original pilot for Firefly is named “Serenity.” So if you have the FF discs, that’s what the reference is. For assinine reasons, it was shown last in broadcast airings. (Although the discs present them in intended order.)

The movie “Serenity” is a different thing altogether.

#10

So happy you’re on board now Armando. My little guy, the 12 year old, loves Firefly. It’s so fun to share with people. I have a friend who had only seen the MOVIE Serenity. They actually only saw it in the theater, but loved it. Had no idea there was a TV show. So I lent them my set. Really doesn’t matter how you become a Browncoat, just that you do. :wink:

#11

I just finished watching the next two episodes, “The Train Job” and “Bushwhacked.” I think “Bushwhacked” was my favorite, though “The Train Job” reveals Mal to be, ultimately, a righteous man and it is obvious now why his crew would follow him so loyally. In these two episodes I’m struck most by his nature as a father to these people. He really does love them (even Jayne).

It does feel weird, though, having seen Serenity first, though I think I will enjoy rewatching that movie a lot more after I’ve gone through the series. [SPOILER]I keep waiting for River to go all bad ass every time there’s danger, though, and knowing both that Wash and Shepherd don’t have happy endings adds a certain melancholy to their character in the show for me. [/SPOILER]

So far I’m enjoying the ride.

There are many plot points in the show, many of which remain unexplored due to the show’s untimely demise. Reavers are the thread which unravels the mystery of the outer planets, at the edge of known universe. But there are mysteries in the central planets, the Core Worlds, that are just as interesting, if not more. Who’s in charge of Core government? Who are the people that kidnapped River and are so desperate to get her back? Where has River been, what has she seen, and what does she know? How does Shepherd Book knows these things, what is he exactly?

Deathbytray, you’re making me fear the end of the DVD set, and I’ve only just made it through the first disc. Still, I haven’t been in this world long enough to start wondering about these things TOO much, though Shepherd has started saying certain things that have made me wonder how much and what he knows, exactly.

#12

“Home” should be coming up pretty soon. the Shepherd mystery deepens…

#13

This is so much fun, experiencing someone elses enjoyment of a series. After my wife and I got married I converted her to a Star Trek fan and eventually a scifi fan. You get to live the excitement all over again.

#14

Totally :slight_smile: I did that with the husband and Galactica. I haven’t gotten him to watch Trek with me yet, or even all of Firefly, but he’s seen bits and pieces.

I actually have better luck with my mother-in-law and sci-fi. Go figure.

#15

Glad to hear you’re enjoying the series! I, too, saw Serenity the movie before the series, and I never felt that knowing how things turned out robbed me of any enjoyment of the series. [spoiler]However, I agree that knowing Wash and Shepherd Book’s fates makes the happy moments with them a bit more bittersweet; I was even angrier at Joss Whedon for killing off one of my favorite characters when the series ended than I was when I watched the on-screen death, if that makes any sense.[/spoiler] And if you enjoyed “The Train Job” and “Bushwhacked,” I bet you’ll love the rest of the series. I think those are two of the weaker episodes of the series, especially since “The Train Job” was working so hard at being the show’s “second pilot” with its rather big, odd exposition dump near the beginning of the episode. I wish I could watch the series again for the first time, but listening to somebody else discover it is the next best thing.

#16

Last night the wife and I caught the episode “Shindig.” A fun episode, though so far it’s probably my least favorite. While I find more to admire in Mal as a character when he acts outside the law to uphold ethically righteous causes (stealing money from a slave trader, defending Inara’s honor) I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief at times in this episode. While it seems not only plausible but likely that slave trade would emerge in the fringes of the frontier, the fact that it was presented in broad, Gone with the Wind, antebellum south brush strokes made the episode seem a bit like one of those old Star Trek episodes where the crew landed in some crazily-themed Earth history planet (the crew of the Serenity this week lands in the antebellum south planet). The planet Persephone, supposedly a sophisticated metropolis, seemed too clautrophobic and obviously shot in a very small part of a studio backlot for the intended impression to come across (I do not fault Whedon or the show on this, though, since obviously it’s an issue arising from budget and resource constraints fromt he studio). It was just hard, sometimes, to not think “I’m watching people act” this episode because of these flaws.

And yet…

…so much of this episode is compelling. I loved how the relationship between Inara and Mal is fleshed out without revealing too much. I love the touches of humor (both my wife and I got a good laugh when Zoe replies to some malapropism from Jayne with, “I can hurt you,” without missing a beat from her last line) and the awe that dear, naive Kaylee feels in being let into the otherwise off limits world of high society (the scene when she plays the Beethoven quartet and sits in her room eating strawberries and looking at her dress that closes the episode is endearing and touching like as few things are in American television). And then there’s that music: any sci-fi show that uses a late Beethoven string quartet as a running theme in its soundtrack gets bonus points for esoteric coolness in my book.

Overall, a mixed bag of an episode for me, but not without a great deal of charm. On to “Safe…”

#17

I love that part where Mal stabs Atherton a few extra times. My favorite episodes were out of gas, the message, and objects in space.

#18

I love that Mal returns to Serenity just before the crew was about to spring into action. My favorite eps are Out of Gas, War Stories and Heart of Gold.

#19

Not a fan of Heart of Gold, but with you on the rest. Need Objects in Space, though.

#20

Last night I finally made it to the next episode on my list: “Safe.” I liked this one much better than “Shindig,” although the cheap budget still got to me a little bit (I do need to get over that). Something about the sets screams “SETS!” to me, and I’m having a hard time suspending my disbelief in this world…

…until someone opens their mouth. If Firefly is about anything, it’s about characters, and this episode certainly proves that. Quite frankly, I love Mal Reynolds more with each episode. What a funny, conflicted and ultimately loyal, devoted and loving man he is! When Simon asks him why he returned for him and River, Mal merely answers “you’re in my crew.” “But you don’t even like me,” says Simon, to which Mal replies, “you’re in my crew!” Wow! What a beautiful closing line to an episode.

And what is with Shepherd? What DOES he know? What was in his I.D. that made the Alliance soldiers take him in for medical care? Why do I bother asking if I know I won’t find out (ARRRRGH!!!)?

I should also say that having seen Serenity [SPOILER]I kept waiting for River to start kicking ass and taking names when she was about to be burned at the stake.[/SPOILER] That annoyed me. I wish I hadn’t seen that movie already.

Next is “Our Mrs. Reynolds.” I have to say, I wouldn’t say I’m a FAN (Lucky, I only have one more episode till “Jaynestown”), per se, but I am enjoying the hell out of this show.