Hello everyone,
I’ve just ordered the DVD set for firefly but I’m trying to figure out if I should watch Serenity first. Being a noob here I just thought I get some input on this.
Thanks and take care,
welcome to the forum.
you definitely want to watch the TV series first and watch Serenity as the series finale.
Agreed. TV show first. The movie Serenity, picks up where the show left off.
and a Hearty Welcome to the forums. 
Same as everyone else is saying. Also watch the episodes in DVD order not broadcast order
I am going to reiterate what everyone has said but want to be crystal clear on one point:
There is Serenity the pilot (the episode on your DVD box set) and there is Serenity the movie. Serenity the movie comes AFTER the DVD box set. Watching it before (as a friend of mine did by accident) isn’t fatal, but it sure ruins a lot. On disc 1 watch:
- Serenity
- The Train Job
- Bushwhacked
and on the following discs watch them in standard order. For your reference the intended order is:
Intended Order
Serenity
The Train Job
Bushwhacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs. Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Trash
The Message
Heart of Gold
Objects in Space
the broadcast order (which is not how you should watch it) was
9/20/02 The Train Job
9/27/02 Bushwhacked
10/4/02 Our Mrs. Reynolds
10/18/02 Jaynestown
10/25/02 Out of Gas
11/1/02 Shindig
11/8/02 Safe
11/15/02 Ariel
12/6/02 War Stories
12/13/02 Objects in Space
12/20/02 Serenity
(never aired in the U.S.) Trash
(never aired in the U.S.) The Message
(never aired in the U.S.) Heart of Gold
Listen to these people. They are very wise. I actually had seen Serenity (the movie) before watching Firefly, but there were many years between those two events. As Solai says, watching Serenity first isn’t fatal, but it makes a lot more sense after seeing the series (and it does ruin a lot).
You’re in for a treat. I was introduced to Firefly through GWC (I still owe you, Lucky). It is a thing of beauty, pure and simple. One of the great shows in American television, whose fate is, frankly, criminal.
Pintado, your jumping into this adventure made me go and revisit this thread and read my first impressions of this show (don’t read too far ahead if you want to avoid spoilers). Can I be so bold as to ask you to post your thoughts as you encounter Firefly for the first time? I would love to read what you think and I’m sure so would everybody else.
Heck, I sense a rewatch coming on. Shiny.
I wanted to thank everyone for your input. I’m hoping my DVD’s will arrive by this weekend so I can get started watching. Armando, I’ll post my thoughts as I watch the series. Take care everyone.
ossim! i was just thinking about asking you to do that too!
Shiny! (You’ll know what that means soon enough, Pintado.)
Our girls love TLC’s What Not to Wear. They picked up the term “sexy” from it, and started saying it, without knowing what it means. I told them it’s a grown-up word, and instead, they should say “shiny.”
Does everyone else envy the heck out of Pintado, or what?! To be a Firefly noob again, on the brink of discovery.
Holy craaap. 
Enjoy, Pintado. Enjoy.
Well I got my DVD’s in today and set down and watched the first 3 episodes:
Serenity
The Train Job
Bushwhacked
All I can say right now is what a ride. I really enjoy the cast in this and the way the series puts so many opposites in the characters. For me it really works. My first thought is why the network would show this series out of order? So far this has been a huge advantage for me. Even though I’m seeing the series get better (even if it’s only 2 more episodes) the background of the first episode (Serenity) is vital to understanding what’s going on. I’m sure this is stuff you’ve all hashed through, but I’ve been making it a point not to read anything about the series until I’ve watched it through the 1st time (I’m know I’ll be going through it at least a dozen times). The series has a slight Battlestar feel to it (except for the old west scenes). The way a lot of the space scenes are shot are similar in style.
I also wanted to thank everyone for the warm welcome to the forms. Take care everyone.
A very interesting thing about Firefly is in the TV series, they tried to stay close to reality. By that I mean there are not sound in space. Everytime there is a space scene seen from a view point outside of the ships, there will be no sound. very few Scifi can stay true to that fact.
Welcome aboard!
Why would a network do such a thing? It’s Fox. It’s the only way they know.
You’re wise to avoid any Firefly reading; make sure you also avoid any material about the movie.
Very true about the sound. There’s an urban legend that Gene Roddenberry pitch that idea for the original Star Trek but the exec’s nixed it. I’d like to know if it’s true.
I love the jokes they play on the Simon. Being locked up in a steel tube people need ways to vent. This gave me the impressions that someone really thought the issues of being in space for long periods of time through (and the stresses involved.
Take care,
Yes. That was the defining moment where I went, ok, I love this show already.
YES. So, enjoy every moment of the ride! (It ain’t too long, that’s for sure. SIGH!)
I cannot agree more with the episode order. Since I also caught the show via DVD, I can’t imagine just how agonizing it must have been to have watched the broadcast of Firefly and be completely perplexed by arcs of some of those stories. It could only be some sort of frakked up TV executive logic to air the episodes completely out of order, or heck, even just the pilot - airing it at the end of its run instead of as the first episode as it was intended to be.
I just finished the series and my first thought was who was the idiot how made the decision to cancel this series? I have to say I haven’t been moved like this in a while. The last 3 days have been a great ride. I’m not someone who’s good at writing (as I’m sure you can tell), but this moved me more then I can say.
I’ll be going through the series again and look at it from a technical prospective and try to pick up more of the little things I’ve missed. Now I’ve got to go buy the movie.
Take care,
shiny.
does that mean you haven’t seen the Serenity movie then? because that is a wild ride.
Yeah, that’s how it makes me feel. A combination of sadness that there is no more and anger at the morons who caned it. Welcome to the Browncoats!