Serenity
Firefly was a sci-fi television series that aired for 11 episodes on Fox in 2002 before being cancelled. It has, like Family Guy before it, received a second wind. The show generated rabid fans, and sales of the show’s complete first season (including unaired episodes) have been very high. The show’s creator, Joss Whedon, as well as the cast of the show, and fans of the show, lobbied extensively, trying to resurrect their beloved show. They got their answer last year when Universal picked up the series’ full length film sequel. Serenity premieres this Friday, September 30th. From the looks of the trailer, it is going to rock.
I’ve only been introduced to the show this past week (thank you, Netflix, for recommending it!) It’s a damn good show, with lovable characters, witty dialog and action aplenty. If I had to describe the show in a phrase, I would call it “Star Wars meets a Clint Eastwood western.” It is a refreshing look at the sci-fi genre. In the Firefly universe, there are no aliens. Man has simply colonized the universe after leaving “the earth that was.” Although technology has obviously advanced, economic realities are faced. People still ride horses on some planets, and laser guns are a rare commodity that only the richest can perform. Gunfights include shotguns and old-fashioned six-shot revolvers rather than lightsabers and laser blasters. People mainly speak English, and Chinese. The show cleverly introduces its own slang, especially for swear words (”f**king” becomes “rutting”, “goddamn” becomes “goram,” etc), and characters frequently break into Chinese if they want to say something especially vulgar. This cleverly skirts around the TV censors, but doesn’t dull the intended meaning of the words like using milder substitutes does and also doesn’t annoy like bleeps do.
Firefly is witty, laugh-out-loud funny, and nail-bitingly intense. The acting is, with a few exceptions, quite good, and the writing is solid. Many have been saying “move over Star Wars and Star Trek,” and I couldn’t agree more. I’m new to the show, but I’m definitely excited about Serenity. I can’t imagine how excited the people are who have been fans for 3 years.
As one of those “fans waiting for three years” - it’s great to see so many people getting hyped up for this movie. I’m immensely excited and it’s great to know that there is a wider base of people new to the ‘verse!
I was recently introduced to Firefly, myself. I have to say I’m completely hyped up about the movie coming out in a few days, as I have devoured the shows. Thus I echo Mark’s comments: this show rocks! Go forth and watch it!
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Serenity
I’ve just finished watching the DVD of Serenity. Good movie. I like how the writer/director kept everything real instead of making it into some Star Wars-wannabe. For example, as the captain leaves the ship to his Number 2 in command, he reminds …