*** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread - Page 20

Re: *** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread

That wasn't the full story, Whedon fully elaborated on Whedonesque:

Re: *** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread

Unfortunately, this film, while it was made to appeal to both Firefly fans and non-viewers, it's virtually an impossible task to do so in the running time of the film, so Joss Whedon chose to use the opening bit to set the table, but for those Firefly fans, the rest of the film is more involving simply because they have seen 13 episodes of characterization that underscore the import of the demise of 2 of the characters. So, for you, as a non-Firefly viewer, the film is just never going to work as well for you as it did for Firefly fans. It's just how it is. It's not right or wrong, but had you invested some time to spend in the Firefly universe (about 10 hours of running time for the 13 episodes), Serenity would have been a more meaningful viewing experience.

Serenity is not a standalone film. It's not fair to characterize it as such. Yes, sometimes life's not fair.

It's like someone who just shows up for Star Wars Episode II without seeing Episode IV-VI, and Episode I, and tries to make heads or tails of the story so far. Some of it would make sense, some of it would not, but you simply get more out of Episode II had you seen the earlier Star Wars films. It's the same with Serenity.

But for those who don't "do" TV, watching a film with a TV pedigree will never feel "right" because there is so much required viewing baggage to get all the in-jokes, history, and the understanding of character motivations that is simply not possible in a 2-hour film.

Re: *** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread

While I don't doubt it hit hard (the second death), without the context of those other 13 Firefly episodes, it's simply not the same. It's a shocking death, but that's it for first-time viewers (not Firefly viewers). Whedon set that scene up well, and the shock of it hit doubly-hard for Firefly fans. I saw it in person at the film's premiere (I had already seen preview screenings twice before the premiere), and the shockwave of that death hit the theater on opening night nothing like I've ever seen before. It's been a long time since I've heard audience members snivelling and sniffing back tears from a character's death on screen (not saying it doesn't happen, but it's not often). I heard audible bits like "Oh god, no!" "Why?" "Oh ... my ..." "Dammit!" "No...not him..." You don't get that reaction from someone walking in from the street and had never seen an episode of Firefly.

Also, more often than not, the non-Firefly viewer didn't have enough time to fully warm to the characters because it's a big cast, and not everyone got enough screen time to do their characters justice. But given the running time, Whedon did the best he could to tell his Big Damn Story.

Full disclosure: I was a fan of the show and when I saw the first preview screening, after the second death occured, I was flabberghasted, my breathing got a little weird, too. I had no idea (especially since the first death happened, my guard was down) and BAM! it happened, and I admit that I was reeling internally, I lost track of the film for about a minute of running time or so, I was just shocked and sad and incredulous at what I saw. It felt like I was the one who got staked. It had that much impact on me (and all the rest of the audience in attendance). The other 2 theatrical screenings still impacted me (not as big a jolt as the first time) and I still got a bit discombobulated from the event in subsequent viewings, mainly because I sensed the effect it had on the audience members, and shared in their collective sadness and shock. My reaction to the event was partly Whedon's deft set-up, and partly Firefly baggage. Without the baggage, it's just a quick, shocking death, but not one that would have resonated with me as long as it did because I enjoyed the character within the framework of that world 500 years in the future.