Finally bought FIREFLY!

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

You're in for a good time, Ron.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Ron, make sure you give it a few episodes before forming your opinion. It takes a couple of episodes to really understand the "firefly universe". You will definitely like Serenity more if you watch the series first. Good Call.

I envy you getting to watch it all for the first time. I bet you'll love it.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

I also finally gave in and picked it up at the last DDD sale.

It's unfortunate we'll never see the series in HD as the FX have only been done in SD. Oh well...

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Its a good series. I actually didn't fully warm to it until the latter half.

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I picked it up cheap a few weeks ago and just finished it. Even though I watched it when it was originally on watching it IN ORDER (unlike the original air date) adds alot to it.

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I just finished it for the first time a few weeks back. Like others, I didn't warm up to it at first. It was enjoyable, but nothing special. After finishing the whole series and watching the movie, I can't wait to watch it for a second time.

Or you could be like my wife. She was hooked from the first episode.

Either way, I look forward to hearing your reactions to the show.

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I absolutely loved it. Total f...in' shame this show wasn't allowed to develop.

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Great show. Bought the series blind when it came out. Wish the show had lived.


Ron...how about Farscape after you finish Firefly?

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Ha! Ron I was actually thinking 'bout you last night when I put Serenity (HD) in for a few chapters last night. Watching the first twenty minutes or so, I had forgotten how unobtrusively Whedon establishes everything for a viewer with no reference to the series- I was almost going to go back into one of the HD threads and tell you to pick it up after all- otherwise I didn't think you'd get around to the series for a while, and that would be a shame as then you'd be postponing experiencing one of the greatest HD DVDs out there.
I don't know if its so much that the a/v is so steller (tho it is) or more the fact that all that a/v goodness is in the service of presenting such a witty, literate, and vivacious romp for a change and not just some vapid, money shot Hero posing, fireball outrunning, nonsense .

Echoing what others have experienced, it took me a while to click with the particular bio rhythm of that show, and even at the end, despite some absolutely killer single eps, I can't say I was a foaming-at-the-mouth rabid fan of it. But the more times I dip into the film on HD (which can't be helped at this point since my collection of HD DVDs totals all of 5 movies), the more I'm looking forward to revisiting the series.

I still have a few gripes with it, but its always at least an entertaining time waster.
enjoy!

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I loved it from the first episode on. By the last episode, I was in love with it (and heartbroken).

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Count me in as one of those who took a few episodes to really warm up to this series....by the end of the set I was absolutely hooked (and pissed off at the execs at FOX for cancelling it before it could find it's audience). This show should have lasted a good five years easy. Unfortunately, we are stuck with half a season and one excellent film.....what could have been.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

I watched it for the first time on DVD (never saw it on TV), and watched in DVD order. My kids and I loved the 1st episode, but thought the 2nd was weak. I silently went uh-oh - rapid drop off ... But the rest were great.

The worst part - especially from the kids - is being sad it ended after one season. (I really would have liked them to delve into the Ron Glass charater; which I'm sure they would have if given time.)

Forgot what I meant to post in the first place - I also bought this as a blind buy based on the forum comments. Thanks Firefly devotees!

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Careful, Ron.
You've let moths in with your Firefly.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

As the opening credits of the very first episode rolled I was already won over. Remember, the big noisy battle scene followed by total silence as our BDHs float in space and blow up a cargo door. That *was* something special.

I blind-bought the Firefly DVDs some years ago, but I pondered a while before doing so. I loved the early seasons of Buffy and I liked the later (and the Angel series), so that was on the pro side. But I had yet to see a space opera/scifi series that didn't left me cold. The various Star Trek incarnations? Pleeease. Babylon 5, Farscape? They had their merits, but still not my cup of tea. Well, this one also is a western! Unfortunately, I'm not much into westerns (that was before Deadwood). Boy, was I in for a surprise.

It's a shame that all the really cool women are already married.

The second episode on the DVDs (Train Job) is actually the replacement pilot the Fox execs demanded after seeing the real pilot (Serenity). Fox wanted more action and fun, so Whedon and Minear sat down on a weekend and wrote a new pilot.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Enjoy, Ron!

It took me a couple of episodes to really get into it. My favorite: "Our Mrs. Reynolds".

Definitely wise to watch the series before the film.

-Scott

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Congratulations! You are in for a good time.

My sister is a card-carrying Whedon fan but I could never get into the WB looking Buffy or Angel. When Serenity was released, I asked her if she had Firefly. We borrowed it and watched the whole series in a week. That weelend, we all saw Serenity on the big screen.

Thatw as a good week.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Hey Ron

Whats your Ebay ID? I'll check to see when you put it up for sale.

I did enjoy Ron Glass on 'Barney Miller', though.

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Finally, a Firefly / Serenity thread that doesn't bring up the ratings/box office crap, as if that makes any difference now...It's refreshing.

I ended up buying the boxed set twice - I had to sell the first one due to financial needs, and picked it up again just prior to the film's release. Both times I ended up paying the original $50+ price tag, which would have been only $20+ if I knew to wait a few days.

It was still worth it, though.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

I have two boxed sets of the Firefly TV series. HEH!!! And there are actually 15 episodes, 16 episodes if you couont the douoble length pilot episode. Remember, the set has three unaired episodes on it.

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They are ALL worth watching. Also it is important that you NOT listen to any commentaries until you have completed the series.

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It's a GREAT show....

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I caught this show when it originally aired on FOX, and I didn't like it, partly because I was confused, due to FOX airing the episodes out of order. I recently rewatched the series when it aired on the SCI-FI channel, and I couldnt get enough. I bought the DVD's and watched them almost immediately. The movie is great too. You'll love the show I'm sure.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Congrats Ron. When is the fitting for your Browncoat?

It took me a couple of episodes to really get into it as well. By the 4th or 5th I was hooked. I believe it was the Out of Gas episode that did the trick.

Watching the series first will definitely increase your enjoyment of the movie.

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The unaired episodes are some of the best of the series. They weren't unaired due to quality concerns but because Fox pulled the plug before they could get on the air.

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I felt the exact same way. heartbroken.
one if my first memories was the themesong..
it felt out of place at first. but it just grows on you and
later sounds perfect for the show.

its odd they could get funding for a movie but not another season.
I thought movies were alot more expensive than tv episodes

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

They are. The movie cost nearly $40M to make -- peanuts for a sci-fi feature film, but way more than a TV series. What's interesting here too is that Joss took the movie project to Universal, after doing the series with Fox (I mean the studio, not the network). Had he tried to continue it as a series, either with Universal or Fox, he still would've had the same problem -- finding it a home on TV. He found someone at Universal who got behind it as a movie, who was actually interested in it and "got" what he was doing.

BTW, there are 14 episodes, 15 if you count the pilot as two:

1. Serenity (original two-hour pilot)
2. The Train Job
3. Bushwhacked
4. Shindig
5. Safe
6. Our Mrs. Reynolds
7. Jaynestown
8. Out of Gas
9. Ariel
10. War Stories
11. Trash (unaired)
12. The Message (unaired)
13. Heart of Gold (unaired)
14. Objects in Space

As Kevin mentioned, the quality of the episodes wasn't what kept them off the air. Fox just never burned off the unaired episodes after they cancelled the show; that seems to have happened a lot especially in the past several years. IMHO, "The Message" is one of the best episodes of the series.

If you enjoyed the series, I highly recommend listening to the commentaries on the DVDs, especially the one by Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion on the pilot. It's one of the most entertaining commentaries I've heard, and I tend to listen to more of them than is probably good for a body! But I agree, don't listen to them until after you've seen the whole series; they contain spoilers. The extras are good too, in particular the "Here's How It Was" featurette. Have a look at that and then go watch the fan parody film "Mosquito" that's on the net at http://www.mosquitoverse.com. When you watch the movie, you might want to start with the intro by Joss that's an extra on that disc.

Hope you're enjoying it. It's not everybody's cup of tea, but I really enjoy the unusual dialogue, the mix of genres and cultures, the blending of humor and drama, and some wonderful characters.

Mary

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

Oh, and if there's anyone watching this thread who's interested in checking out the series without renting or buying it, Sci-Fi is having a "Firefly" marathon TODAY, July 14. Started at 8:00 a.m. EDT, and runs through 6:00 p.m. I can't say it's the best way to see these; apart from the usual annoyances of commercials, bugs, etc., they're also showing it full-frame, and it was definitely composed for widescreen.

Re: Finally bought FIREFLY!

I can't wait to read your reactions as you make your way through the set, Ron.

I'd agree that "The Train Job" is weaker and lacks the qualities of the better Firefly 'sodes, but it's still not bad and it sets up "War Stories," one of the best episodes of the whole series.

Which reminds me...um... If you'll excuse me...

Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show)