Your thoughts on getting into Firefly and Battlestar Galactica. (1 Viewer)

[Will_B]

Ron I encourage you to watch Firefly first, and then watch Battlestar, for one reason: Zoic Studios did the special effects for both shows, pioneering the use of "simulated handheld cameras in space" and such on Firefly. To appreciate Firefly's innovation, you should see it first.

Brief article about Zoic's contribution to both shows (click here)

 

[David Norman]

Just to echo the echoes here. BG is the only active show I actually watch any more of any type. I TIVO it and watch the same night when possible so I can FF through the commercials. I simply can't watch it live because the 3 minute breaks just kill me. I have heard very few people who have disliked this show and just about the only negative reviews have been from folks who complain that it isn't the original or a continuation of the original. Opinions are what they are, but overwhelmingly BG ends up on the upside of most arguments. If you like B5, I suspect you'll love BG though BG has a much more serious overall tone so far without the occasional pseudo-comedy that B5 would throw in either with a sub plot or even entire show.

The writing is beyond top notch, the science/physics even seem pretty rational overall, and so far not a single time loop/time-space plot that ST got so fond of toward the end.

The acting is very good for a TV show led by Olmos and Mary McDonnell and Richard Hatch. The supporting cast which was OK initially seems to be growing into their characters quickly giving most of the main characters a very 3D-real feel. Even the eye candy ex-model Helfer seems to showing some very strong skills and her reactions occasionally shock me.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Also remember that the way the series was structured was long gaps between episodes (because there was no "hyperspeed" or anything going on, going from planet to planet each week wouldn't have been too realistic).

For example, if you notice, six months pass just between episode 5 and episode 12. So someone getting shot in one episode and being healed in the next could be likely if it's been 4-6 weeks since the previous outing.

Obviously Buffy covered about a year each season, so from week to week characters usually showed the rough scrapes from past fights.

 

[Scott Kimball]

Firefly and Galactica are both perfect ways to spend an evening in front of the tube... or lcd... or plasma... or projector...

There's less "sci" than "fi" in this scifi, so if you're a fan of hard sf, take these for what they are and you'll enjoy them.

Firefly has Joss Whedon's brand all over it. If you hate Joss, it might not be for you.
Galactica is as compelling as 24, Lost, or the early days of Alias.

I highly recommend both. My Firefly and Galactica S1 DVD's have been on loan to various parties for weeks. There's a waiting list.

-Scott

 

[Michael Harris]

"Firefly" and BSG couldn't be more different and yet they are great programs. SCI-FI did a great service in re-running "Firefly" and and I'll take a thousand "Mansquitos" if it means nurturing programs like BSG.

A friend of mine bought BSG season 1 as a blind buy and is totally hooked. I have to lend him my 2.0 so he can catch up so as to watch the current 2.5 on TV.

Ron, as with B5, you can't go wrong with these two.

 

[Elizabeth S]

"Firefly" was a blind buy on DVD for me and I loved it -- did the entire season a bit before "Serenity" opened. I now understand the disappointment/rage over cancellation of fans who watched it when it was on the air. Absolutely watch the series before "Serenity".

I plan to eventually get into "BG", though I'm very backlogged on TV sets. (Working on "Veronica Mars" now.)

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I think part of BSG's appeal is that it is less hardcore scifi than it is an action/drama set in space. Kind of like another franchise that is highly popular....I think it's called something Wars.

I have never ever felt bored watching this show. It is always engaging IMO.

Firefly is also very entertaining, but it's frustrating to watch knowing it was cancelled before its time.

A friend of mine just decided to get into BSG, and he finished the first season set in a weekend he liked it so much. He'll be done with 2.0 by this Friday's episode. This is the perfect time to get into it, because you can record the replay of the 2.5 premiere and not miss anything if you get caught up quick, which you will!

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

If you liked B5 I think you will like both these series. BG is a bit heavier than Firefly.
Give Farscape a shot too if you havent already.

 

[Jeff McMillan]

Personally, I don't think there's another show on currently better than BSG. Season 2 had a few so-so episodes, but the finale of the first "half-season" was spectacular, and the latest episode was quite the nail-biter. If Olmos doesn't get an Emmy out of this...

Firefly is great too. Not much else I can say that hasn't already been said.

 

[Mark_TS]

Ive come to love BSG-the only problem is that it goes by far too quickly-first you have 5 mins of recaps, then a preview of whats coming up, then the Titles/starring section, and end credits crawl-then after the commercials, you probably have 40 min of story-or less.

It would be too cool the show was made a 90 min program, given its epic scope.

 

[MichaelPR]

Mark I hate when it ends too! It makes me sad....It makes me want to watch more. But now I'm almost done with season 2.0 and man I don't want to be a week to weeker...hehe

 

[Ric Easton]

I also love both shows, Ron. For different reasons. As others have said BG is like 24 in space. It is constantly ramping up the tension. Whenever the hour ends I usually say "WTF! Already?" It is a pretty dark show though.

As for Firefly, my wife and I tried to catch it when it originally aired on FOX (completely botched btw). We had probably seen half the episodes. When the DVD set came out, we started watching it again and by the 5th or 6th episode, we we were hooked. But we didn't race through the episodes. We watched one a week. There were just so few that we didn't want it to end. Each episode was like gold to us! (this was before we knew there would be a movie) We just really enjoyed the characters, the dialog, the humor and their adventures.

Coincidentally (or maybe not) Firefly and BG's spaceship flying effects (kind of a hand held camera style) are very similar. That's where the similarity ends though.

 

[Josh-F]

"firefly" is awesome, but to me, it's awesome in a different way than any show that I've ever seen. I've never seen BSG, but if people are using the word "epic" to describe it, it's nothing like "firefly." "firefly" is purposely not epic. It's just about people. It's about people trying to survive on the frontier. Taking whatever job they can and doing what they can to put food on the table and fuel in the engine. The stories are mostly self-contained, with character arcs and some small serialized storylines thrown in. If you're looking for a big arc and cliffhanger endings and escalating situations, you're not going to find that in "firefly." If you're looking for very interesting and human people interacting, trying to survive, and living on a place that after a few short episodes begins to feel like home, this is a show for you.

 

[MichaelPR]

WOW PEGASUS!!! Holy cow....BG is knocking my socks off at every turn. This is some INTENSE television. The acting is just incredible. And while some are saying it's epic I would say it's epic in the same sense that LOTR is epic....Huge battles but small intimate character moments that really make you care. It's a shame Firefly didn't get the chance to get fleshed out like BG!

 

[Mike Williams]

I watch "Battlestar Galactica" in high definition on UniversalHD -- the only way this show should really be watched.

When the miniseries first aired, I was so bored by the first night, I didn't even bother tuning in for the second night. When the first episode of the series premiered, I decided I'd give it one more shot, since by that time I had met a couple of the actors at a convention (including Katee Sackhoff, who is even hotter in person). I was completely blown away and immediately hooked from the opening teaser. I LOVE this show, but I love it even more in High Definition.

 

[Adam Barratt]

Not a coincidence, as Will B noted, as the effects for both were created by the same effects group. Firefly's Serenity even made a cameo in the initial Battlestar Galactica mini-series.

Adam

 

[Terry St]

The character development and acting are top-notch. The western-theme of the show, with starship captains running around in cowboy outfits and six-shooters has really put off a lot of people, but the use of seemingly primitive technology makes a lot of sense in the Firefly universe and is good sci-fi, although Whedon might have carried the cowboy parallels a touch to far in places for the unforgiving. I had no trouble with it, but some people do.

Babylon5, in comparison to both of these shows, is an older show with lower production values. Both BSG and Firefly look much better and have *far* better transfers on DVD. Babylon5's amazing tapestry of interconnected sub-plots and unified story arc's are not rivalled in either of these shows, so far. Firefly has more continuity than the typical star trek series, but it's still fairly episodic. It definitely benefits a great deal from being viewed in order though, which is why airing it out of order without the pilot was such a bad move on the part of the network. BSG has a much higher degree of continuity, one episode frequently leading right into the next, but so far I wouldn't say it has the depth of planning evident in B5, although admittedly it's probably a tad to early to say. It's certainly not as poetic. If plays more like a newscast than some interstellar epic.

I could ramble on for a while it seems. I love all these shows, and strongly recommend them all. Firefly, providing you harbor no grudges against shows that don't play by the rules, is a gem. BSG is an intense, rivetting drama in a sci-fi setting. Neither show is anything like B5 save for the sci-fi theme.

 

[KevinGress]

This comment is very important in regards to BSG:



To quantify it even further, it's a disaster show set in space. It's well-done, although a few storylines are a bit too far-fetched, and is worthy of a look. Do note that it is pretty dark and delves more into distaster and political intrigue than sci-fi.

Firefly is brilliant in its own right. Favors the wild west flare than techno-babble. Characters are very well developed and by the end of the run it's pretty exciting. Not as dark as BSG, but it can get intense too. It can also be downright knee-slapping funny, so for me, has the edge on BSG.

Interesting how right now there are no aliens in either show - just human (well, and Cyclons which were created by humans). Between that and the spaceship visuals, BSG owes a lot to Firefly (heard a rumor once that supposedly there is a quick glance of a Firefly ship in the miniseries of BSG due to the production company doing the f/x).

These are good shows for people who like good drama, and don't care if the sci-fi isn't too heavy.

 

[Terry St]

The f/x crew who worked on firefly and then moved to BSG has really done excellent work. For firefly they pioneered the use of pseudo-steady-cam, mechanical zooms, etc. in SFX sequences that have traditionally been free of such "defects". It really makes them feel more real an exciting. They took the same idea even further in BSG.

My one beef with BSG is that sometimes they take the newscast feel a bit too far. When the Galactica is being bombarded and the camera views are shaking around like crazy on the bridge it's pretty dramatic, but when the ship is sailing smoothly through space a million miles from conflict and the cameraman is still undergoing epileptic seizures it starts to get annoying. Their signature multi-stop-zooms in the SFX sequences are tremendously overused some episodes, often showing up in several back-to-back cuts with absolutely identical timing. In general, they need to do a better job of making the style-elements fit the action rather than just applying them haphazardly. Using them too extensively all the time reduces their impact in more dramatic sequences as well.

Don't get me wrong, the show is great. I have only minor quibbles with it. I think they have been improving as well.

 

[Jeff#]

I wouldn't waste my money or time on either of those weak series. The Lorne Greene Battlestar Galactica (which I also wouldn't buy) was much more entertaining than the awful remake -- a series that reinvented the concept and made it too serious. Starbuck was originally a guy in the old show, not a chick!!

Joss Whedon brilliantly handled Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but he BLEW IT with Firefly. How that ever got revived as a feature film "Serenity" after the TV series became one in a long line of FNFF (Friday night FOX failures)is beyond me.

The only reason I'm replying here is because I re-watched former Firefly star Nathan Fillion in his most outstanding role: As Caleb, the superhuman exiled priest who goes up against Buffy and the other slayers in the final 5 episodes of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series in 2003. He was both appropriately intense and comedic in that role.