FIREFLY DVD Discussion Thread (Merged) (1 Viewer)

[Henry Gale]

Glad I didn't have all the Buffy/Angel baggage to deal with when I watched Firefly.
I bought Firefly late last year and watched it in 3 days, now, 11 monthes later, I'm at it again and enjoying it even more.
Someone mention not liking the Jaynesville episode and I know what they mean, but then there's the great business with River fixing Shepherd's "broken" bible and Simon doing the only English cussing I recall on the show when he sees Jayne's statue, "Son of a bitch!"
Anyway, 5 months until the next episode.

 

[Holadem]

Awesome show. Just finished watching last night.

It was unrecognizeable at first as a Whedon series, as the characters (especially Mal) were fairly grim and humorless. But the they started warming up to each other, the dialogue improved dramatically.

I do have to say the second to last episode, with the pregnant prostitute is the worse.

While it is a significant episode in term of the Mal-Inara relationship, the A plot was a major turn off. The extremely heavy-handed and one-sided handling of the issue is completely absurd.

I am all too familiar with the tendency of some women to think that their offspring is their property. Guess what, this sort of shit happens all the time to guys who are not Carton Villain Evil Men. Let's turn dad into the worse charicature possible to justify denying him his rights :rolleyes.

One of the times I have seen Whedon go overboard with his female empowerment crap. Does this guy hate men or something?! .

Anyway, rant over.

The enjoyement brought by this show is the sort I expected to get from Farscape and never did.

My favorite character by far is Saffron. GREAT recurring villain. The writing of her second appearance was (almost) worthy of a David Mamet script. I love everyone on the ship, even Jayne. Gina Torres is far better here as a baddass than her charismatic cult leader turn on Angel.

So much potential... Still, this is my first time watching a cancelled show, and rather than be frustrated at the end as I thought I would be, I am just immensely grateful I got to see it.

Can't wait for the movie.

--
H

 

[Marko Berg]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the series on the whole, Holadem.

Heart of Gold does have a rather simplistic main story, and the main guest lead is a horrible stereotype. However, the same issues can be found in some other episodes as well -- the Alliance military, various small-time criminals, rich people with a high and mighty attitude towards other social classes etc. It's just that the very straightforward B grade Western movie manner with which this episode presents itself makes it more noticeable.

On the other hand, I would imagine most viewers who have completed watching all the episodes, feel much the same way you do about the ensemble cast -- the complexity of Mal's "honorable thief" character and how he says one thing to Inara but means another; the Wash/Zoe relationship with the traditional roles reversed to some extent; the reactions various characters cause in other members of the ship's crew -- it's all great.

I have found the awesome performances and the smart writing too good to be bothered by some other aspects of the episodes. Firefly is first and foremost about the crew and how they either love or tolerate each other, and episodes such as Heart of Gold can actually work to strengthen the hilarity that ensues by making everything else seem inconsequential or unimportant -- just watch the great exchange between Wash and Zoe about the possibility of having a child while preparing explosive traps before the last stand to defend the whorehouse. The illusion of the universe consisting of only small-minded, one-dimensional characters with one-track minds and the deadpan style the characters display while discussing the future but preparing for death at the same time works.

I'm hoping to finish watching the episodes for the fifth time by the end of next week, and Serenity can't come to a cinema near me soon enough!

 

[Mark Seyb]

I just finished the series over the weekend and all I can say is thanks to everyone at this forum who turned me on to such a wonderful series. And because of Firefly, I am now watching Buffy and will get to Angel later. You guys are great on recommendations but it kills my wallet. Oh well. I didn't really care for the pregnant prostitute episode that much either but what did sell it for me was Inara's emotions after learning that Mal slept with her friend and the pregnant prostitute blowing away her "baby daddy." Sorry, I always wanted to use that phrase. Anyway, I really enjoyed the last episode "Objects in Space" as well. I was finally sold on River as a character. She's definitely not my favorite but she doesn't irk me. I did like Early a lot. The character is a pompous ass but he was amusing. Well, thanks again everybody for the recommendation. Can't wait for Serenity!

 

[TheLongshot]

I do have to say the second to last episode, with the pregnant prostitute is the worse.

The funny thing was, they nominated it for a Hugo. After watching it, I think they could have picked a better episode. It isn't bad, but it is so by-the-numbers, it isn't funny.

I also enjoy Saffron, but I always enjoy attractive redheads. ;^) She reminds me a bit of Jill St. John's character in "Diamonds Are Forever". An unrepentant thief willing to do anything to get what she wants.

Speaking of Firefly, I was talking to a friend of mine who is a big SciFi fan, who was telling me that she didn't have anything that she was looking forward to seeing between Fantastic Four and Harry Potter. I asked about Serenity, but she said she hasn't been able to get into Firefly. Every time she does, she has a strong desire to take it out and put in Blake's 7 or Farscape. While I enjoy Farscape more, I still think Firefly is worthy of her time. Maybe the movie will change her mind...

Jason

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I like Firefly because it's not traditional Sci-Fi. It's a character driven show. The effects and such come after the fantastic writing. I tried to watch Farscape but still haven't continued past episode 1. I couldn't connect with any of the characters. I'm going to keep trying however.

 

[Holadem]

Re: Inara's breakdown, someone said ealier that it was the single most powerful scene of the series, and I would have to agree.

I did like Early a lot. The character is a pompous ass but he was amusing.

The movie trailer prominently features a dude that seems to be the same character, if not the same actor.

--
H

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The movie trailer prominently features a dude that seems to be the same character, if not the same actor.

Different character, but the same general purpose.

Glad to hear that people are still finding this delightful series. I try to pimp it out to anyone who will listen. (And no, that's not a Companion joke...)

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Actually, the character in the movie appears to be someone hired to track River down... at any cost. An assassin. Early was clearly a bounty hunter attempting to bring River back alive. Different characters, very different. (I've seen the film, I'm not spoiling, but definitely don't think the movie is just "Objects in Space: Longer")

 

[Eddy-C]

Yes the character in the trailer is alot different from Early. I saw the movie 2 weeks ago and loved it I'm glad people are still discovering this gem and it hasn't faded away yet.

 

[JohnS]

I've had the set ever since the HTF Hollywood 2004 meet(got it very cheap at the Fox store) never seen it before, but since it was so cheap, I could take the risk.

Then I heard about the movie coming out, so I waited.

I wanted to watch all the episodes, right before the movie, so it stays fresh in my mind.

Well, I just finished episode 1 and I must say that i HIGHLY enjoyed it.

This is coming from someone who really doesn't like Angel and only likes Buffy untill season 5.

I have to start Lost now, butam going to start episode 2 and 3 late late tonight.

very glad I bought this set

 

[CaseyL]

In anticipation of "Serenity" I crash coursed this series on sunday (Corkies word of the day is "Marathon"). I totally loved it. I just have to say that a lifelong pillar of stability in my life is the love I have for Star Trek. I was the kid in high school who had his own ship designed with total crew compliments and everything. Nothing touched my Star Trek love. Well, rest assured, my pillar is still standing, but this weekend I saw it waver a little. Taking an almost opposite view of Roddenberry's hopeful vision of the future, but at it's core having the same message - Humanity. I really loved this show a lot. The dynamic of characters, combined with the setting and writing made for a show that has stirred me like that first viewing of Star Trek oh so long ago. There's no place that I can be, since I found Serenity.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Early? Oh, please don't tell me that idiot survived. Although, it would be interesting to see River beat the snot out of him with all of those martial arts moves
that she showcases in the movie. Since the movie premieres this weekend it's time to rewatch the series all over again.

Heh Heh!!! It's been a while since I watched those DVD's. I bought this set during its first week of release and while I had only saw one episode on its original broadcast time, I boght this set blind as a bat, for about $35 at Target. Worth every penny, mind you, all 16 episodes. I just hope that Fox brings this series back to television and continue the television series.

It's entirely possible since this had been done before when Family Guy was cancelled and became a very hot seller when it was released to DVD. Fox brought the series back to television and it's one of their more popular shows yet. Hopefully, this will do the same for Firefly.

 

[Scott Kimball]

I just hope that Fox brings this series back to television and continue the television series.

It's entirely possible since...

I kind of doubt we'll see this series back on TV. Joss Whedon has moved on, closing up shop on his TV production unit. His focus is features.

Besides Wonder Woman, he has another script he's shopping around, and has indicated his willingness to revisit Firefly on the big screen, assuming the first film does well.

Whedon has talked about a TV show about the Spike character, but I doubt he'd have much day-to-day responsibility on another TV project. If Firefly came back to TV without Whedon, I don't think it would be the same... besides, I think he would fight to keep it on the big screen, under his control.

-Scott

 

[Paul McElligott]

I kind of doubt we'll see this series back on TV. Joss Whedon has moved on, closing up shop on his TV production unit.

If Serenity is a big enough hit and a network were to offer Whedon a sweet enough deal to resurrect the series, I'm sure he could be persuaded to return to TV.

And by "sweet", I don't necessarily mean money. Greater creative control and a full season or more commitment would probably do the trick.

 

[KyleC]

Anyone know why they use the B5/PPG sound effect for their guns? Same FX house or something?

 

[Nigel McN]

Probably a stock sound effect.

 

[Mark Talmadge]

Actually, the Spike project that Josh Whedon has been talking is a movie featuring the Spike character, not a television series ...

They've been posting news sites on Sci Fi.com about it.

 

[Kris_AB]

The project is a proposed TV-movie that Spike will be headlining (though I imagine a number of other Buffyverse characters could appear). Joss has said that he'll probably have a hand in at least the basic thrust of the plot, if not write the script himself. I think it's been said that Tim Minear (showrunner on Angel for a season and writer of it for three, as well co-exec producer and Whedon's right hand man on Firefly) will probably be handling most of the duties on whatever the Buffyverse TV movie turns out to be (there's always the possibility that it could be something other than a Spike film if talks with James Marsters fall apart).

As for Joss Whedon's next big thing, I imagine it'll be Wonder Woman. He wasn't given any deadline for it, he's allowed to have as much time as he needs to complete the script and tell the studio he's ready to talk about a timeframe for production to begin...but out of fairness, I can see him wanting to complete projects in the order in which he was given them. His script for Goners, an original idea that would be his first directed film not related to comic book adaptations or any of his TV projects, was picked up by Universal recently. So there's that as well. I'm guessing it'll be Wonder Woman, Goners, then a Serenity sequel if the first one does well enough (who went to see it this weekend?). Somewhere in between all that, depending on how talks go, he'll be involved with a TV movie related to Buffy and/or Angel, as well as continuing to write comic books (he's talked about another Fray limited series and I bet he'll stick with Astonishing X-Men or at least something Marvel-comics-related for the time being).

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Finally got the read the thread. Bought this set 18 months ago, but wife and I couldn't make it through the first episode on our first try (in our defense, we did have a two month old ). But I put the brass tacks to her two weeks ago, and we soldiered through the early goings of the pilot. By the end, I liked it a lot. She warmed up by the third episode. Going to see the film tonight (she had a wedding this weekend: rehearsal dinner Friday night, wedding Saturday, etc - so we finished the set last night).

Some thoughts, some disagreements with old opinions, and just my take.

1) Great show.

2) A western through and through...not sci-fi at all.

3) I see the themes from his Buffy/Angel of the season previous to 2002 - family, and how a family is made. It wears this theme on it's sleeve, if you've seen enough Whedon And I have seen enough Whedon.

4) Our Mrs. Reynolds is the best episode.

5) Very good, creative effects. The show was a treat to watch.

6) Here is where I get some boos...Inara and Mal do nothing for me. That plot has been done and done and done, and done much better (All Hail the King...Moonlighting). I know this stuff kills some of the female viewers, but it was too on the nose for me. Too many contrivances to build up the "under the surface" passion and "will they, won't they", etc, etc, etc.

7) Heart of Gold was the weakest episode, though it was still solid TV.

- Some have called the single scene of Inara alone in the room the emotional highlight of the series. I disagree. It was a rehash of one of the very best Buffy moments ever: Willow crying in a bathroom stall when she learned Xander had slept with Faith - even though she was with Oz. It made sense in the context of a high school sweetheart and her first love.
I didn't mind the emotion, but Inara isn't like Willow. It seemed too much, too forced, and not in keeping with her character - some might scream "that's the point!" at me, but it felt hollow because I didn't buy the lead-up that much.

- I love the woman empowerment Joss brings to the table, but sometimes he does it at the expense of men, in this case the one-note bad guy. A little subtlety goes a long way.

8) I'm sad the show ended. Clearly, there will be no film sequels to Serenity. And these characters are meant for the small screen, for lots of time spent together, for real growth...not for two hour spurts every 2 years. But I am thrilled we get a capper to the series.

Take care,
Chuck