Firefly (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Kleist]

Nothing will be on file sharing till at least tomorrow morning is my guess, and it'llbe hard to come by till at least the middle of next week
THe music will grow on me, put me down for loving the opening credits.
I also think the show will be lucky to geta second season :frowning:
Please let me be wrong

 

[Steve Felix]

In the "Joss Whedon Directs a Scene" clip on the Firefly website, someone calls out "Nick, Nick Brendon?" and he apparently answers. Am I crazy, behind on the news, or was he just visiting the set?

 

[Rex Bachmann]

Adam Lenhardt wrote:

hide[/I]]Quote:

Appearances can indeed be deceptive, since Mr. Whedon has stated in at least one interview that there will be no "aliens" in his series. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of putting it in outer space, if you ask me. Pretty much throws away any chance of gaining my interest, that's for sure.

 

[DaveF]

I watched it, and enjoyed it. But it felt like a mid-season episode rather than a pilot episode. The story wasn't made clear nor compelling -- I still don't know who these characters are and why I should care about them. If anything, I'm still not wholly swayed since it seems to be ship full of thieves with a high-class hooker, though they have some sense of "doin' the right thing". If the story is expanded and I'm given some reason to really care about the main characters, then it's got good potential. However, it lacked the "Watch Me NOW!" effect that the "Alias" pilot had two years ago, or even the "John Doe" pilot afterwards.

As for the Western in space: I enjoyed it. I liked the broke-down, dirty scenery (finally, someone emulating Lucas' understanding of high-tech in dirty worlds). The music was fun and the theme song fitting (this is what "Enterprise" wanted to do, I think). I especially liked the hint of Peter Gabriel during one musical snippet.

As with Buffy, the characters seem diverse, have some witty banter, and the sense of popping melodramatic bubbles to play with the audience.

Mostly enjoyable, but rather weak for a pilot episode, especially from the creator of Buffy. I guess I wanted to have the barn doors blown off!

I'll give it some more time in hopes of the story being revealed, but right now "John Doe" has a firmer grasp on my attention.

 

[DaveF]

there will be no "aliens" in his series. Kinda defeats the whole purpose of putting it in outer space, if you ask me.

Hrrmmm.... why is that? Futuristic space setting does not necessitate aliens. Surely there are interesting stories to be told, set in space, that don't require aliens?

 

[Peter D]

There were some promising flashes (the ending, the ocassional Joss Whedon witty banter), but the whole 'space western' thing seemed way overboard to me. Adding a few cgi shots to a western doesn't exactly revolutionize the genre. I'll probably watch a couple of more eps to see how it develops, but it didn't blow me away.

And here's a plot question:
If there are certain types of cargo that the Firefly crew has moral qualms about taking, why didn't the Captain just ask the guy?

 

[Craig P]

Peter, if he'd asked, I'm pretty sure the answer would have been something along the lines of,

That's on a need to know basis, and you don't need to know. Take the job or leave it.

Only he'd have said it more eloquently.

Besides which, it wasn't just that it was medicine, it was that it was essential medicine for a town in need. The circumstances played a part, especially where they found out that everyone was sick. If Mal had been told it was medicine during the meeting with the old guy whose name I've forgotten, I'm not so sure he would have said no.

 

[Rex Bachmann]

DaveF wrote:

Presumably there are, but it is also crystal-clear that Firefly won't be telling any of them.
And, certainly, it is one thing not to have "aliens" every week on episodic television, it is quite another not have any at all---ever (as Mr. Whedon implied in the quotes attributed to him in the interview I read)! I see no reason, then, to set the stories in space (not just on another planet, but in space). If one wants merely to deal with human encounters, why go to the trouble?
Of course, one can then do what this program does (so far) and, in all probability, will do, if it is allowed to continue: be ersatz-"science-fiction" for the masses; a "train-robbery" western this week, a bank-vault heist next week, an undersea treasure hunt the week after, a bad cop ("Alliance federals")/good-hearted rebel chase after that, and on, and on, and on. That's the only place I see this program going.
As a person who wants to see good "(semi-)hard" filmed science fiction, both on the big and the small screen, I object to the misappropriation of the label "science fiction" and diversion of funding for things that are clearly not science fiction. I'd rather Hollywood be honest and say forthrightly: "Science fiction doesn't 'sell' the way we want it to, so we're going to put our resources into more 'young-adult' comedies, Westerns, romances, 'thrillers', etc.", rather than the present practice of dickin' around with the public on the matter (false p.r., false advertisement).
I might add---and this might put off some readers here---that it was one of Gene Roddenberry's dicta (and, in retrospect, probably a very good one) that there should always be an outsider character, an "alien", prominent in the cast to keep the viewers ever mindful that "Yes, this story is set in space and in the future."
Kid yourself not. Without them, nothing close to "science fiction" is going to be happening in this series, or any like it. It's made to appeal to you "young adults", who will settle for so much less (and so much other) in the (false) name of "science fiction", both in the movies and on tv. And, if the reactions reported here so far are at all representative of the viewing audience as a whole, I'd say, "It's working!"

 

[Andy Sheets]

I tend to agree with the comments that the crew seemed a bit on the soft side for what are supposed to be criminals. Funny thing about Joss is that he clearly loves westerns from all the homages and nods over the years on Buffy but his sarcastic writing style really doesn't fit the genre comfortably. One of the reasons why I liked Jayne so much as he was pretty much the only crew member I felt really could pass for a hard ass criminal. But as the show went on, I just got into the story more. The bit with Mal kicking the guy into the engine at the end also helped. Not only funny but I thought it gave the character the kind of "Han shoots Greedo" moment that he really needed

Kid yourself not. Without them, nothing close to "science fiction" is going to be happening in this series, or any like it. It's made to appeal to you "young adults", who will settle for so much less (and so much other) in the (false) name of "science fiction", both in the movies and on tv. And, if the reactions reported here so far are at all representative of the viewing audience as a whole, I'd say, "It's working!"

Fine with me. I don't even like serious science fiction

 

[Phil Florian]

Oh, I really hope this turns into an enlightening "discussion" of what real science fiction looks like
If you want real science fiction, then there really shouldn't be aliens as the likelihood of encountering another intelligent lifeform is so astronomically low (and we are using science, so probability should be important, I would think) that it would be fancy...nay, fantasy...to expect some pointy-eared alien to show up and enliven things.
Give me space opera any day. As for blowing off the doors, I don't think Joss was allowed to do that. He had his 2 hour pilot but they nixed it...wasn't this what the network did to Roddenberry for the original show? This is why I regret them being on Fox. WB or UPN, small as they are, tend to give newer shows a chance to grow...sure, out of depersation but still, it is nice to know a show would get a chance to blossom. "Too cerebral" are two words Fox fears like the plague...as their repeated ads for more "reality tv" type shows goes to prove. If X-Files was a new show this year, it would never have finished the first season. Only the fact that the Fox Network was waaaay in last (ala WB or UPN) back then did it give the cult show the chance it needed...and then they bled it to death, but at least we got 4 good seasons out of it.
Here's hoping we can get that much out of this show.
Phil

 

[Josh Lowe]

interesting concept but the show's production values are really low. i felt like i was watching an old episode of doctor who every time they switched from outdoor to indoor shots. also the captain character's tireless stream of one-liners was overdone. the show has promise but they need to cut the cheese factor in how things look. the whole "now my reputation is no longer a rumor" scene was very good.

 

[Norm]

Wait a second, am I understanding this right. They showed an Episode before the Pilot.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Wait a second, am I understanding this right. They showed an Episode before the Pilot.

They made a two pilot episode that Fox reportedly wasn't happy with as they felt it had too many "talking heads" and not enough action. So they asked Joss Whedon to go back and get a more action-oriented episode to start with. The original pilot will air later in the season. They say it's very self-contained so there shouldn't be any confusion in regards to the show's continuity.

 

[Dave Smith]

It's made to appeal to you "young adults", who will settle for so much less (and so much other) in the (false) name of "science fiction", both in the movies and on tv. And, if the reactions reported here so far are at all representative of the viewing audience as a whole, I'd say, "It's working!"

That's a pretty patronising thing to say. It's also just your opinion. I've been reading, watching and listening to sci-fi since I was able to, and I still enjoyed the show a lot. I'm not as young as I used to be either!

Of course it's made for young adults, they make up the majority of the viewing audience for this sort of thing, hence the young cast. But I don't understand what makes it "false science fiction".

 

[Craig S]

Rex, your main objection to the show seems to be that it's not "hard" or "semi-hard" science fiction. Fine, you're right, it's not. But given that the show has been described from the get-go as a "Western in space", I don't understand why you expected it to be SF. Especially based on Whedon's other series, it's clear that although his shows are in genre settings, they are mainly about the characters.

If that's not your cup of tea - cool. But why waste your time in here complaining that the show isn't something that it was never intended to be??

You are correct that the plot was derivative, but I already acknowleged that in my earlier post ("unimaginitive plot"), which you quoted but seem to have missed the point of.

I also found your "young adults" remark condescending. I'm in my mid 40s - I'm just looking for good shows to watch, regardless of genres. Whedon has proven his talent with BtVS, and "Firefly" shows the potential to reach similar levels. In this dismal season, that's reason enough to cheer.

 

[Jeffrey_Scotts]

Well, after watching the pilot show all I can say is YIKES (as in PU). I was looking forward to it, but found it to be an absolutly dreadful show in most all regards.

The script and how it was setup was poor at best, I could care less about any of them, as they were generic and bland.

Acting was on the B- side for sure and some was just down right taken from B sci-fi films. Nobody I thought was even remotely convincing in their role.

I didn't see anything too original as a whole, which I was hoping for. If anything Farscape was the most original concept to come along in some time. This was some sort of rip-off from Gene Roddenberry, who claimed he pitched Star Trek as "A western in outer space" back in the '60s.

Now, I'm not a Joss Whedon fanatical like some are here. The only show he's done I've stayed with is Buffy and I continue to watch it every week. I have not cared for and stopped watching Angel. Also, I didn't care for his Aliens movie he took part in. So, out of all the work he's done only Buffy is sole work that I've cared for.

I really don't see this show lasting, but if it does it will have a two year life at best. Fox has killed Dark Angel, MANTIS, The Lone Gunmen, Millenium, etc. That's why I see them pulling the plug because the numbers won't be there for it. If Dark Angel was killed (which I didn't mind at all) with numbers they claimed bettered Buffy, it just won't work out.

Truly, I was hoping this show would be the next X-Files, but it just didn't convice me to tune back in.

 

[Aaron Giles]

I liked the show quite a bit, and the more I think about it, the more I'm liking it. I think it's got great potential.

I loved the juxtaposition of bluesy music with every shot of a spaceship. It's kind of refreshing after hearing every other show use big orchestral numbers.

I liked that the most respectable character on the ship -- as suggested by the minister -- was the courtesan.

I like the fact that there won't be any cheesy humanoid-looking Alien of the Week.

I liked the production values. I thought they were totally appropriate for the show, and nowhere near as cheesy as Dr. Who, as was suggested earlier.

I think the main people who are going to be disappointed in this show are those who were duped into believing this was a new Star Trek-like series. It's not, and was never intended to be.

What I didn't like was the fact that Fox ditched the two-hour pilot. I kind of felt like I was dropped in the middle of the action, and it took a good half hour to work out the various charactes. Good thing it's on Tivo so I can watch it again.

Sadly, I think this is a good idea that's not going to make it in a popular sense. Fox doesn't have the ratings demands that the Big Three have, but it's no WB or UPN either, so the show is going to have to do decent numbers to last. I predict we'll be lucky to get a full first season.

Aaron

 

[Robert Ringwald]

According to zap2it.com


"Firefly," 4.1/8
John Doe did 6.0/11 for the night.

Forgive me, but those numbers don't look to be good at all. Hopefully, this will pick up steam next week...

 

[Norm]

Andy, Thanks for the answer.

 

[Andrew_Gordy]

Those rating numbers are horrid! If they definitely don't go up in a few weeks this shows going to get canned or atleast taken off during Novemeber sweeps. Buffy and Angel get better numbers than that and also shows like Greg the Bunny, and Andy Richter got better numbers than that and got cancelled.