Saturday, August 12, 2006

Guilty Pleasure- Firefly

Okay, so I'm going to admit this... My name is Rebecca and I am a Firefly fan.

I have watched all the episodes of Firefly- including the ones that were never sent to tv... I've watched the movie Serenity more than twice... Serenity was the conclusion of the series. (a very strange and wonderful turn of events, since mostly things start as movies and then get sent to tv)

If you've never heard of Firefly (perish the thought!) I will tell you the basics. Written and directed by Joss Whedon (screenwriter of Buffy the Vampire Slayer), this slow lasted something like 10 episodes and was killed. But the outcry of it's devastated fans brought about the successful and really dang good movie Serenity...
After the success of Buffy & Angel, Whedon was given a lot of room by a network (which shall remain nameless) to create another quirky series, and he had this idea for a Western sci-fi leaning more toward the Millenium Falcon than the Enterprise. The idea was that yeah, they have laser guns, but that they don't always work and some people can't afford to buy 'em... The producers were nervous, but let him have a try at it. He created some really interesting characters and a fantastic mystery... And it kind of looked like not very many people liked it, 'cuz they stuck it in some really weird time-slot like Monday at 2 a.m.... However, people flipped out when it was killed- letters poured in, fan clubs were created, phone calls and emails were delivered and money was offered for a movie. And the movie got made!

The mystery centers around a sister and brother (River and Simon) who are fleeing the government because some really awful mind/brain experiments were done on her. They take refuge on board the Firefly which has a crew of interesting refugees (Malcolm, brooding heroic captain who denies caring for anyone; Zoe, amazon warrior first mate with a passion for her husband; Inara, prostitute with a heart of gold; Kaylee, sweet and innocent mechanic; Book, enigmatic Shepherd/Priest with a past; Wash, clownish good-hearted pilot married to the first mate; Jayne, freaky bad guy turned crew who always seems to be ready to stab anyone in the back).

Many of the episodes were about the government chase, still others were about the crew trying to scrape together enough money to keep their ship running. The captain and first mate (Malcolm and Zoe) were in the recent war trying to keep the current government out of control, so they lean on the side of River and Simon. However, the government attention turned toward them and their illegal activities because of their association with River and Simon starts getting a little scarey. The mystery is "what was the purpose of the experiments? Why is the government so all fired anxious to get this chick back? Who are the freaky men with blue hands chasing River?"

I will give no secrets away! But most of the mystery was solved in the movie, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Some sad/bad things happen in Serenity, which I'd prefer to pretend didn't happen. But it was a good movie. I actually saw the movie first and then went back and rented the episodes from Blockbuster (will probably try to buy 'em when I find 'em). Viewing them in this unorthodox order did not diminish my enjoyment of either the movie or the episodes.

Anyway, I am a fan. I will admit it. If you've missed them I'd encourage you to try it. Firefly is not for everyone, and I will not hate you if you didn't like them. (I will probably view you with a vague aura of suspicion and distrust, though). ;)

1 comment:

Unknown said...

We've yet to have the chance to see it. But it was already highly recommended by Jason and Sharla...... Go fig.
Melissa