I'm almost to the end of Firefly, my Jane After Dark readers' choice for this week. I really love this series, from the quirky characters to the general theme of a band of renegades burgling their way through the universe. But even though it's set 500 years in the future, Firefly isn't your typical sci-fi space series that includes all manner of aliens and weird creatures. They're on a spaceship, and yet they rob trains. How cool is that?! It's like Alias Smith and Jones meets Babylon 5.
As with the other Whedon shows I've watched – Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel – the stories are fun and deep and fanciful (yes, I said fanciful), but it's the characters and their interactions that make the shows.
Everyone is really well-defined:
- Malcolm Reynolds, the tough and scrappy but trustworthy captain (I'm a big Nathan Fillion girl, dating back to when he played Joey Buchanan on One Life to Live in the 1990s);
- Zoe Washburne, the kick-ass second in command;
- Hoban Washburne, Zoe's hubby who drives the spaceship;
- Inara Serra, the calm and dignified "companion," even when Mal calls her a whore;
- Jayne Cobb, the professional thief who's willing to turn his crewmates in for the reward money;
- Kaylee Frye, the joyful engineer who knows every piece of Serenity in staggering detail;
- Simon Tam, the doctor who looks after his sister with gentle kindness;
- River Tam, the wide-eyed, psychic savant with some brain issues;
- Shepherd Book, the preacher who's hiding a few secrets. And how fun to see Ron Glass. I know he's done a lot since Barney Miller, but I'll always think of him as the wise-cracking Det. Harris.
I love that none of the crew members ever seem particularly shocked at their situation, especially Mal. Naked in the desert? No problem. Alone and nursing a bullet wound on a dying ship? All in a day's work. Chance meeting with the woman who tried to kill you? Such is life.
I'm also delighted to see actors I never expected to see, like Christina Hendricks as Saffron. She seems so tiny in Firefly, and yet so larger-than-life as buxom head secretary Joan Holloway on Mad Men.
In "Bushwacked," how weird to see Doug Savant as Commander Harken. Quite the change from his role as hen-pecked Tom Scavo on Desperate Housewives. And in the episode with flashbacks to Simon and River's childhood, I marveled at how they were able to cast a boy who looked just like Simon, only younger. Imagine my surprise to read the end credits and learn that it was Zac Efron.
Favorite scenes, in no particular order:
"Serenity" – When Kaylee eats the strawberry. You can practically taste its fruity goodness when she bites into it.
"Trash" – When Mal ends up in the desert naked (possibly my favorite scene of the series), after his ex-wife Saffron double-crosses him. Again. But Mal and Inara have a plan of their own.
"Safe" – When River instantly picks up the villagers' dance moves and begins dancing with them, while nearby the crew is in hand-to-hand combat with other renegades.
"War Stories" – When River picks up the gun and blind-shoots with extreme accuracy while Kaylee's pinned down.
"Out of Gas" – There just did NOT seem to be any happy ending when we see Mal bleeding and near death in the opening scene. The story of how he got there, interwoven with how the crew originally came together, is probably my favorite episode.
"Our Mrs. Reynolds" – When Inara kisses Mal after finding him on the floor, laid flat by the chemical on Saffron's lips when she kissed him. When Inara succumbs, too, she comes up with a story (lame, I might add) about falling and passing out. Mal always knows more than he's saying, though.
"War Stories" – Inara's wealthy client is a woman! Kind of continues Whedon's lesbian theme (Buffy's Tara and Willow, to name two). I guess it comes with the territory for Inara.
Other thoughts:
The Music. I knew from watching Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog recently that Whedon is also a darn good songwriter. The haunting and folksy theme song, "The Ballad of Serenity," hooks you right at the opening credits, and weaves beautifully in and out through the episodes.
The Whedon Stable. I love how the same actors keep showing up in all of his shows. It seems that getting in good with Whedon is like a gift from God, because you'll always have a job of some sort. I know I'll miss some here, but Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Summer Glau, and Mark Sheppard have all appeared in other Whedon shows.
The Movie. I actually watched (and loved) Serenity when it came out in theaters. One of my favorite lines was during a scene where River was doing some kick-ass fighting, and someone asked Mal if he knew who she was. He looked thoughtfully at her and said, "I really don't." That makes a lot more sense now that I've seen the series, as does the rest of the movie. I'll definitely watch it again, after I finish Firefly. Still a couple of eps to go.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Firefly.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
5-24-2009 @ 7:29PM
Claire said...
I would lament what has been lamented since 2003 so I won't go into detail. But I have yet to meet anyone who hasn't loved this series (after they've seen a few episodes). I have helped successfully converted a number of people since I myself was converted in 2006. Nice to have you on board fellow Browncoat.
Joss tops my list as one of the greatest jack-of-all-trades in hollywood. He certainly deserves his cult-god status among his fans and in the industry.
Now, GO WATCH SERENITY (the movie)!!!!!!
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5-24-2009 @ 9:03PM
rick said...
firefly may be the best of the whedon shows (and that's the highest praise). there were so many stories left untold. really wanted to know book's story. wtg fox
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5-24-2009 @ 7:46PM
Age-K said...
Jonathan Woodward, in The Message, was also in the other Whedon shows...except Dollhouse...so far.
Actually, his dying, slurred speech is once of the many random Firefly quotes we'll sporadically rattle off, including (among others) the whole "Mercy is the mark of a great man..." speech, the dinosaur routine and "The Man They Call Jayne."
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5-24-2009 @ 7:51PM
Haunt said...
Jane, I love you. That is all. :)
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5-24-2009 @ 7:53PM
MickB said...
Great choice on Firefly - I'm on episode six now, just a few to go (boo hoo!)
Next choice: Arrested Development. Just amazing, from start to finish
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5-24-2009 @ 8:18PM
Zachary said...
Objects In Space is the best episode.
I do not like Inara. Unless she is fighting with Mal, she puts me to sleep. The series would have been better without her.
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5-24-2009 @ 8:40PM
Frantic Monkey said...
I have to agree with MikeB. Arrested Development is one of the best shows of all time. Simply brilliant and it has no flaws. Here's hoping that the feature film gets off the ground.
http://hollywoodhubbub.com
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5-24-2009 @ 8:46PM
Anita said...
I feel that I'm still new to Serenity, myself. I remember watching the pilot and hating it so tremendously that I refused to watch any additional episodes, despite the urgings of my friends. However, after watching the movie, I decided to return and re-watch old episodes and saw them in a new light. While I don't think Fillion quite fills the character of Reynolds, as he does Castle, likewise for Adam Baldwin with Jayne and Casey. Also, the River and Book in the film are the characters I wanted to see in the TV show outside scared little girl and initially innocent seeming (yet scared) preacher. However, in re-watching the old episodes, my initial misgivings still didn't quite matter and it felt as if I returned to view old friends.
I'm slowly savoring re-watching every episode and am trying to avoid consuming the last bite, as I know there won't be anymore on the plate. I love the camaraderie, the humour, the backstory of Kaylee, Simon's amazing eyes, and although I confused Ron Glass with Earle Hyman, this actor has been around for awhile. If Whedon hadn't killed off both enGaging Glass and Talented Tudyk I would've greedily cried for another healthy helping :)
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5-24-2009 @ 8:51PM
Anita said...
P.S. While I wasn't a fan of Inara, I thought Gina Torres rocked ass as the 'warrior woman' and I hope to see more of her on TV.
5-24-2009 @ 9:12PM
bc said...
Actually, one of the biggest problems was that Fox premiered the series with an episode they felt had more "action" but which many viewers found confusing, and then did not show the actual pilot, which filled in a lot of background, as the last episode after the series was already canceled.
5-24-2009 @ 9:01PM
Galley said...
"Out of Gas" is my favorite episode, as well.
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5-24-2009 @ 9:13PM
Heather said...
Out of Gas and Jaynestown are two of my favorite Serenity episodes. I think you'll crack up in Jaynestown, for sure.
Hey, I too was in awe when I saw the side of the young Simon since he looked SO much like Sean Mahr. Then, when he turned, I screamed a "What?!" at the sight of Zac Efron.
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5-24-2009 @ 9:42PM
bret said...
Firefly should have received the leniency that Dollhouse has. Dollhouse is nothing in comparison and that show is going to get at least 12 more episodes. :(
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5-25-2009 @ 6:54AM
Brent McKee said...
The thing that saved "Dollhouse" was the change in regime at FOX. If Kevin Reilly had been the head of entertainment when "Firefly" was one it would have had at least a full season. And maybe "John Doe" would have lasted too.
5-24-2009 @ 9:51PM
Mike Thomas said...
I love this show! Now my kids love this show, so much they are using words "shiny" and quotes "I aim to misbehave". I saw Serenity first and liked it; When I saw Firefly on sale I snapped it up and considered myself very lucky. I hope there will be books based on the show someday Hint, Hint. My favorite ep. is "Ariel" where they do some serous Robbin Hood style robbin. I always look for the actors in others shows, even small parts like Nathon Fillion doing the voice of Vigilantie on Justice League and even Adam Baldwin playing the voice of Jonas Hex on one episode(He was very Jane like). We all look forward to more of Joss Whedon work.
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5-24-2009 @ 11:34PM
alice.harnisch said...
I love watching this show. I saw the movie and watched it again. It was awesome!
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5-24-2009 @ 10:07PM
Usama said...
This is the only show I have on my iPod Touch that never, ever, gets deleted.
I've been trying to get some friends to watch but no such luck yet. But I'm not going to give up.
By the way, as lame as this is, the show inspired the license plate I've had on my car since undergrad (back when the show first came out), so if you ever see someone driving around Chicago in a car that has the license plate "Shiny" then you know it's me. Use to be a Honda, now it's a Subaru, but the shiny essence remains. I only wish I had Kaylee as my mechanic!
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5-27-2009 @ 12:31AM
Amanda said...
I have a subaru with the plate "Serenty" It makes me smile every time I walk out to my car. I really miss Firefly.
5-25-2009 @ 1:15AM
Ed Huang said...
My suggestion if you are still looking for a cancelled series that was pretty brilliant and cancelled in Fox's friday death slot is Wonderfalls. It has a connection to Firefly because Jewel Strait was on the final episodes.
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5-25-2009 @ 2:25AM
Jeff said...
same producer too.