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S E R E N I T Y

Ok, this thread's really long... can someone just answer in a nutshell what the deal between Serenity and the firefly series is?

I saw the trailers for the film ages ago and really wanted to see it, I just never got around to it. Is it based after this firefly series or something though? What should I watch first, the series or the film?
 
Firefly was the TV show that was cancelled half way through the first series. Serenity is the movie that - although it stands on it's own - completes the story from the TV show. Definitely watch Firefly first, then the movie.

R.e. displaced's idea - that's interesting. With some good advertising Channel 5 could land a major TV coup with that one. They do have a knack for putting together "Event" evenings/seasons to tie in with film releases. Shame about the rest of the output though...:eek:
 
So I'm sitting here thinking (which is usually a dangerous endeavor)

Anyone else think FireFly was about 3 years too early?

Look at some of the biggest TV shows now, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Alias, Battlestar Galactica, The OC, etc. There seem to be a lot of character driven long duration plot shows at the moment, and they seem to be doing pretty well.

Firefly hit in the heyday of "Reality TV" which now seems to have run its course and been relegated to Summer seasons and filler when shows get cancelled. If Firefly were to come out now (with any decent publicity) I think it would do very well. But unfortunately it was ahead of it's time.

I guess I'm just getting nostalgic for the old Sci-Fi shows with the thread on a Farscape episode reminding me of that show, which had me thinking of Babylon 5 which of course lead to the most tragic of them all, our beloved Firefly.

I guess I'll just have to wait for the re-imagining in 20+ years.....
 
I was reading the post last Sunday and there was an editorial from a man that went to some comic book convention. He mentioned that while he was there he got a Mal Reynolds action figure (thought I'd misread that at first), and then proceeded to talk about how he liked Joss Whedon. *Sigh* that made me become very nostalgic....
 
Thanks! :D I had to find some way to give my tribute to Wash since they killed him off. *sniff, sniff* I'd be interested in seeing how they'd bring him back in a sequel/prequel as has been mentioned in a few different podcasts. :D
 
MongoTheGeek said:
Yeah, it was a bit to early, or perhaps too late. It was also in a crappy time slot. It fell victim to Fox's tendency to make a great show and then kill it because it doesn't fit with their image.
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Yeah, Fox did it no favors, but I'm really starting to believe that it was just badly timed from the start. Most shows that I would put in the same sort of genre as Firefly were running on second tier networks like WB, UPN, Sci-Fi, TNT, etc. Firefly hit just as reality TV was hitting big. Given the choice between a moderately expensive show that has potential to draw in a lot of viewers over time, or a cheap (highly publicized) reality show that can get a bunch of idiots now, Fox chose the latter.

If Firefly were to come out now Fox might have some incentive to 1) publicize it more 2) put some effort into finding its niche. Given the success of shows like Lost there might be more effort to produce shows that could pull in viewers and keep them hooked rather than the quick buck they were pursuing. I could see Blue Sun becoming analogous to the Hanso foundation (taking a hint from Lost).

But I guess that's just me being naive and nostalgic. Which is even easier given the current TV break before some of the off season shows start up....

It's really sad that I think about TV shows this much....
 
Finally Saw the Movie

I finally got around to renting and watching Serenity last night, and I loved it. I may watch it again tonight.

I've never seen the TV show. Have I just screwed up by watching the movie first? Oh well. Need to see if my video store has the Firefly DVD set next...
 
Nah, seeing the movie first doesn't really give away much from the series other than you'll have an idea of what the relationships between the people are like already. The series is good to see because it really develops the characters a lot. It's kind of got the same relationship between the Star Trek movies and series--it's not essential to see one to see the other. However, if you see both the movie and the series in this case it just makes the whole experience that much better. I absolutely LOVE the series so I hope you can find it! :)

Welcome to the fan club! :) :)
 
If your video store doesn't have it, your library may. Plus ask if you don't see it--they might not have many copies and they're just checked out.

Seeing the movie first spoils River's mystery: you know she's not as helpless as she seems. But that doesn't spoil the rest of the series, which is bacially 14 different heists/crimes, with ongoing stories that surround them (like the story about Mal and Inara that the movie only hints at). One episode even tells how the crew all met, and where Serenity herself came from before Mal. I think the show is better than the movie: the effects are still good, and there's more time to do the characters justice. Then again, in the show they had a cheap rolling Mule instead of the fancy hover Mule :) Some customer must have paid them by bartering them a better Mule...
 
Sorry to drag up an oldish thread...

but I've just finished watching Firefly and Serenity and its such a frickin cool show!! I read up a bit on it on Wikipedia and I hear that the reason it did poo on Fox was because of an aweful timeslot and the fact that they showed the episodes in a messed up order, leaving the pilot which introduced all of the characters right until the end or something.

I've heard a lot of bad press about Fox so far. Apparently even Matt Groening of the Simpsons doesn't like them and its a kind of love hate thing between Groening and Fox. Showing a character driven show like Firefox in a messed up order leaving the introductionary episode out was like putting a boatload of Reavers in a nursery school imo.
 
Wow, that's one major coincident... I just finished watching Serenity again myself, for the first time in months, just an hour ago. :eek:

I'm getting more and more impressed by that film (and the series, of course). Now why don't they make more like that... :(
 
clayj said:
I just watched it again last night... on HD-DVD. Wow! Looks even better in hi-def. :)
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Ba****d!! Or alternatively insert some chinese swear words here. ;)

I watch a lot of tv shows and films, a lot of them are a bit ****** but I can honestly say my time watching Firefly and Serenity has been very well spent. :)
 
So, as a complete Buffy and Whedon fan, I saw Serenity November 2005 and really really disliked it.

Two days ago I bought series 1 (the one and only :mad:) of Firefly and bought Serenity. I watched for 2 days straight the whole first series and have now just finished watching the film.

I wish I'd done it in that order to begin with. The series was great and I can see, if it had had time, it would have been as good as Buffy. The characters really started to form and there are so many unanswered questions. The film was fantastic this time, but then I knew all the character backgrounds, so it was good.

One or two things though.. in the series, when the Shepherd got shot or something and they went to the Alliance... the alliance first told the shepherd to shut up and then took his ID card and were like 'Treat him immediately'... what's up with that? If the series had been allowed to carry on, all these things could have been answered.

I am now, definitely, a fan.
 
Yes, the Shepherd's mystery was touched on in the film but may never be answered now! And Inara has a mystery too: she's hiding something, and there's a reaon why she boarded a freighter in the outer moons instead of taking her rightful place on a luxury liner or at the Academy. (I think I know Inara's secret. Book's isn't as clear, but I have my guesses.)

I know people who liked the movie a lot and never saw the show--you can still understand the movie just fine--but it really SHOULD be seen in order, TV show first, so you understand the full depth of the characters and the universe.

I like Buffy and Battlestar Galactica better, but only because they went on to tell longer stories. Looking at just one season, Firefly may be the best TV ever, or at least the equal of BSG (but vey different). Firefly hit the ground running and took no time to "find its way" like most shows do. GO back and watch the first 6 eps of most good shows and they're not so good. Firefly started out strong.
 
I thought Buffy's first season was fun, and well-made, but much fluffier and less interesting than later seasons. Definitely the weakest season I think. (Angel started off running too, but it isn't fair to compare: its "first season" was a spin-off already.)

Now that I think about it, Galactica and Twin Peaks both started strong :) Sitcoms on the other hand are notorious for bad starts.
 
You can see a definite thread through Whedon's stuff though. Buffy was all about being alone and Firefly shared this aspect.

In fact, River and/or Mal used an exact line of the First's in Buffy - "At the end of the day, we all die alone". Whedon likes to play on man's primeval fear as a way of drawing people together closely.

I'd love to write alongside him. Shame I'm doing a business degree.
 
Highlight for Inara's secret (my guess--but I'm pretty certain):
She's terminally ill. Thus she will not get involved with Mal, AND her quest for a cure makes her want to be traveling the fringes of space. This theory explains many things if you watch the series--and commentary--with that in mind. In one scene someone says they don't want to die of asphyxiation, and she says she doesn't want to die at all. The commentary says there's a clue to her secret in that scene.
 
Interesting theory... you're probably right.

One of the best scenes in the whole series was after he had slept with Julie Cooper in Heart of Gold. Inara goes into her room and cries, I felt for her.

Add me to AIM, I'd like to chat some more...
 
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