Firefly a Sci-Fi Ho-down. Hot review from my friend (no spoilers)

coltyhuxx

coltyhuxx

CAGiversary!
Yo all.. a few weeks ago I posted, asking about Firefly and some CAG'ers threw in their two cents. :) I checked out some reviews on Netflix and IMDB... solid 5 star average pretty much. Now, I should preface: I like the show (I'm almost done, and getting ready to watch Serenity) BUT I feel there were some points that weren't touched on in any of the reviews. My viewing partner Ron Whaley sums up some of points and surprises me with some new ones in his review to no one in particular this morning.

Again, no spoilers here folks, so feel free to educate your mind to what you may or may not get be getting yourself into.

Firefly: A Sci-fi Ho-Down:applause:

Man, i mean podner, where to begin?

It is always nice to have a sci fi series where you actually see some
action and ships flying around and stuff. I like the idea of a series
that takes place on a ship. I liked Star Trek as a child.

Only Firefly adds a twist: it parallels the Old West.
This isn't a new idea, folks. You remember The Black Hole, right?
They went for the old west style shooting gallery, gunslinger style,
with Vincent and the older (western) model taking out the O.G. 3PO's.
Star Trek had it's share of old west planets as well. Only in this
series, every planet is old west. Can't stray from what you market folks and at
least Firefly (oh man, I get to say this) sticks to it's guns (yes!).

It did take me a while to figure out what purpose, if any, some of
the characters have. I find myself asking 'Are you just here to sharpen your knife and remind me of My Bodyguard?' But after you watch a few episodes you realize that pretty much everyone has their own little portion to contribute.

Sometimes I'd ask myself 'Did y'all really have to completly and shamelessly mock the old west?'I mean come on guys, pistols that look exactly like old west pistols
but they shoot lazers? You could have left the bullets in there.
And why no cowboy hats? You're gonna even have them run cattle in their ship but no one rocks a cowboy hat? Did I miss an episode?

It did take me a minute to figure out why they're bringing a
prostitue to the ass end of the galaxy (spacetitute?). Don't get me wrong, Inara's easy on the eyes but i feel like her character's motivation was strictly to give the captain reasons to say things like 'Don't let your whorin' ways interfere with the objectives of this vessel!" (not a direct quote...i don't think).But then I contradict myself and think 'Well, it's cool that she's been "trained" in the ways of feminine manipulation and if it's the oldest profession it would make sense that it would continue to be so in the future. I don't see skanks fazing out anytime soon.'

Personally, I wait on the edge of my couch for each trite-ass line that
comes out of the engine mechanics mouth. "T'weren't no earl in thar manifold yonder so we done seized up cap'n!"

Yes, it can be bad. Yes I can feel a little embarrassed for the show. For watching the show. But all in all, I like the show. Maybe I wouldn't tell any of my
friends that I do but in the comfort of your own home with the shades down we
can have a sci fi ho-down. I even found myself watching certain episdoes over again (out of gas is a "good" one.)

Boy howdy, they's some onery little doggies out there in space.

-Whalebone.
 
The guns shoot soft lead bullets, the only guns which don't usuallly shoot bullets are Alliance weapons, they generally use lasers or non-lethal tech to subdue people.

Glad you enjoyed it.
 
And the reasons for having Inara are:

1. She provides a level of class with the Alliance that allows the ship access to places they would otherwise not be welcome.

2. She is renting the shuttle so it's a steady income for a crew that has to take jobs where they can.

3. And she's incredibly hot.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']The guns shoot soft lead bullets, the only guns which don't usuallly shoot bullets are Alliance weapons, they generally use lasers or non-lethal tech to subdue people.

Glad you enjoyed it.[/QUOTE]

Ye, I kinda thought that as well.. the bullets. They do make laser sounds "Peyowww"

Explain that!
 
I liked it but my expectations for it were much too high after Buffy and Angel so there is a small part of me that thinks it could be slightly better. Probbaly just spoiled
 
It's still a fun show.. grows on you. I knew I should have been suspicious of all the five star reviews. People get so weird about their cancelled series. They get freaked if you state the wrong kind of ammunition the characters used for instance. Hell hath no fury like a forlorned sci-fi nerd.:cool:
 
[quote name='coltyhuxx']Ye, I kinda thought that as well.. the bullets. They do make laser sounds "Peyowww"

Explain that![/QUOTE]
Because it sounds all sci-fi-ie and cool ;)

Ok, the real explanation is 50 years before the current time frame "Firefly" is set in, a descendent of Richard James got into the arms business when it was discovered incorporating his ancestor's invention, the slinky, into the firing mechanism improved firing effeciency by 85% and increased max lethal distance by 40%. Though tragedy struke when the young gunmaker was experimenting with adding ground pop rocks into the powder for ammo when he spilled a can of cola into the mix and blew himself up.
 
[quote name='coltyhuxx']It's still a fun show.. grows on you. I knew I should have been suspicious of all the five star reviews. People get so weird about their cancelled series. They get freaked if you state the wrong kind of ammunition the characters used for instance. Hell hath no fury like a forlorned sci-fi nerd.:cool:[/QUOTE]
indeed, especially when those forlorned sci-fi nerds had their show cancelled after half a season :rofl:.

Main reason for all the five star ratings is it's a Joss Whedon show and his prior two shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) were known for collecting small but VERY fanatical fanbases. I don't really like the others, but I did watch Firefly from the beginning when it was aired out of order on the Fox Network. I was mildly amused at first but as you said, it grows on you. This is just the result of 3 years of that kind of growth. We'll see what you think of the show in 2009. ;)
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']indeed, especially when those forlorned sci-fi nerds had their show cancelled after half a season :rofl:.

Main reason for all the five star ratings is it's a Joss Whedon show and his prior two shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) were known for collecting small but VERY fanatical fanbases. I don't really like the others, but I did watch Firefly from the beginning when it was aired out of order on the Fox Network. I was mildly amused at first but as you said, it grows on you. This is just the result of 3 years of that kind of growth. We'll see what you think of the show in 2009. ;)[/QUOTE]

Man, I'm thankful to watch pretty much any sci-fi these days. There was so much (good) sci-fi in the 80's. Or maybe I was just at the perfect age at that time...and I am definitely jazzed to watch Serenity this weekend! :bouncy: So is my friend who wrote the little mini-review. Shoot my sci-fi tastes run pretty cheeseball myself.. the chris lambert vehicle Fortress, anyone?

I think it's awesome the way it worked out.. I mean how many TV shows that you liked never got a movie almost three years later!? I'm expecting the visual effects will be much improved too.
 
Just closed out the Firefly disc four and watched the film, Serenity.

Thank you CAG'ers who were into the show/film and got me excited about it.

For those that aren't in the know... how can i put this... watching the whole series (hokey at times but fun) and then Serenity:

Best sci-fi I've seen in so long. My cynical side went bust. The film (and please prescursor with the entire series) is the first sci-fi film in years that just blew my mind. Amazing. I got the chills from it.

So did my friend who wrote the little mini-review of the show.

To the homies who supported the show, thanks for pushing it. To those CAG'ers who like, at all, sci-fi, I most sincerely recommend watching the whole series and then film.

Wow. I don't know what else to say. Wow, one more time.:D :D :D

 
[quote name='coltyhuxx']Just closed out the Firefly disc four and watched the film, Serenity.

Thank you CAG'ers who were into the show/film and got me excited about it.

For those that aren't in the know... how can i put this... watching the whole series (hokey at times but fun) and then Serenity:

Best sci-fi I've seen in so long. My cynical side went bust. The film (and please prescursor with the entire series) is the first sci-fi film in years that just blew my mind. Amazing. I got the chills from it.

So did my friend who wrote the little mini-review of the show.

To the homies who supported the show, thanks for pushing it. To those CAG'ers who like, at all, sci-fi, I most sincerely recommend watching the whole series and then film.

Wow. I don't know what else to say. Wow, one more time.:D :D :D

[/QUOTE]

Now all you need is the comic to find out what happened between firefly and serenity... I'm in the middle of reading it myself - just got it in the mail today :bouncy:

Serenity: Those Left Behind
 
[quote name='vpr']Now all you need is the comic to find out what happened between firefly and serenity... I'm in the middle of reading it myself - just got it in the mail today :bouncy:

Serenity: Those Left Behind[/QUOTE]
Unless one is big into comics to begin with (and I ain't) you would probably be better served just reading synopsis of the comic, I know I wasn't that impressed with them and I can't say I agree with the believability of the return of a certain villian from Firefly.

Months ago I started a general purpose Firefly/Serenity thread which I links to a variety of online materials (comic synopsises, full unedited gag reel, viral marketing clips for Serenity, etc.) and it is where we discussed various things about the film.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Unless one is big into comics to begin with (and I ain't) you would probably be better served just reading synopsis of the comic, I know I wasn't that impressed with them and I can't say I agree with the believability of the return of a certain villian from Firefly.

Months ago I started a general purpose Firefly/Serenity thread which I links to a variety of online materials (comic synopsises, full unedited gag reel, viral marketing clips for Serenity, etc.) and it is where we discussed various things about the film.[/QUOTE]

Yea - That's the general consensus (spelling?) of the books - however, I bought it mainly to throw some more support towards the verse. I bought the books, along w/ both soundtracks (Firefly and Serenity), and the Serenity RPG book. I plan to get some of the other stuff later on, I just couldn't afford all of it at one time.

Just trying to do my part. That is all.

I enjoyed your thread - I read through it many times actually :)

-vpr
 
Oh, one other thing, you mentioned in the other thread whether to get Firefly or 24, well starting next week (Feb. 26th) 24: Season 1 will be on sale for $19.99
 
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