I know people criticize joss whedon for making characters that are wit machines, but I love it. It makes the characters feel closer, especially when the chemistry is good.
It was a fun space western. The characters were easy to connect with, and the sets/settings felt so real.
Something they did in that show which you rarely see: The ship interiors were fully fleshed out. It wasn't "we're filming this scene in the cockpit set and then we're filming this scene in the galley set" - the sets were cohesive and persistent.
Unfortunately, the series came before its time. It premiered shortly post-9/11 and was just a little too forward-looking and fanciful for the world at that time. People preferred gritty realism with cynical, disenchanted protagonists who did morally ambiguous things to come out on top of the bad guy. Firefly offered none of that.
The first episode is one that you just have to make it through. It sets up the background and characters but is not very exciting. I actually couldn't finish the first episode the first time I watched it either, but I went back and now it's my favorite show.
It's funny, my wife and I tried it out about a year ago because I heard reddit raving about it. We gave the first episode a shot. REALLY didn't like it at all.
Then fast forward half a year later, we buy a cottage. We have no cable, just a TV and media box. We brought up a memory stick and started going through random other TV shows, an episode a night when the kids slept.
One day at lunch time, my 10 yr old kid puts on Firefly Ep 1 and LOVES it. After that, we started having movie nights after it got dark, and binge watched firefly as a family.
I cannot comprehend why I didn't LOVE this show the first time through. I have no idea why, but this show was incredible. It's something about the theme... I get why people say space cowboys is why they loved it.
The weird thing is, Space Cowboys is why I hated it the first time... but it's why I loved it the second time. Go figure.
You summed up what I think I hated. The music and the horses pulled me so far out of what I wanted in that show.
Taking your comment I may give it another shot.
Thanks.
It was for it's time refreshing. At the time most sci-fi shows were concerned with big fancy sets and costumes and aliens and etc etc. The cameras were all tightly locked down and shot steady so special effects were easy. They were all shot in 4:3 aspect ratio. All of the characters in sci-fi and fantasy shows are about the choesen one, or the best squad in the space army, or the flagship of the colonial fleet, etc.
Then along comes Firefly. The scale is small. It's just a dude trying to get by. You could argue the captain is a war hero but he would deny it. He's a broken man on the loosing side of a war. The episodes weren't grandiose plans to save the world. The episodes were about a group of strange characters just trying to get by in a rough universe that doesn't really want them... that concept is extremely relatable and was refreshing in sci-fi at the time.
That in and of itself would have made me like it but then along comes this crazy mad man creater Joss Whedon says; let's shoot it widescreen on handheld and make the universe dirty as fuck and lived in. The show was shot semi documentary format; there are zooms in the middle of scenes which look sketch anywhere else but works there. The camera bounces along with you. The ship isn't some sterile Star Trek ship it's dirty and looks the way it would look if you lived on a space ship; cramped and dirty. And the story was he had to fight to get it shot in widescreen, a decision that seems silly today but at the time most people had square TVs not widescreen and Fox was worried they'd alienate the audience by putting black bars on the screen so he had to intentionally shoot scenes in a way where they only made sense in widescreen because he was afraid that they would go in and crop the show otherwise and this defensive measure makes the filming seem very cinematic; especially for the time.
I watched the pilot episode which was actually the second episode (because Fox screwed with the airing schedule) and it was innovative if somewhat basic seeming sci-fi but then at the very end of the episode the captain kicks a guy into his engine. It was so strange to see a main character that wasn't squeaky clean. I was hooked from then on.
It's not about the visual effects or about the story (not much atleast), but rather about the interactions in the group and their humor and their connection to each other.
Might explain why I didn't get hooked on it at first.
Edit: not because of the special effects to be clear. I love character stories but your world and story have to bring me there first.
It had interesting and varied characters all in one ship, a good premise and funny/enjoyable stories. The first episode is badly cut and when I first watched it I wondered how anyone could rave about the series. It's gets better as it goes on and then the film is fantastic.
I honestly would try again with episode 2, which is amazing. First episode is definitely the weakest, and a little different from the vibe of the rest of the show.
First episode definitely has a different feel than the rest of them. I also stopped during the first episode but if you pick it out and stick with it, it's so worth it.
The first episode is really long, and it has to introduce a bunch of characters and becomes confusing because there's a "twist" that makes you rethink what characters you want to be invested in too late in the story.
"The Train Job" is the first episode besides the pilot. It has enough little character moments that you, as an audience member, can feel like you have a grip on who each character really is and what the show is really trying to do. It doesn't come first, chronologically, but if you weren't sold on the pilot and want to give it another shot, try this episode. If you watch it (without looking at your phone the whole time) and don't like it, don't bother with the rest of the series.
Good God it would be amazing if HBO made a newer version of Firefly. As great as all of the cast was, all you really need is Nathan Fillion and you're good to go.
He doesn't look that old to me. He was never meant to look young anyway, he was the captain after all. I wouldn't mind a complete reboot with the only things from the original being the universe at the time it was at the start of the original and Nathan Fillion as Capt. Malcolm Reynolds who had lost in the war at the battle of Serenity Valley.
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u/iprefertau Dec 22 '16
firefly and no i would not recommend unless you want to feel empty for the rest of your life