Topic: Firefly

[Miltrainer]

We picked up Firefly and Serenity on DVD last week, and we're through the first 4 episodes. Darn good show.

Get through all the shows before you watch the movie. The movie doesn't completely follow the tv version but is is close. I would have liked it if the movie was a little longer.

[trapeze]

I have had the boxed set for about two years now.

[IronDioPriest]

OK, we're halfway through the season, and I am thoroughly sucked in. I can't believe an interesting and unique program like this wasn't sustainable. You can laugh your head off one episode, and be on the edge of your seat the next. The characters are all interesting and of varying complexity, and the actors are all well-cast. The writing is excellent and varied. The special effects are sparingly used, but feature-film quality when they exist. The relationships are believable.

Fox dropped the ball on this. Somehow an excellent program wasn't marketed properly.

[Pandora]

I was always amused by their swearing in Chinese, if that's what it is; it sure isn't English.  I found it interesting, too, the Irish-sounding edge/phrasing to some of their speech, particularly Mal's.

[IronDioPriest]

I was always amused by their swearing in Chinese, if that's what it is; it sure isn't English.

Yes, it is Mandarin. Not just swearing either. I catch a little ordinary conversational Mandarin dialog here and there too. My knowledge is limited to the 10-disc Pimsleur audio language course. My older boy has had three years of Manadrin, and he picks up a lot more than I do.

I think that is an interesting aspect of the show, BTW. It is a not-so-subtle commentary on the rise of China as a superpower, which is definitely a subject that ought to be on every earthling's mind, let alone every American. People 500 years into the future aren't speaking "Spanglish", they're speaking "Mandglish".

[IronDioPriest]

OK, we finished all 14 episodes - still have the Serenity movie to go.

I believe I am experiencing just a twinge of grief - a sense of mild loss akin to losing something of value, but of much lesser value than a loved one.

As someone who loves good sci-fi, I really want to ride along on some more adventures with that crew. My wife and sons are of a like mind. Hopefully the movie will satisfy.

[IronDioPriest]

In reading the comments from Whedon and digesting the opinions of what they mean both pro and con, it looks to me like a big fat maybe/maybe not.

A Reboot Of Firefly? UPDATED

[Pandora]

Huh!  We were talking about re-watching the series at home last night.

[Alphabet Soup]

Quiz me this...

If you had to choose between producing a product that people actually clamor for or another derivative (anything but) "reality" show - which would you pick? No cheating now.

 

[Pandora]

I admit, I do not understand the popularity of the "reality" shows.  Watching them is like living within a drama-prone, dysfunctional family.

[IronDioPriest]

I would imagine given the show's initial failure, that the subsequent "cult" following would be very rewarding for it's creators and participants. But I think Whedon would also be leery of a decade passing, and trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle. The prospect of trying and failing would be a concern that might make him shy away. It could ruin the legacy of the series. Then again, he has a good track record, so I think if he dared undertake it, he would do so with relative certainty of success, or not do it at all.

[Libertas]

It would be really cool if it came back, but only if most of the original cast came along, but after reading that I am not sure they are serious about it.  The fans of Star Trek really were the driving force in getting that franchise to the big screen and the spinoffs on TV, maybe the same could work here, we'll see.  It would be cool though, it is an outstanding series.

Oh, and reality TV (especially that Kardashian crap!) blows chunks and can go straight to hell!  I find that crap sooooo annoying!

[trapeze]

Doesn't sound too positive. Too bad.

[Alphabet Soup]

I like that "trying to recapture that lightning in a bottle" simile.

I didn't really mean that they would be limited to reconstituting the original intact (as neat as that might be) but if they could recapture the style, they could easily adapt it to other story-lines. A prequel would be awesome for example.

[RickZ]

On 'reality' tv: It's incredibly cheap to make compared to a show with a 'star' or 'stars'.  If the audience accepts such programming, even clamoring for it, then I cannot fault the business logic in pushing them out like Owebama pushes out lies.

As for Firefly, the cult following pushed to have Serenity made, so they did their job.  And in a lot shorter time frame than the Trekkies.

The thing I like about Firefly is the sci-fi part of it.  It's gritty, dusty, muddy, rough and tumble.  Plus, they carry revolvers as part of their arsenal.  Unlike Star Trek, which is pristine clean, no money grubbing (no money! ah, but latinum . . .), minimalist society that happens to have warp drive and can make some really cool and big weapons.  The Federation is just too Utopian, too against human nature for me.  Firefly, on the other hand, embraces that individuality and rolls around with it in the muck it so amiably portrays.  I also thought the Chinese angle in Firefly was pretty prescient.

There are times when a work goes staright to video.  After Serenity, this show would have been a good candidate.  As long as the production values and story lines were maintained, they could have created their own Babylon 5 empire.  But the problem for actors in such a show is that usually they are unknown and are itching to become known, so they don't stick around, hindsight being 20/20.  Maybe if Whedon had brought in Straczynski . . .

[RickZ]

Maybe not having a new Firefly is a good thing.

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/column-post/joss-whedon-america-turning-tsarist-russia-47756

Comic-Con 2012: Joss Whedon: America Is Turning Into ‘Tsarist Russia’


Joss Whedon launched into a fervent political rant at Comic-Con on Friday in which he savaged modern capitalism and said America was turning into Tsarist Russia.

Whedon began the panel, “Dark Horse Comics,” by noting he had nothing prepared because he had been speaking all day, so he opened it up to questions from the start.

Toward the end of the session, one woman noted the anti-corporate themes in many of his movies and asked him to give his economic philosophy in 30 seconds or less.

Also read: 'Avengers' Director Joss Whedon Explains Thor/Iron Man Rumble (Video)

Whedon’s response?

“We are watching capitalism destroy itself right now,” he told the audience.

He added that America is “turning into Tsarist Russia” and that “we’re creating a country of serfs.”

Whedon was raised on the Upper Westside neighborhood of Manhattan in the 1970s, an area associated with left-leaning intellectuals. He said he was raised by people who thought socialism was a ''beautiful concept."

Socialism remains a taboo word in American politics, as Republicans congressmen raise the specter of the Cold War. They refer to many Obama administration initatives as socialist, and the same goes for most laws that advocate increasing spending on social welfare programs. They also refer to the President as a socialist, though this and many of their other claims misuse the term.

Also read: Joss Whedon Wraps Secret Shakespeare Movie Project (Exclusive)

This evidently frustrates Whedon, who traces this development to Ronald Reagan – the nominal hero of the modern conservative movement. Since then, Whedon believes the country has changed in way that has made it too difficult for regular people to succeed.

And what is the end result?

“We have people trying to create structures and preserve the structures that will help the middle and working class, and people calling them socialists,” Whedon said. “It’s not Republican or Democrat, conservative or liberal […] it’s some people with some sense of dignity and people who have gone off the reservation.” Guess he's not a Tea Party fan.

[Libertas]

I take it he is confused as to the state of America and the root casues therein and perhaps is as equally oblivious as to the principles of our Founding.

Not a good sign.

 

[ToddF]

The show was Libertarian (yes I did watch finally!)  I don't know how someone as socialist as Whedon can make something like Firefly.  Usually the retardation comes through at some point, as it has now done in Game of Thrones.

[Weisshaupt]

1) Joss still has to work in Hollywood.  Given the movies and shows he has done ,perhaps  he felt the need to re-establish his communist bona-fides so he can keep working. Or maybe the real libertarians are his writers, and he has just ridden their coattails.

2) I am seeing a lot of this sort of rant on Zerohedge and elsewhere. The idea being that once there are rich people, they will buy influence from government officials. And they do, but the person in charge doesn't need to buy that. If you have big government, capitalist or socialist, you have corruption and Animal Farm pigs moving into the farmhouse and hoarding all of the apples. When people like this talk about  "Capitalism"  it, for them, is synonymous  with Fascist Cronyism.  This limited thinking is caused by the inability to imagine a world where the government isn't big enough to take care of you.  They can't live without that parent,  or even think of doing so. So for them having the "government in charge"  or getting rid of the "corporations"will solve the problem, all history of that massive failure of an experiment being wiped form their minds by their own greed for unearned profits.

[Libertas]

"So for them having the "government in charge"  or getting rid of the "corporations"will solve the problem, all history of that massive failure of an experiment being wiped form their minds by their own greed for unearned profits."

I H8 Them!