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Television Media Sci-Fi

Firefly DVD Set Released 297

Richard M. Nixon writes "As previously reported the DVD set for Joss Whedon's ill fated Western/Space Opera is now available. The DVD has all 11 episodes that aired, 3 episodes that didn't air, commentary on 7 episodes, and lots of bonus features including Joss singing the Firefly theme. It would make a nice Christmas gift for any Whedon fan who has not already run out and bought it. If DVD Sales are good enough, could we see a second season?"
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Firefly DVD Set Released

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  • Little late? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by DetrimentalFiend ( 233753 ) * on Friday December 19, 2003 @04:57PM (#7769072)
    Wow, this news sure is late for Slashdot. It came out a few weeks ago, I think.

    Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if firefly sells enough to come back. I heard that fox started thinking about bringing Family Guy back after its DVD sales did so well, so maybe there is a real chance for Firefly.
  • AHHHH!!!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by SillySnake ( 727102 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @04:58PM (#7769080)
    features including Josh singing the Firefly theme. Well.. I *WAS* going to go buy it..
    • by benk ( 93688 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:03PM (#7769147)
      is it against the DMCA to use the mute button? :)

    • Re:AHHHH!!!! (Score:5, Informative)

      by koganuts ( 526569 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:15PM (#7769267)
      Well, Joss has a sense of humor [scifi.com] about its inclusion:
      There's some crazy person singing the theme song, which, I can't stress enough, people should just avoid that particular extra. It was never meant to be heard by anybody. ... Yeah, that'd be me. I threw it down. I was like, OK, I'll just throw it down so they know the chords and then we'll get some great old blues singer to sing it and it will be cool. And they were like, "Let's put it on the DVD." And I was like, "OK." And then I listened to it. I was like, "I must die now [laughs]." I can't stress this enough--not a singer. ... But the embarrassment is outweighed by the fact that I love this show as hard as anything I've loved, and to have it exist on the DVD shelf and in perpetuity is such a great thing for me.
  • by Rocketboy ( 32971 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @04:58PM (#7769091)
    Bought it for my daughter for Christmas a week ago. Looking foreward to seeing the three un-aired episodes.

    And to think they took this off and left "Everyone Loves Raymond" on. Now they're wondering why we don't watch TV...

    RB
    • Are you one of those guys who buys their mom a basketball? :-)
    • by FreeUser ( 11483 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:24PM (#7769353)
      And to think they took this off and left "Everyone Loves Raymond" on. Now they're wondering why we don't watch TV...

      I like Raymond ... anyone with a significant other and/or annoying family members will likely find humor in it. What is appalling is that shows like "Survivor 2" survive, while excellent shows like Firefly get cancelled. I'd never seen the show when it aired (where the hell was their marketing department?), but after watching the entire series back-to-back last weekend I can only agree that it was absolute incompetence on the part of the Media Empire that allowed this one to go by the wayside while inundating the public airwaves with so much utter and complete crap. COPS, Survivor, Blind Date, Elimidate, etc. ad nauseum.

      We need some open source movie making (perhaps with Blender and cheap clusters such is just around the corner). Version 0.1 of OurGreatOnlineAnimatedSeries might suck, but by Version 0.8 it'll be the best thing on, beating anything from Hollywood hands down.
      • by geekoid ( 135745 ) <{moc.oohay} {ta} {dnaltropnidad}> on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:37PM (#7769460) Homepage Journal
        Yes, there is nothing like a show that completete berates someone of a specific gender, portrays them in the worse light, and they all take it.

        If the roles where reversed, womens groups would have had it pulled after the pilot.

        it is completely insulting to men.

        • by corbettw ( 214229 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @10:08PM (#7771232) Journal
          The parent complained that "Everybody Loves Raymond" is belittling to men, and it gets marked Flamebait? How? Why?

          Raymond (and "According to Jim", and "My Wife and Kids", and "8 Simple Rules" while Jon Ritter was still alive, and just about every other "family" show on these days) gets most of its laughs from the foibles and follies of a mostly inept father/husband. If the character of Raymond were a woman, NOW and other womens' groups would be screaming bloody murder, and rightly so. But since the dufuses of these shows are all men, we're expected to laugh along with everyone else.

          Again, I ask, Why? Why should men be made the butt of every joke on TV? Why should husbands and fathers be portrayed as lazy, stupid, untrustworthy fools? What ever happened to "Leave it to Beaver" and "Father Knows Best"? The only halfway decent father figure on TV these days is Red from "The 70's Show", and he's an ass most of the time.
      • by NanoGator ( 522640 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @06:00PM (#7769636) Homepage Journal
        "We need some open source movie making (perhaps with Blender and cheap clusters such is just around the corner)."

        Why would 'Open Source Movie Making' automatically be better than Hollywood's current trend of designing by committe? Sorry to be pessimistic, but I imagine something very sterile coming out of a project like this.

        Now, if you were to talk about letting one guy have the idea and having a group of people work to achieve it, I'd stand behind it. Individual creativity is far more interesting than watching decisions made because "people named Theo might be offended at the title beginning with The".
        • Why would 'Open Source Movie Making' automatically be better than Hollywood's current trend of designing by committe?

          Because in Hollywood, only one entity can "own" the title, and as such, only one "official" version can be released. (ignoring for the moment, director's cuts, edits for television, restorations for DVDs, etc.) In such a collaborative process, everybody thrashes it out until there's consensus - or until someone in charge puts their foot down.

          In an open source environment, everybody thr
      • The thing to consider, though, is that all of those shows you listed (COPS, Survivor, Blind Date, Elimidate, etc. ad nauseum) are reality TV shows which are relatively inexpensive to create. You don't even have to pay for too many actors, since there are so many people who hope to get famous (or infamous as is the case for some) by being on these shows. You don't really have to pay writers, since the show just kind of "happens." Etc, etc... The truth is most people in the game serve the almighty dollar (

        • I watched some scenes for a reality TV show being filmed at my yacht club. I'd gone there to use the free wifi and have lunch... as I walked up to the entrance, there was a cab letting three women out. There was a guy with a camera, and a woman with a sound boom and satchel, recording. I waited for them to finish and went in. I asked at the desk what was going on, and they said they were filming scenes for a TV show where three divorced guy date some guy who is supposedly rich. They borrowed a member's big-
      • We need some open source movie making (perhaps with Blender and cheap clusters such is just around the corner). Version 0.1 of OurGreatOnlineAnimatedSeries might suck, but by Version 0.8 it'll be the best thing on, beating anything from Hollywood hands down.

        Takes more than software to make a movie. You got special effects, but unless you want to do it all animated you need actors, cameras, sets, sound stages....

        They essentially built the ship for the Firefly set. You could walk from one end of the ship
      • On the same token , we are now *celebrating* season XI of "JAG". As the decline of western civilization accelerates..... D
      • We need some open source movie making

        You should check out machinima [machinima.com], the making of movies using 3D game engines. You can have actors, costumes, vehicles, sets, lighting, and special effects for free. Most of it so far has been pretty lame, but Red vs. Blue [redvsblue.com], made with the Halo engine, is hysterically funny and has become pretty successful. (Season 2 debuts at Lincoln Center soon.)

        It's not "open source" exactly, but it does put a lot of tools in the hands of would-be indie filmmakers.

    • Bought it for my daughter for Christmas. . .
      I hope she doesn't read Slashdot!
    • Sorry, but Firefly seemed like such a waste since it replaced Dark Angel in the same Fox time slot. The fact it was cancelled after fewer than 13 episodes kind of confirmed to me that Fox should have used Dark Angel as the lead-in to Firefly, not been /replaced/ with it.

      Oh well.
    • by deinol ( 210478 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @06:38PM (#7769958) Homepage
      Now they're wondering why we don't watch TV...

      The sad fact is, while there are some shows I really like, I prefer to watch TV when it hits DVD. I would rather spend $40 a month on DVDs than cable. Star Trek, Farscape, Babylon 5, Buffy, Angel, and 24 are some of the many shows I have mostly watched from DVD (ST:TNG I saw mostly as it aired, but DS9 I'm only now catching up on through DVD.)

      I only saw the pilot to firefly, but I liked it. I'm looking foward to seeing it now on DVD.

      I wonder how many sci-fi shows have poor ratings because geeks like me can't be bothered to actually watch TV with commercials. Will it ever be possible for a series to survive in a straight to DVD format?
  • Maybe a movie? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ChicoLance ( 318143 ) * <lance@orner.net> on Friday December 19, 2003 @04:59PM (#7769102)
    I'm still working my way through the commentary tracks, but this set is nicely put together.

    Everybody has gone their separate ways, so we won't see a second season, but at one point in the commentary they said they didn't want to spill all of the beans in case there is a Firefly movie.

    But I want to know all of the beans! There were so many good story lines to take advantage of, but were never explained!
  • Josh who? (Score:5, Informative)

    by Keelor ( 95571 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:01PM (#7769122)
    If you're going to misspell the creator's name, please don't mention it three times in the article.

    Or, you could just get it right and call him Joss Whedon [imdb.com]. Either way.

  • Joss not Josh (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Shin Dig ( 27213 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:04PM (#7769153) Homepage
    "My days of not taking you seriously are definitely coming to a middle"
  • Too Bad (Score:5, Interesting)

    by adipocere ( 201135 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:07PM (#7769191)
    While latter-era Buffy and Angel both suffered with Whedon being stretched too thin, the man has a real gift for dialogue, comedy, and story arcs. He's not without flaw, but I'd rather see his worst work than 99% of the shows on the air these days. Any sensible studio executive ("invisible pink unicorn") would say, "Star Trek sucks now ... how about making it work for the fans for once?" I have my as-yet-unwatched Firefly DVDs waiting for the holiday break. I bought them sight-unseen, if that tells you anything about what I think his talent is.
  • by Dr. Wu ( 309239 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:08PM (#7769197) Homepage
    I have to admit, I wasn't really drawn into the story that much when it was on the air (and I guess I would qualify as a major Whedon fan).

    However, I think a major part of the reason for this could have been the poorly chosen episodes that Fox decided to air. I think if the first two episodes in the series had been aired first, rather than last, it would have made a lot more sense to the fans.

    The extras are good, the stories are good, and at least in my opinion, it's a lot better than the 'Battlestar Galactica' mini-series. Plus, it has the added advantage of being both inexpensive (especially compared to the Star Trek series), and complete (no other seasons to buy at a later date).

    So I recommend it to any Sci-Fi fan, it's a great addition to any collection, especially if you are a Buffy or Angel fan, if only because the commentary by Mutant Enemy veterans (Like Joss), has a lot of tiny insights into those shows as well.

    Dr. Wu
    Yes, There's Gas In The Car
  • Have mine (Score:5, Interesting)

    by ericdano ( 113424 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:09PM (#7769206) Homepage
    I have mine. I really liked this show. I think it was doomed because it was on Fox (Fridays at 9pm? WTF), and that instead of showing the intended Pilot, it showed probably one of the lamer episodes as the Pilot.

    I think if Fox had decided to show the 2 hour Pilot, it might have lasted longer.

    I think the quality of the Episodes got better as the show progressed. I really liked "Out Of Gas" and "Trash" (which was never aired).

    Anyhow, maybe UPN or SciFi would pick it up. It was a different show and I enjoyed it.

  • by Keith Mickunas ( 460655 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:12PM (#7769233) Homepage
    Or so I've heard from a couple of sources and it's listed on IMDB. So it looks like there will be more. Personnally I can't wait, I really enjoyed the show and would like to know what happened.
  • Very very fine. I saw just a bit of the show when it aired and was intrigued. Truly a darn shame that it was not picked up for further seasons. The only episode that really really reeked was about the level of a really good episode of "Stargate SG-1"

    I really like the fact that things in space make no sounds! ... although someone should tell Joss that a regular bullet would work in a vacuum.
  • Easter Egg (Score:5, Interesting)

    by hero ( 25043 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:14PM (#7769253) Journal
    There is an easter egg of Adam Baldwin (Jayne) singing the whole "Hero of Canton" song from Jaynestown on the dvds.

    Throw in disc four that has the special features menu on it, and I think it's on the second special features menu. You just have to highlight the bottom left option and hit left again, and it will highlight a little thing on the side. Sorry I can't be more precise I don't have the info handy, it's not too hard to find with a minor bit of fiddling.

    -hero.
  • by rklrkl ( 554527 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:22PM (#7769339) Homepage
    It looks like this DVD set is a Region 1-only release - hardly surprising it's not available in the UK since only the little-watched Sci-Fi Channel aired it here (and directly up against various clashing progs I watch on other satellite channels plus having the dubious Sci-Fi logo in the corner of course). Still, I've ordered it from DVD Soon [dvdsoon.com] (20 pounds, which isn't bad for a 4-disc set shipped from Canada to the UK) and just got the confirmation e-mail that it has indeed just been dispatched...
  • Me too (Score:2, Informative)

    by gmhowell ( 26755 )
    Surprised this wasn't already mentioned. I was going to do a review for slashdot, but whatever.

    Good stuff. Good dialog, good characters, good stories. You can see the threads that Whedon was going to build up and play out emerging, particularly the second time through.

    So far, I've only made it through 1.5 discs (about 6 episodes?) and have only some mild complaints. First, the swearing is as lame as it was in Farscape. Second, the commercial breaks are very obvious. Looking at most of them, it would take
    • by Richard M. Nixon ( 697603 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @06:31PM (#7769905) Homepage Journal
      First, the swearing is as lame as it was in Farscape.

      I haven't seen Farscape so I don't know about its swearing. The swearing in Firefly was actually Chinese. Joss's idea was that in the future the only two superpowers that survive are the United States and China, and thus everyone knows both English and Chinese. (But reserve the Chinese for the swearing for the ease of the audience I assume.)

      Incidently, the /. editors cut one sentence from my statement: The Chu shie fook executes at the Fox network were Sha gwa to cancel this show. And I thought that was the sentence that would get this article posted :)

      The cool thing about swearing in Chinese is that they could get away with saying stuff that the censors would otherwise never allow. It is kinda like Kenny on South Park, where you can read between the lines to guess what they said. Except in this case you could potentially look up what they are actually saying. The downside is the actors were not exactly fluent in Chinese and people who are would probably not understand them.

      Second, the commercial breaks are very obvious. Looking at most of them, it would take very little to make the transitions a little smoother.

      I think Joss did this deliberately. At least in the pilot (the real one that didn't air until the last broadcast) after a shot of the Reavers' ship he wanted a pause for tension. He said they couldn't have 2 seconds of black, because the computers would automatically cut to commercial. How he got by this is he used the darkest gray that wouldn't trigger the cue for commercial.

      And one of these days, I will figure out whether Inara or Kaylee is hotter.

      I guess that depends on whether you like geek girls. Kaylee is clearly a geek. And she looks hot with engine grease on her face. :)
  • by eforhan ( 631605 )
    In case anyone would like to discuss DVD's or Firefly in general:
    [prospero.com]
    http://forums.prospero.com/foxfirefly

    This was the official Fox board, and is now run by Mutant Enemy.
  • Firefly (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:35PM (#7769441)
    I heard that Firefly was going to be a western in space. Sure enough, when I watched the first episode, it was about the gang robbing a train, western style. I thought my worst fears were realized as this is the type of science fiction I hate most.

    Take any western and change the indians to aliens. Changes the horses and stagecoaches to spaceships. Presto! You have instant sci-fi. I felt that way through exactly one episode. By the third one, I was hooked on an amazing show.

    It looks to me like someone at Fox wanted to sink the show. You run it on Friday night (kiss of death), show the worst episode first, and then don't bother to show the first episode until much later in the season.
    • I never got past the 'Western in space' problem. Great actors, good stories, but why bother with the spaceships? The combination of hi and lo tech just looked silly - it was like ... spaceships landing in the wild west and being met with men on horses. It was an inconsistent and totally implausible view of the future. I'm a real Joss Whedon fan, but Firefly sucked.
      • > I never got past the 'Western in space' problem. Great actors, good stories, but why bother with the spaceships? The combination of hi and lo tech just looked silly - it was like ... spaceships landing in the wild west and being met with men on horses. It was an inconsistent and totally implausible view of the future.

        Less plausible than the usual fare, where heros scoot around the galaxy fighting monsters that have evolved to seduce starship captains and eat their ships?

      • Re:Firefly (Score:4, Interesting)

        by vandemar ( 82106 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @07:00PM (#7770117)
        The combination of hi and lo tech just looked silly - it was like ... spaceships landing in the wild west and being met with men on horses. It was an inconsistent and totally implausible view of the future.

        Perhaps you should go see Star Wars again. In a galaxy of high tech laser blasters, the Tusken Raiders used still used bullets. Just because technology has advanced a great deal doesn't mean that everyone has access to it.

        As for horses, they would be very handy in a place without an abundant supply of oil or uranium for fuel, like those colonies on the outer planets, for example. Animals find their own fuel, repair and reproduce on their own, are able to return to home base autonomously, and have built-in safety mechanisms that prevent them from say, running off a cliff. Plus, they can come in handy in some other tight spots--again from Star Wars, anyone remember those Tontons?

        "The idea that they may have invented cool lasers but not everybody can afford them is sort of the premise on which we work. Lasers take you to a science-fiction place that I feel has been covered too much." - Joss Whedon
      • by Scrameustache ( 459504 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @11:18PM (#7771531) Homepage Journal
        spaceships landing in the wild west and being met with men on horses. It was an inconsistent and totally implausible view of the future.

        How so?

        We have supersonic planes, and people travelling on donkeys right now.

        I have personally been on a jet plane and then met people who were actually travelling on horseback soon after: They were vacheros in Mexico (cowboys) bringing their cattle to a corrida.

        By your logic, this is impossible, because if people can use a plane or an helicopter, then they will not plausibly choose to use horses instead.
        Well, you know what? Only horse could have taken them the way they went, uneven terrain, over hills and through streams and jungle (They were taking those cows to a small fishing village, deep in the middle of nowhere). The horses find their own fuel on the way, snaking on plants, driking water. No modern vehicle would have done...none that mexicans in the cattle-care buisness could afford.

        So yeah, in the future, just like today, people from rich countries (planets) will use high-tech vehicles (jet plane/jet-engine equipped spaceship) to go meet people in poor countries (planets) who can only afford low-tech, self-replicating, biodegradable, edible, semi-autonomous self-refuling transportation.

        I wish my car could go fuel up by itself...then again, it runs much faster.
    • Re:Firefly (Score:3, Informative)

      by JonMartin ( 123209 )
      Just to nitpick, Firefly was not strictly a Western, but rather a metaphor for the post-Civil War Reconstruction era of the United States. It's just that most Westerns are set in the same time period. Reynolds and Zoe are ex-Confederate soldiers, the Feds are the Union army, the outer systems are the western territories, Reavers are the savage Indians (as they were viewed at that time), etc., etc.
  • by teamhasnoi ( 554944 ) <teamhasnoi@yahoo.cLIONom minus cat> on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:43PM (#7769506) Journal
    hehehe. I probably will save my $$ for Farscape on DVD, as I never saw an episode. That says something about its placement as our TV is on 24/7.

    Why the SciFi network doesn't pick it up and replace "Gorgol: The Betrayal", "Extreme Black: The Evil Within" and their other crappy shows with colons in them - I do not know.

  • I watched the entire set last weekend and the episodes just got better and better. I think the the pressure of working on a series that was threatened with cancellation from the pilot on really inspired everyone involved to put in 110% effort. I don't know if we will ever see a movie or another series of Firefly, but that just makes what we do have more precious. If you haven't seen it, beg, buy, or borrow this series. You won't be dissapointed.
  • by curtlewis ( 662976 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:46PM (#7769535)
    I rented the disks from Netflix because I'm a big Buffy and Angel fan after having got into both series years after they debuted. I never even heard of Firefly until after it was cancelled.

    So I rented it just to see what all the hub bub was about. As I watched the first two parter, I was thinking, no wonder this got cancelled, it's kinda boring. But I forced myself to finish watching the rest of the disk.

    I'm glad I did. I found that I started to care what happened to each character as I watched more episodes. While I was indifferent at first, by the time I wrapped up Disk 4, I was almost solemnly putting the disk back in its sleeve to mail back to Netflix.

    It's a good show and worth giving it the time to win you over. Too bad Fox didn't do that. I don't think it'll come back as a series again, certainly not on Fox, but they are working on a movie (probably TV movie).

    So what's the deal about good SciFi shows getting cancelled? Farscape was a fantastic show, certainly worthy of more seasons. I think Firefly had some longevity to it, too. Just think, if they hadn't given Buffy more than 13 episodes... There'd be no Witchblade, no Dark Angel, no Bird of Prey, no ActionSciFi Show with buttkicking chicks!

    Asd they say, it takes money to make money. Be willing to give these shows a chance!
  • by koganuts ( 526569 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:49PM (#7769552)
    Joss Whedon and several members of the cast and crew are scheduled to appear at the LA Comic Book and Sci-Fi Convention [comicbookscifi.com] (yeah, the convention will be full of geeky fans, but check the list of past convention guests [comicbookscifi.com] and you have to admit that it's pretty damn impressive, and the admission price of $7.50 can't be beat either) this coming Sunday to promote the DVD, and Fox will have them there for sale for $25.00:
    Joining JOSS on stage at 1:00 P.M. will be TIM MINEAR (Writer), BEN EDLUND (Writer-also creator of THE TICK Comic Book), Stars NATHON FILLION (CAPTAIN MALCOLM "MAL" REYNOLDS), GINA TORRES (ZOE), ADAM BALDWIN (JAYNE), RON GLASS (BOOK "THE SHEPHERD"), and MORENA BACCARIN (INARA). Fox Home Entertainment will have GREAT PRICES on DVD's at their table at the Convention! Fox will have the FIREFLY COMPLETE SERIES DVD COLLECTION on sale for just $24.99. They will also have BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Season One-Five for $34.99. ANGEL Volume One and Two will be on sale for $34.99. X-2: X-MEN UNITED will be on sale for $14.99, and X-FILES DVD's will also be on sale.
    It'll be interesting to hear his thoughts on the TV series, on FOX network execs, the DVDs, and the upcoming movie project (which contrary to recent reports, has a very long way to go [tvguide.com]). Plus if you go, you'll have a chance to rib Joss on singing the theme song. :)
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 19, 2003 @05:58PM (#7769616)
    and politically incorrect. Go ahead and mod this post as flamebait, because here's a short excerpt from an opinion piece about why Firefly was really cancelled. Link appears after the excerpt:
    ______________________________________

    "Firefly's greatest transgressions against the modern American Statist Quo, however, were in my estimation twofold and related...this was not the mindlessly smarmy "optimistic" vision of the future that is Star Trek...Firefly, in its way, was, in this post 9-11 climate, almost downright seditious. The Alliance enforcers--the "bad guys"--were called "Feds." The attempt to unite and homogenize people was seen, by Firefly, as not a "good" thing...nor do most people agree with Captain Reynolds' words, "The government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned."...Do not think that Firefly was not drawing allusions and parallels to our own society and its attendant beliefs, or that this implicit criticism went unnoticed by the powers-that-be...But most of all, living "beyond the law" as Reynolds and his crew had to, the moral universe of Firefly depended not on the "rule of law," but on its much-maligned and deliberately-misunderstood alternative, the rule of honor...And Firefly made the case...for the ultimate superiority of the rule of honor over the rule of law--at least...For you see, the rule of honor demands what law must defer: individual responsibility, personal culpability, what is fair and what is just, of every man (and woman) who lives by it.
    _________________________________
    http://www .fireflyfans.net/feature.asp?f=39
  • by Anonymous Coward
    I watched every single aired episode of Firefly when it was broadcast. The reason that's amazing is because I haven't had "TV" for years. I actually contracted with a co-worker to record them for me. I wanted it that bad.

    And I wasn't disappointed..not at all. It delivered everything I wanted it to be. Best series on TV in decades.

    I pre-ordered my DVD set the first day it was available at Amazon (months ago). I finished watching the whole thing 2 days after I got it. (working days even)

    I cried du
  • Television will become solely a preview medium for movies and DVD series-es.
  • I haven't seen the shows since I originally TiVo'd them (foolishly, I assumed I would have the repeats to record) so I don't remember the episode title but the episode came down to the crew having captured a henchman of who I assumed would be one of the big bads for the series. The henchman was being uncooperative and would not respond to the Captain's questioning. After the henchman informed the crew he would let the big bad know about them, it looked like the henchman would be taken as a prisoner in the
    • by Anonymous Coward
      No, no! You missed the best part!

      The scene starts with the henchman on his knees, hands bound. Mal (the captain) waves a wad of cash in his face, says, "This is all the money Niska paid us." (Niska's the bad guy.) "I want you to take it back, 'cause we're square now."

      Henchman gives a lengthy, spit-filled speech about how they'll never be square, how no matter where they hide or how far they run, he'll find them.

      Mal winds up and kicks the henchman into the engine.

      Immediately the second-henchman-in-comman
  • by Mouth of Sauron ( 196971 ) on Friday December 19, 2003 @06:38PM (#7769959)
    I loved them all. I am not as much of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan, or of Angel for that matter. Firefly, on the other hand, resonated with me for some reason, and I'll try to put them into words.

    The reason I liked the series is because it shows that there is nothing new under the sun. People in the future will remain people, with all their faults and flaws. Long after we're gone people will still be killing each other, stealing from each other, trying to rule, trying to escape, trying to make a living. I believe Firefly went far beyond many science fiction stories in portraying this. Far too many sci-fi shows are utopian in nature, and with the notable exception of Babylon 5, nearly all of them fall into this trap. Slavery existed before, and still exists today. It is unlikely that this particular scourge will be eliminated totally in the future and may make a return. Likewise, the related concept of indentured servitude is one which make make a comback, for better or worse. People tend to dwell on the evil of slavery while forgetting that indenturing allowed the Americas to be colonized. And, as happened before the line between them became blurred, and this was portrayed (a little) in the show. The whole concept of migration, colonization, rebellion, and pacification were used as setting. For a television show, this is unusally broad.

    Firefly showed the good with the bad, in that of the individual as well as the whole of humanity. The characters, of course, are no exception. They each have positive and negative traits, show weakness at times as well as strength. Furthermore, they showed different kinds of weaknesses and strenghts, where most science fiction and fantasy tend to ascribe one key skill and fatal flaw per character. Spock had a heroically big brain or Heracles had heroically big muscles. Characters on Firefly were not necessarily good at things one would expect. Sure, they had their skills, but there were nuances, suprises even. How many times on Star Trek did Wesley solve a science problem or Worf handled a matter of honor. (As an aside let me say to Wil if he reads my post I hold him blameless. He didn't write the character) One thing that Whedon is good at doing is taking television characters in unexpected directions. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, bet at least he is unafraid to change his characters through the story.

    The technology in Firefly is another aspect which contrasts it from other science fiction stories. Some stories are all about the technology, often Star Trek fell into this, and others the technology is not the story at all. My example there would be Star Wars which is more fantasy than sci-fi. Firefly walked a different path, showing different levels of technology used by different people. On Star Trek the Feds have one level of technology and science, some worlds are more primitive, and some mysterious races possess more. Firefly wasn't afraid to show that people would natually have more or less. More or less money and resources, and theremore more or less fancy tech. There are haves and have-nots, and sometimes the most sophisticated technology is not the most reliable.

    Lastly, I would like to say a science fiction show absent of aliens is a treat. Turning humans into monsters shows unusual insight into the human condition. That humans could become aliens has been explored, but its nice to see a television show reach new, or rarely trod ground.

    All of this adds up to a uniquely entertaining show. I rarely make time for television, but I found myself eagerly waiting for Firefly to come on. I wish the Sci-Fi Channel would pick it up, but alas, it is now the Stargate Channel.
  • I bought the set when it came out and I LOVE it. It's really worth the money IMHO. I can't wait for the movie to be released....
  • by Anonymous Coward
    Here's my own take on FIREFLY and the DVD:''34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

    9 faces looking into the black, seeing 9 different things, July 23, 2003
    Reviewer: Blair A. Petterson
    I despise television. I even gave it up last year, and now only see a few shows a friend and I watch together. "The West Wing". "24". "Buffy the Vampire Slayer".

    Until last fall. Then I saw "Firefly", named somewhat whimsically about a cargo ship whose end lights up when it accelerates. But this is no flashy fu
  • Anyone else get the banner for slashdot personals? WTF is the deal with that, april's not for a couple of months.
  • Is it just me or is Firefly "Traveller - the movie"

    hmm lets see - owner/operator of starship crewed with dodgy geezers picks up passengers, and cargoes, buys and sells goods, smuggles and engages in the odd heist...

    I wonder how many of the episode plots can be found in "76 Patrons" :)

    I liked it - shame they canned it so early. I think it needed some deeper mystery or binding plotline though - the episodes were too standalone - apart from the psycho woman and brother's search for a cure there was very li
  • ZOE:
    Preacher, don't the Bible have some
    pretty specific things to say about
    killing?

    BOOK (the Shepard):
    Quite specific.
    (beat)
    It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on
    the subject of kneecaps.

    Now that is some funy dialogue.

    Personally i loved the show, but didn't see it until this DVD release. I wish I had, of course it wouldn't have made a differnence since I am not a Neilson family. FOX were morons, but at least it looks like Universal might do a film, though hopef

"The medium is the message." -- Marshall McLuhan

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