It’s a Western show. They didn’t inject it into the series. It was the series.
Of course the concept of the “space western” isn’t new, wasn’t invented by Firefly. Generally speaking, what you’re seeing is the tropes of westerns introduced into a more sci-fi atmosphere. Like with Star Wars, when Luke and Ben wander into the cantina at Mos Eisley. That’s a pastiche. Whedon apparently took the concept completely literally, and put actual cowboys riding actual horses and robbing actual trains. And then he mashed them up with science fiction, just went total chocolate in the peanut butter, and literally dropped his cowboys onto spaceships and flew them around the galaxy. It’s the weirdest goddamned mishmash I’ve ever seen, and I say that as a guy who liked the Batman vs Alien comic book.
I didn’t like Firefly either, but a friend of mine was a big fan and dragged me kicking and screaming to the opening night of Serenity, and I have to admit I absolutely loved it.
You know what’s funny about Serenity? They pretty much abandoned all that western crap. It’s full-on space opera.
Yeah, maybe that’s why I enjoyed it so much.
Yup. And it’s awesome. Modulo questionable racial politics.
The cowboy stuff was ostensibly because the worlds on the outer rim were like the old west - resource scarce, hardscrabble, without the tech and resources that the alliance has, so the old ways are efficient and cheap. Makes sense given the story. I freaking love firefly though, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt. Our Mrs Reynolds is among my favorite tv episodes of all time.
I missed both Firefly and Serenity when they launched. I loved the show when I watched it on DVD. I think part of its magic is the first season was so good, and then it ended. We never got a chance to see the inevitable decline every TV show goes through.
Seeing Serenity right after Firefly was jarring. The neon lights in the bars threw me, as did Kaylee loosing the 20 pounds they made her put on for the show. I still don’t really like the movie compared to the run of the TV show.
That said, “some hand grenades would be nice right now,” has become a staple of my gaming groups.
Is this the Firefly thread? Good. I can’t imagine him doing anything that could top that show.
The best thing Whedon ever did was that short-lived character-driven classic TV show. I was in love with it to the point where I bought two DVD sets, in case something happened to the first set.
Saw a few Buffy episodes, but I think I was not the intended audience. Nothing wrong with it; just didn’t click with me. The gf loved it though, and Angel. And Firefly.
When Serenity was announced, I was on pins and needles. We saw it on opening night at the theater, and there was only a middling crowd, the theater was maybe 1/3 full.
The film was okay, but I don’t even remember anything about it now, plot-wise. It just did not have the same whatever magic that the TV show had.
Or so I thought at the time. That’s the only time I ever saw it. Maybe I need to see it again with fresh eyes.
Serenity is pretty good, but they had to condense a season or two of plot into that movie, which made it a lot more plot driven and less character driven. Still good, and I enjoy re-watching it. Well, except for the leaf on the wind part. Whedon, curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal of the characters I love!
Feeling the urge coming on to do a marathon.
TV series first, followed by Serenity.
Sadly, that’s too short of a marathon.
Serenity is fantastic as a series finale. I am super glad they were able to make it. And holy shit does it punch above its budget weight.
I share your view about the movie. I enjoyed the series and its universe a lot, while the dramatic about “mysterious girl and her re-constructed family aboard a flying thing” didn’t do anything for me. I had played enough JRPGs already back then.
I never really got into the show when I finally watched it a couple of years back. The acting was atrocious and the cowboy thing definitely didn’t work for me, and I’m iffy at best on Whedon dialog. Give me Sorkin for my fast paced quippiness, please.
That said, I liked a lot of the worldbuilding going on there and am said that so much it it got dropped or compressed due to the cancelation + movie finish.
He’s a bit hit or miss for me, going to need more details.
Never saw the appeal of this guy’s products.
I doubt this series will ever see the light of day, given the problems he’s had on recent projects and the fact that he seems unhinged on his twitter account lately. He could probably use a lengthy break to pull himself together.
That said, agree that Serenity was a very good finale to the Firefly series, and I liked parts of that series and really liked some of the characters (like all Whedon projects, it seemed to vary wildly in tone), and HBO production values on a sci-fi show are definitely appealing. I just wish that it would be in someone else’s hands - but given Whedon’s track record, it probably will be soon enough.
What did I miss?