No Star Wars today, but something else spacey: I've started watching the Firefly TV-series this week, and it's awesome. Now I'm aware that probably everyone and their dog has already seen this series, but remember, I live under a rock.
In the rare case that you haven't, there's really only one word that will catch what the series is about, and that's "space cowboys". The first episode sums it up pretty well. Without too much explaining in your face, you get this feeling of a harsh environment at the edge of space where people have to go to great lengths to survive. But it's not too serious about it. It's more like a ...'space cowboy comedy'? There's great strength in the storytelling.
This is quite the break from the idealistic Star Trek: The Next Generation series, which I've been watching the past few months in its entirety. No future full of idealism in Firefly. No future where money and poverty have disappeared and people strive to become better, but instead at least one bar fight per episode and a ship on which the most respectable person is a whore. How awesome is that?
The comparison of newly colonized space with the Wild West is gold. Every scene ends with a well-placed country guitar streak and Wild Western camerawork. Oh, and did I mention there's at least one bar fight in every episode? Whoever made this spacey cowboy crossover, it works.
Okay, maybe the Alliance does resemble the Empire in Star Wars a bit too much. And maybe the acting isn't always that subtle (I'm really hoping for a bit more depth for the psycho girl in the coming episodes). But the series does manage to make me grin all the time.
The coolest part? I wouldn't even have known about this series without blogging. Thanks, Rowan, for mentioning Firefly to me!
(I'm really hoping for a bit more depth for the psycho girl in the coming episodes).
ReplyDeleteMust... not... reveal... spoilers...!
It's been a few years since I watched the series myself, but yeah, it does get deeper. :)
Thanks for restraining yourself there. Now I'm really looking forward to the later episodes! :D
DeleteIf it makes you feel better I haven't watched it either (I live under a rock too depending on how you see it) but I did hear about it since... pretty much when I got into the internet and went hunting down for tabletop RPG sites, I guess. That must have been... hmm... More than 10 years ago?
ReplyDeleteIn any case, I will take your post as a sign that I should get out of my rock and see about watching that series too! (And some others I'd been curious to watch)
Nothing wrong with living under rocks! If you are looking for something new to watch, I would definitely recommend Firefly to you, though. And that's from someone who usually doesn't even watches TV-series - the mainstream stuff that's on TV somehow just doesn't appeal to me. If you do start watching, I'd love to know what you think! ^^
DeleteWill do! Although I might just send you some direct e-mails with thoughts on the show so we can discuss freely the plot and characters. Or I might just make a blog post about it and put a big "Spoiler Warning" on it even though we are probably the only two people above 18 who haven't watched it yet. We'll see.
DeleteIt seems it will take a me a few weeks to get my hands on it though since I will have to import the blue-rays. And I plan to make a short trip next month to visit my father so... it won't be soon. >_<
Getting Firefly e-mail, that sounds amazing. I'll be looking forward to that! Although I think a post should work as well. If you say at the start that it will contain spoilers, people will have to be plain stupid to read further and then blame you for it. :P And as you said, it's a pretty old series by now, there's summaries all over the internet.
DeleteEither way, take you time and everything. I hope you'll enjoy the series when the time is there. Let me know! :)
That's a great series. Don't forget to watch the movie Serenity -after- you finish all the episodes! ;)
ReplyDeleteI guess great minds do think alike, what Joseph said, do not forget to watch the film Serenity after you finish the series!
ReplyDeleteThanks both. I was so happy when I found out there's a movie. Since there's only one season... *deep sigh*
DeleteFirefly has been popping up everywhere lately! I also saw Rowan talking about it, and have been meaning to go back and finish (I borrowed the DVDs a while ago but only got about 2/3 through before I needed to return them). I'm so fascinated by Inara, how elegant she is and the difference in their society's role for prostitutes (but at the same time some prejudices are still there).
ReplyDeleteI'll also recommend this fan-made expansion of the theme song: http://vixyandtony.com/lyrics_mal.html It's shiny!
Hmm, yeah, it does make the whole thing a bit better when you get respect. That plus an academy which is hard to get into and finish and you at least get the feeling that people, like, actually *want* to do that job. I also like the dynamics between Inara and the captain, I'm wondering where that's going. :)
DeleteThat fan song is pretty cute! ^^