Firefly

Let me put this out there: I didn't watch Firefly during its limited run on the air, and I'm absolutely glad I didn't. If I had, I would have had the unfortunate experience of watching another intelligent, exciting, thought-provoking, and endlessly entertaining television series mistreated and cancelled by FOX. When it first aired, FOX didn't know how to plug this show - was it a western? Another sci-fi space show? Comedy? Action? Character drama? In reality, Firefly was all of the above and more. The two-hour pilot episode is a sprawling mini-movie which introduces the characters and all of the major conflicts that will arise in the series. FOX decided it didn't have enough action, and decided to skip this and air the second episode first. (Which, by the way, wtf?? The pilot was easily more exciting) Then, after like 9 episodes aired, FOX finally decided to air the pilot. They didn't promote the show very well, ratings were low, and FOX cancelled it after episode 11. Tough luck.

Remarkably, this wasn't the end of the show. The shows producers created DVD set of the full series, with the episodes in order, plus three unaired episodes. DVD sales took off. Suddenly people who had never heard of it while on air were purchasing the show and discovering what they had missed, myself included. The cult popularity of this show flourished so much that a full-length feature film was made called Serenity, one of my all time favorites.

When I first heard about it, I chose not to watch it. Sure, it was penned by Joss Whedon, who created two of my other favorite shows. But I already had a full slate of shows I watched. More importantly, the show was set in space. In general, I've never been a big fan of space in tv or movies. I never even watched the Star Wars series in full until Spring Break of my 1L year. So why my space aversion? I guess what I like most in sci-fi is extraordinary occurrances arising from ordinary times. I prefer stories set in the modern day, like Buffy/Angel, Heroes, or the Matrix, because when the supernatural starts happening, it's completely unexpected and exciting. (Sure, the Matrix was actually set in the future, but the parts inside the Matrix were not, and that was what I enjoyed the most.) This is why I generally prefer superhero stories like Spiderman or Batman to fantasy stories like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, because in fantasy series, having special powers or seeing monstrous creatures is pretty much the rule rather than the exception. Space is kind of the same thing, because usually our technology is so advanced, and alien creatures run rampant. I really don't like aliens. (Dirty alients trying to take my jab...) Space is a whole different world, with an entirely different set of rules. Basically, I prefer this world and its rules, and watching people break those rules.

Firefly was different. For one thing, no aliens. Sure there were messed up canniballistic creatures called Reavers who massacred and ate people, but even they used to be men. All of the villains and quasi-villains of the piece were human in some form. All the evil in this universe comes from human nature and our own dark impulses. I find that far more compelling than some evil alien race. Because then things are no longer so black and white, and there are real issues to explore. Plus, despite being set in space, Firefly's future was neither the hyper-advanced future of Star Trek, nor the post-apocolyptic hellhole of the Matrix's real world (or, say, Waterworld.) Here, some of the planets are clean and advanced, while others are backward and barren. Hence the juxtaposition of space and Western -the premise is that the controlling government has civilized the core planets, but things on the rim are still a lot like the frontier. Lasers exist, but only the rich can afford them. I found this a more appealing setting for a space drama.

More importantly, the show was pretty awesome. You've got a group of rogues and criminals on a transport ship moving from planet to planet, pulling any job (legal or illegal) to keep themselves afloat, while avoiding the authoritarian Alliance government whenever possible. Whedon blessed this show with his signature wit and multifaceted, compelling characters. Plus, the show explores a major theme: Freedom. Mal and his crew live on a space ship, always on the run, trying to escape the ever-extending arms of the Alliance and its attempts to "civilize" the whole universe, i.e. make them live under its rules. Ultimately, the Alliance is not evil. They are basically a force of good, trying to make things better. But they attempt to accomplish this by taking away freedom and choice. This especially comes out in the movie, where we find out the horrible truth about Alliance meddling and its attempts to make people better.

Unfortunately, since the show was cancelled and the movie had a disappointing box office turnout, we may never see another resurrection of the franchise. Comic books are already in the works, but the prospect of seeing the show on screen may never happen again. That is really a tragedy, because while the movie provided some degree of closure, there were so many stories left to tell. The awful secret the Alliance was keeping was finally exposed, but the Alliance is still there, still in power, and now on the defensive. Another threat, the mysterious Blue Sun corporation, was never developed, except for some subtle hints. And Reavers are still out there, and are a danger to everyone. I would like nothing better than to watch this show for several more seasons and finally see Mal and co. lead a popular uprising against the Alliance, but sadly, that is not going to happen.

Oh well. It's a hell of a ride while it lasts.

Next in the series: Alias