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Post 20

Tuesday, November 22 - 6:31am

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I knew next to nothing about "Firefly" or "Serenity" until I chanced upon this thread. I was curious so I purchased the DVD boxed set of the television series. I finished it last weekend and I was more than pleasantly surprised! It was too bad that Joss Whedon allowed the suits at Fox to stifle his vision by not releasing the episodes in chronological order, but not everyone can have the integrity of Howard Roark

I was not thrilled by the opening sequence of the pilot episode (I found the battle unrealistic but I can be picky about such things) but I really got into it after Mal opened the box Simon was hiding River in (the plot thickens!). By the time I finished the episode "War Stories", I was a bona fide "browncoat". I have not yet seen "Serenity", since it has not yet been released in Italy, but I will be the first one in line when it does. I'll buy the DVD too! I'm in the military, so the episode "The Message" (the final episode that aired on network TV) touched me especially. I lost count of how many buddies picked me up when I could not crawl, and vice versa.

One thing I found interesting was that I have liked books and movies that Ayn Rand would call Naturalism. "Firefly" falls in that category. Many of the characters are deeply flawed. Morality, for them, is not black-and-white, but shades of gray. Their life, however exciting, is lived as a day-to-day struggle against those who are darker shades of gray. The "good guys" don't always win in the end, and when they do, it is not without consequences. Nonetheless, I find myself sympathizing with them. I think this is evidence that not all good art has to be Romantic or Realist.

What I do like about the series is the witty dialogue and the slow-but-sure exposition of the characters. Even Jayne, the obligatory bad-ass, is not that one-dimensional a character (especially in the episode "Ariel"). It is a well-written integration of action, drama, and comedy.

Lastly, it would be a touch choice, but I'd take Kaylee over the other women (not that I'd go wrong with any of them!). I also liked Jewel Staite's essay in "Finding Serenity" (I'm biased!)

(Edited by Byron Garcia on 11/22, 6:45am)

Post 21

Tuesday, November 22 - 7:01am

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I just started getting the series on DVD through Netflix, and watched the first 3. Enjoyed them thoroughly and can't wait to see the rest. One odd thing I noticed was that I could not tell what episonde was first, second and third on the menu by the way they arranged it, so I ended up watching it as episodes 2,3, then 1... still, it didn't really matter that much.

Post 22

Tuesday, November 22 - 10:43am

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Byron,
I have to respectfully disagree with part of your characterization of Firefly. I'm not a huge fan, though I liked it well enough. It is definitely not, however, Naturalism. All the characters are drawn in Romantic terms, each with a strong code of values to which they adhere. (Even the mercernary, Jayne, interestingly enough.) They often are struggling to make difficult moral choices in a complex setting. That doesn't make it naturalistic, or their moral philosophy gray, merely closer in one way to the real world in which humans have always lived.

The setting is imaginary, and probably impossible. The villains are all throughly black, though they have subtleties. The main hero, Mal, especially is a man of considerable integrity, though he is conflicted by externals and his love for the companion. The companion character is a projection of what prostitution should be (according to the writer). Kaylee is obviously a very romantic young woman, but at the same time a master mechanic. Mal's lieutenant is loyal, but not mindlessly so, often disagreeing vehemently with him. The doctor's rescue of his sister and her steadfast defense -- highly romantic. I could go on....

These are not the kinds of people one meets on the little street at the house next door.

All these are marks of romantic fiction.

Jeff

Post 23

Tuesday, November 22 - 1:17pm

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Glad you liked it so much, Byron.

It was too bad that Joss Whedon allowed the suits at Fox to stifle his vision by not releasing the episodes in chronological order, but not everyone can have the integrity of Howard Roark

I think this is a little harsh. Joss Whedon has quite a lot of integrity, and reading about his fights to get Buffy, etc. produced the way he thought they should be has often reminded me of Roark. I'm glad Joss didn't just walk out and say, "you know what, if you don't play my pilot first, I'm just not doing the show." There'd be no Firefly then.

Everyone who loves Firefly--check out Buffy.

Post 24

Tuesday, November 22 - 11:09pm

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Jeff,

You gave me food for thought. I chewed it over and I changed my mind. It is not Romantic Realist, per se, but it is Romantic for the reasons you gave. What I missed was the fact that, at the end of the day, the characters did make moral choices according to their principles, often with courage against adversity, even if took them awhile to reach that point. Thank you for your insight.

Daniel,

Perhaps I did sound harsh, though I did not mean to. From listening to the DVD commentary, and reading "Finding Serenity", I understand he went through a lot of struggle against those who would compromise his vision. However, the fact is, he did compromise. Roark would have walked out. Heck, he blew up one of his buildings!

Of course, I'm glad Joss Whedon didn't blow up his building. We would not be sitting here talking about a great show if he did. To be honest, in my own life, I am not as uncompromising as Roark either. Far from it. I've had to bite the bullet, so to speak, to achieve a larger goal.