Well, I wasn't. Firefly was my first real exposure to Joss Whedon. I've since come to enjoy most of his stuff, though. Firefly is chock full of quotability. Oddly, though, one of the most memorable exchanges is one which doesn't get pulled out all that often:
I thought it was an okay show and would have kept watching if it had stayed on . . . but I think the reverence that some of the fans have for this show causes a lot of people to be disappointed when they finally see it. It's not as good as they make it out to be, in part, because it didn't last long enough.
Part of that reaction is also due to the existence of Serenity the movie. Most of what got people riled about the cancellation was that incredible sense of unfulfilled potential. Given that, we all watched the show about a dozen times in order to pull out every nuance. But with the movie being a part of the viewing experience now.....it actually has an ending. Maybe not a complete ending, but something. I think that tends to dull the fanaticism of new viewers, just as it's calmed those of us who were there from the start.
LMFAO!!!!!!!!! Wow - you must be new here. Oh and my "hear, hear" was in repsonse to a previous post. I did not see the next page.
There's a line (from the pilot I think) that applies here: Sheppard Book says: "The destination's not so important, it's how you get there that's the worthier part..." Joss explicitly set out to make Firefly different in that regard. The "purpose" is oft summed up by Browncoats as "get a ship, find a job, keep flying". He didn't want some grand theme (noble explorers, valiant law enforcers, et al) to drive the show. Firefly is about people, and "everyday" people at that. Who they are. What circumstances made them to be where they are. And these particular people are far from "the best of the best"; they're "just folk", like us. Putting one foot in front of the other just to make it through the crisis of the day. The other great thing about the show is Joss' ready command of writing really good dialogue. It's not stuffily formal like Trek or Galactica. One ep I haven't seen reccomended (yet) is "Our Mrs. Reynolds". GREAT fun, if not quite a "plot advancer" like you seem to be looking for.
Here's one of my favourite bits of dialogue from Serenty (the ep): Simon: I'm trying to put this as delicately as I can... How do I know you won't kill me in my sleep? Mal: You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake. You'll be facing me, and you'll be armed. Simon: Are you always this sentimental? Mal: I had a good day. Simon: You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages... Half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives. Mal: Well, we're still flying. Simon: That's not much. Mal: It's enough.
Why is this necessary? Has every TV show in history "gone somewhere"? I presume you're referring to a story arc. Those are a fairly recent development in prime time TV drama. Not that I have anything against arcs, but TV dramas did just fine as episodic adventure-of-the-week shows for decades.