Do you think I'd like Firefly?

[ManOnTheWave]

Before I ever watched firefly, I knew there was a big internet buzz about. It had a lot of rabid fans singing it's praises, many of whom stated its good point in clear arguments. None of them won me over. Ever. Every fan loves their show, and thinks it's the most wonderful thing in the world.
Now, when I watched firefly, I loved it and thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Numerous friends who are sci-fi fans don't get. I think they are humorless fools for not loving it, but there's nothing I can do to convince them.

Rent it. Borrow it. If your not in love with it twenty minutes into the pilot, you won't have lost much.

 

[Sakrysta]

The so-called "rabid nature" of fans has died down significantly over the last couple years. Most fans merely loved the show and got excited about an underdog cause. I know that there are those whose perception of the show and Browncoats has been forever tainted by bad experiences during the height of the fandom. I think that's sad, because now, in a perfectly reasonable thread asking for opinions, apparently some folks still feel the need to "warn" people that the fans are crazy and scary. I met some of the neatest people through being a Firefly fan. And I have NEVER seen a fan behave in anything beyond a sincere excitement and desire to share the show they love with others.

I'll tell you this, too, you'll never meet a more gracious bunch of celebs than the Firefly cast & crew. They're all awesome.

 

[The_Beef]

I've heard that as well. I have a friend who met Jewel Staite, who plays Kaylee a few years ago at a convention and he couldn't stop talking about how well she got along with everybody. Apparently the cast and crew got along famously, which helped a lot in bringing them together again for the film.

After having gone back and watched many of the episodes again, I'm forced to agree that starting on Out of Gas is a bad idea. Its a great episode and does provide a lot of background, but its not a starting point. It had simply been a while since I'd seen it. The only issue with starting on either Serenity Parts One and Two or The Train Job is that I wouldn't call either one my favorite episode. The trouble is that the best ones, in my opinion, are just some of their random misadventures, and they're not really starting points. I'd say just go with the order thats been recommended, which is also the order they're provided in on the DVD set. Just keep in mind the somewhat jumbled nature of the show's episode production and all should be fine.

 

[hxclespaulplayer]

It's a hugely unique series IMO. As Weddon has said, the intro with Firefly "rustling up" some cattle "sums up the series in 5 seconds". It's just such a unique blend of sci-fi and western, you'll be suprised that it works, but it does! Another good thing is, I've even known people that hate sci-fi to like it. That might not sound like a plus, but there's enough SF for SF fans to like it, but not so much that people not into SF will be turned off. There isn't a load of technobabble either, Kaylee (the engineer) speaks in, pretty much, laymans terms (more like a greasemonkey than a Trek engineer) and has this cute "hick" accent (well, all the cast except the Tam duo do, but Kaylee is the character that grew on me the most, especially after "Shindig" - well except for River, hence the DP :P

I wanted to see more by about half-way into the pilot ("what's up with the girl in the box?") and was hooked by the time "Bushwhacked" came about. And I really dislike Buffy and Angel, so if you're turned off by those shows, I wouldn't be turned off of FF.

Check out any of the episode decriptions on wikipedia - there's a lot of foreshadowing and references to previous eps. That might be a bonus to you.

by the time I saw "Objects in Space," I was addicted.

By the time I saw that ep, I'd become very depressed that there was no more Firefly, and that there was more character development in a mere 14 episodes than, dare I say, 7 seasons of voyager. I was glad to be on the ride though.

I'm almost certain you'll like it, regardless of that SF you're into, I've shown it to people from all walks of life, and all have liked it to some degree, even those whose closest brush with SF was seeing Star Wars ep IV.

Oh, and I'll forewarn you, the theme song will be stuck in your head long after you've finished watching the series (this is a SF series where having lyrics is a good thing, far better than with ENT IMO)!

 

[Trippy]

Loved loved LOVED this series...I got the dvds on the cheap and watched it on the reputation it had here...you have to go watch it with the mindset that it's a mini-series so you won't get too depressed that it was cancelled so soon

I didn't like the movie nearly as much as the series, but it was pretty good too.

Oh ya, that opening tune will stay with you a while...

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me

 

[MyCylon]

Oh wow, I can't believe this thread still exists .

I'd actually started watching Firefly a while ago (and started enjoying it as well) but wasn't able to continue beyond the first episode for a number of reasons (none of them to do with the show mind you).

It's still on my list of must sees. I'm just not sure when I'll get around to it.

 

[Trippy]

I didn't even realise it'd been bumped

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm forced to agree that starting on Out of Gas is a bad idea.

Hmm. Maybe that was part of my problem, since that was the episode I started (and ended) with.

Although I did see some of "Trash" - that was definitely better. It had the one bit of Whedon dialogue that actually made me laugh: "I appreciate your honesty. Not, you know, a lot..."

 

[tharpdevenport]

"Firefly" is a character driven drama, much more so than DS9, so I would think you'd like it.

I'm not too familiar with the new BSG series, but I know a little of it's space battles, and FF outerspace sequences, like it's battles, are close in style (in fact, you can see the FF ship briefly in one BSG episode!), and they follow the rule of no sound in space.


Start from the correct viewing order. It's only about 14 episodes, so jsut give the whole thing a chance.

 

[RandyS]

I do.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Considering Firefly can be had for as low as $14.99 at some stores, it's one of the best deals out there.

Firefly was the Show My girlfriend got me into as I introduced her to Star Trek. It's very light, and a lot of fun. Nathan Fillion will be a sci-fi icon for the rest of his life due to that show.

 

[Forbin]

While there's been nothing to watch on Sunday nights during the summer, we've been watching a Firefly episode a week, at my wife's insistence.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Hey! I just started this show 4 days ago and have watched the first 6 episodes.
I like the captain....he's Kirk enough without seeming campy. He's what Archer should have been like.

 

[Ptrope]

One of the things I really liked about the show was the fact that these people may not have been "sanctioned," but they definitely carried the banner of heroes, whether they intended to or not. Even though the main goal was to "find work & keep flying," oftentimes that work meant doing the right thing even if it was a crime against the Alliance to do so, and when presented with the moral choice, Mal always did the right thing, and expected the same of his crew. In that way, he was as much the "Star Trek ideal" as one could want.

The characters were much more diverse than Trek ever offered (even with Maquis on board, how 'diverse' was the crew of VOY, really?), and even if they spoke with very unique dialects and cadences (esp. Mal), I always thought their dialogue was a lot more natural than most other SF TV or movies; I also never really felt that there was anything sarcastic or too self-aware about any of the dialogue, but maybe it's that I think, and often speak, much the same way (just not sprinkled liberally with Mandarin ).

FF wasn't so much sci-fi as it was future fiction - these people were normal folks who just happened to live in the future, where all the tech was just part of the landscape (like cars are now) and they were going about their business, not trying to explore the limits of science. Like any genre, it's as much how the story is told as what the story itself is about, and FF was real storytelling; if you like that, you'll probably like Firefly.

 

[Saxman1]

Firefly the series and Serenity the theatrical film are amazing with rich characters and stories. It's the finest SF show IMHO since DS9.

 

[Brian]

I'm not a big fan of Buffy or Angel, Angel4576. I could never get into those somehow. But then I'm not that big a fan of fantasy really.

It doesn't matter if you like Buffy or Angel. I despise them, and love Firefly. The only similarities in my opinion are in the way the characters quip with one another, a quick, wry style of dialogue, which is a thin comparison to draw between such very different series. It seems that those who draw those comparisons generally really like or really dislike Joss Whedon and use it as a way of condemning or praising all of his work as a whole. Me, I don't care about him personally. I just happen to dislike his vampire shows and love the SF one.

Concerning Farscape, one of the things that really put me off that show (among other things) was the type of aliens they had and the way they looked (yeah, I know if sound superficial but getting past that was always hard for me). Is that similar on Firefly? From the screen caps I've seen so far, I've only seen human players. Is that the way the entire show is?

There are no aliens in Firefly.

Also, I'm not a big fan of anime either and unfortunately haven't seen the two you mention, Delsaber. So I can't really speak to that.

I don't know about the anime comparisons; I don't watch anime. It appears that they're generally referenced because of a western theme, though. Again, that's a thin comparison to draw, if you ask me. Firefly is often criticized because of it, but it makes sense when you think of it. Dumping a bunch of humans on a colony world is going to bring forth lifestyles similar to the western expansion of America. This isn't Star Trek, where every colonist has a phaser and a replicator at their disposal. They have to live off the land, far from the opulence of the core worlds. (Which are shown in the series, by the way.)

Give it a try.

 

[Cicero]

FWIW, going into Serenity with a friend who'd never seen the series before I made sure I had time to show him the 2-hour pilot and Out of Gas first. The pilot does a good job of setting up the show (and has elements pertinent to Serenity), plus you get to see howw the "newer" people join the crew. OoG does an awesome job of showing how the original crew was established, plus is often considered the best episode of the series.

Serenity was actually my introduction to Firefly. I'd wanted to watch the series when it was on Fox, but couldn't figure out when it was supposed to air until I'd already missed several episodes (by which time I'd started school). I caught the movie on HBO (or a similar channel) perhaps a year or so after it was in theaters. I bought Firefly the next day.

As events transpired, I think it was better to see Serenity first, even if that meant I knew where some things were going to go. Firefly was such a great series that I think I would've been very disappointed with the (still very good) movie if I'd seen it last.


(I also have yet to meet an anime I like . . . well, except for Yu-Gi-Oh, maybe, but that's more a case of not being able to look away if I don't escape within ten seconds of coming across it. The show is terrible, but addicts instantaneously.)

 

[Deckerd]

I'm not too familiar with the new BSG series, but I know a little of it's space battles, and FF outerspace sequences, like it's battles, are close in style (in fact, you can see the FF ship briefly in one BSG episode!), and they follow the rule of no sound in space.

BSG doesn't follow the 'no sounds in space' rule. Firefly does, much to its credit.

 

[RAMA]

I hated both Farscape and Firefly. If you dislike Farsape then I doubt Firefly will interest you.

RAMA

 

[Forbin]

I'm not too familiar with the new BSG series, but I know a little of it's space battles, and FF outerspace sequences, like it's battles, are close in style (in fact, you can see the FF ship briefly in one BSG episode!)...

That's because both shows are done by the same CG effects house.