What's so great about Firefly?

[Alex1939]

"2012" is 35th highest grossing movie of all time according to the always reliable wikipedia, should I then assume its the 35th best movie ever made???

Box-office and TV ratings are apples and oranges.

Then I guess American Idol is the best TV show ever made?


You do realize Firefly was not even aired in its entirety, and it was aired out of order. If you watch the whole show you'll realize there are a lot of subtle jokes and dialogue that refer to prior episodes. It was a showkiller to move the episodes around like that.

 

[FreezeC77]

Which episode did you watch as the pilot? The one Fox Broadcast as the pilot or the actual pilot Whedon intended?

I really hate this line of reasoning.

Every single TV show I watched, I didn't start with the pilot, I would catch a random episode, say "Hey, this seems interesting" and then go back to the beginning.

Even "Lost", which isn't exactly a standalone episode type of show. Shows ARE capable of hooking people not 100% familiar with the concept. It's actually pretty problematic if they can't.

I agree with this 100%.

OTOH, more than once I've caught a random episode of a series, been bored and then picked up on another one later and gotten hooked on a show. It's not a matter of starting at the beginning, but most series have weaker and stronger episodes and not every episode of a series focuses on the same elements in the same way, so people with different tastes will react differently to particular stories. I know that the train robbery episode didn't grab me when I first watched it and it took me a couple of weeks to get back to Firefly (didn't help that my broadcast reception of WTTG FOX 5 made watching anything on that station a bit frustrating).

I agree somewhat with this unless the 'episode you sampled' happens to be horrible compared to the pilot and makes you uninterested in the series.

I can think of some episodes of the x-files which were dreadful so if that was the first episode someone watched when they got told to check out the x-files I could see them passing on the series.

BTW, I think the opposite is true here as well. Sometimes the pilot is bad and makes you give up on a show. I know I never watched Babylon 5 after the pilot. Then I caught an episode rebroadcast late at night during the Shadow War arc and was interested and watched the show from then on. Still really don't like the first season of it.

 

[1001001]

For comedy I think my favorite is "Our Mrs. Reynolds."

"I think my days of not takin' you seriously are comin' to a middle."

And the follow-up, Trash, is wonderful too.

We can say we knew Christina Hendricks (AKA YoSaffBridge) way back when....

 

[Amaris]

What's not great about Firefly???



I don't think someone can be talked into liking it. I myself didn't get it the first time around. Cowboys in space speaking Chinese? Whatever...

But I caught a marathon on Sci-Fi before the movie came out, and I was stunned. How did I miss all this the first time? The depth, the humor, the genuine characters. Science fiction with a heart. Just brilliant, brilliant stuff.

Out of Gas is one of TV's finest hours, as far as I'm concerned.

Mal: "Ship like this, be with you 'til the day you die."
Zoe: "'Cause it's a deathtrap."

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I agree somewhat with this unless the 'episode you sampled' happens to be horrible compared to the pilot and makes you uninterested in the series.

I did mention that, yeah.

 

[Bishop76]

Yeah, it's a pretty perfect show that never got a fair shake, IMO. Serenity was really awesome too. It's well worth a watch. I personally was hooked from the moment in Train Job where Mal is trying to return Niska's money to his henchmen. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I'd say if you get 4 episodes in and still don't love it, then it's not for you.

 

[exodus]

people on the Internet explaining why you should like it isn't going to matter.

Not really true. I've caught a random Farscape episode on TV once... Didn't like it one bit. Then one day I got bored and asked some people ON THE INTERNET if should give it a try. They said "go for it". I did.

Well, what can I say, Farscape instantly became one of my favorite TV shows ever, better than Voyager, Better than Enterprise, better than 60% of DS9, definitely better than SG1, The X-files etc etc...

Yeah but you were still considering on watching it anyway before you asked folks online. So you techically already made the choice, you just wanted you choice supported.

For what it's worth.
I liked Serenity but wasn't impressed at all with Firefly.
So I support why FOX cancelled it.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

I'm sure the execs at FOX appreciate the "support."

 

[exodus]

I'm sure the execs at FOX appreciate the "support."

 

[Bishop76]

How do you like Serenity but not Firefly? They're really not that far removed from one another...

 

[infinix]

"Any friend of Inara's is a strictly business-like relationship of mine."

I loved the hidden attraction and sexual tension between Mal and Inara. I love the one crew vs. the world theme. I love the humor and the dialogue and the character interactions.

This was as good a show as could be.

 

[Greg Cox]

Great characters, brilliant dialogue, terrific humor . . . .

What's not to like?

 

[Yeoman Randi]

I don't totally get "it" either. I like the show. But I LOVE the movie. I do have to give the show another run through again. It's been a while.

I loved Serenity as well - it's one of my favorite skiffy movies of the last decade.

Skiffy? Googling didn't help. I'll be checking in to the nearest nursing home later today.

How do you like Serenity but not Firefly? They're really not that far removed from one another...

I can't answer that other than to say i've watched Serenity more than a few times and love it each and every time. Probably love it MORE everytime. I haven't gotten all the way through Firefly. I think i may have stopped at about 8 or 9 episodes. I DO have to give it another try, because that sometimes happens to me. I don't like shows on the first go 'round but then find something the second time that grabs me.

 

[Mistral]

Firefly was an okay show that might have become great if it had been given a decent chance to last a few years.

What's so great about it is that the producer has done other stuff. And fans of that other stuff merge everything thing together in their minds, thus making a show that wasn't given a chance to find it's footing, the best Sci-Fi ever.

I have never enjoyed any other Whedon vehicle.
I passed on this BECAUSE of Buffy, which I found moronic and cheesy.
I caught a Skiffy marathon while sick right at the pilot and spent the day glued to the tv.
I think it stands on its own merits.
Characters that are smart-but not too smart at times.
A sly sense of humor.
Excellent cast chemistry.
Beautifully imagined world-building-fresh and different.
It's a well-composed show all the more impressive for the depth is exhibited in a single, 13 episode season, IMO.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

To paraphrase:


SKIFFY AND SKIFFY! What is skiffy???

 

[Saquist]

I thought I'd give this show a shot some five or six years ago, watched a pilot (on TV), and didn't really find it engaging enough to tune in again the week after...

A few months ago I decided to give it another shot. So many people praised it, I figured I must have missed something first time around. So I watched the pilot again... And AGAIN I didn't find it engaging enough to continue watching.

I didn't find it bad or anything, just... I don't know, that pilot left me completely apathetic. Twice.

Obviously, I wasn't the only one (shitty ratings and all), so my question to y'all is - what exactly do you find so appealing about this show?

Sell me on Firefly, guys.

I have to agree...I've not watched much of the show but I did like Serentity...That was kewl but I didn't see the pull of the series at all.

 

[exodus]

I thought I'd give this show a shot some five or six years ago, watched a pilot (on TV), and didn't really find it engaging enough to tune in again the week after...

A few months ago I decided to give it another shot. So many people praised it, I figured I must have missed something first time around. So I watched the pilot again... And AGAIN I didn't find it engaging enough to continue watching.

I didn't find it bad or anything, just... I don't know, that pilot left me completely apathetic. Twice.

Obviously, I wasn't the only one (shitty ratings and all), so my question to y'all is - what exactly do you find so appealing about this show?

Sell me on Firefly, guys.

I have to agree...I've not watched much of the show but I did like Serentity...That was kewl but I didn't see the pull of the series at all.

I found the pacing of the show to be very slow, due to that both times I've tried to sit thought the series I found myself to bored to care. Senerity on the other hand being only a one shot film, had to explain the entire series in one shot. So he had to tell everything quickly, which IMO gave Serenity more action & a much faster pace. Plus I don't expect adults that have just been on the loosing side of a civil war to have such an immature sense of humor.

 

[M'rk son of Mogh]

If you watch the whole show you'll realize there are a lot of subtle jokes and dialogue that refer to prior episodes. It was a showkiller to move the episodes around like that.

To be fair, the ratings weren't that way because people tuned out for not getting the subtle jokes that refer to prior episodes.

It was on Friday nights, it wasn't a consistent schedule, and it's just not everybody's cup of tea (Whedon's writing is capable of being VERY polarizing)

 

[ManOnTheWave]

On one hand, I loved the cast, the characters, and the dialogue. On the other, I liked that someone basically remade Star Wars from the point of view of Han Solo and kept the late 70s vibe as much as possible. Some of the wardrobe, plot elements, camera lens choices, etc. made it feel like it should have been on my to watch list between Quincy and The Rockford Files.

But if you don't like it, or you don't get it, well, there you go.

 

[Nerys Myk]

"2012" is 35th highest grossing movie of all time according to the always reliable wikipedia, should I then assume its the 35th best movie ever made???

Box-office and TV ratings are apples and oranges.

Then I guess American Idol is the best TV show ever made?

.

Good and best are subjective. Not everyone finds the same things entertaining. Popularity is quantifiable by tickets, viewership and dollars.

If you like singing competitions featuring amateurs and semi professionals being critqued by music pros, then American Idol is "good" and the "best" thing on TV. That a large amount of people feel this way makes it popular.

As for Firefly. I was entertained, so it was good show.