(Season 1, Episode 1)
I have a confession to make: I’m not a big fan of Joss Whedon. There. I’ve said it. The way that some people gleefully react to his name is damn near Pavlovian, but I’ve never felt that. I enjoyed Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog and I tried watching Buffy … That joyful super-fan feeling never kicked in. I couldn’t even finish the fourth episode of Buffy. I shrugged off his other projects because I figured if I don’t like the ever-popular Buffy, I probably won’t like his other stuff. Later, it seemed weird to call myself a television fan and not have at least one Whedon project under my belt, so that’s where Firefly comes in. This show serves as my first full-on exposure to the world of Whedon and, well, I’ll admit, it didn’t disappoint.
“Serenity”
Just so you know, I barely knew anything about this series before I started watching it. At the most, I had heard something about cowboys in space and Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk being involved. There. That was the extent of my knowledge. I must say, this extra-long first episode was the perfect way to introduce a viewer into this complex, stunning world.
First of all, the cast is great. I know Fillion mainly as Captain Hammer so it was really nice to see him in a role like this. Tudyk was inevitably going to be awesome and this role just reminded me how much I extra-love him. I was amused to see God’s cousin Rod as a preacher (Ron Glass’s stint on Teen Angel from ABC’s TGIF line-up in the ’90s? Anyone?) and Catalina sans rainbow hair as a ship mechanic (Jewel Staite’s role on that Nickelodeon show Space Cases from even earlier in the ’90s? Really, just me?) as those weren’t really faces I expected to see. I’m also interested in seeing how Summer Glau does her thing because her fans are pretty hardcore. I love shows with strong ensemble casts, and it looks like Firefly will deliver.
The weird mash-up of genres and cultures is absolutely fascinating too. I mean, westerns plus space travel? For Christ’s sake, that’s like something from the notebook of an adolescent boy from the 1960s, scrawled under that confusing dirty dream about Jane Fonda. I dig it a lot. And for a few moments, I was trying to figure out if Tudyk was sending faintly familiar secret messages to me from 2002, only to realize he was speaking extremely choppy Mandarin. What a strange/cool way to demonstrate a futuristic cultural fusion.
The mystery behind River is intriguing, but it’s not what’s keeping me on board. I’m really in it for the team’s dynamic. And the guns and horsies and spaceships.
Oh, Firefly fans, aren’t you super-jealous that I still have the rest of the series ahead of me?
Clacked by Annie Wu 
on May 29, 2009 @ 09:00 EST5EDT
I too am not a fan of Joss Whedon’s show, but I like Firefly, not loved it. The fans for the show are freaks, good show, but it isn’t God in the form of a TV show.
However I found the first episode to be extremely boring, but it does a great job introducing everyone to the universe.
For Buffy, that love won’t really kick in until you’ve gotten through the second season. The Buffy-verse is not for the impatient.
The reason why you didn’t fall in love with Buffy after four episodes is that it isn’t really great in the first season. It has some moments but I nearly stopped watching it as well.
“Oh, Firefly fans, aren’t you super-jealous that I still have the rest of the series ahead of me?”
Very.
I agree; you’ve got to get past the first season of Buffy to discover its greatness… season 2-4 were my favorites, with hit it out of the park episodes in every season, and the greatest series finale… soooo good!
I forgot to say, don’t watch the movie if you are a fan of the show. It’s a fine movie, but a terrible continuation of Firefly.
I also gota say giving up on Buffy after 4 episodes is a big mistake. The first season, while OK, isn’t really a good example of what the show will become. They try a lot of different things in the first season, but the show really finds its feet during season 2, which is considered by many to be the best season of the show. I’d suggest sticking with Buffy past those first 13 episodes, I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
As for Firefly, Joss is really lucky that he hit it out of the park so quickly. Nearly all shows take a while to find a clear path and tone, but the world of Firefly is so clearly defined in the first episode that it is able to build and build upon it straight away. I also doubt you’ll be able to resist Serenity after watching the show. It’s a great movie, and does a good job of continuing the story in a different form.
You should really watch Season 2 of Buffy. It gets better. A lot better. I mean seriously you deprive yourself of the greatness that is Spike (James Marsters). You’ll love him, trust me. His humor is insanely well written…
Its kind of ironic that the only show that Joss ever REALLY knocked it out of the park from Episode One, Firefly, wasn’t allowed to air in the proper order by a network that meddled too much in the show.
Both Angel and Buffy became superior works once they got their legs under them. Angel towards the end of the first season, and really in the beginning of the second. Buffy somewhere early in the second (At least, IMHO).
I watched Serenity yesterday and I have to say “Not bad”. The episode took some time before it went from boring too interesting but it did improve.
The cast is interesting, the special effects are great and the humor is awesome! I think the only reason why I did keep watching (hey, it’s a pretty long episode) was the “He’s psychotic”-joke!!!! Gosh, that was awesome!!