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I just finished the first season of Firefly in a 2 day marathon and I am hooked. Can't wait for the big screen treatment.

― James Stewart Reynolds, Saturday, 25 June 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

amen.

― kakee, Saturday, 25 June 2005 16:57 (twenty years ago)

yeah, I'm pretty excited. I need to rewatch my dvds before it comes out.

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Saturday, 25 June 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

The trailer looks pretty great, but I'm not sold on Whedon's ability to direct big action sequences (cf. River kicking the entire bar's ass, which looks kind of odd).

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Saturday, 25 June 2005 17:50 (twenty years ago)

Y'all have fellow fans in the weirdest places. (That said you'll presumably like the article, but I might not click on the other links unless you're up for it. ;-) )

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 25 June 2005 17:55 (twenty years ago)

funniest paragraph I've read today:

"So pleasant are the Browncoats that at the screening Sarah McKinlay--a woman wearing a floor-length dress and a vest inscribed with quotes from various Whedon shows--gives handwritten thank-you cards to the studio publicist and theater personnel. Handwritten thank-you cards. The studio flack, acclimated to the more, shall we say, adolescent behavior of other sci-fi fans, looked as though he might cry."

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Saturday, 25 June 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

http://www.pvponline.com/images/news/joss.jpg
From here.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Saturday, 25 June 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

i dunno about this man. i mean i'm a huge buffy fan but this firefly shit looks terrible!!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 25 June 2005 20:29 (twenty years ago)

I find Joss Whedon's cult following a little over the top, but Firefly was fucking fantastic.

― mikef (mfleming), Saturday, 25 June 2005 21:09 (twenty years ago)

I'm there. Jayne and Vera, all the way. Woot!

― Hey Jude, Saturday, 25 June 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

I can't wait!

― Melissa W (Melissa W), Monday, 27 June 2005 04:21 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

I've seen this. It's much, much better than I expected and I loved the series.

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Monday, 15 August 2005 01:28 (twenty years ago)

It is on really soon at the edinburgh film festival. I should go but i'd need to finish Firefly first, I have only piloted so far. Still, Exciting.

― jeffrey (johnson), Monday, 15 August 2005 01:40 (twenty years ago)

will i be able to understand this if i've never seen the series? will i care?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 15 August 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

(i mean will i care about the movie, not will i care about whether i understand it or not)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 15 August 2005 01:47 (twenty years ago)

I went into the film trying to think how I'd feel if I was someone coming in cold - I thought they handled it very well. The set up becomes very clear in the first fifteen minutes and nothing of huge relevance comes out of nowhere to make you feel confused.

Yeah, the characters endear themselves fairly quickly.

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Monday, 15 August 2005 01:52 (twenty years ago)

It's sold out at the Edinburgh film festival. Damn you Edinburgh, yr not even a real capital.

― jeffrey (johnson), Monday, 15 August 2005 02:13 (twenty years ago)

I don't like the new trailer as much as the old one. It messes up some of the comic timing (on River, "oh god oh god we're going to die," "I aim to misbehave"), but the action/sci-fi sequences look better now.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 02:27 (twenty years ago)

I have a ticket to see it at the film festival.

― Greig (treefell), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 09:29 (twenty years ago)

is this the joss whedon thing?

when i booked my tix for edinburgh, duder said '... and congratulations for not buying tickets for the joss whedon film'. wonder if he meant 'aka it's shit'.

― N_RQ, Tuesday, 16 August 2005 09:44 (twenty years ago)

Like I said, I love the series and I was still blown away by how much I felt it held together as an independent entity to the series.

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 09:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm excited.

― gunther heartymeal (keckles), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

i am re-watching my firefly dvds in anticipation.

― michael grant (michael digby grant), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

more likely cos so many crazy fans were phoning in, they broke the system!
you're coming to edinburgh? woo!
i'm kinda excited too. i blame matt. grrr

― dahlin (dahlin), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 11:48 (twenty years ago)

They are doing a fourth screening at the film festival and the tickets don't go on sale till the 22nd. I hope i can get them before they are sold out this time.

― jeffrey (johnson), Tuesday, 16 August 2005 19:50 (twenty years ago)

I'm just back from a screening at the film festival.
It's bloody good. So much to discuss, but it's all spoilers.
Now I have to watch the dvds of the tv series again. Why did I have to lend them out to a friend?

― Greig (treefell), Wednesday, 24 August 2005 23:19 (twenty years ago)

one month passes...

Q. You kill off a few main characters in the movie. What's the thinking there?

A. It wasn't my first instinct. And then I realized, again, I'm making this movie as a singular event for people who've never seen the show, with an understanding there will never be another. Now, that doesn't mean there will never be another - that means you have to make your movie that way. Taking out some beloved characters means that everybody's life is on the table. Without that, the last half-hour is a bunch of noise to me.

joss whedon interview in the ny times

― Hung Gam Bou: the chubby lightning (FE7), Saturday, 24 September 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

I can't believe the ad push this is getting, there are ads on ESPN.com now. Not the first place I'd look for ads for a movie from the guy behind Buffy.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Saturday, 24 September 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

this looks like the worst shit ever!

― huell howser (chaki), Sunday, 25 September 2005 22:26 (twenty years ago)

i wouldn't be too impressed by the trailer if i hadn't already adored firefly, but i'm looking forward to it. i've heard that it rocks--and it's an excuse to rewatch my firefly dvds.

― Juulia (julesbdules), Sunday, 25 September 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

Really--get excited, get very excited.

Screw A History of Violence--THIS is the English speaking film of the year, not counting the cursing in Chinese.

― Ian in Brooklyn, Monday, 26 September 2005 20:25 (twenty years ago)

The trailers are so bad. They could have made it look like a big epic sci-fi blockbuster but instead the pacing makes it feel like a bad sci-fi channel miniseries. The title treatment is gross too.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 26 September 2005 20:33 (twenty years ago)

So what, you're gonna go see the trailer for 90 minutes?

It's a delightful film. If you're not charmed, I mail you fifty cents--FIFTY cents, cold cash. Change.

― ian in Brooklyn, Monday, 26 September 2005 23:15 (twenty years ago)

No, I'm sure it's great and I look forward to seeing it. The criticism of the trailer was just a thought I had in response to the "worst shit ever" and "I can't believe the ad push this is getting" comments above.

I've been watching the series and it's been growing on me but I feel that, like the series, this movie might be doomed to a small cult audience. To me, this should be a big summer EVENT type sci-fi film but it looks like the studio is content to pitch it to nerdy existing fans which I think is kind of sad. I think if they pitched it as "OMG, big amazing exploding spaceship extravaganza" it might convert a bigger audience but pushing the clever-clever Whedon dialog angle isn't going to win anyone over.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 00:56 (twenty years ago)

I doubt it will be a big amazing exploding spaceship extravaganza, though. It's not Star Trek, it's going to have a lot of fun mixed in with the explosions, I think the ads (the first trailer was the best) do a good job of portraying that.

If they pitch it the wrong way, it dies on word of mouth alone (cf. Starship Troopers, where everyone went in expecting straight sci-fi/action and came out pissed).

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 00:59 (twenty years ago)

There is a prolonged exploding spaceship sequence!

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 01:08 (twenty years ago)

...and yeah, admittedly I am a fan of the show, but I despise the hordes of yeasty Whedon fans rubbing themselves over snappy dialogue.

This film was a crowd pleaser. Plenty of gunfire and explosions and PERILOUS SITUATIONS! Swords too! For sure there was snappy dialogue, but it wasn't ninety minutes of the characters sitting around mouthing variations on 'well shit, ain't i just too witty for words?".

― Mike Stuchbery (Mike Stuchbery), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

I doubt it will be a big amazing exploding spaceship extravaganza, though.

I don't know, the show is pretty satisfying on those terms. I think if you get the mainstream audience in there it might not be totally what they expect but they might like it anyway. I'm sure it's more exciting than Nu Star Wars.

If they pitch it the wrong way, it dies on word of mouth alone (cf. Starship Troopers, where everyone went in expecting straight sci-fi/action and came out pissed).

Hmm, I guess. I don't see how it can hurt though because the fans will see it anyway.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 01:26 (twenty years ago)

"Firefly" is the only Whedon show I really liked so this looks awesome.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 01:54 (twenty years ago)

The fans will see it no matter what, but that won't mean much in the box office. The DVDs sold well, but that audience isn't big enough to recoup a $45mln movie plus P&A.

If you advertise it as super-blammo sci-fi and people come out going 'that kind of sucked, it wasn't serious action at all' and then your comedy and satire become flaws rather than the point of your movie (again, I'm thinking of the Starship Troopers backlash). But if you advertise it as wise-cracking outlaws (who just happen to be in space), the audience won't be surprised.

When I first saw the trailers, I was actually surprised at how sci-fi they made it look, but Whedon says elsewhere the Old West mythologizing has been cut back heavily (too bad).

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

"but Whedon says elsewhere the Old West mythologizing has been cut back heavily (too bad)."

are you nuts that was the worst thing about the show

― CUT MY LIFE INTO PIZZAS ;_; (Adrian Langston), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 02:58 (twenty years ago)

Agreed.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 04:15 (twenty years ago)

It's much more than wit o'plenty. or Nu-Star Wars.

It puts the opera in space opera. It's like the Whedon of the last episode of Buffy--in particular her monologue and the montage of girls rising up.

And it has no compunctions about it. And he has a crew to pull it off. It's like...Mr Smith Goes to Space, basically.

― Ian in Brooklyn, Tuesday, 27 September 2005 04:20 (twenty years ago)

Mr Smith Goes to Space

Damn if that ain't kinda OTM. But with more pathos.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 04:37 (twenty years ago)

come on it can't be that bad

― gear (gear), Tuesday, 27 September 2005 04:41 (twenty years ago)

reviews are really encouraging so far!
i was a little uncertain after the trailer i saw, but my morning spent with googlenews has really made me Anticipate Serenity.

― carly (carly), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 15:00 (twenty years ago)

http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/userpics//serenity3.jpg

― one eye white, one eye black (FE7), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 15:06 (twenty years ago)

Just got rave reviews from someone in my office who caught the pre-screening. Am clearing my calendar for Friday late eve. Carly, want to come see with me?

― Laurel (Laurel), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 15:28 (twenty years ago)

Third-string reviewer for the Voice gave it a good blurb. (I'm always disappointed when they make the big feature something like that shit Squid and Whale movie rather than something I want to see and read more about.)

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 18:24 (twenty years ago)

friday sounds good, laurel, but let's talk that day about times.

― carly (carly), Wednesday, 28 September 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

Skipping 46 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

What was lacking was any decent production design to show us something new rather than a weak pastiche of the Stars War & Trek. Visually there was just no imagination to the film which is too bad because otherwise I think it could have been big.
I don't necessarily agree with that (I'm not sure what you were looking for - is it even possible to break out of the way we think spaceships will look?), but the show's Western theme did offset some of the generic futurism that you find in sci-fi.

I started watching the show again on DVD, there are a few more weak spots than I remember (the doctor is a terrible actor), but River is much funnier than I remembered and some episodes are just mind-blowingly brilliant (Our Mrs. Reynolds, for instance).

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Sunday, 9 October 2005 19:49 (twenty years ago)

x-post to Kyle

Yes, it made complete sense. There's some pretty brief exposition at the start and then you're straight into the action. There was nothing where I felt confused by what was happening.

I'll definitely be getting the series on DVD now too.

It was very, very good indeed!

― Bill A (Bill A), Sunday, 9 October 2005 20:03 (twenty years ago)

some episodes are just mind-blowingly brilliant (Our Mrs. Reynolds, for instance).

They should have had Saffron in the movie!

― O'so Krispie (Ex Leon), Sunday, 9 October 2005 20:58 (twenty years ago)

OTM with Saffron.
I also went and saw this Friday, wish I'd checked this thread prior.
What a strange, alliterative night: first Sufjan Stevens and then Serenity.
Serenity was better.

― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Sunday, 9 October 2005 23:35 (twenty years ago)

Enjoyed a lot. More to come from a Firefly virgin and someone who has watched them all in the last two weeks.

― Pete (Pete), Monday, 10 October 2005 11:02 (twenty years ago)

I saw this yesterday with a friend who really likes what Josh Whedon does. Neither of us had seen any Firefly episodes, and it still made sense. It was just a great space opera. Oh and it's great that Josh Whedon realises that the space rogue with heart of gold will always be a great character when done well. The scenes set in space were pretty sweet. I agree with Bill A about the characterisation and dialogue also. He seemed to nail the characters personalities quickly leaving him to concentrate on the story.

― fractal (fractal), Monday, 10 October 2005 12:31 (twenty years ago)

amazon.co.uk and a few places around town have the dvd box set cheap(ish) again - £20 for 14(?) episodes. not as cheap as it was (mine was £15), but still a good chunk less than the rrp.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 10 October 2005 12:46 (twenty years ago)

did no-one else think it was really scary?!

― toby (tsg20), Monday, 10 October 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

There were a few jump scares I thought, and it could be tense at times, but not really frightening.

― fractal (fractal), Monday, 10 October 2005 13:04 (twenty years ago)

I think it may actually be better to watch the movie first and then get into the series because the series is a little slow to take off.

I don't necessarily agree with that (I'm not sure what you were looking for - is it even possible to break out of the way we think spaceships will look?),

Absolutely! It's not just about how spaceships look though but how buildings and clothings look, what the music and sound design is like, what the lighting and color pallete are, etc.

but the show's Western theme did offset some of the generic futurism that you find in sci-fi.

I think the westernisms are the weakest part of the show though there were slightly less of a presence in the movie. I agree with you that the western themes were an attempt to break out of a generic sci fi mold but to me it feels like a very poorly executed gimmick rather than a genuinely unique vision of the future.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 10 October 2005 15:02 (twenty years ago)

I watched the first four episodes in a row a little while ago, and had no interest in seeing more - and no one loves Buffy more than I do, I've read all his X-Men comics and so on. I'm not sure why. I didn't care about any elements of the story or characters.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 10 October 2005 16:24 (twenty years ago)

The Serenity/FIrefly comic is terrible. Badly written, ugly art, it takes about five minutes to read all three issues.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Monday, 10 October 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)

This sentence works very well out of context:

I've read all his X-Men comics and so on. I'm not sure why. I didn't care about any elements of the story or characters.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 10 October 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)

haha, I would not say that - I like the comics. I've a feeling I wouldn't have bothered had it not been 'Morrison may have finished, but worth seeing if Whedon can keep it up'.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 10 October 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

is there cursing in this movie?

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 20:53 (twenty years ago)

It's the future so they curse in Chinese!

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

I had totally forgotten that Julie Cooper guest-stars in the next to last episode of Firefly! As a whore. Poor typecast Julie Cooper.

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:14 (twenty years ago)

so there is no engrish cursing? :(

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

I don't remember any. It's PG-13.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:17 (twenty years ago)

There is some finely-written filth, though.

"Ain't had nothin' twixt my neithers in more'n a year that ain't run on batteries"

― milozauckerman (miloaukerman), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:25 (twenty years ago)

the "our mrs. reynolds" episode on firefly was pretty dirty.

― cutty (mcutt), Wednesday, 12 October 2005 21:28 (twenty years ago)

I watched the first four episodes in a row a little while ago, and had no interest in seeing more

Martin OTM. I watched the first two episodes on Sunday, and am not convinced that I need to see any more or the film.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 17 October 2005 12:38 (twenty years ago)

horses for courses. actually, i think the horses were the thing that put people off.

i watched the double-length pilot and then watched it again with the commentary on marvelling at Joss pointing out all the things i just didn't see on the first viewing. watched the rest of them in the space of a week or so.

the 'Bodies In Space' episode is a) great and b) also works as another introduction to the characters, give that a go. (again the commentary is excellent)

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 17 October 2005 12:52 (twenty years ago)

Yes, I didn't like the horses or the train in ep 2. Seemed to smack of gimmick that didn't actually work (for me).

'Bodies In Space' is the last episode, yes?

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 17 October 2005 12:57 (twenty years ago)

i was surprised that the shepard character was vastly downplayed in the film, especially after all the HesNotWhatHeAppearsToBeHonest hints in the series.

― zappi (joni), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:00 (twenty years ago)

I loved the movie but I hate Joss now for killing my favorite character.

Jayne = Sabretooth on a leash, ergo awesome.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:02 (twenty years ago)

Does he ever open his mouth? In the episodes I saw over the weekend he delivers every line through gritted teeth, like in Die Hard 6: The Terrorist Ventriloquist.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:05 (twenty years ago)

I've never seen the TV series, but I saw the film last night and was surprised how much I liked it. I mean, I really liked it!

― Mädchen (Madchen), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:06 (twenty years ago)

um, i was wrong. Bodies In Space is the bounty hunter one (another favourite, the one with Joss' existentialism essay as commentary) but the one i meant was the suffocation episode, er, 'Out of Gas'.

Book wasn't available for all the filming, according to one inteview i read, which probably accounts for the downplaying.

― koogs (koogs), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:12 (twenty years ago)

I would say that you can't judge Firefly by the first couple of episodes. The pilot is half decent, but the train robbery episode is very weak. It gets better after that and really starts to pick up steam with the last four or five episodes. Which is why it's so annoying that they cancelled it - it was just getting good. If they had cancelled it after the first couple of episodes, I don't think anyone would have cared.

― Greig (treefell), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:15 (twenty years ago)

has anyone who never watched firefly seen the movie, liked it and gone back to watch the series? if so, how did you like it?

― carly (carly), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:18 (twenty years ago)

Greig, that's the sort of thing I wanted to hear - that the first couple were poor and genuinely does get better. Unfortunately I don't hear many "fans" admitting episodes are 'very weak'.

― aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:26 (twenty years ago)

I liked the initial episodes a lot but the show aired during a really busy time for me and I was never home to watch it after the first three weeks.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:27 (twenty years ago)

Also, in the movie, I kind of can't believe that people didn't buy Mal's palapble sense of fury and rage at the Operative's wholesale slaughter of all of their allies! That was one of the most powerful moments of the movie for me.

― The Ghost of Black Elegance (Dan Perry), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:29 (twenty years ago)

i spent the entire movie convinced that the guy that died was played by steve kerr, the former basketball player. actually, i didn't notice the credits. maybe it was him.

― colette (a2lette), Monday, 17 October 2005 13:48 (twenty years ago)

"Serenity" and "Objects in Space" were great, "Out of Gas," "Our Mrs. Reynolds" and "Jaynestown" were good, and the rest were okay; except for "The Train Job" which was just silly and dull. I liked the movie except DAMMIT HE KILL YOU-KNOW-WHO!

― J (Jay), Monday, 17 October 2005 19:28 (twenty years ago)

VOLDEMORT!?

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Monday, 17 October 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

two years pass...

why doesn't joss whedon just write fucking musicals for crying out loud?

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 31 January 2008 02:18 (eighteen years ago)

LOOKS LIKE A REAVER, SMELLS LIKE A REAVER, MUST BE A REAVER, IN MY DREAM
DOOT DA DOOT DOO DOO DOODADOO DADOO-DOO

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 31 January 2008 02:22 (eighteen years ago)

Answer: "burn the land and boil the sea ... since I found serenity"

― nabisco, Thursday, 31 January 2008 02:23 (eighteen years ago)

I always thought fifth element was pretty cheeky and now in comparison it seems like greg bear wrote it

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 31 January 2008 02:27 (eighteen years ago)

meaning star wars ep 4-6 is now actually based on hal clement's Mission of Gravity

― El Tomboto, Thursday, 31 January 2008 02:28 (eighteen years ago)

I always thought fifth element was pretty cheeky and now in comparison it seems like greg bear wrote it

-- El Tomboto, Thursday, January 31, 2008 2:27 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Link

lol

― latebloomer, Thursday, 31 January 2008 05:06 (eighteen years ago)

I tried reading "Eon" once. I got about halfway through and couldnt work out wtf was going on anymore and gave up.

― Trayce, Thursday, 31 January 2008 05:11 (eighteen years ago)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61cpOY0saTL._AA280_.jpg

― rogermexico., Thursday, 31 January 2008 06:32 (eighteen years ago)

six years pass...

This is about to be on telly, is it worth watching if you haven't seen Firefly?

(Sorry if this is covered already, didn't read the thread in case of spoilers.)

― emil.y, Saturday, 24 May 2014 21:58 (twelve years ago)

I don't know what having seen the show would add to the experience but I thought it was really good and seemed like a standalone film.

― christmas candy bar (al leong), Saturday, 24 May 2014 22:12 (twelve years ago)

Cool, thanks, will give it a go. May end up only half-watching anyway as I'm bloody knackered.

― emil.y, Saturday, 24 May 2014 22:19 (twelve years ago)

it's more poignant after the series

― j., Saturday, 24 May 2014 22:51 (twelve years ago)

yeah, it's an okay sci-fi flick but better as a conclusion to the series if you're already invested

― Mordy, Saturday, 24 May 2014 22:53 (twelve years ago)

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