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Since Star Trek was described as "Wagontrain to the Stars" the idea of the wild fronteer being out space- strange new worlds and the like- has always seemed like the right way to set up this metaphor. But it was not until "Firefly" that someone got it right. Here is a truly interesting and "real" cast of characters, a world that is intricate but easy to understand, and no "alien" races with forehead make-up. Just a disfunctional future society, in a post-war setting, populated by people trying to make a living and explore by need. Led by a dynamic and heroic captain, the crew of Firefly is unqiue and distinctive, and the scripts are about the best ever written for episodic television. The series ran for a short while on Fox but lives on in this boxed set that I own and watch repeatedly. The humor and insight as well as the casual comraderie of the characters makes this a series you can review with increasing pleasure. I would say buy the set, and then block out a long weekend to watch all the episodes back to back. You will feel transformed and transported to a world that you will fall in love with immediately.Read full review
This is one of those rare occasions when a product purchase matches product quality. Firefly-The Complete Series is such a product. Like the series by creator Joss Whedon, the DVD package was perfect. If you're looking for a really good go-gettum action series set in future scifi, but owning all the characteristics of a modern-day drama that also hosts the era of a good western soap opera, "Firefly" is that product. The only other series to tackle such a difficult but raucus fantasy combination was "Brisco County, Jr." However, "Firefly" takes it a few steps further. The occupations of its crew are from distant realsm of the job spectrum that gives each episode opportunities for unique but solid twists and turns. The difficulties are only imagined, but the scenes are played out well with a multi-person crew comprises of quirky personalities who always seem to come together under crisis. Malcom as captain, manages this borderline menagerie as they simply want to work and survive in the ravages of a new world-order universe that crosses the line between honesty and corruption, repleat with a brooding dark secret. "Firefly" sets you, with each episode, in the role as voyeur. I loved every minute of their travels. It was asham that narrow-minded network executives either had no vision or lost site of how a groundbreaking show can create new audiences that easily would could have supported the series for several years. Had they been given the time (5 years)that another significant scifi series, "Babylon 5", or for that matter the derby winner, "Stargate-SG1" the mind of Whedon would have generated enough scenarios to have rivaled those in audience appreciation, syndication and money. Their loss is our gain, 13 episodes that make a tremendous statement in the annals of television history. The collection is worth more than the price. Time will prove that prophecy as more discover the makings of a good program. Salute to Joss Whedon, cast and crew! TJRead full review
This is Josh Whedon's classic series that the network cancelled and the fans would not let die. The characters are as near to perfectly cast as any show I've ever seen. Humor, adventure, excitement, mysterious characters and of course ongoing love stories keep you on the hook. When the network cancelled the show the fans bombarded the producers with complaints. Josh had plans to run the series for at least three years and make a movie if it survived. The fans raised over a million dollars and Josh made the classic thriller "Serenity". The Firefly series is a great lead-in to the film or just as good if you've only seen the movie. This is a great series that should have lasted a lot longer, I really love the characters and feel it needed another year to really catch fire. Four of the stars of Firefly went on to success in other series, so the cast was solid and talented, and who can argue with Josh's post success. Don't you just hate the way they run network TV series?Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
As the 2005 theatrical release of Serenity made clear, Firefly was a science fiction concept that deserved a second chance. Devoted fans (or "Browncoats") knew it all along, and with this well-packaged DVD set, those who missed the show's original broadcasts can see what they missed. Creator Joss Whedon's ambitious science-fiction Western (Whedon's third series after Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel) was canceled after only 11 of these 14 episodes had aired on the Fox network, but history has proven that its demise was woefully premature. Whedon's generic hybrid got off to a shaky start when network executives demanded an action-packed one-hour premiere ("The Train Job"); in hindsight the intended two-hour pilot (also titled "Serenity," and oddly enough, the final episode aired) provides a better introduction to the show's concept and splendid ensemble cast. Obsessive fans can debate the quirky logic of combining spaceships with direct parallels to frontier America (it's 500 years in the future, and embattled humankind has expanded into the galaxy, where undeveloped "outer rim" planets struggle with the equivalent of Old West accommodations), but Whedon and his gifted co-writers and directors make it work, at least well enough to fashion a credible context from the incongruous culture-clashing of past, present, and future technologies, along with a polyglot language (the result of two dominant superpowers) that combines English with an abundance of Chinese slang. What makes it work is Whedon's delightfully well-chosen cast and their nine well-developed characters--a typically Whedon-esque extended family--each providing a unique perspective on their adventures aboard Serenity, the junky but beloved "Firefly-class" starship they call home. As a veteran of the disadvantaged Independent faction's war against the all-powerful planetary Alliance (think of it as Underdogs vs. Overlords), Serenity captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) leads his compact crew on a quest for survival. They're renegades with an amoral agenda, taking any job that pays well, but Firefly's complex tapestry of right and wrong (and peace vs. violence) is richer and deeper than it first appears. Tantalizing clues about Blue Sun (an insidious mega-corporation with a mysteriously evil agenda), its ties to the Alliance, and the traumatizing use of Serenity's resident stowaway (Summer Glau) as a guinea pig in the development of advanced warfare were clear indications Firefly was heading for exciting revelations that were precluded by the series' cancellation. Fortunately, the big-screen Serenity (which can be enjoyed independently of the series) ensured that Whedon's wild extraterrestrial west had not seen its final sunset. Its very existence confirms that these 14 episodes (and enjoyable bonus features) will endure as irrefutable proof Fox made a glaring mistake in canceling the series.Read full review
And I'm not even a chick! But seriously, here is my rundown on FIREFLY, imho an underrated series that ended prematurely. Elements of Westerns (gunfights, lawlessness, simple down-home independent folk in a frontier setting) and sci-fi (the frontier setting is numerous interplanetary colonies centuries in the future) may seem like an odd combination, and not everyone will dig it. For many, it works. Firefly has a nice well-rounded cast of characters, each with their amusing quirks. You have a likeable rogue captain, his insanely hot war buddy, her husband the pilot, a doctor with a crazy sister who randomly exhibits superhuman killing faculties, a strangely cute female mechanic, a preacher with a checkered and probably violent past, a hired gun who seems poised to turn on anyone and everyone for the right price, and a high-priced hooker who's very respected in this futuristic social context - not to mention a hell of a diplomat. Spice that up with a whole slew of random misfits and downright evildoers coming and going. The episodes cover diverse topics and plots, from run-of-the-mill robbery/shootout/smuggling stuff to the exploration of River's mysterious past and her abilities, to the authoritarian regime ruling the universe and Mal and Zoe's roles as freedom fighters on the side that lost. The humor is a little campy at times, just a little. If you dig a little bit of backwoods cheese with your explosions and space-cops-and-robbers drama, pick up Firefly.Read full review
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