MATTIE'S BLOG

Mattie

I Sent An Email to Everyone I Know
Sunday, December 25, 2005

The other day I had some time on my hands. I feel like I haven't been doing my part. I had already bought my Christmas presents by the time everyone was making big plans to buy out the Serenity DVD supply when it came out. Yes, I am sort of a control freak. I would have bought a copy for myself, but my birthday was yesterday. My famliy knows I'm a fan and it was an obvious gift to get. Shoot!
So, to try and remedy my guilt--I definetly don't want to be considered one of those people who rides on the coat tails of others--I decided to encourage my friends, family and everyone on my emailing address list to check out this amazing 'verse.
Here's the email that I sent:

Just to warn you all, I’m a nerd, and this email comes out of probably the nerdiest part of me. I HAVE to say something though.
A few months ago I saw a movie called Serenity. (Some of you, I know, have heard of this movie–probably from me.) I was on a double date. The guy who wasn’t my date was all gung-ho about going to this wacko movie that I had only heard about. All I knew going in was that it used to be a television show, somehow connected with the Sci-Fi channel, and that it was about outer space (thank you Entertainment Weekly). I was not excited about this movie. I would never describe myself as a science fiction fan–although I read books that would fall under that category. I’m not a fan of Star Trek, haven’t even seen an episode. I pretty much steer clear of sci-fi television and movies. I didn’t see Star Wars III until last week. Unfortunately, the tickets had already been bought and, besides that, I wasn’t about to refuse to see a movie that my date’s best friend had insisted on seeing.
About two hours later, I walked out of the theater in a daze. What had I just seen?! Serenity was running through my head non-stop. I had no idea how to describe what the movie was. I had definitely been entertained. Who doesn’t like comedy, drama and hard core action all in one movie? I was confused, though. What were Captain Mal and his crew? How did they get to be where they were? What, what, what? There was more to the story that I had missed out on.
When I got home, I of course checked in with my parents. I found my dad waiting up for me–as usual. He asked about the night and when I told him about the movie I had seen, his eyes lit up and he said “really?” If you know Peter, then you probably know the kind of “really”that I’m talking about. It was the “I’ve heard about that and I’m interested, tell me more” kind. Over the next half-hour I expressed to him my interested confusion. (How else do I describe it?) He said that he knew about the film because Entertainment Weekly, which I subscribe to, had written a bunch of articles about it. The avid reader that my dad is, he had read all of them. He sort of filled me in on the premise of the movie and then encouraged me to read the articles that I had only glanced at.
That night before I went to bed, I dug out all of the articles and read them–all of them. The more I read, the more interested I became. I learned that this movie had started out as a television show on Fox. In 2002, eleven episodes of Firefly aired before it was cancelled. (I blame the cancellation on a bad time slot, and sports.) The show, created by Joss Whedon (a.k.a. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Toy Story), generated almost no viewers because of the stupid, fragmented way that the network aired the show. (Think World Series baseball and football.) Those few viewers, however, had grown. Those few viewers who call themselves Browncoats had made a fuss about their show, converting others, turning Firefly into what can today be called a cult hit. This fuss also elicited a response out of Hollywood. Joss Whedon wrote the movie and Universal Studios green-lit it. Serenity was born.
Okay, so there was a television show. And it was out on DVD. Humm... was it worth my time and money to invest in something like that? Duh, I’m me, of course it was, and besides, the curiosity was practically killing me! Two days later I bought Firefly on DVD. I brought the show home and watched the first episode all by my lonesome, in bed, on my little portable DVD player. I didn’t even tell my dad, the one who really lit this fire, until the day after I had watched the pilot episode because I was a little embarrassed about liking the show. Like I said, I am not a sci-fi geek, just your every day nerd. I only told my dad later because I couldn’t hold it in any longer. He was a little taken aback–we were in the middle of the third season of Northern Exposure–but he was interested in watching with me. That afternoon, my whole family, Mom, Dad, David, PJ and I, watched the 90 minute pilot episode together. I was loving every minute of it, and my dad was too. My brothers were mildly interested, as was my mom. I knew, though, that I was no longer the only sci-fi show watching, and liking, nerd in my family.
The most logical thing to do after finishing the television series was to go see the movie. The second go-round was AWESOME!!!!! The best part was that my family loved it! It was one of those “I told you so”moments, but not really because I was just thrilled to have found more fans–talk about close to home.
Anyway, the whole reason I’m writing this is to try and share this incredible, little, fictional world with my friends. We all know that I’m a nerd. I will be the first to admit to that. Ask who’s a nerd and I say “oo, oo, me!” But a whole family of nerds? Is that possible? You don’t have to be a weirdo like me to enjoy something as cool as Joss Whedon’s Firefly and Serenity.
Lemme say this. No, the movie isn’t Oscar material. The show wasn’t epic. You know what though? There’s something about it that I can relate to. Forget that the show takes place 500 years in the future. Forget that it’s about cowboys/pirates/ whatever you want to call them in outer space. There’s something real about it that I can’t even begin to describe, and that, my friends, is what makes it so great. Joss wrote about people. Not the high and mighty, rich and powerful, beautiful and famous, but the everyday, hard working folk that we associate ourselves with.
Both Firefly and Serenity come highly recommended. Not just by me, either. The Salt Lake Tribune gave the movie a 3 and ½ star review. Please, if for no other reason than to tell me that you did, check this out! Give it a try. The movie came out on DVD December 20th, and you know what, by all accounts, it’s flying off the shelves. If you can’t find either the DVD or the tv show, lemme know and I’ll send them to you. Look into it, though. I think you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll enjoy it. And, if you do enjoy it, pass it on. If not, well then, just be quiet.
Check it out.

Well, that's pretty much it. I got a response. Someone plans on watching the series and movie over the holidays. YESSS!!!! Score one for Mattie!

COMMENTS

Sunday, December 25, 2005 6:21 PM

RIVERGODDESS


Good for you! I hosted a marathon party when Serenity was released on DVD, and my friends enjoyed it. I'm afraid I came off a little to scary-geeky-Sara on them, but it was effective. I hope your e-mail reaches out!


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