Thanks, thefutoncritic! Ariel no.23 in 2002 Best 50 by Evans

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Thanks, thefutoncritic! Ariel no.23 in 2002 Best 50

POSTED BY: EVANS
UPDATED: Wednesday, January 8, 2003 16:22
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Wednesday, January 8, 2003 4:06 PM

From thefutoncritic's site

http://www.thefutoncritic.com/cgi/gofuton.cgi?action=rant&id=20030108

23. "firefly: ariel" (fox)
originally aired november 15, 2002
It took a while for Joss Whedon and company to get all of their ducks in a row on this series and when they did: wow. "Ariel" had the perfect balance of the elements that made its previous outings less than stellar: the goofy mix of the western and science fiction genres, not to mention a lack of the strong overlapping narrative present in Whedon's other shows. Realizing there's only one thing that can help his ill sister, Simon (FOX failure regular Sean Maher) hires the Firefly crew to break into an Alliance medical facility with the promise of supplies to loot while they wait for him to use its advanced technology to diagnose her. One of Whedon's less talked about talents is his ability to separate a large cast into distinct characters (I mean $20 if you can tell me the difference between the two dark haired guys on "C.S.I.: Miami" outside of their ethnicity) and this episode gave almost everyone a lot to do without feeling cluttered. What really made the episode stand out however was the terrifying confrontation between Jayne (the underrated Adam Baldwin) and Mal (a likable Nathan Fillon) that closed the episode. Whedon's shows have a history of not limiting death's grip to anyone and such was the case here as Mal threatens to space Jayne after finding out he sold out Simon and River to the Alliance. We had no idea if he was going to survive and that presence of uncertainty is rare in television.

m.
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"But ... not boring, like she made it sound." Wash, in ARIEL
"None of it means a damn thing." Mal, in OBJECTS IN SPACE

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Wednesday, January 8, 2003 4:22 PM

SERGEANTX

This is great news, but I really don't understand everyone's knee-jerk reaction to the western theme.

"the goofy mix of the western and science fiction genres"

I know several people who liked Ariel precisely because of the lack of the 'country stuff'. They seem to have Hee-Haw stuck in their heads. The things Joss is able to say in this "goofy mix" call on some of the best traditions of the western to give us a clue. He uses the stereotypes and trappings of the old western to make something that is both familiar and wondrous.

These people that can't seem to get past their own cultural biases, I just hope UPN doesn't try to mute the western/southern influence on the style of the show.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

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