the comedy of firefly by hitcher

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

the comedy of firefly

POSTED BY: HITCHER
UPDATED: Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:50
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VIEWED: 3126
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Friday, June 10, 2005 5:43 AM

is it just me or is the fact that Firefly is first a comedy, then a western and THEN a SF lost on every one. i.e. it is a far to middling SF, a good western and a great comedy.

I think I laughed harder watching the DVDs than I do watching Seinfeld

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Friday, June 10, 2005 5:50 AM

RKLENSETH

You forgot drama (the crew being a family, the relationships), horror (Reavers), supernatural (River, Hands of Blue, Blue Sun), action (there is a fight of some sorts in every episode, at least one person dies violently in each episode if not more) and probably more that I'm not thinking about right now.

Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.

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Friday, June 10, 2005 5:52 AM

MANWITHPEZ

Important people don't do field work.

I don't think it was meant to be a comedy. The lighter touch most of the episodes takes on comes after Serenity, which, as we all know, was frowned upon by the network. Of course Wash was funny, as always meant to be. Jayne was meant to be unintentionally funny, and, as a narrative device, it works great...But, I think this show is a cultural study/character drama first...An action show second, and a sci-fi/western third...Then a comedy.

But, this is the great thing about Firefly...How open it is to interpretation. Some of the funniest things I've ever seen or heard were in Buffy and Angel, and admittedly, these aren't straight comedies either...

Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."

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Friday, June 10, 2005 6:51 AM

HITCHER

OK, you guys get it, no, its not first and foremost a comedy but that is what makes it work so well as one. In a comedy you expect funny all the time, in Firefly the crew is in the middle of trying to get them selfs kilt and every things all tense like and someone drops a one liner that makes the spousal unit come in and see if I'm OK

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Friday, June 10, 2005 7:23 AM

BIKISDAD

Quote:
Originally posted by manwithpez:

But, this is the great thing about Firefly...How open it is to interpretation. Some of the funniest things I've ever seen or heard were in Buffy and Angel, and admittedly, these aren't straight comedies either...

Absolutely. The great thing about this show is that you can get what you want out of it no matter what that is. I love the comedic aspects, too. However, after you've watched the dvds 5 or 6 times, you know all the jokes and they aren't laugh out loud funny any more. But by then you're already invested in the complex, subtle aspects of the drama and you don't miss the comedic feel of the show that first impressed you. That's what is so impressive about this show - THE LAYERS of it. There are so many.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

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Friday, June 10, 2005 8:35 AM

RAWDATA

For instance:
Jayne: What'd y'all order a dead guy for?

Cogito Ergo Mal

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Friday, June 10, 2005 8:50 AM

CHRISTHECYNIC

I don't think it's any more funny than real life, but real life can be quite funny.

None the less, as a result I'd call it a drama, not a comedy. Any serious drama includes significant amounts of comedy because to be serious it must resemble real life, and real life is filled with humor, no matter how grim a situation is.

-

"Make it dark, make it grim, make it tough, but then, for the love of God, tell a joke." - Joss Whedon

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Friday, June 10, 2005 10:21 PM

FALLENANGEL

Quote:
Originally posted by bikisdad:
- THE LAYERS of it. There are so many.

Apathy on the Rise. No One Cares.

"Layers upon layers of acting challenges."-Nathan Fillion on the DVD commentaries.

That just reminded me of that. Made me laugh so much. Thats why I love the series so much. It just makes u laugh. This series always cheers me up. Its has everything I like. Drama, comdey, a lil bit of sci-fi, action and i think of lil bit of suspense thrown into the mix.

I'm just going through a serious Firefly withdrawel now. I need a my fix.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."- Lao Tzu.

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Saturday, June 11, 2005 4:18 AM

CLJOHNSTON108

Quote:
Originally posted by christhecynic:
I don't think it's any more funny than real life, but real life can be quite funny.

Which is why I think of Firefly as a "Documentary from the Future"!

And as for the jokes not being laugh-out-loud-funny after repeated viewings: When I have a new "recruit", I'll insist on watching the episodes with 'em, rather than just loaning them my DVD set.

Two reasons for this: 1) People always thrash my stuff if I give 'em a chance, and 2) Even if I've seen something a hundred times, when I'm with someone who's seeing it for the first time, it suddenly becomes fresh & new again.
The "shocks" don't return, but the laughter does!

---------------

"Slideshow... Boring... Losing consciousness!"
--The Tick

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Saturday, June 11, 2005 5:44 AM

SAINT JAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by rklenseth:
You forgot drama (the crew being a family, the relationships), horror (Reavers), supernatural (River, Hands of Blue, Blue Sun), action...

They do cover all the bases, don't they? I expect scifi to do that for the most part. The first appearance of the Borg left me sitting in a little puddle, and Worf was always good for a laugh. I mean, do you remember, "I protest Captain, I am not a merry man"?

I'm happy to simply call it the best scifi conceived by mankind to date. Best comedy, too? Gorram straight. I think it's the range of senses of humour. Zoe's dry wit; Simon's dripping sarcasm; Mal's flowing banter; Jayne's crudeness; Wash's stand-up comedy stylings; etc.

Firefly series: "If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine."
F*X: ZZZORP!

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Saturday, June 11, 2005 7:34 AM

WEICHI

I am not a real sci fi expert by any means but I suspect a future consisting of real people trying to survive is far more realistic then a future where we never see the nitty gritty of actual human life - only holodecks and noble science and exploration.

So I like this vision of the future - not as preferable to Star Trek, but more likely. It is a shame that we did not get more glimpses into this world.

So I think we should not dismiss the sci fi aspect, I think Firefly makes a solid contribution here, at least at the TV Series level - in addition to the fantastic characters we simply love.

See how I'm not punching him, I think I've grown!

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Saturday, June 11, 2005 12:50 PM

CLJOHNSTON108

Quote:
Originally posted by weichi:
I am not a real sci fi expert by any means but I suspect a future consisting of real people trying to survive is far more realistic then a future where we never see the nitty gritty of actual human life - only holodecks and noble science and exploration.

So I like this vision of the future - not as preferable to Star Trek, but more likely. It is a shame that we did not get more glimpses into this world.

The big joke about Star Trek has always been, "Nobody ever has to go to the bathroom on the Enterprise!" so I loved that Joss showed us the all-in-one commode/sink right off the bat in "Serenity"!

Of course, Firefly wasn't the first: Babylon 5 even featured facilities marked WARNING! METHANE-BREATHERS ONLY!

Then there was that sadly-deleted scene from Galaxy Quest...

Quote:
ALEXANDER
Is that the bathroom?

QUELLEK
Yes sir... The use of your waste facilities were strangely absent from the historical records, so we had to extrapolate purely on the basis of your anatomy.

37 INT. ALEX'S BATHROOM

They enter. Alex looks down at a thing that looks more like a torture device than a toilet, with elaborate 'tubes and stirrups and plugs going everywhere.

QUELLEK
You're quite complicated, sir.

Alex stares at the thing, despairingly.

---------------

"Slideshow... Boring... Losing consciousness!"
--The Tick

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