Tell me, what was so lifechanging about the series? by okcbrowncoat

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Tell me, what was so lifechanging about the series?

POSTED BY: OKCBROWNCOAT
UPDATED: Thursday, September 6, 2007 06:28
SHORT URL:
VIEWED: 5740
PAGE 1 of 1

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 5:20 AM

If you were trying to convert someone and they asked you *WHY* you liked the show so much, how would you describe the Whedony goodness that is Firefly? What brought you on board? Was it the plot? the dialogue? the character development?

*************************************************
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:20 AM

DESKTOPHIPPIE

I was open to the series anyway, since I was already a huge fan of both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. I had a good idea what to expect from Joss - excellent writing, crackling dialogue, heart-stopping drama, characters who become old friends (or lifelong enemies) after one episode, quotes for all occasions and tons of humour. Needless to say, I was not dissapointed.

What do I say to people who ask me about it? Nothing. I just sit them down, play 'Our Mrs. Reynolds' and watch their faces as the episode does it's work.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 6:40 AM

DAVESHAYNE

Quote:
Originally posted by okcbrowncoat:
If you were trying to convert someone and they asked you *WHY* you liked it so much, how would you describe the Whedony goodness that is Firefly? What brought you on board? Was it the plot? the dialogue? the character development?

All of the above.

If I had to pick one factor though I'd say the incidents. Moments that exist in their own right and not just to advance the plot or explain a character. Zoe and Wash fighting, Jayne and Book lifting weights, Simon making and eating a terrible meal. People going about living their lives and then a camera turns on.

But also the breadth of the stories. One week our heroes are running from criminals, the law, and savages next there's a heist with a moral dillema. Followed by a ghost ship, a party with an uneven duel, then a commercial transaction that doesn't go smooth. A surprise wedding followed by a marksmanship test, an unlikely hero and a consequence of his heroics, what happens when the engine doesn't turn. Another heist this time with a medical exam, torture and how people survive it, a sting, a dead body in a post office, prostitutes and the mercenaries that love them, and finishing off with Peter and the Wolf seasoned with a dash of existentialism.

If you can't find something to like in that I suspect you are medically unentertainable. Of course you can't really rattle that off to one of the uninitiated without spoiling it a bit.

David

"A lot of people are asking me, you know, what exactly is Firefly? It's a tv show you morons!" - Joss Whedon

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 11:18 AM

ZZETTA13

Well this isn't really life changing or anything but something that struck home with me was seeing the whole crew sit down in the galley at the dinner table.
It was a real "family" way of bringing the folk of Serenity together and brought back memories of my family while I was growing up.
No tv, no other outside interferences, just the group of us discussing what went on in our lives that day.
Now, married with my own family we don't do this at all and are rarely even all home at the same time. things change and so do we, but I do miss some of the simple things that used to be in a world that turned a little slower.
Maybe in the "Black" when there isn't something that needs immediate attention (like a bank job)time sits back a bit.
Z

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 11:32 AM

TOWELIE

I just pulled 'Jayne, go play with your rainstick'.

My friends were intriqued. They're odd like that.

Men of Honour - No...No it's not...

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 12:17 PM

ROLAND19

For me it was the realism.

It wasn't a far-out look the future. There weren't any flashy gizmos to get em out of trouble, "Wait, lemme grab the midget from my utility belt, he'll know what to do!" It was just people, in space, no grand mission, just trying to get by.

And the characters. So real, thanks to the awesome dialogue and acting, that I call some of em friends, and others enemies.

-------------------------------------------------
The hardest thing in this world is to live in it. - Buffy

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 12:42 PM

CHANNAIN

i DO aim to misbehave

Quote:
Originally posted by okcbrowncoat:
If you were trying to convert someone and they asked you *WHY* you liked the show so much, how would you describe the Whedony goodness that is Firefly? What brought you on board? Was it the plot? the dialogue? the character development?

*************************************************
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

It was trying to figure out where I'd seen Nathan Fillion before that brought me on board. After that, it was all about the characters. I got asked about it so much that I finally had to flog about it.

http://www.fireflyfans.net/showblog.asp?b=173

I draw...therefore I am. http://www.mnartists.org/Nora_Leverson
Live in Minnesota? Join the Group! Yahoo Group, that is...
http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/group/MN-Firefly

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 1:30 PM

SIMONWHO

It was the fact that it was Joss's show that got me to pick it up but it did sit on my shelf for quite a while before I felt inclined to watch it (and I had lots of time on my hands).

For me, other than the excellent writing, characters and acting, it's the fact that it's a side of sci-fi we haven't really seen much of before, certainly not in episodic TV; ordinary people just trying to get through their lives.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 1:33 PM

AGIRLYMAN

It changed my life, opened my eyes to the fact that most everything else on tv is crap, and that's what we are left with.

Thanks Joss, thanks alot.

AM I NOT MERCIFUL?!?!?!?

Tee Hee

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 2:26 PM

GIXXER

Dunno about lifechanging, but I just found it rather satisfying to see something done right on pretty much every level.

Clever writing that didn't come over as irritating.

Robert Mitchum standards of screen acting. Have you noticed how generally calm and understated everyone is all the time? It's like The Man is there.

Characters left to breathe, grow and develop at their own pace.

Considering how few episodes we have to put in that worrying looking shrine in the Locked Back Room (don't try denying it...) we love these characters precisely because we've just tagged along for the ride and watched what they are like, rather than have some crass git of a director or scriptwriter force feeding us.

None of the characters have personal problems that they insist on sharing with us in order to justify their kooky ways. "Don't see as how it's our business, is all." They are how they are, and that's that. No Spielbergian mood manipulation that makes you feel dirty afterwards (but not in a good way, y'understand...)

A cast and production crew who were absolutely committed, gave of their best and produced a little bit of perfection.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 2:59 PM

JOCKOCKEYOCK

let me put it in lamin form
Firefly is like sun light...
It gives off life, It warms the heart, its colorful, it shines a path others are afraid to shine upon, it has darkspots that seem so small but in the whole changes the sight of those gazing upon it almost Blinding them, Its not one matter of things but of manythings, even though its died in the eyes of others it lives on radeating awakening the intelect to things that seemed just subjects or objects and deverting them into something etirely different.
Firefly feeds life in all its diversity.It has no limits yet it is constricted almost Conformist.It junktifies history and Future into a single eliment. It Emanates a crued yet truthful humor with quick wit. And its Cast is Fanominal One Is consumed by the belief that they are their Charactors no other could take any of their places and be as entrancing to watch....

Hope that was helpful

The court of this obsession, is abstracted from possession which when the worlds of outside in fall.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 3:21 PM

PIRATENEWS

John Lee, conspiracy therapist at Hollywood award-winner History Channel-mocked SNL-spoofed PirateNew.org wooHOO!!!!!!

Thanks to Joss & The Gang, I joined the Independents and hitched a ride on a Firefly. Figuratively speaking.

It's BTVS/ATVS all growed up, with that quirky Western twang. A little campy mixed with deadly serious. Funny sound bites to soften the heart attacks. NO CANNED LAUGHTER AS MIND CONTROL. What a concept. What a relief. It's nice to be able to laugh in your own mind, without feelin like a sheep herded down a chute.

In point of fact, it's anti-mind-control. What with River's escape from CIA's Project Monarch MKULTRA Manchurian slave program. Powerful yet subliminal informercial - so blatant it shoots right over the heads of most. THAT'S funny.

But seriously, I've definitely joined the Independents, or at least the Resistance. For real. Now that USA is DOA from NAFTA SHAFTA, officially merged with Mexico and Canada without borders, swallowed by the British Commonwealth and British Anglo-Sino Empire, under the German Queen of England. The Verse's subliminal message is the inevitable hostile merger of Communist China, USA and the "United" Kingdom, which Joss admits is taking place TODAY.

Did FF&S open my eyes a little more to this reality? Tempered with a healthy dose of humor - and sex. Thanks Joss.

Wash: That sounds like something out of science fiction.
Zoe: You live in a space ship, Dear.

FIREFLY SERENITY PILOT MUSIC VIDEO (VERSION 2)
Tangerine Dream - Thief Soundtrack: Confrontation
http://radio.indymedia.org/news/2006/03/8912.php

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 4:53 PM

KWICKO

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." -- William Casey, Reagan's presidential campaign manager & CIA Director (from first staff meeting in 1981)

Roland19 wrote:

Quote:
"Wait, lemme grab the midget from my utility belt, he'll know what to do!"

That is funny. Mind if I steal it for my new sig?

A baby seal walks into a club...

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 4:59 PM

ZAKNRFAMA

It's just so.. Weird, and yet completely believable. The characters are all so real, the plots are always interesting, and it just spits great quotes at you.

My favorite part (else than just the 'verse in general) is the slang, oddly. It's just.. Yay.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Wednesday, March 15, 2006 5:05 PM

SERENITYSEEKER

I must say first that this remarkable series just fell into my lap my accident. I'd never watched much Buffy or Angel and I'd actually never heard of Joss Whedon so all that entails his style of drama was quite new to me. I found out about the series when the BDM was coming into theatres and SciFi was running a Firefly marathon. I was bored and began watching the episodes luckily starting with The Train Job. I was immediately hooked and watched the whole thing. I think there were a couple of things that drew me into the 'Verse of Firefly. First, the "family" view of the characters was what appealed to me most. Sure, none of them were perfect and they didn't always get along, but at the end of the day they would fight tooth and nail to help each other out. My family's always been very disjointed and it was...calming in a way to see this band of misfits living and working together. The Western vibe of the show also appealed to me a lot. I've always told my friends that I was unlucky in that I was born in the wrong decades. I'd much rather be roughin' it out on the open plain, six shooter in hand that sittin' in a stuffy classroom listening to droning college professors. But, I guess I echo many guys in that thought. Anyways, those are just a couple of reasons I'm a Browncoat and will stay one til the day I'm gone.

Keep flyin'.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 16, 2006 4:33 AM

NUCLEARDAY

Yeah, pretty much what everyone else said ;p I like that it's about the characters, and what they're going through, regardless of the problem. As opposed to the crisis of the day, and how the crew solves it.

Off the top of my head example: Take Out of Gas. The crisis in that episode is the ship breaking down. Now, they have to come up with a way to fix it, or plan an escape, etc... but most shows would leave it at that. Everyone would be nice and heroic in the face of adversity, come up with a last-minute plan to save the day, and fly off into the sunset. With Firefly the focus isn't on them solving these problems, it's about how these problems affect them. We get the heroics, the last-minutes saves, etc. But we also get a look at Mal's relationship with Serenity and the crew, and what it all means to him; and what Mal and the ship mean to the crew. It's Star Trek Plus, sort of :)

(Oh, and Kaylee... swoon... ;)

________________________________________________
You can take my hope when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 16, 2006 4:54 AM

FOLLOWMAL

Quote:
Originally posted by Serenityseeker:
Anyways, those are just a couple of reasons I'm a Browncoat and will stay one til the day I'm gone.

I went by this thread several times reading what everyone had posted and nodding over and over at what everyone had said,thinking yea, that's what it did to me too.Hadn't thought I needed to add anything until I saw the above quote.

So.....

I love the "family" thing the show has. Reminds me of my family growing up too, big family, noisy meals, lots of smiles and laughter and also conflict.

I love my Captain. He is what drew me in...and landed me,hook, line and sinker. I told my friend recently that my Dad was my first hero and Mal was my second. It's true.

I am not the same person I was before I saw this show. I am now a part of THIS community and I treasure it. I'm committed to an effort to get this show back in some form, movie or series or whatever! And I've made friends, such close good friends, the kind you dream of making in your life.

And I'm holdin' the line with them.

The above quote applies to me as well, I'm a Browncoat, proud as can be of it, and I will be til they lay me to rest.

" You hold. Hold til I get back." Mal

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, March 16, 2006 5:09 AM

CYBERSNARK

Quote:
Originally posted by Roland19:
"Wait, lemme grab the midget from my utility belt, he'll know what to do!"

"Don't know that that would help; he'd just try to set stuff on fire again."

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, August 24, 2007 9:29 AM

OKCBROWNCOAT

"the little man loved fire."

*************************************************
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, August 24, 2007 12:33 PM

SIRTHOMAS

This is kinda an older thread, but I think that its a great topic.

I realate well to it. See I was never a real big Joss fan. I had seen buffy a few times and angel as well, but didnt follow the show that much.It was good but nothing really grabbed me about it. Then one day my best friend, who I respect alot when it comes to recomending anything cause honestly he's not very positive with about anything when it comes to movies and tv, gave me the series on dvd. I watched the first 3 right after one another and was immediately hooked.
The story is so real, even though it takes place in the future. The family feel that it has is undeniable. Mal also was someone who drew me in. Being a veteran myself, I could really relate to the way that he reacts to everyday life. Not fully able to break away from the military. Even though I was not on the loosing side of the war.. (and please if anyone feels differently about the current war just politely keep them to yourself, i dont really like mixing politics with something that I consider fun)..

My advise to anyone trying to get someone to become a fellow browncoat is to simply have them sit down with you and watch the series in continuity. The greatest thing about Firefly is that it will sell itself. There is something for everyone in the show. Drama, action, romance, comedy un name it the show has it. Whoever you get to watch this show will almost immediatle JUMP on board and when they watch the last episode and find out that the story was killed before it should have been, they will unite with the rest of us and do whatever they can to get the show back..

Being a browncoat is much more then being a fan. Where no like trekies, or any other fan orginization. The love that we have for this show is something that you dont find ever day. This undeniable fact shows that this show is something special, something that doesnt come around that often.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Friday, August 24, 2007 2:49 PM

RAYCHEETAH

The show, itself, is a gateway into different perceptions of what is good storytelling... The values on display, bought, bartered, and killed for by ordinary people, also speak with a deep resonance to a wide range of people. but, that's just the beginnin' of the whole experience.

I've heard it said that Browncoats are, as a whole, intelligent, generous people. That's the first part of the life-changing aspect of this fandom. Association with other folks who have indentified with some element or other of our plucky crew, with their circumstance, or, with some other aspect of the show.

There is, of course, another layer to this, though... The intelligent, generous bit goes beyond what we get outta Joss' stories. It's also about what we have all shared, both grizzled ol' veterans and new Browncoats still watchin' the DVDs for the first time.

Bein' a Browncoat has become more about our ability as a community to accomplish what we oughtn't reasonably be able to... Just like Cap'n Mal and company.

F*X killed our show abornin,' but, we, as a young, growin' community, got a BDM after the show was cancelled. That was unprecedented! We got kinda full o' our own empowerment, even a sense of destiny. Not a Browncoat breathin' doesn't live for what we all know, deep in our hearts, is yet to come: More from Joss' 'Verse. We have, for good or ill, that sense of Destiny, which lends us the strength and will to do mighty things...

Like supporting charity. Not enough to gather in our numbers and fondly reminisce about our 14 shiny episodes and 1 shiny BDM; Browncoats are now startin' to turn our numbers and our sense of community toward helpin' other folks. Joss' charity, Equality Now! is more than just an excuse to run the BDM on the big screen, once in a while. It helps real women in need, in real life.

Kids Need To Read is another good cause which we Browncoats have adopted. There are more, some bigger'n others, but, now that we have this strength, these numbers, we do more with it than just win TV Polls (Rich Labonte's TV Vote ( http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html); that #1 spot is still shiny, and, a banner which we wave proudly).

We also actively seek, in larger and larger numbers, the opportunity to do the right thing, even if it isn't the "smart" (i.e., self-serving) thing. That it gets us noticed as a group isn't entirely selfless, of course, but, again, the recognition is also a warm reward. Then, there is also the joy in "recruiting" more Browncoats. Firefly is a special show, with broad appeal, and, we love to share it with others.

So, yeah, Firefly was and is a great show. That, alone, is a big draw to folks of taste and insight.

Browncoat fandom, though, is the iceberg which has grown up from beneath that li'l ice-cube. We recognize each other as family, eagerly invite others to the table with us, and, in keeping alive the hope for more, lend our strength to "good works" of many kinds.

That's what is life-changing about Firefly. Each other, and, what we are, as a community.

-Raycheetah =^[.]^=
The enjoyment of any good thing is only enhanced by sharing it with others.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Sunday, August 26, 2007 5:57 PM

DUKUSUKKER

i am new here and i cant say how exciting it is to join a group of people as enthused about firefly as i am.

i was one who saw the movie first. it was the day after xmas a couple of years ago and i was given the dvd. i am a big Joss fan and should have known what to expect. in 5 minutes...my jaw was on the floor. at the end, i was in this daze. i went right back to the beginning and watched it again. i am one who rereads my favorite books and rewatches my favorite movies over and over and over. when trying to explain why to my friends, i came up with: it's like listening to your favorite cds over and over and singing along at the top of your lungs. it's how they make me feel. i love how my books and movies make me feel and i select them according to my moods etc.

on that same afternoon after having seen the movie a 3rd time (with commentary and all the special features) i got a call that my grandmother had passed away. it was devastating and i met my family at the hospital where we stayed for hours, doing what families do at times like these. when i got home at about 2am, i was wide awake and horribly shaken. so terribly sad, i could barely breath. i was desperate to escape it all and all i could think of to do was put on Serenity.

already in love with the exquisite writing, the characters, the action, the world, the ship and all it could possibly give me...this time was different. it got me through that morning somehow and i felt i was going to be okay. it took almost a year to figure out how it did. after many many more rewatches and having purchased the series and truly getting to know everything i possibly could about the 'verse, i realized that it was all about hope. experiencing firefly gives me hope. i cant really explain why...but i think many of you can probably relate to what i'm saying. and i recognize now that that was the feeling i had that morning after my grandmother died. that's why i got through.

i know this all sounds kinda corny in a way. but i will always be grateful for having serenity there that morning. and any morning thereafter when i need to escape. or when i'm just in a mood to watch it :0) that's pretty often.

anyway...for me, it was lifechanging for these reasons. thank you, joss and everyone involved with firefly. i'm so happy to have it in my 'verse!

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, August 27, 2007 9:05 AM

OUT2THEBLACK

WoW , R-C , that was all articulate...Kinda

nekkid , too .

Had a kind of poetry to it...A lot of the

poetry , it did .

Thanks for that...It's the kind of stuff that

keeps making us proud to be Browncoats...

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, August 27, 2007 9:08 AM

BIONICBATMAN

Honestly, i had no idea what Firefly was until my brother and dad went to go see Serenity. They never watched the show but they thought the movie was awesome.
Then the movie came out on DVD and that sparked my interest in Firefly.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, September 3, 2007 8:46 AM

RAYCHEETAH

Quote:
Originally posted by out2theblack:
WoW , R-C , that was all articulate...Kinda

nekkid , too .

Had a kind of poetry to it...A lot of the

poetry , it did .

Thanks for that...It's the kind of stuff that

keeps making us proud to be Browncoats...

Heh *grins*. Yeah, I wax poetical, sometimes...

But, nekkid?

*Peers at monitor screen*... How did you know? Now I gotta put on a robe or somethin' =^[.]~=.

-Raycheetah =^[.]^=
The enjoyment of any good thing is only enhanced by sharing it with others.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, September 3, 2007 9:28 AM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

As an old time sci-fi guy, it was the total concept.
The combination of space and Western had been written before, but not on TV as more than an isolated episode. The English/Chinese thing is a definitely new idea. The sci-fi outlaw combo was a new variation on TV. And all of the past mysteries, and the possibilities of future growth and development. All rolled together, a fascinating mixture.
And then, of course, it got killed off just as it was hitting its stride.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Monday, September 3, 2007 11:09 AM

NBZ

One of the things I liked about Firefly was the arrogance of the whole thing.

Everyone was at the top of their game - and they knew it. Sadly any re-incarnation may lose this, as cancellation is a bitter pill to swallow.

They took the rulebook that is oft used, and tore it up. Or made fun of it.

The went into space, but had to FTL travel, nor aliens (which I did not realise 'til the start of "The message" to be honest).

I think if they played a little more in the mainstream, the show would have lasted longer. But then it would not have been the same show.

Mal shooting Dobson at the end of Serenity was just icing on the cake.

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 6, 2007 5:31 AM

EMMAZULE

Quote:
Originally posted by okcbrowncoat:
If you were trying to convert someone and they asked you *WHY* you liked the show so much, how would you describe the Whedony goodness that is Firefly? What brought you on board? Was it the plot? the dialogue? the character development?

*************************************************
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."

Speaking as someone who DECIDED not to watch it when it first premiered because the ads convinced MANY an anime fan that it was ripping off Outlaw Star (turned out it only briefly homages the "let's see what's in this stupid bo- OH MY GOD beautiful curled-up naked girl!" scene from there, but then subverts the hell out of it by having River wake up screaming right afterward. THANKS FOX

), I think I too can provide some perspective on what made me check out the show and subsequently fall in love.

Here's the stages I went through:

2002: I liked Outlaw Star; only thing I heard/saw about Firefly was "ZOMG OS RIPOFF!". Was not heavy into Buffy at the time, and had not really realized it was made by the same guy, with no inkling of how much I would grow to be a fan of his. Actively boycotted the show.

2002-2004ish: *completely never thought about it, barely noticed when an SF newsletter I had subscribed to mentioned the BDM and original comic miniseries*

2005ish: joined Godawful Fan Fiction forums. Kept seeing people talk about "Companions" in Firefly, which I confused with the girl in a box and assumed were basically intelligent love bots(!), but even that didn't throw me off. The show began to intrigue me a little.

2005, later: kept hearing people mention it on GAFF forums in positive light. Somebody (I wish I could remember who!) I think finally actually explained it a little better, in that I got that it was made by Joss (whom I was a fan of by that time thanks to Buffy, Angel, and having started to get geeky enough to have begun noticing who produces or acts in my favorite shows and track them a little), that it had his trademark wit, but was a little more grownup, and had great characters, and an unusual take on the SF/Western combo that was NOTHING like Outlaw Star's (for one, OS had several species of aliens, a super-cool albeit stolen ship, and a single overriding plotline that involved a hidden alien tech)... at least, I think that's what they mentioned. I can't really remember. But, basically, I saw people I didn't actively distrust the opinions of really liked it, and that it had a mostly-friendly fanbase that was mostly pretty smart and wrote, to my huge surprise, not nearly as high a percentage of truly 100% crappy fanfic as a lot of other fandoms I was huge into at the time like Sailor Moon (don't laugh, I love it for nostalgic reasons and it's better than you think anyway!) or Harry Potter. The combination of a comparatively mature, intelligent, friendly, welcoming, mostly-not-condescending-to-newbies fandom with a Joss Whedon-made show is a HUGE plus to me, especially at the time, as anime fandom can be downright annoying, and it was refreshing to see a more-mature-than-average fandom surrounding even something so inherently geek-prone as a canceled Joss Whedon SF Western show. ;)

2005, pre-BDM: I found out SciFi Channel was reairing the entire series as a promo for the movie. Decided to check it out. Missed the original pilot episodes, amused by Train Job, then fell in love with the humor and plot twists and characters in Our Mrs. Reynolds. Was subsequently in love.

After OMR, I almost immediately ordered the DVD boxset IN DUPLICATE, bought first printings of the original comic miniseries, and made plans to get my entire family into it and to go see Serenity.

So, it was a long process. But the final piece falling into place? When I saw the entirety of Our Mrs. Reynolds. In fact, if I ever try to convert someone who is skeptical of the series and isn't willing to sit through multiple episodes? Our Mrs. Reynolds is what I'm showing first!

The wit, the plot twists, the characters, the acting, the lovely cinematography and subtle music scores, PLUS the silence of space (THANK YOU REALISM!) and truly welcoming fanbase THAT is my conversion material! ;)

NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

Thursday, September 6, 2007 6:28 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

It turned out being so much more than I ever expected. From the trailers, I was expecting more of a Galaxy Quest type show, but for t.v. Not so much a spoof on some dated sci fi show, but smart writing, flashy scenes and quick wit. I wasn't all that up on all things Whedon, having greatly ( to date ) missed the bulk of Buffy and Angel.

What drew me in was the attention to detail. Detail in the characters, as well w/ the sci-fi aspect. The more I watched, the deeper I found myself in the story. I'm still stumped as to what to 'tell' folks about this show to get them to watch...I just express my enthusiasm for it, and they end up watching it on their own.

I'm still getting folks telling me how much they love the dvds, and can't believe it was cancelled so suddenly.

People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss

" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "

NOTIFY: N | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | TOP | HOME

YOUR OPTIONS

SHARE THREAD

NEW POSTS TODAY

USER

POST DATE