Firefly Age Bracket by cljohnston108

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Firefly Age Bracket

POSTED BY: CLJOHNSTON108
UPDATED: Saturday, April 14, 2007 04:30
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VIEWED: 2299
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Friday, April 13, 2007 4:54 PM

I've been trying valiantly to convert my 76-year-old stepmom to Firefly, and I'm only making the tiniest progress in breaking through her "neural block".

My Dad, a Set Designer for TV, passed away in '95, and it would've been the easiest sell ever: He would've flipped for Firefly (and Farscape and Space: Above and Beyond), and we'd have watched every episode together.

My stemom's not a Sci-Fi fan in the slightest, but I think she'd respond to the human drama of it all, so it would be a personal triumph to recruit her to our noble ranks.

I think she's of the impression that Firefly only has appeal for the 18-34 crowd, and that it's only "silly" Trekkies who would watch it.

I'm pretty sure we have some over-60 Browncoats here who wouldn't have classified themselves as "Sci-Fi Fans" before discovering Firefly, and who sort of stumbled upon the 'Verse (instead of caving in to somebody else's hype).

Anybody have anything brief to say, that I could pass along to her, that might neutralize that block?

________________________

"Spry for a dead fella!"

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Friday, April 13, 2007 5:06 PM

FOLLOWMAL

My Mom is 73 and NOT a scifi fan and she's a huge Firefly/Serenity fan! She even went to B3 with me last year and she's a great fan of the Bedlam Bards.

I'll ask her what she'd suggest you tell your step-mom, but I'd wager it would go along the lines of...

Give it a chance. If you loved the old style Westerns where there was a good guy who had to occasionally do something wrong, but he always took care of his own and was honorable then you'll love Firefly.

If you love stories that feel true and deep and that touch you to your soul, you'll love Firefly.

Oh, and my Mom says Mal is the only guy ever to look sexy in suspenders.

For more info about Nathan's new show, check out www.drivefans.com

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Friday, April 13, 2007 5:10 PM

TRAVELER

Hello cljohnston108:

I know my mother would not get it. She just does not understand the concept of fantasy or imagination. Give her a romance movie any day.

I made the mistake of taking her to see "Prelude to a Kiss" and she was totally lost.

I think you will find there is very little hope here.

I can only give you my sympathy and the knowledge that others share this dilemma.

Traveler

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Friday, April 13, 2007 6:01 PM

FLORALBUNNY

Hi, Trav.
Sorry your Mom didn't like PtaK, but at least
you tried, and of course Alan got some support
as well. It's a crapshoot, but always worth
a try. I never know what other people my own
age would like, much less those in other generations.

clj, it's *really* too bad your Dad missed Firefly.
One of the things I love extra-much about it is
the look. Fine work there. Badger's den. The
bar on Santho. Serenity interiors, the galley in
particular. Many more. I can live in them. Yum.

bun
~Bastards singed my turtle~
~We aim to exponentiate~
~Who is Bill Pardy?~

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Friday, April 13, 2007 6:32 PM

TRAVELER

I don't know if it is an age thing. It may be the older generation prefers reality over fantasy.

But when we had a thread asking our ages there were Firefly fans in their sixties and seventies. So I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Just the way some people are. A person could be any age with that attitude.

You just have to be careful not to push to hard.
Slow and steady wins the race.

Yea this show was a set designers dream. It was like they had a free ticket to do what ever popped into their heads.

The Kaylee influence all over the ship was great. I would have loved to see Mal's face the first time Kaylee started to paint flowers on the walls.

Traveler

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Friday, April 13, 2007 6:42 PM

FUTUREMRSFILLION

My dad is 76 and my mom is 67 and they both enjoyed it. My mom really enjoyed the outtakes on the Serenity DVD.

---- plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose

Bestower of Titles, Designer of Tshirts, Maker of Mottos, Keeper of the Pyre, Owner of a too big Turnippy smelling coat with MR scratched in the neck (thanks FollowMal!)

I am on The List. We are The Forsaken and we aim to burn!
"We don't fear the reaper"

FORSAKEN original

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Friday, April 13, 2007 7:28 PM

SHAMELESS

First off...

FloralBunny! I know that your siggy involves a math joke of some kind, and I am familiar with exponential functions (of both any number to the x power AND of Euler's number to the x power), but I always want to know EXACTLY what jokes and innuendo mean. Sort of like when I know that a sexual reference or term is a sexual reference or term, but I have a need to know EXACTLY what the definition or thing the person or term is referring TO.

Not to make the question awkward or anything.

ANYWHO.

Well, my dad's 58 and loves Firefly, but no contest there - he is a member of the first generation of computer geeks and has always loved sci fi. But then there's my mom... 57, doesn't watch too much tv, not really one to dedicate herself to a show or a movie or be willing to watch an entire tv series on dvd in too short an amount of time (and don't even ask about watching them again right after she's run through them the first time!), and NOT a sci fi fan. She's not against it, but I would never, ever call her that.

She freakin' LOVES Firefly. My parents watched the whole thing within two weeks (now, that's good for them!), without any encouragement from me, and even said, "Let's watch them again!" Of course, this was a couple months ago and we're still only on Jaynestown, but this does not happen with my parents. She's said that it seems like more of a Western than anything else, and has described it as wonderful, delightful, etc - her favorite character is Kaylee. She completely gets the humor, she picks up on the little details, and so on, and so forth. She even will start listening to the Firefly Talk podcast when I have it on, and I swear to God, this woman is the opposite of a fangirl! Yes, she tends to want to know every single detail about something she enjoys (knitting, gardening, dogs, etc.), but that has never, ever applied to a tv show or a movie.

Of course, we tried to introduce a couple of friends in their 60s and - well, it was rather embarrassing to see how little they understood. According to Kathy, the pilot was confusing and she couldn't understand what was going on.

Well, she's not exactly the type of person to enjoy many movies or shows at all in the first place, regardless of the genre, so whatever. But yeah - unless your mother is too biased to see through the parts with the space ships and the laser guns (of which there are like what, 2? And they're useless half the time (ie Ariel)) to the heart of the show, I say that she'll enjoy it.

Oh yeah, and they also liked the extra features and outtakes on both the show and the movie.

EDIT: Oh yeah! I never really realized that, but Mal really IS the first man I've seen look sexy in suspenders! Except for countless instances, the first one coming to mind is a potential friend who was in Guys and Dolls, but hey, the INITIAL thought counts.

------------------------------------------
RPG launcher bought in third world country illegally - $10
Landmines - $50 per
Attack/track dogs bred 1st class - $250-500 per
Highpowered assault rifles - $600 per
The look on your face when I show up on your doorstep with a bigfoot - ... Priceless

"You gotta love that the first pirated HD DVD is the one about space pirates who broadcast a video that the government wants to keep secret.

Can't stop the signal."
-reavers_ate_my_dvd

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Friday, April 13, 2007 8:23 PM

FLORALBUNNY

Okay, shameless. You asked for it.
The sig:
"Bastards singed my turtle" is a Jayne line from
the unfilmed Episode 15.
"We aim to exponentiate" refers to Browncoats' aim
to expand membership very, very rapidly. Think
"powers of ten."
"Who is Bill Pardy?" is a continuation of my (and
other SLiTHER fans) pathetic attempts to get people
to watch another Nathan Fillion film.
That about covers it except when I fiddle with
the individual lines.

Computer geek generations? Goodness me. Some of
the oldest computer geeks I've known are from the
WW2 generation, now dying off in their 80s and 90s.

Trav, I think Kaylee asked if she could decorate
the door to her bunk and then, when Mal admired
it, offered to do the stenciling in the galley
"Oh please, please, Captain, I promise you'll love
it -- let me do a sample on this overhead pipe
and if you don't like it I'll paint it over..."
and the deed was done over a period of time,
but the engine always got priority!

bun
~Bastards stenciled my turtle~
~We aim to exponentiate~
~Who is Bill Pardy?~

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Friday, April 13, 2007 8:28 PM

SHAMELESS

Huzzah for math AND Firefly!

Man, that just sent a fresh pang through me - seeing Jayne taking care of his stuffed turtle would have been absolutely ADORABLE (in a Jayne sorta way).

------------------------------------------
RPG launcher bought in third world country illegally - $10
Landmines - $50 per
Attack/track dogs bred 1st class - $250-500 per
Highpowered assault rifles - $600 per
The look on your face when I show up on your doorstep with a bigfoot - ... Priceless

"You gotta love that the first pirated HD DVD is the one about space pirates who broadcast a video that the government wants to keep secret.

Can't stop the signal."
-reavers_ate_my_dvd

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Friday, April 13, 2007 8:30 PM

ROY

Our neighbours are in their 60s, they dropped round for a drink one day while Firefly was on. We left it running (Out of Gas) and retired to the dinning room. Long & short is they noticed what was on, I briefly explained it, suggested they have a look. Watched Serenity (the pilot) & for the next few months Friday night became FF night with them, usually watched 2 eps. Then we watched the BDM, and apart from Wash's demise, they loved it, even got themselves a copy of the BDM from ebay.

*************************
Aiming for 3000 votes on Gina's Birthday
http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html

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Friday, April 13, 2007 8:35 PM

NEWOLDBROWNCOAT

FollowMal has the right idea. Emphasize the Western aspect. If your Mom watched them in the early days of TV, and liked 'em, there's stuff in here for her.

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Friday, April 13, 2007 9:17 PM

DARKFLY

Weel I was 16 when I watched Firefly for the 1st time I persuaded my whole family to watch it, My Mum was 42, my younger brother 13, and my sister 20,and still have to get my Dad to watch it, a few of my friends have seen it so that like 2 people who are 17 and 18

---------------------------------------------------------------------
check out my MYSPACE at... http://www.myspace.com/darkfly7

http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 3:02 AM

CLJOHNSTON108

WOW! Thanks for all the great response, everybody!

Lots here I can use!

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 3:54 AM

DISSONANCE

People who like westerns aren't going to necessarily like Firefly. My dad, at 43, is a a Western nut. Watched everything from Young Guns to Quigley Down Under. After the first three episodes I forced him to watch, whenever I pop Firefly in he flees from the living room. Too sci-fi for him. You've got a 50/50 shot.

Firefly doesn't just appeal to one age set -- that's part of what's so great about it. A 13 year old and somebody who's 68 who have nothing in common can be connected, just by that. You could run around and get the ages of a couple of Browncoats - show 'em to your step-mom. Show her there's no average.

Has she heard the theme song yet? If she hasn't, I'd get her to listen to it. That's how I ended up making Browncoats of my mother, grandmother, and two friends. They wanted to find out more about the show that went along with a song like that.

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Saturday, April 14, 2007 4:30 AM

FLYVOTE

On the other end of the spectrum - I've let my ten-year-old watch Jaynestown. He is just itching to watch more. He is a one-episode Browncoat.

More episodes will come in time...

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