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Originally posted by zzetta13:
Firefly= The Spaghetti Western of Space

Howdy FF/Serenity fans. Something I find fun and challenging at times is trying to explain or define the Joss’ FF universe ( this may become a little long but I hope not so bare with me). I was raised a child of the sixties, so my world, and that of every child at the time was Gunsmoke, Lost in Space and tv shows like that.

Evil was pretty much straightforward and easy to spot. Roy Rodgers cowboy westerns on Saturday morning showed us that the good guys were squeaky clean and the bad men were devilishly nasty. Out of groups of hundreds of ppl you could tell the good from the bad. It wasn’t until the early seventies ( and my teens) that the intelligent “bad guys” started to be seen in tv and movies westerns and the like. The “anti-hero” was taking form.

This was really coming into view with Clint Eastwood ( spaghetti westerns) and Steve McQueen. There are others I’m sure but these are just a couple of the top two. Anyway These guys weren’t bad, but they weren’t good either which made them more realistic and easier to digest by the evolving masses. Hey…. Bad guys that think beyond the evil and nasty…. And good guys that had thoughts that weren’t golden ideas circled in halos…..this was cool.

I’ve never been a very big SW fan ( please don’t hang me for it) and the si/fi at that time wanted to keep playing the , good guy- evil-bad guy theme of the sixties. Where the hell was our Clint Eastwoods and Steve McQueens in science fiction? Hans Solo was kinda one but IMHO still wasn’t nasty enough. I think, to me Hans would have never shown up to get his little honorary medallion at the end of the first movie. He just wouldn’t have cared about the thing ( anti-hero). He would have still came to Luke’s rescue but after that just flown off into space or something.

Anyway, we haven’t gotten to see some really good-bad guys or bad-good guys in si/fi until Firefly came along at the turn of the century and wouldn’t you know it I missed it when it originally aired. It wasn’t until 06 after seeing our BDM on rented dvd that I took notice of some really good anti-heroes in space. With the exception of a few ( like Space Pirates and Road Warrior) the only really good si/fi hero I loved to hate was the one play by Heston in Planet of the Apes ( Rod Sterling was a genius writer). When I found Joss/Tim and the crew of FF misfits………..JOY!

The FF characters are so real ( and the actors love to play them) and they live on and on. The crew of Serenity a can be so opposite one another as can be, yet they fit as well as one’s folded hands. That character play is a jewel to watch and the banter so top notch that I feel as if I’m sitting in a chair on Serenity watching the arguments as they are taking place.

Anyway just wanted to spout some of my FF thoughts. I’m always happy to hear what others are thinking or how they feel on the subject. Drop in and leave a post if you like.

Z

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