Were you all Sci-Fi fans before Firefly? by FlyinFree

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Were you all Sci-Fi fans before Firefly?

POSTED BY: FLYINFREE
UPDATED: Monday, August 2, 2004 03:59
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VIEWED: 15177
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Friday, July 30, 2004 7:57 PM

Of course! I was raised on Sci-Fi. I think it is the best possible genre when it comes to books, it can cover so many different themes without ever being too preachy. On the other hand, when it comes to movies/shows I think Sci-Fi tends to not be the best. Too often people think it is all about the high tech or just set in the future, the themes discussed in real sci-fi tends to be lacking, especially whenever adapted from books. It is heartbreaking. However Joss does not do that, he cares about what is being said.

Suicide is the most sincere form of self-criticism - Heinlein

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 4:13 AM

SHINYHAPPYKLIN

Absolutely...one of my earliest memories was laying on the couch, out of my head with fever, watching that Lost in Space episode where the robot gets really big, and they have to go inside him to fix it (or was it them that shrunk? I was a bit delusional at the time...). Another was when I was home sick from school(again) with mumps, watching War of the Worlds....seeing a pattern here?

I was an only child with an overly inquisitive brain, working parents who didn't understand or have time for most of the things I was interested in, highly religious grandparents who I had to spend way too much time with, and sci-fi was my escape and companion.

I devoured all the Heinlein books, L'Engle series, and all the juvenile sci-fi I could get at the local library. Luckily my paternal grandmother was a bit of a sci-fi fan herself, and she started to feed my habit, and directed me very early on (so early that she had to sign permission slips at the library so I could borrow the books!) to adult sci-fi and general adult fiction (MASH, other popular adult works of the time).

In high school I got turned on to Stephen King by my bio teacher, and we shared books all through HS. The Stand was a major high point of my life then! I also took a big turn into "hard science" sci fi at that point, and a lot of general science reading (science journals, JAMA, etc.)

Star Trek - yep, but first as the animated series, then I came back to syndication after school every day. Watched Land of the Lost with mom most Sat. mornings when it was on. Star Wars...WOOOOO!!! Very big event when it came out, my official realization that yes, I might be a geek....and was damn proud of it!

Unfortunately, got into college, got married (to a fellow Heinlein fan, thank God...), and other than some ocassional reading, started to pull away from scifi for awhile (had to start to act mature and respectable, ya know...

)

Then TNG came out....very, very cheesy in first season, but it was mainstream scifi on TV again! Worth a look, got hooked. Still couldn't really feed the habit, but was getting into a time of my life where I was ready to break loose and tell everyone to take a flying leap...including the hubby.... Started reading all the TNG novels with my husband's best friend's wife, and then he got the friends in the divorce, and I was on my own with the cats, the books, and the first season of B5...

But along the way, I met the Klingons....

...I actually went to my very first (and very small) con at the age of 32. Met a group of Klingons. Decided ,"cool, Trekkers with attitudes!" Joined the local group. Went to bigger con in full ridge later that year. Met big impressive, bombastic Klingon who later became my husband. WEEEEEE.....sci fi suddenly BECAME my life for several years! Cons almost every month or so, collecting more and more stuff (primarily Klingon), traveling around with a new group of friends (who 10 years later, I'm proud to call "family" - Hi Astri!!!

).

We've mellowed a bit since then, gotten other new sci-fi interests (like Firefly!), but haven't forgotten our roots, so to speak. Don't get as much time to do the fun stuff like cons any more (too expensive for the most part), and haven't done any serious costuming for awhile (which is sad, cause hubby and I both have won several awards for it). HOWEVER....then Astriana and her husband insisted that we watch Firefly....

And here I am! Haven't been this interested in a particular fandom since the Klingons, and I'm connecting with it in many ways -- love the writing, love the concept, and the thing that most amazes and amuses my husband, I'm into Firefly because it combines westerns (which I grew up with watching with my dad) with good semi-hard science sci-fi! I wore cowboy boots for a good part of my life, grew up in a rural community, and I totally understand and can relate to that whole "get'er done" attitude!

Love almost all sci-fi, yes, but choosy about where I plant my flag...and I am firmly planted in Serenity!

"We gotta go to that crappy town where I'M a hero..."

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 5:22 AM

KNIBBLET

Way back in 1966, I was in kindergarten. I was allowed four hours of television a week and one quarter of my allowance was always "Star Trek". I watched it until second grade and then it was gone.

Twilight Zone, The Night Gallery, the short-lived BBC series, "UFO" and occassional SF movies kept me happy until I was in Jr High and discovered that Star Trek was being aired by a UHF station in Cleveland. Every day before my mother took over the living room and filled it with happy crappy stuff, I watched Trek.

I saw Star Wars on opening night. There were 8 people in the theatre including my date and me. I went out and told EVERYONE I knew to go see this movie. Those that hate Star Wars can blame me and send hatemail through Haken's service.

I lost interest in Star Wars somewhere around the time they introduced the 'cute kid that will go Damien on you'. Bleh.

Battlestar Gallactica was enjoyable (I was an teenage girl and they had Dirk Benedict ... duh!) but BG1980 sucked the water out of a toilet -- except for the Starbuck episode.

I've enjoyed X-Files, EarthII, Space Above and Beyond, The Visitor, SG1, Farscape ... I just realized that I could go on and on and on and on, so I'll sum up by saying, "If you're science fiction, I'll give you a fighting chance before I'll dismiss you forever."

I read science fiction and have always done so. Azimov and Heilein, Haldeman. You name it, I read it. I've read scifi that no one else has heard of. Right now, authors are saying ... "ohhh, she's the one who bought that."

I write science fiction. It's in my DNA. Speaking of DNA, remember this excellent advice:
"Never experiment with recombinant DNA unless your REALLY sure you know what you're doing."

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 5:59 AM

DORTMUNDER

I've also been a big sci-fi fan. When I was a kid it was things like Power Rangers, but as I've grown up I've progressed to watch the various Star Treks, X Files, Stargate SG-1, Farscape, Andromeda, Earth Final Conflict and especially Buffy and Angel.

But I'm being completely honest when I say that I believe all that pales into insignificance when I watch Firefly. Firefly is the TV series I have waited forever to see. The excitement of being in space with all the cool things that come with it mixed with the unique characters and scripts of Joss Whedon is a perfect blend for a TV show. So yes I was a fan of Sci-Fi before Firefly, but not any longer. No longer can I watch anything else without thinking: "Firefly is way better than this, and why the hell did it get cancelled?"

I still can't believe it did get cancelled. It had so much potential and for a first season it was doing an absolutely amazing run!

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 8:30 AM

SHINYSEVEN

Nope, never was, still not--in fact I didn't watch Firefly when it was broadcast because I wasn't attracted by the idea of a Space Western*
But I loved Buffy and liked Angel, and I (correctly) suspected Firefly would share some qualities with my real fandom love, Blakes7 (including actual Science being very much beside the point).

*It is TOO a Space Western, no matter what anybody says.

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Sunday, August 1, 2004 6:05 AM

DEANNAMAY

I've been a fan of sci-fi since I can remember. When I became a young teen I would read romance books because that is what other young teens did, and I found them boring. I liked the substance and real characters in sci-fi, people weren't perfect, and that is what made them real to me. Just about every sci-fi show that comes out, I try, just in case I find something magical, like X-files, Millenium, Farscape and of course, Firefly. Usually sci-fi is poorly done and even more poorly cast, thinking they can cover up bad writing with handsome puppets and special effects. Firefly had it all, great casting, great writing, great effects and most importantly to me, imperfect people who had potential to grow and change. That is one thing that tires me with some prime-time shows, the people remain the same, do not learn from their experiences.

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Sunday, August 1, 2004 7:43 AM

WILDHEAVENFARM

Bred to the bone. My old da' used to buy used sci-fi paperbacks by the pound or a grocery bag at a time. He even had the entire original Star Trek series on tape, commercial free. Then he taped over it with "Shogun" and he didn't even go back and watch it! A more awful sacrilege there never was.

Mary
Always a beast, never a burden.

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Sunday, August 1, 2004 9:09 AM

GEORDIESTEVE2003

Been a big sci-fi fan for a while, and also into what they often call Cult shows. Firefly was always going to be refreshing sci-fi because it came from Joss who never likes to look at something head on, its always got his own spin. Plus if you look at some of other sci fi thats been around for a few its mostly recycled crud, or its money for the cash cow, mentioning no names such as a once good but now poor long standing franchise! Or, its a remake, which is not fresh no matter how many characters you play around with and change the sex of.

I think Firefly was one of a kind and so glad they are making a movie.

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Sunday, August 1, 2004 2:25 PM

RUE

I have a vote and I'm not afraid to use it!

I started with 'classic' sf books at a tender age. Some of my favorites from back then: "time considered as a helix of semi-precious stones", "the widget, the wadget, and boff", (I saw mentioned above another of my favorites) "rocket man", "the shape of things that came" etc. One of my alltime favorite books is "The Investigation" by Stanislaw Lem. And one of my alltime favorite movies is "Blade Runner", if that gives a notion of how my tastes run.

I'm not a fan of 'sword and sorcery' or 'conspiracy' themes in general.

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Sunday, August 1, 2004 6:44 PM

HLGEM

Introduced to science fiction at 10 (in 1965) when my dad handed me Heinlein's Starship Troopers. Been hooked ever since. Saw Star Trek on NBC, fell in love with Star Wars in the theater, etc. But never until Firefly have I been a been fan girl attending events and such and just hanging around the other fans. Something about this show just takes ahold of you and won't let go.

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Monday, August 2, 2004 2:50 AM

LTNOWIS

I've always liked Sci-fi, but I haven't really paid it any special attention. I watched Star Wars, and read Heinlein, but I also watched a ton of other action and drama movies and read many other genres, including fantasy. TV-wise, I watched Sliders, X-files, and Futurama, but mostly other random stuff. Dark Angel was the first show I was a fan of, but Firefly totally outstrips it. When DA was cancelled it was like "Too bad, that was an awesome show." With Firefly it was like losing a good friend. So I guess I wasn't before, but I still don't think I'm a huge fan of sci-fi.

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Monday, August 2, 2004 2:50 AM

LTNOWIS

double post

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Monday, August 2, 2004 3:31 AM

FRED1988

Oooooh yeah.

But Firefly is the first to make me wish I could have been an actor so I could have been on the show or in the movie:)

The first specific SF/Fantasy book I remember reading is The Hobbitin elementary school; Heilein's The Door Into Summer not long after. After that, I think I ready pretty much any and everything in the SF/F section of the Denver Public Library. Now, I'm looking for a good story and interesting characters, regardless of the genre; SF just seems to have a lot of what I'm looking for.

TV-wise, I got hooked on "Dr. Who" at a
young age. My key was to get my mom hooked too, so there was no question of what got videotaped. We watch ST on re-runs, but our next big love was Blake's 7. Now I enjoy "Farscape" and "B5" and "BtVS" and "AtS".

Loved the first SW movie; loved, loved, love "Buckaroo Banzai" (cannot believe it came out 20 years ago...aaaaaiiiieeeee!), Bladerunner and a bunch of others.

I've been going to conventions for years, but more the fan-run ones than the pro. But man, I wish I'd made it to ComicCon. Will be at WorldCon this year; hope to run into some of you there.

All my life I wanted to be somebody. I guess I should have been more specific.

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Monday, August 2, 2004 3:59 AM

CROWLEY

Well, I guess you could say that I've been a sci-fi fan for a long time. Though I've never been a very devoted fan of anything in my life. I have never really been to any Cons, collected anything or anything like that. I guess I'm interested in way too wide range of things to concentrate on anything like that.

But yeah, I like science fiction. Perhaps for my tendencies it should be considered as a part of a wider range of interests that are a bit "out there". Like mythology, magic, horror, fantasy, alternate histories, comics (They're making a Sin City movie! Yay!), quantum physics...

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