not my words but damn good words by Albio

FIREFLY: IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE

not my words but damn good words

POSTED BY: ALBIO
UPDATED: Wednesday, August 9, 2006 20:26
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VIEWED: 3570
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Thursday, May 4, 2006 7:27 PM

these are not my words they are the words of a true browncoat

There's the narrative, the meta, the call backs to the series, but underneath it all, Serenity is the story of one man in all the world who took on a network and a world of wary viewers.

She appears out of the black, majestic and glorious, engines ablaze, igniting the darkness that surrounds as she breaks atmo. She may not be the prettiest ship in the 'verse, but she's held together by a crew who sincerely believes in what they do, and if they make it one more day with what they've got, well, that's good enough for them. They're aware of the constant dangers of the job, the life they lead, but only to an extent: There is something big coming their way.

Malcolm Reynolds fights dirty. Because it's the only way he knows how. He'll shoot first and sucker punch a guy in the same fight. His methods may appear archaic, but they get the job done. Jayne likes big flashy weapons and things that explode a lot, while Kaylee stabilizes everything with her keen knowledge and love of the ship.

Joss Whedon approaches storytelling the same way his crew takes on the //gou shi// life hurls in their direction. There's the appearance of the same old story we've heard time and time again, but it's littered with gut punches and rug pullin'. And once you've found your feet, he'll knock you over again with something bigger, something explosive. His timing, however, is better than Jayne's impulse and that's where the love comes in. He knows his craft, his ship, he understands her because he knows how to listen.

Sometimes, in storytellin', much like in space travel, we come across an unkempt child who speaks in tongues and seems like nothin' more than trouble. River represents the Firefly series in whole. At first presentation, she seems jumbled, an error on behalf of the big dogs, the network, the Alliance. They figure they know what's best for the rest of us. And when we don't take to what they've given, well, then, they'll just drop the axe.

They weren't expecting a rebellion, a force, a league of viewers who would side with the underdog rather than be spoonfed the shiny presentations hiding under the guise of reality (television). We wanted our big damn 'verse and we wanted it now. We took a closer look at River Tam and, under all the matted hair and dirty feet, there was a gorram genius.

And Joss took her. He took her out of the grubby paws of the Alliance, patched her up a bit and pushed her out to the ragged edge, leaving a trail for others to follow. Through websites and viral marketing, we kept track of River and Serenity's crew until we met up again, this time bigger, badder, and bolder than before.

The reavers came, there were casualties. But not before the Alliance, the network, shot itself in the foot.

That's not to say the war is over. Far from it. But things are clearer now. Rivers not crazy, anymore, and people are beginning to find that out, one theatre at a time.

Serenity still flies just beyond the grip of the Alliance, she always will. They practically own the 'verse, after all. But they've seen what she can do. And gorram it, it's glorious

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Thursday, May 4, 2006 8:26 PM