Why I love Firefly by DOUGVAN4935

GENERAL DISCUSSIONS

Why I love Firefly

POSTED BY: DOUGVAN4935
UPDATED: Sunday, October 4, 2015 09:10
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Sunday, September 27, 2015 12:28 PM

Hi,

I will be 60 this November. I recall waiting for the next western to come out (especially John Wayne). I was a bird watcher - I saw Gamini 6, Apollo 11, Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 launch from the beach in the 1960s and 1970s (not to mention various unmanned launches).

My Mom's family was a railroad family in Pennsylvania. The opening of the American West is tied closely to the railroads and the industrial revoltion.

In the the late 1960s I fully expected to see a Moonbase before 2000 (oh well). Many do not realize anymore that the Space Shuttle was part of a Space Transportation System for the USA. In addition to the Space Shuttle, there was to be a Moonbase, a Low Earth Orbit to Lunar Orbit vehicle, and one of the purposes of Moonbase was to build the parts of a Mars Lander - the cost to lift the spacecraft from the lower gravity well of the Moon would have been great.

All of this space activity was the Final Frontier (as in Star Trek).

I liked the hope for Star Trek and other shows showe for the future.

As on Earth, I always seemed to find the Star Trek view great but a little two dimensional. On earth there are still areas (in 2015) that are very low tech - say 1750 for the USA.

Firefly is one of a few universes that show the "lower" end. Developing a planet with no planetary domestic product would mean the hi-tech anti-gravity stuff might not be affordable. It is interesting that Tanya Huff's Vatta series touches on this. There is a planet where the founder's should have purchased plow horses but the powers in government porchased polo ponies instead and they were having problems growing food.

There is are interesting similarities between the John Wayne persona and Malcom Reynolds. John Wayne did not always play the good guy. In The Searchers, in True Grit, and in several more movies (he made 156), he was a person who lived in the grey area or even on the wrong side of the law (War Wagon). As stated in The Shootist, Wayne's persona believed “I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” This sounds similar (not identical to) Malcomb Reynolds beliefs.

In the Searchers, Ethan (John Wayne) was a ex Confederate soldier that had not laid down his sword at Appomatox Court House and the viewer was lead to believe that the Ethan had been part of a robbery. This is very similar to Malcomb Reynolds.

It is interesting to note that one of the creators of Star Wars (I no longer recall who) used The Searchers long quest for Debbie as a rough guide for the 1981 Episode 4 A New Hope. Han Solo was also one who lived on the edge of legal and illegal.

The Wild Final Frontier portrayed in Firefly resonates with me and the Wild West of the American Frontier. I liked the Train Job of course. I liked the Harrison Ford's Han Solo, Indiana Jones, And so many other parts that show (I believe) that hte "western" is not dead, just moved to a new frontier.

Be it Young Indiana on the Cumbres and Toltec Circus train (I love the living history of the C&T in NM and CO) to the jumping on a Nazi Truck (much like in Cowboys and Aliens). The Train Job had an exciting new twist in robbing a train.

Other than in printed text, I think Firefly hit the target for a larger than life modernized 3-D universe that is believable.

Yes, I like Dr. Who, Blake's Seven, Babalon 5, Stargate, and many, many others but Firefly hit a great balance. I am very sorry it did not continue, but what can you expect from 20th century non-futuristic thinkers who chase the all mighty dollar and expect instance results?

Thanks for reading. Thanks the actors, crew and Joss Whedon for Firefly. You "Make my day."

Doug vV

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Sunday, September 27, 2015 3:28 PM

ECGORDON

There's no place I can be since I found Serenity.

Joss is on record as saying he was influenced by Michael Shaara's novel "The Killer Angels, which I believe is mainly about the Battle of Gettysburg. I don't know if it's in the book, but Joss was projecting out the years following, what would have happened to the Confederate soldiers that survived, how would they make sense of their life and their world after the defeat of their ideals.

The western motif in Firefly makes perfect sense when you compare it to the U.S. following the Civil War. All of the money interests and manufacturing were in the East (New York, Boston, maybe Chicago and St. Louis as the furthest West). The inner planets of the Firefly 'verse are similar, with Persephone the closest parallel to St. Louis, the jumping off point to the rim. The poorer planets had to work with what they had and couldn't afford the tech, just as it took many years for Western communities to build up population and infrastructure before they could develop industry for themselves.

If you haven't read it, I recommend Robert Heinlein's Time Enough For Love, most particularly the segment titled "The Tale of the Adopted Daughter." It's about pioneering efforts on a new planet, and how the settlers had to work with limited resources and animal labor simply because to transport high-tech equipment (and then maintain it) was not practical for many years.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

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Monday, September 28, 2015 1:55 AM

DOUGVAN4935

Hi,

I do not recall that heinline story but I've read much of his stuff. I'll need to find it.

Many of the American Pacific states (CA, WA, OR, NC) had Chinese imported to built the railroads and at one time (c1970) Chinatown San Francisco was the largest in the US if not the world outside of asia. Many of the Chinese serviced the Gold camps as service providers (laundries come to mind first). The strif and wars between war loards in chine (I think) caused immegration to the US in about 1860-1890 time frame.

Thanks for your reply.

Doug vV

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015 5:09 PM

BYTEMITE

I was a fan of Star Wars and the original trilogy since I was five, so I too appreciate the areas of overlap, and the differences between Star Wars and Firefly.

Star Wars is the broad perspective, the space opera with the Princess, the Knight, and the Rogue at the heart of it.

Firefly is nuanced. Sometimes there's grand rebellion, and sometimes that grows up out of just small every day rebellion. There's archetypes here as well, but they have dirt and imperfections in them, that make them no less relateable, and sometimes perhaps moreso.

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Tuesday, September 29, 2015 8:30 PM

THGRRI

Firefly makes perfect sense because if you Terraform a planet, there will be no tall buildings or roads. Think about it.

Hello BYTEMITE

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Thursday, October 1, 2015 6:27 AM

DOUGVAN4935

Hi,

Gettysburg is interesting in a couple of ways. The forward scouts of the Confederates were on Washington Heights (Wast Shore above Wormleysburg) waiting for Lee to join up and to cut the Union in two. It would have allowed sueing the Union for piece. (As an aside, Washington heights was the nothern most any Confederate forces ever got that had an unbroken line of Confederate control to the Heart of Dixie - the raid on St. Albans Vermont could not trace a lin e back to Dixie).

Fortunately, Confederates looking for basic essentials (food, clothing) ran into a Union cavalry(?) troop ran into each other.

If Harrisburg (or even just the railroad lines) and been taken/cut, history would have been much different. The Union (Sherman) succesfully did the same later in the War with the Atlanta Campaign and the March to the Sea.

Where Gettysburg was about 4 days, The Atlanta Campaign took months.

Another parallel that almost happened was Guadalcanal. The invasion was done with almost untrained Marines in August 1942 (they were not expected to be ready until Spring 1943). It was triggered by the Japanese trying to put in an airfield to cut the supply lines from Austrailia from the US. Fortunately, the Japanese never used I-boats (submarines) for commerce raiding.

The day after the US landed some Marines, The Admiral of the navel unit protecting the invasion fleet fled with bullets, beans, and reinforcements. If not for the captured Japanese supplies, the Marines might have starved. After about 4 months (December 1941, the Marines were withdrawn. Guadalcanal was not really secured. The US Army under General Patch finally secured the island about January 1943.

If not for the Japanese belief at that time about "saving face" their army and navy would have been talking and launched a successful counterattack during the 4 or so months the Marines barely held the insland.

All three incidents above have parallels to the Firefly "history".

Amazing.

Doug vV

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Sunday, October 4, 2015 9:10 AM

AURAPTOR

America loves a winner!

Sorta kinda related, but I had a dream last night where I was in some sort of 2nd hand shop, and had found this really cool Mal like Duster. It wasn't exactly like his, but it was darn cool. Other than the price being a bit high, ( though still a bargin for such a fine coat ) it wasn't brown. :( It was more of a military greenish color.

My only guess is that with Halloween coming up, my brain was working on trying to find a costume or some such. I'm not one for dressing up too often, but when I do ... I think of Firefly.

At least, my subconscious does.

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