Wondering what sort of fans Firefly attracts?

POSTED BY: Ruthie
UPDATED: Thursday, July 26, 2007 21:16
VIEWED: 27407
PAGE 1 of 1

RUTHIE

Monday, June 23, 2003 7:21 PM

Hello, everyone.
I've been lurking around here since Firefly started showing in the UK - came looking for Chinese translations, and now I'm hooked into the boards, as well as the show!

I'm just wondering if I'm a 'fish out of water' here (as I usually seem to be in SF circles - don't fall in the right demographic!)

I'm a female in my mid-forties, a mother and a scientist (not working atm).

I enjoy watching Star Trek (all series!), Buffy and Angel, 24 etc. I also enjoy reading SF, mostly the older 'classic' authors - Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Wyndham, and the newer writers who follow in the same tradition.

My previous 'big love' was X-Files. That was the only TV show I bothered to tape (and then buy videos and DVD's) to watch and re-watch.

It was when I started to feel the need to re-watch Firefly eps that I realised that I had found my replacement for X-Files. I have Sky+ (like Tivo), so it was easy to re-watch - and now all the eps so far are safely on tape to keep.

What is it about Firefly that makes each ep worth re-watching? I don't know - but intelligent dialogue, interesting sets with lots to see in the background, and a storyline that keeps me wanting the next ep are certainly part of it.

I just wish that the joy of discovery had not been coloured by the knowledge, from the start, that it would be a short-lived pleasure....

So - does anyone else here share my interests, or am I alone (not that I'd either stop watching or visiting here even if I am!)

SLOWSMURF

Monday, June 23, 2003 8:12 PM

Well, I can tell you I'm a male teenager and I know a few others(that I've made fans ;)) as well as older people.

I've heard various places that firefly actually does attract more than the 18-30 male range or whatever it is they talk about so much. Much more, so I don't think you're alone ;)

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS

Monday, June 23, 2003 8:17 PM

What kind of fans does Firefly attract?

The sexy kind.

History repeats the old conceits

WULFHAWK

Monday, June 23, 2003 8:44 PM

Glad to meet ya, Ruthie.

I've been enjoying science fiction since about 1967...5th grade or so. There were these fascinating puppet shows with spaceships, wondermous events about astronauts going to the moon, and I was hooked. Conan the Barbarian, Robby the Robot, Gandalf the Gray, and Lazarus Long were a few of the characters that I came to love over the years, and Mr. Spock has long been a hero of mine (Pain is an illusion of the mind, the mind can be controlled, thus pain can be controlled ).

Don't feel left out, Ruthie; you and I are the keepers of the flame, passed to us by Carpenter and Astounding and 'When Worlds Collide'. These other kids didn't have to imagine epic battles between space armadas, or the creepy transformations of aliens and werewolves ... they've seen it, in technicolor.

Asimov and Disch and Drake and Gibson and Card, Niven and Pournelle, Apirin to Zelazney, and hundreds of others ... been some interesting times, ain't it?

Glad to meet ya, Ruthie, and glad to hear you intend to stay around.

tanstaafl

SHINY

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:13 PM

What kind of fans does Firefly attract?

Unbelievably rich people with loads of free time and disposable income (in case any of the networks, advertisers, or potential investors are listening)

HJERMSTED

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:29 PM

Quote:
Apirin to Zelazney, and hundreds of others ...

Speaking of Zelazney... would anyone else LOVE to see Whedon could do with the Amber series?

Oh, this thread is about demographics...

M
mid-30s
Sci Fi fan for as long as I can remember (probably got hooked with Star Wars or Battlestar Gallactica in their original presentations).
Growing up I always enjoyed the John Christopher novels (Tripods trilogy; Prince in Waiting trilogy) better than the Narnia tales. Can't understate the importance of S.E. Hinton's first four novels on my life.

Lifelong favorite authors are Heinlein, O.S. Card, Zelazny, Harry Harrison and Tom Robbins (whose stuff is definitely fantasy! :)

Loved Twin Peaks, Star Trek TNG and Star Trek DS9! (All of which I taped). Went through the motions taping X-Files and Star Trek Voyager but have since erased those in favor of Buffy, Angel and Firefly!

mattro

WULFHAWK

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:40 PM

Deathworld! haw, been a long time.

I guess I forgot the demographic part too.

I'm married, 46 years of age and wisdom, have 4 children, 1 grandchild, and sometimes I'm called Lord Direwolf.

tanstaafl

SERGEANTX

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:46 PM

Lurking and posting on these boards for almost a year now, one of the most interesting things about Firefly fanhood is the broad rage of people that the show attracts. I still think it was one of the biggest reasons Fox had such a hard time getting a handle on the series.

Firefly attracts people who pay a little more attention and want to see more than another throw-away story with forgetable characters. These people aren't represented by any particular demographic. Its a cliche, but people here come from all walks of life. Ages range from people that are legitimately called senior citizens to those not yet in high school. Many are well educated, but there are Firefly Fans that dropped out early. Women seem to make up about half of the diehard fans, which I don't think is the case for most science fiction followings.

If there is any consistent trait among fans of the show, I'd say it's a cetain curiosity, or at least a willingness to really pay attention. Many of the best lines of dialog in Firefly are the most subtle, one of the reasons repeated viewings are so rewarding. The story and character development are layered and complex and don't reveal their true art to the casual(lazy?) viewer.

Its especially fun to see that the new wave of fans coming in from the UK and elsewhere, seem to share the same qualities, and the same diversity. Stick around Ruthie. We're still flying.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

KAYTHRYN

Monday, June 23, 2003 9:54 PM

Quote:
Posted by Captbaggytrousers:

What kind of fans does Firefly attract?

The sexy kind.

and the saucey kind

Oh! And a big ditto to what you said Sarge!

-------------------------------------
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle

KOFFEE

Monday, June 23, 2003 11:39 PM

I think what Sarg said about covers it.

I am female, 30, and married. I have never considered myself a sci-fi fan. Not saying I didn't watch TNG growing up, but when you don't have cable and one main tv, you tend to watch what the parets decide to watch.

But, then again, I don't necessarily think FF fits into the typical sci-fi mold. It seams more "real" in its "what if" of pioneering space travel. Not many fancy gadgets, no sign of aliens, and not everything is all sugar and spice and fancy catsuit uniforms.

I enjoy the dailog and banter between the characters. They get mad, laugh, cry, and love like people would really do. Its just great. Not sure how else to put it, but I just love it as a whole.

----------------------------------------------
“It's a real burn, being right so often.”

ARCHER

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 12:05 AM

Male, 28, single.

Hey networks, I'm vastly wealthy and buy everything I see in advertising on TV.

Old SF fan from way back to the time my mother read me Red Planet when I was like... five.

(Curse this damned addiction of mine to literature. I sometimes think heroin would be cheaper.)

Gotta say, Koffee... FF is not in the typical mode for SF tv, but not for SF literarily. That's always been one of the problems with getting from SF fiction to movies and TV. For the old-time fans, a great deal of the concepts have been explored in serious depth, and space-age rusticism has been explored in a lot of stories. Space Western is far from a new concept.

Prob is, when you put it on a screen, you gotta aim to that mass market. Which wants awesome CGI and so on.

(Witness the typical SF fan's disdain for the Matrix... the idea has been explored for decades.)

Anywho, nice to meet ya, Ruthie. Welcome to our little gang.

There ain't nothin' I can't overcome or come to know. So lay your heavy load down on me, strip everything I have away. I am not your prisoner, I am not afraid.

SERENITYVALLEY

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 2:24 AM

I'm a teenage girl, but Firefly attracts a lot of ages, male and female. My brother is 11 and he likes it too. I'd say I'm a sci-fi fan but not the classic sci-fi like Star Trek or Star Wars. Other Sci-Fi channel stuff like Sliders or Odessy5 and stuff. I also like horror and a little fantasy (though not really pure fantasy like LotR, but like Labyrinth.)

"Did he just go crazy and fall asleep?" -Wash
"I told him to sit down," -Simon

SHAMBLEAU

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 2:53 AM

I'm a 57 year old man, whose interest in sci-fi peaked when I was fifteen. While I enjoyed the Alien movies, the first couple of Star Wars, 2001 and a few others, no sci-fi tv series has ever held my interest. And, to tell the truth, most of what I like about Firefly rests in the characterization, the writing, and the acting.

On this show, the slow development of character, the gradual unveiling of sides you didn't know, combined with magnificent, stylized dialog is just so pleasurable! In a way that even movies can't match, you're drawn into characters who have such depth and believability that they're real in a way that most shows never even attempt.

Plus, wonderfully unusual music scores, documentary-style camerawork, and stories that, for example, take place in three timelines at once, or delve into the psyche of a disturbed girl through dreamlike imagery that could have come from a European art film. All that combined with kick-ass action and humor? No wonder you can watch these eps over and over!

shambleau

SIRENKAIN

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 3:37 AM

Sorry no Josh for Amber. Last I heard SciFi channel had it and was creating a mini-series following the likes of their Dune series.

For more on the SciFi current crop go to

http://www.sftv.org/sftv/scifi2002.html

Morbid and creep-ifying I got no problem with.

LUPA

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 3:38 AM

I am female, late teens. Besides the occasional Bradbury novel, not a sci-fi fan at all (I suppose I was rebelling against having a Trekkie astrophysicist for a father). I am a minor anime enthusiast, though, and when I saw the sci-fi western theme in animes like Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star I really liked it, and that was really why I decided to check Firefly out. That, and the fact I'm a Buffy fan from way before I was really old enough to watch it, so anything Joss-related warrants a drive-by IMO. I could care less about the sets and effects, it's the Whedon-esque dialouge and the wonderful character devolopment (a rare thing on TV) that keeps me coming back for more. Plus they're all just so pretty.

"Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal."

CANTTAKESKY

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 3:42 AM

I found that there's a good number of libertarian Firefly fans on the official FOX board. Many libertarians are attracted to the strong anti-authoritarian themes, as well Firefly's portrayal of the importance of "the right to bear arms," so to speak.

Any other libertarians here?

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 4:47 AM

CANTTAKESKY -- lotsa Libertarian fans of Firefly. Myself and Archer I know, Lux Lucre is a true believer as well. Quite a few others have indicated as much.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 5:45 AM

I'm also female, late teens. I care about Firefly and boys. Everyone is very nice to me.

KASUO

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:09 AM

24/m/CA

I watch Angel, Samurai Jack.

I used to watch Enterprise but it pains me to so now that I've been spoiled by the quality of Firefly.

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:11 AM

Sorry about the previous post. I'm male 32 and an unmarried man. Very rare in Utah, just ask Maniac. I am not a teenage girl after all. Although one time me and Archer tried on girlie underwear so he could write some River fanfic. It seemed to work.

I'm very pro woman but I get mad when we have all of these equal rights for women along with the big double standard. I have no problem with my boss being a woman, it's just not an issue.

My generation is so very smart and equal, yet here I am opening doors and carrying things for my dates, and buying them dinner and jewelry and stuff. Only so maybe she'll invite me up.

The game sucks. I say to all men in the world -- STAND UP and fight for your right. We men just need to realize that women are just as horny as men. Get smart and stop using Mr. Winky to make decisions. The rules of love can change if we men unite and stop acting stupid.

Oh yeah, and Firefly is cool, too. Keep Sailing!

LUPA

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:28 AM

Quote:
STAND UP and fight for your right

Right to what? Free pussy?

No, seriously, you buy your dates jewelry? Damn! I have got to get me a thirty-something South Westerner. Sorry to break it to you, Succatash, but it seems to me you're the one raising the chivalry-bar here.

"Curse your sudden, but inevitable betrayal."

KOFFEE

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:29 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash:
I'm also female, late teens. I care about Firefly and boys. Everyone is very nice to me.

Succatash, you are such a goof sometimes. But I guess that is why I love ya.

We really need a rolling eyes emoticon here....but this will have to do for now...

----------------------------------------------
“It's a real burn, being right so often.”

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:33 AM

Did I really write "Keep Sailing?" God, I'm totally ruining this thread. Sorry.

Did I mention that Firefly is a great show? How can I download it?

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:41 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Lupa:
Right to what? Free pussy? ....Sorry to break it to you, Succatash, but it seems to me you're the one raising the chivalry-bar here.

Here's the way it should work. We all be nice to each other.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 7:34 AM

I can see where your frustration comes from Succatash. The lovely ladies here in Utah are definitely a very moral bunch, and as such it takes months and months to get anywhere usually... that's because of the incredible religious pressure put upon them to be "good." It's more likely that you will find a mormon woman here in 90% mormon Utah. These gals just don't have the same thing going on upstairs as the rest of the girls in the country. I'll prove it... ok girls how many of you will not go out with a guy unless he's gone to church with you for at least 6 months? How many of you consider a kiss to be grounds for marriage? Indeed, almost all of the mormon girls in Utah are of that mental attitude. Yup.

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 7:59 AM

Scary. I've only been to Utah once, Salt Lake City, and thought it was pretty. Couldn't find a comic book store in my walk-around, so that made me a little leary...

But to bring this topic away from Planet of the Men Vs. Planet of the Women (although, sure, that one is always box office gold) and back onto: who are we, why are we here?

I am a 31 (!) year old male from Boston (well, the suburbs), and fan of many things geek and several non-geek. I was an enormous Buffy fan, tried Angel for a couple of years before I despaired, and missed Firefly entirely in its run on Fox. High concept sci-fi show on Friday night? Nope, couldn't let myself get attached. I knew I'd see it eventually. I did, and here we are.

History repeats the old conceits

DRAKON

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 10:55 AM

42, male, married to a wonderful lady, in teh greater San Fransisco bay area. Got 2 kids, both in their early 20's. Son and girlfriend are getting close to the "where did I put my shotgun stage"

Have liked science fiction from an early age. Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke. Star Trek OS. although wife is fond of TNG. Wanted so hard to like Enterprise, but they lost me when the doc decided no allow an entire population of a planet to die off for the sake of evolution.

Firefly was my show. It was the first show in a long time that I discovered, and got the rest of the family to watch. Daughter usually is show discoverer, with ER, and Buffy, Angel and others. I found this one. And I really love Firefly. Which I think is why it got canceled.

"My kind of stupid"

SERGEANTX

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:10 AM

Heinlein sure crops up in a lot of these, eh? BTW, Ruthie, For the record I'm 39, male single dad. Big Heinlein fan, libertarian and generally lost. I liked the original Star Wars, 2001:ASO, Blade Runner, some ST:OS, much of ST:TNG, but not much else in the way of televised or movie sci-fi.

One of the reviews in the IMDB archive for Firefly goes something like this = "Firefly is not a scifi show, I don't like those. Its not a western, I hate those. Firefly is a sci-fi/western, and apparently I LOVE those."

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

FREMDFIRMA

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 12:14 PM

30-ish, male, cab driver and (laugh if you will, I don't care) house-man for my girl, who's not-quite-30, and an upper level execu-type.

So, I push the cab part time and do alla that housewife kinda stuff too, not to mention cook, since letting HER cook is beggin for a fire..

As far as Utah, I've only seen it for 10 minutes and apparently managed to offend everyone in sight during an airline layover.

Had me some coffee and a smoke (apparently this is some sort of gaffe in Utah??) and a cussin fit when the phone I was trying to use ate my change..

They're weird in Utah, no doubt about it.
((shaking head))

Firefly is truly a show that can appeal to just about everyone, tho.

-Frem

ARCHER

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 12:32 PM

Uh, Succatash, I didn't actually put on the girlie underwear. I just said I did so you would and then send me the pics.

Purely for research purposes for the story, since you came up with River on the "What FF character are you?" test. Take that, Evil Clone! I finally out-maneuvered you!

There, conscience unburdened. I can die at peace now.

And sorry, frustration or no, I'm still opening doors for ladies and so on. Double standard? Sure. But I gotta be me. Mind you, I think a good pistol makes a better gift than jewelry, though. But I'm considered odd by some.

I'm a quasi-libertarian, kinda got the same thing going with the LP and libertarian methodology as Mal has going with God these days, only generally not so virulent.

Viva Heinlein. They don't like talking about him at all these days, but I'll bet you in fifty years you'll still be able to find full selections of his works on the shelves at bookstores.

Not even gonna get into the Utah issue. I drive a truck, pass through on a semi-regular basis, and Salty has got some of the worst traffic in the country. (Sure as hell the worst on the western side... makes LA look sane.) Speaking of which, time for me to get back to work. See ya'll in a couple-three weeks.

There ain't nothin' I can't overcome or come to know. So lay your heavy load down on me, strip everything I have away. I am not your prisoner, I am not afraid.

TRAGICSTORY

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 1:05 PM

Well, here are my demographics:

23
Male
living in Worcester,MA
Love anime, fantasy (Thanks to Succatash I am severly lacking sleep from satying up and reading George R R Martin) sci-fi (if it is somewhat believable or just out there like Hitchhikers)

I grew up reading David Eddings (until I realized he only had one stroy line and kept reusing but with new characters)and from their expanded onward and outward.

My favortie movies are Orgazmo (great if you live in Utah *hint,hint*, Battle Royale, fight club and Meet the Feebles.

And if every person were issued a Derringer or other pocket pistol common courtesy would be reborn... After all who wants to be shot in the ass over a parking space?

"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

MAGUINAN

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 1:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:

Any other libertarians here?

Forget the libertarians, are there any libertines here?

-maguinan

That's right...I went there.

SUCCATASH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 5:16 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by TragicStory:
Well, here are my demographics:

23
Male
living in Worcester,MA
Love anime, fantasy (Thanks to Succatash I am severly lacking sleep from satying up and reading George R R Martin) sci-fi (if it is somewhat believable or just out there like Hitchhikers)

My favortie movies are Orgazmo (great if you live in Utah *hint,hint*, Battle Royale, fight club and Meet the Feebles.

Tragic, George R.R. Martin rules, eh? By the way, Orgasmo is also one of my favorite movies. I highly recommend Cannibal the Musical too.

ATHERTONWING

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 5:47 PM

well i just found this board a few days ago, thank god there are other firefly fans out there!

im an 18 year old a-level student in the uk i wasnt really a sci-fi or fantasy fan until i discovered joss whedons work, i fell in love with buffy all most from the offing. then angel, followed by fray and now firefly! i'm hooked. and also distraught it was cancelled i really dont understand why such an amazingly origional and deep world didnt catch on. i have already got all my friends hooked on the show,
id just like to say great board and im really glad to be part of it!
chris.

ATHERTONWING

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 5:47 PM

CAPTBAGGYTROUSERS

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 6:23 PM

Every time I watch "Shindig," during the part where Mal is stabbed in the side I will say aloud "Atherton winged him!" and laugh uproariously.

I will die alone.

History repeats the old conceits

TWOBLUE

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 7:39 PM

Hi Ruthie and everyone,

I've posted here a few times before, mostly asking for help with downloads and such (again, to all involved with making the un-aired episodes available, many thanks !) but visit daily. This thread has been interesting to read, (we are a diverse group ! ) so thought I'd also introduce myself, share my Firefly love, and make a suggestion.

It was the music that attracted me to Firefly first, heard it playing in another room and immediately drawn to the T.V. The look of the ship kept me there, loved the dirty, dusty, mismatched, clanking metal of Serenity, (similar to the look of other loves, "Blade Runner" and "Brazil") and then of course once I got to know the characters and cast, and their great dialogue, I was a goner. I'd given up on T.V. a few years ago, and here they've canceled the first show I've watched in years. Heartbroken doesn't cover it, I'll be wearing all black (except for a brown overcoat) from now on.

So back to no T.V. for me, except on your recommendation Ruthie, I think I'll give "X-Files" a try on DVD. And since Firefly was my first foray into Joss Whedon's shows, think I'll also look into Buffy and Angel. That should hold me until the please dear god let there be a Firefly movie.

Also, one thought about Angel. A Joss Whedon show, only one still on the air, featuring a vampire, and they live forever, right ? Within the realm of possibility don't you think, that the writers could just speed up the time thing ? You know, like soap operas, a character is a child for one week, pregnant teen the next, middle age divorcee by week three. Maybe they could also get a little loose with time on Angel this season, have episodes progress until he's lived to Firefly's time period, and suddenly he's a passenger on Serenity ? Then we can have Firefly back ! Maybe a campaign to steer Joss and the writers in this direction ?

And lastly, my demographics ? Well, not exactly sexy, but maybe cute in a 47 year old female, single, living in a nursing home, rock 'n rolling around in a wheelchair kind of way.

A diverse group ?

Well, yeah, as our beloved captain said "Ain't we just."

DUTCH

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 7:40 PM

Quote:
Speaking of Zelazney... would anyone else LOVE to see Whedon could do with the Amber series?

The Amber series started out really good, but got worse as the series progressed. Especially after book 5.

LJC

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 8:26 PM

I'm 29, female, professional web designer, and freelance journalist. I mostly read urban fantasy, horror, folklore/fairy tales, hard-boiled detective fiction, and some high fantasy (Terry Pratchett, and Guy Gavriel Kay). I read a teeny tiny amount of SF outside of media tie-ins, but more in the vein of Spider Robinson's Callahan's short stories than anything else.

I'm a big ole media fan--started going to cons at age 15--both media cons and comics cons. I got to lit cons now and then, but only locally.

TV shows I've been madly in love with are Robin of Sherwood, Doctor Who, DS9, Earth 2, Angel, Buffy, Farscape, Adventures of the Galaxy Rangers, Quantum Leap, Invisible Man, Smallville, The New Adventures of Wonder Woman, Due South, EZ Streets, Lois & Clark, X-Files, Brisco County Jr., Young Riders, Nikita, Three, Wiseguy, Now & Again, Sports Night, The Ghost & Mrs Muir, Forever Knight, Highlander, and to my eternal shame, Voyager.

For me, the appeal of Firefly is both the writing--incredibly well-drawn characters, all with distinctive voices, and the episodes themselves--and the performances. I've probably seen the show through about 10 times now, and seem to find more to love with each viewing.

--
Some take the high road. Some take the low road.
And some just go screaming down the highway, dropping flaming bits of wreckage.

CHANNAIN

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 9:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Ruthie
So - does anyone else here share my interests, or am I alone (not that I'd either stop watching or visiting here even if I am!)...

oh Ruthie, unfortunately you have fallen in with a very, how do I say this, INTERESTING (good Minnesota word, that) crowd. all of us have some interest in Sci-fi/fantasy/horror, and if we didn't get brainwashed to it early, we certainly have been now.

don't be frightened. we're not entirely certifiable. i'm a mid-30s female, single no cat, who currently utilizes administrative and computer skills in the office of a church. that's just to pay the bills and really has nothing to do with my convictions of Christian faith, such as they are (notice i didn't use the word "religion"). i've been an artist since the beginning of time, working in black and white or colored pencil, depending on the mood. results of this lifetime obsession will be available to the Firefly public shortly.

my oldest sister plunked my brother and i down in front of Star Trek reruns back in the 70s and i just couldn't turn away. since then if there's a sci-fi/fantasy show on, i'll give it a chance. 5 minutes for some (Lexx), or a lifetime to others whether they're reincarnated (Star Trek) or not (Man From Atlantis), short lived (Roar) or not (Babylon 5, FarScape) and everything inbetween. my favorite writers include Anne McCaffrey, who i also grew up with, and Robin Hood, who i didn't. A.C. Crispin, Brian Daley and Peter David also rate pretty high on the list with the classics, but i'm always open to reading new stuff. as a Gemini, I'm all about variety.

Quote:
Originally posted by Ruthie
I just wish that the joy of discovery had not been coloured by the knowledge, from the start, that it would be a short-lived pleasure...

that makes two of us, hon. 4 words: Beauty and the Beast. my experience with the life and death of that show pretty much scarred me for life. now every time i find something i like, i'm convinced it's going to disappear. although i didn't expect Firefly to vanish quite as quickly as it did.

I found the way, by the sound of your voice--so many things to say.
These are only words. Now I've only words. Once there was a choice.
David Sylvian

KENWOOD

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 9:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by canttakesky:

Any other libertarians here?

I was a Libertarian but then I developed an interest in politics.

Later,

ME.

Don't look back, som'thin' might be gainin' on ya.
Who let the pigs play poker?
Evo Shander was right!

SARAHETC

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 10:34 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by maguinan:

Forget the libertarians, are there any libertines here?

-maguinan

That's right...I went there.

Where maguinan goes, I follow.

I don't know that I'm so much a libertine, but I talk a big piece.

I'm 26 and married and didn't realize I was a sci-fi geek until Firefly came on and people started giving their geek vitae and I saw people just like me. Kind of. I'm a TNG...X-files variety geek who is just now discovering Heinlein and his peeps.

I'm trained as an historian, so the frontier aspect of Firefly is what really appeals to me beyond powerfully drawn characters and stories. I often think that Firefly is (or should have been) the first science fiction available on a mass-consumption basis to actually explore the construction of human civilization and culture. Further, it's progressive without being idealized and utopic. If utopic is even a word.

Sarah

I'm a dying breed who still believes, haunted by American dreams. ---Neko Case

EMBASSY

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:07 PM

I'm 40, male, married with three kids, and I have been accused of being a rocket scientist (but I try not to act like it). When people ask me what I do I tell them I design aircraft. Or that I empty coffee cups and fill up wastebaskets, which when you think about it is better than having the opposite work. Before that I was in the Air Force and graduated from the AF Test Pilot School in the late 1980s.

I got into Firefly as a Buffy-come-lately fan, having succumbed to the quill of Joss when FX started their reruns about a year and a half ago. But I've always liked SF, having been exposed to Heinlein and the like at about age 12. I also like 19th century English and Russian literature, which makes me officially weird.

In Firefly, I like the depth and complexity of all the characters. They seem like people I'd know. And the whole notion of finding a place in a world that doesn't want you all that much, that appeals.

KAYTHRYN

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:09 PM

Hi Ruthie, welcome to our own little corner of no and where.

Okay, I wasn’t planning on spewing my life’s story until I read this…

Quote:
Posted by Channain:
as a Gemini, I'm all about variety.

(Best ditsy voice) Cha! Girlfriend! My Gemini sista! I must tell all now!

(Normal voice) Whoa, that was scary. Well, I’m a 19 year old Gemini gal from Ohio and, sadly, a lowly college student. Of what you may ask… well I don’t rightly know yet. Thinking of something along the lines of biological anthropology or fine arts, just anything that doesn’t include some form of math. I’ve tried my hand at converting fans, but no luck so far. Last time I checked I was one of only two FF fans in Ohio, Lerxst being the second one.

Never really enjoyed but a handful of shows set into the future-- yes, I remember watching a little Voyager to see Harry Kim, and whatever Star Trek was before that to see Picard‘s handsomely bald head-- but that’s about it. I’m much more interested in stories that aren’t all clean and fancy with crazy gizmos and instant cures or food. I love witty dialogue, new takes on old played out ideas, and I absolutely love, love, love, love shows that make you think. Shows that you have to pay at least some attention to, shows that have depth, that don’t lost all of their interest after you’ve seen them once, and, above all, shows that don’t play fake laughter in the background to tell the sheep when they should all laugh because they can’t figure the jokes out for themselves!

Yeah, Firefly is good.

-------------------------------------
It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.
Aristotle

MSCKAREN

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:21 PM

Ruthie,

We're definitely close in age and taste. I'm 43, female. Started my SF love affair with Heinlein and Asimov. Loved them and Whedon for great characters put into interesting "realities".

Single, Floridian, Lib Dem, also catless (telling distinction).

Oh, and "Mr. Winky"? Now THAT'S creepifying.

"Appears they've canceled the show and we're still here. What does that make us?"
"Big damn junkies, Sir!"
"Ain't we just."

LORA

Tuesday, June 24, 2003 11:53 PM

By the time Firefly hit the air last fall, I was disillusioned with TV -- I had pinned some high hopes on Enterprise with what I hoped would be 2 strong female leads. I was reading in my bedroom, at the other end of my house and James, my husband, was guffawing and yelling for me to come watch this new show. I was being stubborn. Then, I heard a strained male voice quietly say "Whatever happens, Zoe, remember that I love you." Didn't really register that part, until I heard a woman's voice say "Sir?" then the man again, "Because you're my wife." Listening on purpose now, I heard the husky woman's voice, "Right, Sir. Honey." I had to know what was going on. From then on, I was hooked.

I am 28 going on 18. Zoe inspired me to start referring to my husband as such ("James is my companion and we happen to be married" really was hard to say by way of introduction) and I do want to be Zoe when I grow up. My role models for as long as I can remember have been Morgaine Angharan (one of C. J. Cherryh's), Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver's character in Aliens -- read the books before I ever saw the movies), and Hazel (the lead rabbit in Watership Down). If you haven't read that book and you are on this forum, you need to. Hazel is a great leader without consciously being a great leader. Ignore the fact that Richard Adams claims his characters are rabbits: think of them as explorers and rebels wearing really warm brown coats, looking for a place to be free. Moorcock, Heinlein, Aspirin, Tolkien and Lackey populate my bookshelves and my imagination. SF bridging into Fantasy with far-out technologies and swordfights and amazing mental powers of all sorts. Only since meeting James have I watched many movies. He thinks my education has been sorely lacking. I think that SF is where the truly creative souls can communicate freely with those of us who are in a position to bring their ideas about.

By way of demographics, I am an engineer, currently in the Navy, making typical young engineer pay. I like DVDs -- bought the player specifically for Firefly DVDs and will buy several copies of the official set when they come out. (MOVIES! My husband loves movies and I take him to about 1 per week. Yes, we saw the new Matrix movie -- we think it was a dirty trick to get us to pay twice to see the rest of the story -- X-Men 2, twice, Hulk, Finding Nemo, and Daredevil are the ones I remember most readily from this spring.)

Forgive me, I digress. At least I'm not talking about Succatash and his foray into girls' underpants.

Our true colors do shine through, don't they? I think we actually bring a certain respectability to the psychotic lowlife community. (If you haven't seen Shindig yet, belay my last.)

Well met, Ruthie!

"Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?" Zoe, War Stories

SUCCATASH

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 1:05 AM

I would like to apologize to Ruthie and everyone for being inappropriate.

Here's Ruthie, new to FireflyFans, and I ruin her thread and act stupid. What was I thinking?

Sorry, Ruthie. I'm actually quite normal most of the time. Well, half the time. Welcome to the neighborhood.

- Succatash

DRAKON

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 1:46 AM

utopia is a word and probably one of the most accurately labeled political concepts out there. It is greek for "no where"

"My kind of stupid"

ARCHER

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 2:03 AM

In summation, one of the finer collections of minds, educations, and diverse viewpoints that I've come across on the net.

With the exception of Maniac, Succatash and myself, they're even mature.

As Miss Sarah says, all ya'll are awesome.

There ain't nothin' I can't overcome or come to know. So lay your heavy load down on me, strip everything I have away. I am not your prisoner, I am not afraid.

WANTMORE

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 2:19 AM

Demographics is a word I am very much disliking these days. Before demographics, good TV was left on long enough to take a breath. Not no more, by God! Rip it off so we can have more luh-suh (being mindful of small children here) than we can stand up in and still see sky.

Science fiction & fantasy - Asimov, McCaffery, Ellison, Bradbury, Heinlein, etc. - have been in my book case for a very long time, along with C.S. Forester, Jane Austen, Val McDermid, John LeCarre and piles of others.

I am a human being, of occasional sound mind, been around long enough to just barely remember the launch of Sputnik. I love good writing, am absolutely ga-ga about good dialogue and interesting characters, and swoon at the thought of wit and the odd bit of biting sarcasm. Love Firefly cause it fits right in.

Thanks for the interest, Ruthie! I wish I had TiVo. Due to a VCR death in the family, I have only 6 episodes on tape (Wah!)

-Wantmore

SUCCATASH

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 2:26 AM

Ok, Ruthie, it's your turn to cough up more information about yourself. Or at least say, "Wow, you guys are great," or something.

JAYNESGIRLFRIEND

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 3:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash:
I care about Firefly and boys.

Hey! These are good priorities. Take away the "and" and these are my priorities. Mmm. Firefly boys.

Stats on the legally insane Jaynehead: I'm 23 years old. I was born in Dyersburg, TN and have never lived farther north than Kentucky. Yee-haw, y'all. I'm a Libra who may never enjoy long walks on the beach again due to the horrendous sun burn I got today. Between Dr. Who on PBS with my dad and Stephen King bedtime stories with my mom I was sort of programmed from birth to be a fan of all things sci-fi, fantasy, or horror.

I seem to be a bit of an anomaly though since I was never into any Trek, except Wrath of Khan, love Wrath of Khan or Star Wars which seem to be the Big Two of Sci-Fi fandom roots. At least I can blame the being a girl thing on not reading Lord of the Rings as a kid. A book about a bunch of guys with a ring? I think not, hand me the Robin McKinley and shut up about this Frodo person. And now I'm just rambling.

Hmm, where was I? On the TV front the first show I ever became absolutely Firefly level obsessed with was Due South(kisses LJC) followed closely by Buffy and Angel and finally Firefly. I only have Angel left. Don't cry for me, FFF.net, there's always Tru Calling or Fearless. Yep, I'm screwed.

"I was gonna get me an ear, too." - Jayne

WULFHAWK

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 4:08 AM

Damn, I'm bumfoozled and amazerated! All these library employees! Hell, I weren't even aware there were so many different kinds of librarians!

Did I miss the Dewey Decimal revolution?

tanstaafl

SIRENKAIN

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 5:04 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Dutch:
Quote:
Speaking of Zelazney... would anyone else LOVE to see Whedon could do with the Amber series?

The Amber series started out really good, but got worse as the series progressed. Especially after book 5.

Book 1-5 are Corwin's series and 6- 10 become Merlin's series. Merlin can't hold a torch to Corwin.

Morbid and creep-ifying I got no problem with.

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 2:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash
Sorry, Ruthie. I'm actually quite normal most of the time. Well, half the time.

I'm sorry...half the time? is it me, or does Tash spend more than half the time apologizing for something?

I found the way, by the sound of your voice--so many things to say.
These are only words. Now I've only words. Once there was a choice.
David Sylvian

SUCCATASH

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 6:27 PM

Cute, Channain. Woe is me.

CHANNAIN

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 6:32 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash
Cute, Channain. Woe is me.

awwwwwww, poor Tash.

we love you just as you are, you know that, right? you just can't keep scaring the mundanes, man. one of them might be as crazy as we are, they just don't know it yet. these things take time...seasoning...tequila...

I found the way, by the sound of your voice--so many things to say.
These are only words. Now I've only words. Once there was a choice.
David Sylvian

MERLINDREA

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 6:35 PM

Hi Ruthie,

I am female, 32, and originally from East Germany. That means my discovery of all those famous SF writers came relatively late, after the iron curtain was lifted. Man, I even read Star Wars (smuggled by my cousin to me) years before I realized there is a movie :-).

Actually, "western" SF came quite as a shock to me - a lot is so brooding and dark. The "eastern" SF was all positive, like in the future we all will live in peace... Close to Star Trek, when you think about it (which I was able to watch, although black&white only).

But I have adapted (even though I really recommend to read Stanislaw Lem, his "Star Diaries" are cult!) to the new world open to me now. A friend of mine made me watch Buffy (I was hesitant at first, I mean how does "a teenage-series where they kill vampires" sound to you?), but since then I am a die-hard Whedon fan. In fact, his shows are the only ones I watch regularly. With Firefly and Buffy gone and Angel in summer break, we haven't even switched on the TV for two weeks!

Well, more time to read, then. My favorite authors are Robin Hobb, Tanya Huff (girls, if you like great female characters, their books are a must!), Neil Gaiman (you surely know his "Sandman" comic books, but I also recommend "American Gods") and - dare I say it - J. K. Rowling. And Waltraud Lewin, but as she is an Eastgerman author, you guys probably never heard of her :-). Writes the best history novels, though...

Merl

SERENIDAD

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 7:18 PM

Okay, might as well open my big mouth. I normally just lurk around here. The first movie I ever saw in a theater was The Empire Strikes Back, I was six months old. My mother always watched Star Trek TOS as I was growing up and I saw the majority of those movies in the theater, too. So suffice to say, any movie/tvseries/book with at least some sort of scifi turn to it, I'm probably familiar with. (Anybody else remember VR5?) Course I have a low tolerance for BS so once a show goes downhill I get bitter. For example Seaquest (3rd season when Roy Scheider was replaced and all they seemed to talk about was aliens), Sliders (3rd season when all but one of the original characters was gone, and all they seemed to talk about was the alien-like creatures) and ST Voyager (when it just went crazy, 2nd season I think. Of course I still tuned it every week to see if it got any better. However, Joss's other shows have proved themselves in the test of time, so I'm sure Firefly would not have suffered from the sam horrible fate as the shows I mentioned above. Especially since he wasn't/isn't interested in using aliens.

Oh right, demographics,
Female, 23, single, teacher
That enough for you?

no?
Ok, what else?

TRAGICSTORY

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Drakon:
utopia is a word and probably one of the most accurately labeled political concepts out there. It is greek for "no where"

"My kind of stupid"

Did you ever stop and realize that a utopia is a totalitarian dictatorship?

There is no social mobility in an utopia.

"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

TRAGICSTORY

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Drakon:
utopia is a word and probably one of the most accurately labeled political concepts out there. It is greek for "no where"

"My kind of stupid"

Did you ever stop and realize that a utopia is a totalitarian dictatorship?

There is no social mobility in an utopia.

"Societies are supported by human activity, therefore they are constantly threatened by the human facts of self-intrest and stupidity." --Peter Berger

LERXST

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 9:13 PM

Hi Ruthie, welcome to our merry little band of lunatics.

I'm male, 38, married (wife is a fan too), have twin teenage daughters and FIVE cats. I'm a mailman and my wife is a librarian.

My favorite SF authors include Heinlein, Asimov, Bradbury, Niven, Pournelle, Allen Steele, Nancy Kress, and Joe Haldeman, to name a few. I've been a fan of Firefly since seeing The Train Job (the first ep that aired here in the US). I've liked other SF TV shows, but none as much as Star Trek TOS. Until now.

_________________________________________________
Raspberry! Only one man would dare give me the raspberry...LONESTAR!!

DRAKON

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 10:56 PM

yep, Plato thought a "philosopher king" would be ideal, and in a way he is right. But in dealing with humans, such don't work and has led to a lot of death, suffering, wars, famine, pestilence and other such waste of time, energy and resources. Power corrupts.

Dictatorships are the best kind government, but sadly also the worst. Democracies and republican democracies mediate the flaws inherent in the political structure as practiced by humans.

But what is worse is that, is that it is static. Life is a verb, and people are first and foremost living critters. People change all the time, and expecting social relationships to stay static, is simply unrealistic.

And why utopia will always be "no where"

"my kind of stupid"

SUCCATASH

Wednesday, June 25, 2003 11:00 PM

Here's more about me: I just bought a home from Utah Home Builder, I'm pretty excited. http://www.utah-home-builder.com

KOFFEE

Thursday, June 26, 2003 7:11 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Archer:
With the exception of Maniac, Succatash and myself, they're even mature.

Dammit! I was hoping to be immature too!

----------------------------------------------
“It's a real burn, being right so often.”

RUTHIE

Thursday, June 26, 2003 10:14 AM

Wow - I do seem to have started something here!

Great to get to know you all!

As someone said earlier, fans seem to come from a wide variety of backgrounds and interests. There are some common themes - that Heinlein connection is interesting!
It sounds as though everyone shares one or two interests with everyone else (apart from Firefly!), but we are certainly not look-alike clones!

Perhaps this is why Firefly had difficulty in 'finding it's market'. If it was assumed that it was SF, and therefor would appeal only to young males, and then didn't hit the target audiences in that demographic, it was assumed to be a failure. I'd say that the group LEAST represented in this thread is young males!

The mistake here, of course, was assuming that young males are the typical SF demographic!
It's a viscious circle, if the only SF on TV is slanted towards a certain group, and is made to appeal to that group (Have any of the other UK viewers been sickened by Sky One's current 'Beam Me Up Totty' mangeling of Star Trek?) - and then anything that group doesn't like is cancelled - then of course all the TV SF left WILL appeal to that group!!

I can't help wondering if Joss W approached the BBC for funding. Being driven by non-commercial concerns, the BBC is able to sponsor programming that falls outside the normal boundaries. What it does seem to be good at is finding INTELLIGENT programmes, and Firefly certainly fits that description!

MALINARA

Thursday, June 26, 2003 11:14 AM

Hey all

Just fitting that my post goes under Ruthie as I want to agree with her as to why FF as become my new obsession since the demise of the Xfiles. No other show will probably replace my lurve for finding the Truth with Mulder and Scully. For a whileI had a thing for Farscape ..very briefly but lost interest somewhere...and hooked onto SG-1. But by chance one evening sat down to watch Firefly ( Our Mrs Reynolds) and voila! , I was hooked I found a new love! I have been visiting here since then and it is the first thing I do every morning before I start work.

BTW, i am a 35 yr mother one 3yr old boy, married and a business executive ,leading a very hectic life in Capetown, South Africa. However FF is the only luxury I afford myself when time allows. Since I have no ability to write fanfic , I absolutely gobble up writings on FF sites etc. So to the FFff writers keep them comin`!

Fox for cancelling one of the most interestin` shows since the X files..they should`a stuck with it! From reading all the posts, it seemed to attract diverse fans from all age groups, countries and tastes..does`nt that say it all!

The show had a great storyline , great ensemble acting and character development ..."like a box of chocolates you knew what you would find ". Lastly , I must admit that the no 1 attraction for me on the show was the Mal/Inara `Ship and I would have loved to have seen how MIR would have developed over time.

In the mean time , I`ll keep my fingers crossed that Serenity and her crew will fly again...someday soon

MAL : [EE-chee shung-hoo-shee.] Are you saying I'm doing this deliberate on account of you? There's some reason I don't want you on the job?

INARA : Is there?

RHYANNAN

Friday, June 27, 2003 2:23 AM

Hi. *waves shyly*
Umm..I'm from the "other" board.
Thought I would pop in and say hello.

In answer to the question: I'm in my mid-thirties, single, no children, 3 cats and 1 dog.
And have always loved scifi. Starting off with Asimov's I, Robot and read most of his stuff through high school. Also, my other favorite scifi writer is Andre Norton.
I love all kinds of scifi A or B ratings. Started watching FF because I knew Adam was going to be in it and I've always been a big time admirer of Adam's. I've watched most of his stuff (95%). *hangs head* I'd watch more but so darn hard to find some of his movies on video/dvd.

Well, anyways that's pretty much it.
Oh, love playing PC games like Diablo I & II, Warcraft(all), Sacrifice (just started), Baldur's Gate II, etc... if its strategy, roleplay, action/adventure and some sim types, I likes playing.

Peace,
Rhy

PS. Pardon me while I'm learning the ins/outs of this here board. ;-)

RHYANNAN

Friday, June 27, 2003 2:24 AM

Hi. *waves shyly*
Umm..I'm from the "other" board.
Thought I would pop in and say hello.

In answer to the question: I'm in my mid-thirties, single, no children, 3 cats and 1 dog.
And have always loved scifi. Starting off with Asimov's I, Robot and read most of his stuff through high school. Also, my other favorite scifi writer is Andre Norton.
I love all kinds of scifi A or B ratings. Started watching FF because I knew Adam was going to be in it and I've always been a big time admirer of Adam's. I've watched most of his stuff (95%). *hangs head* I'd watch more but so darn hard to find some of his movies on video/dvd.

Well, anyways that's pretty much it.
Oh, love playing PC games like Diablo I & II, Warcraft(all), Sacrifice (just started), Baldur's Gate II, etc... if its strategy, roleplay, action/adventure and some sim types, I likes playing.

Peace,
Rhy

PS. Pardon me while I'm learning the ins/outs of this here board. ;-)

RHYANNAN

Friday, June 27, 2003 2:24 AM

Hi. *waves shyly*
Umm..I'm from the "other" board.
Thought I would pop in and say hello.

In answer to the question: I'm in my mid-thirties, single, no children, 3 cats and 1 dog.
And have always loved scifi. Starting off with Asimov's I, Robot and read most of his stuff through high school. Also, my other favorite scifi writer is Andre Norton.
I love all kinds of scifi A or B ratings. Started watching FF because I knew Adam was going to be in it and I've always been a big time admirer of Adam's. I've watched most of his stuff (95%). *hangs head* I'd watch more but so darn hard to find some of his movies on video/dvd.

Well, anyways that's pretty much it.
Oh, love playing PC games like Diablo I & II, Warcraft(all), Sacrifice (just started), Baldur's Gate II, etc... if its strategy, roleplay, action/adventure and some sim types, I likes playing.

Peace,
Rhy

PS. Pardon me while I'm learning the ins/outs of this here board. ;-)

SUCCATASH

Friday, June 27, 2003 4:32 AM

Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.

KOFFEE

Friday, June 27, 2003 5:03 AM

Looks like someone's computer had the hiccups!
Welcome all newbies and former lurkers.

----------------------------------------------
“It's a real burn, being right so often.”

PEG

Friday, June 27, 2003 8:10 AM

Hey, I'm 49, married forever, three daughters, two dogs, six cats and (drum roll) a history major. I grew up watching westerns with my Dad,which provided me with the inclination to watch Firefly the first time add to that a love of Star Trek and Dune (odd combo, I know)but I was hooked.
The thing that attracted me to Firefly was the witty dialog, it holds up well to being repeated, as my husband is want to do. But more it was the realistic view of the future. No replacators with instant food,no beam me up Scotty. Life as it's always been, despite the hardships and the grit you find people that you trust and little things that make life bearable. It also helps that the characters are people that you would really like to know. My husband and I (He's 52) have spent afternoons decussing the characters,plot,technology and historical background of this show. It's a damn shame that Fox didn't realize what it really had.

MANIACNUMBERONE

Friday, June 27, 2003 8:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Succatash:
Welcome. Welcome. Welcome.

LOL

Nice to have you Ruthie, and all you folks from the "other" board as well.

You can call me Maniac. I just turned 30. Not married. Living in Utah. Working for the IRS.
Love reading everything I can get my hands on. I suspect, if you hang around here for any amount of time, you'll find out how I am.

PEG

Friday, June 27, 2003 8:34 AM

Hey, I'm 49, married forever, three daughters, two dogs, six cats,and (drum roll) a history major. When I was growing up I watched westerns with my Dad which gave me the inclination to watch Firefly the first time add to that a love of Ray Bradbury, Star Trek and Dune(odd combo, I know) but I was hooked.
The dialog is so witty, it bears being repeated which my husband does frequently (makes our girls crazy,probably one more reason to do it). The thing I liked most was the realistic view of the future. No replacators with instant food, no beam me up Scotty just life as it has always been. People making their way as best they can despite the hardships and the grit. For most, life isn't easy now and that won't change in five hundred years. Technology will go to the affluent and every one else will just get by.
The other thing that attracted me was the characters, these are people you would really like to know. My husband and I (he's 52) have spent afternoons discussing characters, plot, technology,historical background and favorite quotes. We have never done that about another TV show. It's a damn shame Fox didn't realize what it really had.

I'm still flying, that's enought

STILLSHINY

Friday, June 27, 2003 2:41 PM

Hey,

I'm a tech support guy for a company that makes fishing sonars & GPS units. But in the midst of talking to bubba, I like to surf Firefly sites. Already customized the desktop and all sound files on my computer at home. Fell in love with the Sernity crew & passengers from the get go. After 2 episodes my wife was hooked too. Love the quote of Joss saying. "Is a TV show morons." Nevertheless, went to pieces when it was cancelled . Then a friend showed me some episodes of Farscape on CD. Told him of my love for Firefly. He said he would see what he could do for me. Within a week I had three episodes in hand. Of course my old old old CD drive had trouble reading them. But through patience and persistence and 45 minutes of starting and stopping I got them downloaded onto my 4 gig harddrive. But Finally, I had Firefly again. Now, I show the episodes to my friends who always respond the same way, "Why the was this cancelled?"
So now, I continue building my collection of Firefly stuff, and look forward to having a very "Shiny" Christmas . And of course the only movie I could long for more than the LOTR series. (no I don't speak elvish) Well, that's my story. I'll drop by every now and then just to gab & keep up on THE GREATEST TV SHOW TO EVER COME TO TV AND THEN BE RIPPED MERCILESSLY FROM THE NETWORK WHICH GAVE US "american idle (sp intended)" But I'm not bitter. Keep Flying!

Mal: “Mercy is the mark of a great man. (stabs Atherton) Guess I'm just a good one. (stabs Atherton again) Well, I'm alright.”

GTHING

Friday, June 27, 2003 3:30 PM

Howdy!
My real name is Greg. I am 24 and saving money for my first home. I live in Michigan about halfway between Flint and Lansing. I have always been fond of science fiction.
I enjoy:
• the early Twilight Zone episodes
• Star Trek (both original series and TNG)
• the Star Wars movies including Episodes I and II
• StarGate SG-1 though I was disappointed with its sixth season,
• the cancelled but brilliant Odyssey 5
• the first four seasons of Earth: Final Conflict
• J.R.R. Tolkien's stories of Middle Earth (The Hobbit being my personal favorite)
• the first two Alien movies
• The Matrix
• Dark City (one of the best movies ever made and no one seems to remember it)
• The Terminator movies even though the next one will probably be a disappointment
• The Mad Max movies (Beyond Thunderdome is my favorite)
• Blade Runner
• Minority Report
• the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, and Kurt Vonnegut

There are quite a few others. I look for sophistication and originality in whatever I watch and read. I knew I had to see to Firefly, because I am a die-hard Buffy and Angel fan. Before those shows came along, I had no idea it was possible on a television show to do the things they have done. The biggest and happiest surprise is that Whedon and company have kept it fresh for years. They haven’t repeated themselves, and we can count on getting something new and unique. Thus, when Firefly came around, I could recognize the innovation behind it. The result was unprecedented. Given enough time, Firefly may have become Joss Whedon’s best show. The weirdest part is I have never liked Westerns very much. Something must have clicked here.

Excerpt from My Genre Geek Resume:
~huge Odyssey 5 fan (despite its cancellation)
~dangerously obsessed with BtVS and Angel
~former Andromeda fan

SIGNYM

Friday, June 27, 2003 7:17 PM

You must be my twin! (except I already have a twin...)

Female, mid 40s, scientist.

Likes scifi -started with "Rocket Man" (Corey), "Podkayne of Mars" (Heinlein) and "Wrinkle in Time" (L'Engle) and just kept going. Likes MZ Bradley and CJ Cherryh, not too wild about sword and sorcery tho.

Other ppl I know who like FF are a secretary (male), a chemist (male) and engineer (male) who all like scifi.

MAGUINAN

Saturday, June 28, 2003 12:16 AM

I just wanted to post and say that the twice-mentioned Due South is great (when will S2 DVD get here?!?) as well as Kurt Vonnegut who was mentioned somewhere. For those of you "just collatin' data, as they say," I'm teenaged, female, and quite possibly partially comprised of cybernetic material.

-maguinan

SWITCHY

Saturday, June 28, 2003 4:53 AM

I like this "getting to know you" thread..

I'm a Canadian, Male
married
32
musician
long time sci-fi fan (it's been a while since I read the classics but always loved Heinlein, Asimov, Phillip K Dick.)
Big movie fan! You name it, I've probably seen it. That's a lie but I'd like it to be true
I'm a little weak on my foreign films, though I try.

I've never been hooked by a show like this before. Certainly not enough to seek out a community online. Only something as fantastic as FF could inspire all of us to keep checking in and keeping the faith. Peace.

KOFFEE

Saturday, June 28, 2003 5:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Archer:
Gotta say, Koffee... FF is not in the typical mode for SF tv, but not for SF literarily.

Ah, I see what you are saying here. My main experience to sci-fi is through the mass media outlets. I haven't really read many literary stories on the topic. My main experience with "sci-fi" literature was being made to read A Wrinkle In Time back in school. Sorry, but I hated it. I have always prefered reading something historic than anything futuristic / sciency / technologicly influenced. Basically a diference of shooting arrows vs. shooting lazer guns. Just a personal preference is all.

But hey...differences are what make us great.

I think that is why I have taken to Firefly so much. It is the western side of it that I love the most. They are still shooting bullets, still riding horses, and still wearing those cavalry style "tightpants".

Plus it is the first show me and Ry have agreed on in along time. He gets his space ships, and I get my six-shooters. A happy combination.

P.S.- Sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this.

----------------------------------------------
“It's a real burn, being right so often.”

RAYANN

Monday, June 30, 2003 3:59 AM

Hi everybody. *waves* My name is Rachel, and I'm a seventeen year old girl from California. I'm a bit of a sci-fi/fantasy geek; some of my favorites include Robert A. Heinlein, Larry Niven, Michael Crichton, and Orson Scott Card, to name a random few. (Another, lesser-known favorite of mine is James Schmitz; if anyone out there has read The Witches of Karres, we need to talk!) I am a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy (hate the prequels, though). I'm also a lit nerd, so Jurassic Park sits next to Jane Eyre on my bookshelf, and Wyrms is next to Wuthering Heights. What can I say, I'm weird.

Became a Whedon fan after my parents got me hooked on 'Buffy', then quickly became addicted to 'Angel' as well. I've been watching 'Firefly' since the first episode aired in the US, and I cursed a blue streak when it got canceled. Now my television viewing is essentially limited to 'Angel,' 'The Simpsons,' and, once in a while, 'Smallville'. (Occasionally, when I'm in a masochistic mood, I watch 'Seventh Heaven' or the latest FOX drivel.) I used to watch 'The X-files,' and I had a growing interest in 'Farscape' that was abruptly killed when my family stopped getting the Sci-Fi Channel.

I am absolutely addicted to 'Firefly' fanfic, which is what kept me lurking around this site for awhile -- there are some very talented people who post their stories here. Finally decided to start posting, so, uh, hey. I just want to say that you guys are a great community and I look forward to becoming a part of it.

GINOBIFFARONI

Monday, June 30, 2003 4:14 AM

A little off topic here,

I loved Due South as well, could you picture the Nothern Pikes doing music for the Firefly movie??

Something between " Kiss me you fool " and " Shotgun Morning " likely.

Anyway

CQ

Monday, June 30, 2003 5:15 PM

Hi all! My name's Cheryl and I generally lurk, but this thread drew me out I'm 24, live in the lovely city of Vancouver, BC and am deperately hoping for some good news on Wedneday! I do HR/compensation type stuff, which right now means I decide what certain positions should get paid. Oh, the power

I'm not a huge sci-fi fan. I mainly stuck to X-Files, Red Dwarf, BtVS, and Angel. Loved Due South (and I see I'm not alone), and lesser known Canadian shows like Made in Canada and Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy. I also watch Law and Order (original recipe is still the best), and my reality tv Survivor and Amazing Race.

Let's see.... what else.... I read just about anything - history, business books, and, ehm, romance novels. I listen to country music. I like figure skating. I miss Firefly.

KURUKAMI

Monday, June 30, 2003 6:34 PM

Hello all...

My name's Mark, and like a few others on the board I'm a native Californian, residing at present in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'm 28, male, single, once-upon-a-time-web developer, sometimes writer, and part-time Macy's employee. Retail, bleck. And I'm a bit of a liberal activist.

I've been an avid sci-fi/fantasy reader and watcher for a long time -- Heinlein (well, some of it, anyways), Niven (but mostly his collaborations), both Vinges, Lawrence Watt-Evans, S.M. Stirling, George R. R. Martin, Kage Baker, Connie Willis, and J. Gregory Keyes top my reading list. Weirdly, though I watched quite a passel of Next Generation episodes in my youth, I never really found myself as enthralled by the later expansions upon the series. My favorites were more along the lines of early X-Files, Strange Luck, Babylon 5, Farscape, and the ever-cheesy yet still enjoyable Invisible Man.

And, of course, Firefly. Firefly had such an unusual blend of on-the-edge living, old mixed with new, and enough anti-authoritarianism in these "interesting" times to provide a welcome escape. Fascinating characters, cool setting, great effects, and a wondrously talented cast combined to form a glorious blend of the familiar and exotic.

History doesn't always repeat itself. Sometimes it merely shouts "Weren't you listening the first time?!?" and lets fly with a club.

JOSH294

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 9:09 PM

I'm kinda scared about posting in this thread... I don't think I'm the typical Firefly fan. I'm 14 years old, and I'm dangerously obsessed with Buffy and Angel (my parents want me to go into therapy...i'm not actually sure if that is a joke) and anything Joss puts out. I absolutely love everything I've seen of Firefly so far (we're up to Out Of Gas so far in the UK) and it gets better every week. Even at this early stage, every character is beautifully developed and realised, the acting is great, the direction and writing and melding of different genres is all just amazing. Every week I watch in disbelief that a show like this can be cancelled while so many other terrible shows go on for years with huge, braindead audiences.

At school, while other kids talk about how awesome 2 Fast 2 Furious ( ) was, I'm writing outlines for Buffy and Firefly fanfiction. I have a couple of friends who watch Buffy and Angel, but I haven't got any of them into Firefly. It's just too slow for them...I totally don't understand it, I just need to show them Out Of Gas and I know they'll be hooked. Anyway, i've babbled on for too long... i'll leave the grown ups to talk, lol. I think I'm gonna go watch Out Of Gas again...

SALESMAN
You hear a word I been saying?

He hasn't. Because he's looking across the lot at something else.

Across the lot sits Serenity, dirty, broken-down, and entrancing.

JOSH294

Wednesday, July 2, 2003 9:10 PM

Crap, crappity, crap crap crap. Double post. Please forgive me, I'm kinda new at this...

LORA

Tuesday, July 22, 2003 12:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Josh294:
I'm kinda scared about posting in this thread... I don't think I'm the typical Firefly fan. ... I have a couple of friends who watch Buffy and Angel, but I haven't got any of them into Firefly. ... show them Out Of Gas and I know they'll be hooked.

Josh, be welcome here. We are not ones of whom to be frightened. The only thing we really have in common is a sense of despair that Firefly is not on the air but garbage like Anything for Love is.

If Out of Gas does not get your friends to love the crew on Serenity, then ... get new friends!

Everyone at their best behaviour, even Jayne.

And it's all about Mal.

"Is there any way I'm gonna get out of this with honor and dignity?" Zoe, War Stories

SKF

Friday, July 20, 2007 9:59 PM

You are not alone. I just finished watching "FireFly" the entire series again. I am now watching "Angel" the entire series again, am at Series 4 Disc 3. It's a long look, but worth it, especially "The Special Features" there a hoot. I am a 44 year Female Engineer and love Joss Weedon and David's work. "Serenity", the movie is a must see if you have not seen it. It brings the entire FireFly series together as only Joss can do :)

SKF

SKF

MISSWHATSIS

Friday, July 20, 2007 10:15 PM

I, too, am a proper grown-up. 50, with 4 kids the oldest at 19. My sci-fi loving teenage daughter gave me my first hit of Firefly.

Come on, Ma, it's almost as good as Miles Vorkosigan.

And it is --

DEL

Saturday, July 21, 2007 12:03 AM

Well I wouldn't consider myself a grownup but my years negate my protests. I'm 28yrs old, female and single. I at the moment love FF and am watching Supernatural too.Also I am single.

KAREL

Saturday, July 21, 2007 12:19 AM

OMG... the names! This thread has to hold some kind of record... LOL

2007...
Married
Engineer
5 greyhounds
1 cat
Buffy and Angle (Joss) fan

In 2003...
Married
Engineer
Lurked on fff.net
Hadn't been to Dragon*Con yet
5 greyhounds
1 cat
Buffy and Angle (Joss) fan

Wow! How things change.

"Wondrous is our great blue ship that sails around the mighty sun and joy to everyone that rides along." -- Jeff Lynne, Electric Light Orchestra.

URIAHONE

Monday, July 23, 2007 6:15 PM

I'm a 23 year old male nuclear engineering student, *spent 3 years working as a carpenter, don't ask* i despise most television and watch less than a half hr a week/month. I found out about firefly, like most, well after it was canceled, and it's cancellation is a confirmation of every reason I and most of my friends have given up on television.

I think the kind of people that are interested in firefly are the kind of people that enjoy they very rare combination of plot and action.

STARTROOP

Monday, July 23, 2007 6:42 PM

Geez, I don't feel so bad ;-) I am 51, teach at a State University. I have four college degrees, three kids, 2 cats, 1 wife (and she is insistant that it stay that way) ;-).

I tend to lurk on these site, not from a desire to be a hermit, but rather not enough time. I don't watch TV as a rule (we have no cable) and, like others, found out about the series after it cancelled.

I am also dumb struck when I look at things like "reality TV" and compare it to Firefly. I have high hopes that something will come out of the Browncoat movement like a message to Hollywood that says "WAKE UP! At the rate you are going, only morons will be left watching TV".

ALLIETHORN7

Monday, July 23, 2007 7:18 PM

Wow, ain't we just the strangest folk?
Thank God that I hate normality
Myself, I'm 16, a guy, and almost but not quite a metalhead. Almost, mind.
I used to be really into SF, but now am more into Fantasy type stories ('Cept for Firelfy, o'course! ). Oh, and we musn't forget the Anime and Manga- blame my friends for that.
Oh, and a big welcome from me, ya? Always good to bring another 'Coat in!

-Danny

We move for all mankind,
A million miles from everything we've ever know...
We're on their hearts and minds,
A million heads are bowed to bring us safely home...
Hemmed in by emptiness,
A million ways that everything could be undone...

THRICE RULES!!!!!!!!!
My Master went to the Moon in a Rocket of Flamin' Cheese!
I LIKE CHEESE!!!
http://www.myspace.com/otherrandomdude

ERGASTER

Monday, July 23, 2007 10:10 PM

Finally got my computer running!! It died, y'know. Power supply. My daughter asking "What's that funny smell?"

Anyway, I'm 50, female, Canadian (Toronto) have two kids ten years apart, went to university for the first time at age 35 and wasn't finally booted out until 2000, discovered that there isn't a lot of call for specialists in human evolution, went back to school and became a teacher three years ago. Job market here is crap so I teach part time at a small independent school and supply teach at Canada's most elite private school, Upper Canada College. Haven't run into any Browncoats there yet, but then I've only been supplying there since March. I'll find out this fall.

I've always been a fan of sci-fi movies and found Serenity. It blew me away. Only afterwards did I learn that there had been a series related to it. I don't watch tv sci-fi, the last series I watched with any regularity being Star Trek Voyager.

I'm trying to figure out why Firefly/Serenity has struck *such* a chord. I really don't know.

TRAVELER

Monday, July 23, 2007 11:53 PM

Hello Ruthie:

I am a 55 year old single male. A mechanical designer, so I am in front of the computer most of my life if you include coming to websites such as this one. I am an avid reader. Never with out a book. I read every thing. Science of course. But I also read a lot of military history and even an occasional Shakepearian play. So when I say everything I ain't kidding.

I started watching science fiction at age five with Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon. Along the same time there were other shows like Rocky Jones Space Ranger.

Later would come Men Into Space. Twilight Zone and Lost in Space.

Then the big one, Star Trek.

I think the reason I like science fiction is the freedom to create any type world or story that the writers imagination can come up with.

Don't be to worried about some of the post you see here. We like to have fun and play games. We tease alot, but we are serious about Firefly.

Ah Firefly.

I discovered Firefly when I went to Best Buys to find a new DVD to watch on a Saturday night. I pulled the Firefly collection out and saw Ron Glass was in it. I have always been a big Ron Glass fan so I bought it. Little did I know what a treasure I had found. Shortly after that I decided to find out if others knew about this program and I went on the net and discovered this site. The rest is history.

If you have read all these posts then you most know you are now known as a Browncoat for the uniform the Mal and Zoe wore in the revolt. Better than being called a Firefly.

So welcome to this site and join in and become a part.

If you reqire any help, please ask. I am not the most knowledgeable but there are plenty of people here who can give answers to almost anything. From facts about Firefly to tech help with your posts.

Once Again Welcome:
Traveler

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=28764731
Traveler

SAHARA

Thursday, July 26, 2007 6:48 PM

So, to sum up, FF attracts all kinds.

Sahara
Blackbird fly into the light of the dark, black night.

SPONGEWORTHY

Thursday, July 26, 2007 9:14 PM

Cool thread! Shiny to meet everyone. I'm a 36 year old male actuary. Actually, I haven't passed all the exams yet. I took several years off to have 4 kids and move 3 times. I don't recommend Arizona because its too hot in the summer. Great place to visit, but I just don't want to live there.

GThing nailed it for me. I grew up first watching Start Trek TOS and Star Wars. I couldn't get enough. I'll watch anything with a Sci-Fi hook - Last Star Fighter, Damnation Alley, Lost in Space, V the mini series. My favorite shows now are Numb3rs, Lost, BSG, Heroes, and just about anything home improvement (I love getting my hands dirty).

My favorite authors are Vonnegut, Clarke, Asimov, CS Lewis, and Tolkien. I'd love to see a Foundation movie. I liked those books better than the Robot series. I minored in Philosophy and English in college so I enjoy the classic novelists as well.

Oh how I wish Firefly could go on.

BIGMAN

Thursday, July 26, 2007 9:16 PM

I think we're all the same type of people here we love well written beautifully acted character driven story telling along with a tendancy to fall for lost causes and who knows making them found again.
Plus we all fell in love with a rickity old ship an her crew
Age sex and background count for nothin in the verse

He's lookin to kill some folk