# Burn the land and boil the sea. (R.I.P., Firefly) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2003, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341 "2003-12-21T18:20:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/21 "2003-12-22T11:43:03Z")
Heck, I’m still pissed over the loss of _Brimstone_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/22 "2003-12-22T16:36:25Z")
_You can’t take the sky from me…_ I don’t see how in the FUCK Fox could drop the ball on this one. I love the way the writers on this show destroyed cliches. The bad guy holds one of the crew prisoner and threatens to kill her. Captain Mal enters the ship and BOOM. No drawn-out negotiations, no hubris, no angst, just dead bad guy. Sorry guys, you can’t have Jewel Staite. She’s mine. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/23 "2003-12-22T17:58:28Z")
How can Firefly be so good and Angel be so bad? > [@](#): > > Mal: Appears we got here just in the nick of time! What does that make us? > Zoë: Big damn heroes, sir. > Mal: Ain’t we just. My mom got the DVD for me for Christmas, after checking to make sure I hadn’t bought it myself in a rabid spree. I declare it to be the highest quality DVD set I own. Highly recommend it to anyone who likes Westerns and/or Space Operas. But I’m really just posting to join the drooling over Kaylee. Femmes with toolbelts. Ahhhh. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/24 "2003-12-22T18:16:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by A wizard song for thee \* > \*\*Of course, then a magic leprechaun shows up and gives me millions of dollars… \*\* Aye, laddy. Will ye be wantin’ that in unmarked twennies or hun’reds? I am **all** about this box set. The only reason I don’t have it already is that I can’t get into the local Best Buy due to the massive shopping crowds. Damn them all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/25 "2003-12-22T19:47:27Z")
Watch for my Sci-Fi/Western, **StarRiders** , coming to a screen near you. Actually its a screenplay waiting to be picked up. When I first saw **Firefly** promos I thought, Oh No! :eek: But they are way different from each other so I breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it. Then I was hoping to ride the current it would hopefully generate for Sci-Fi/Westerns. Then it gets cancelled! ☹ ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/26 "2003-12-22T21:30:08Z")
> [@](#): > > How can Firefly be so good and Angel be so bad? **Angel** is not bad. Humph Also, Tim Minear isn’t working on **AtS** any more (I think he’s working on a show called _Wonder Falls_ for a midseason pick up, but I haven’t heard much about it lately…) and Joss’s input on the season is probably pretty small. David Fury is running things over in the AtS camp now… ---
**Author:** ![hypnoboth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/bb73d2/32.png) [@hypnoboth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hypnoboth)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/27 "2003-12-22T21:35:56Z")
I kept waiting for **Firefly** to settle down. It never quite did, in spite of flashes of brilliance. But I wish, I wish, I wish I may, I wish I might… ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/28 "2003-12-22T21:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by pepperlandgirl \* > \*\*Is **War Stories** the ep where Walsh and Mal are caught and tortured and Mal keeps Walsh alive? If so, I’d say that it is _the best hour of television ever_. > \*\* Yes it is, and yes it is. The other three are the raid on the hospital, the one where the ship breaks down in space, and the final episode, with the bounty hunter. The last one is my personal favorite. Simon: Are you alliance? Jubal: Am I a lion? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/29 "2003-12-22T22:00:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by penny dreadful \* > \*\*I’ve heard that the episodes were aired all out of order, which would definitely put a show of this type at a disadvantage. Did FOX ever give a reason for this? \*\* My recollection from the time was that FOX was unhappy with the pilot because it didn’t have enough action, so they decided to bump it and start with “The Train Job,” by no means the strongest episode, IMO. Although the pilot did a very good job of setting up the series, the broadcast episodes were well-enough written that you could get a fix on the characters, but the occasional holes in the audience’s knowledge did cause problems from time to time. Of course, when FOX finally did broadcast the pilot it became clear that they’d made a huge mistake – it’s true, there wasn’t a lot of action, but it wasn’t an action episode. It was a suspense/tension episode, and some of the best suspense directing I’ve seen on the small screen. The only reason I don’t have the DVD’s yet is that I’m pretty sure I’m getting them for Christmas – I’ve been so excited about the prospect that last week I had a Firefly _dream_. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/30 "2003-12-23T00:14:48Z")
> [@](#): > > But I wish, I wish, I wish I may, I wish I might… As Jayne would say, “If wishes were horses, we’d all be eatin’ steak!” ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/31 "2003-12-23T03:07:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by slortar \* > \*\*I am **all** about this box set. The only reason I don’t have it already is that I can’t get into the local Best Buy due to the massive shopping crowds. Damn them all. 🙂 \*\* I was just in a local Best Buy and couldn’t find the DVD! ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/32 "2003-12-23T03:55:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Knowed Out \* > \*\*I love the way the writers on this show destroyed cliches. The bad guy holds one of the crew prisoner and threatens to kill her. Captain Mal enters the ship and BOOM. No drawn-out negotiations, no hubris, no angst, just dead bad guy. > \*\* Or, the one line from “The Train Job” that absolutely _hooked_ me on the show… > [@](#): > > “Darn.” Of course, they only said that AFTER I posted a somewhat negative review of that first episode, on the SDMB. So, I have to live my life in the knowledge that _I_ helped kill Firefly. ☹ 😉 ---
**Author:** ![the\_Lady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bb73d2/32.png) [@the\_Lady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_Lady)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/33 "2003-12-23T04:33:22Z")
Ah yes - I was watching the pilot this evening (Space has been showing them Mondays) and thinking how pleased I am with myself that I bought the dvd’s for the husband for Christmas. Now I have to wait until then to see the other half… ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/34 "2003-12-23T04:38:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Knowed Out \* > **I love the way the writers on this show destroyed cliches.** The rescue party finds Mal in a struggle with his torturer. Zoë: Stay back. This is something the Captain needs to do himself. Mal: [desperately] No, it’s not! Zoë: Oh. [the rescue party shoots the torturer] ---
**Author:** ![BraheSilver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 9:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/35 "2003-12-23T09:19:09Z")
I was convinced that I was getting the set for Xmas, but during my annual present-prowling and box-shakery my parents revealed that they hadn’t gotten me Firefly. So I scampered off and picked it up myself knowing full well that I wouldn’t be spoiling any gifts. Which leaves the question of just what that suspicious present is… I’m thinking Family Guy. I’ve only seen the first episode on the DVDs (I’m pacing myself), and the commentary’s pretty fun, if off topic. “Here’s where Wash is holding nothing! _NOTHING!_ ::cackling::” ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/36 "2003-12-23T14:54:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Baldwin \* > \*\*As Jayne would say, “If wishes were horses, we’d all be eatin’ steak!” \*\* Greatest line ever! ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/37 "2003-12-23T15:06:47Z")
> [@](#): > > “Out of Gas,” “Ariel,” “War Stories,” and “Objects in Space.” Oh? And “Our Mrs. Reynolds” is what, chopped liver? My grandchildren will get sick of listening to to me bitching about the demise of _Firefly_. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/38 "2003-12-23T15:47:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Ranchoth \* > \*\*So, I have to live my life in the knowledge that _I_ helped kill Firefly. ☹ 😉 \*\* Burn the sky and boil the sea **Ranchoth** , but you can’t take the sky from me. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/39 "2003-12-23T16:06:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > [Fox] spent as little as humanly possible on advertising (the only time I ever saw commercials for it was during Buffy re-runs on FX). I almost never watch TV, yet I saw a bunch of promos for _Firefly_. It’s been awhile now, obviously, but IIRC, the promos ran extensively during the MLB playoffs in October 2002. Maybe that’s not the right target audience, but it isn’t exactly low-visibility promotion either. ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2003, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341/40 "2003-12-23T17:24:43Z")
Yeah, they advertised it before the pilot aired. _After_ the pilot aired, though, if you hadn’t heard of it before, you would never hear about it from Fox… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/burn-the-land-and-boil-the-sea-r-i-p-firefly/220341.md?page=3)