# Cowboy Bebop (Netflix) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, netflix\ **Created:** [October 27, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316 "2021-10-27T15:06:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/41 "2021-12-01T03:53:29Z")
We can nitpick all we want but I think the series was, overall, a win. It nailed being a live-action anime. Not easy to do. I think the over-stylised fight scenes were the point and very much intended as opposed to being stupid. The dialogue was likewise intentionally loaded. See Tarantino films. Again, that’s the point. I 100% get if the style is not something some people like. I agree it can get heavy-handed and tiresome. But this was all intended and it (mostly) achieved what it set out to do I think. Compared to the dreck put out these days…especially since COVID…I think this is light-years better than most of what has come out in the last year. Well cast, well acted, well filmed, great style, genuine effort. I am not gushing over it, I would only recommend it to diehard Bebop fans. But, it’s pretty good. I will say I just cannot like the Faye actress. Weird thing is I do not know why. When I watch her I can’t pinpoint anything she is doing wrong. She seems to be doing a good job (really). But…I dunno what it is that I can’t plug into her character…I really want to like her. And, of course, anything with a Corgi in it gets bonus points. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/42 "2021-12-01T05:17:34Z")
I liked the dynamic of the three main characters enough that I’m interested in a second season of the show on it’s own terms, now that it’s no longer beheld to the original anime storyline. ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/43 "2021-12-01T12:13:25Z")
Since I am roughly a hundred and sixty years old give or take a century, I am quite sure I am not the target audience (and I never saw the original material), but I like the trailer just fine and it would not be hard to get me to watch these ten episodes. I am even fairly sure I would like to see additional seasons. But the reason I am posting in this thread is because of this storyline pasted in from IMDb: > The space Western story follows Spike Spiegel and his rag-tag crew of bounty hunters, or Cowboys, as they try to capture the galaxy’s worst criminals and survive the unexpected dangers they encounter throughout space, sometimes saving the world in the process but always leaving millions in damages. When reading this, I had already substituted the name Malcolm Reynolds for Spike S. Does the concept of a small contingent of space travelers taking on jobs or contracts remind anyone else of another verse? I am not sure of timelines and who influenced who, and nothing in the trailer reminded me of FIREFLY, but since Quentin Tarantino is noted as possibly being influenced by/influencing the material-- is there any chance the anime influenced/was influenced by the Joss Whedon material? Whoever said it is an example of style over substance seems to be completely correct to me, and what could be better than that in this sort of production? This does not seem like the correct format for deep introspection and probing philosophical or moral lessons. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/44 "2021-12-01T12:55:31Z")
Cowboy Bebop predates Firefly by about 4 years. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/45 "2021-12-01T13:13:22Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > I am not sure of timelines and who influenced who, and nothing in the trailer reminded me of FIREFLY, but since Quentin Tarantino is noted as possibly being influenced by/influencing the material-- is there any chance the anime influenced/was influenced by the Joss Whedon material? When Firefly debuted, it was the other way people noticed the influence. Remember, the anime is older than Firefly and my first thought when I saw the anime Cowboy Bepo(which I only saw after Firefly) was “Hey…is this where Joss Whedon got the idea for Firefly?” I have this vague and possibly inaccurate memory that Whedon said he had not seen Cowboy Bepop when he made Firefly? I’m not sure. Edit: I’m not finding any comment from Whedon now, but I am reading that he hasn’t commented on it. So maybe no? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/46 "2021-12-01T18:22:22Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > I am not sure of timelines and who influenced who The influence of _Bebop_ on _Firefly_ couldn’t be more obvious. And anyone involved in the latter who denied it would be as deceiving as a low down, dirty _deceiver_. Of course, there’s also _Outlaw Star_… ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/47 "2021-12-01T19:57:49Z")
Thank you for the replies, I do want to rescind my comment above about the trailer not resembling anything from the Firefly Verse, how wrong I was! The ship with outboard engines is VERY similar and the fact that parts need to be forced to work properly is very Serenity (at least no parts fly off in the trailer!). The never been in love is just a version of “never had any faith”. For that matter the name Spike has a meaning apart from being a name just like Mal means evil (more or less) in Latin and French. Spike is a weapon, pure and simple. A hot brunette who really, really makes the star (a guy who doesn’t feel anything any more and has resigned himself to being a lesser version of what he once was) motivated- but in conflicting ways. There is a fight in a barroom, I have to assume someone was thrown through a holograph window but it didn’t make the trailer. There is a moral ambiguity that makes outsiders wonder if they are good or evil but it seems from context that they can surely count on one another even if it doesn’t appear that way at first glance. And that doesn’t even take into account the texture and feeling of the trailer. The biggest difference I can detect (now that the idea occurred to me) is that Spike is an urban cat and Malcolm is a rural creature. If you switched the background music it would be interesting I believe. No matter what, I missed the connections until I didn’t (which was based upon a blurb- how dense am I?) > [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > Cowboy Bebop predates Firefly by about 4 years. This makes so much more sense. Having only seen Firefly I made that the default in my head as this Bebop is new to me (in any real sense- I did know of it but never viewed it). > [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have this vague and possibly inaccurate memory that Whedon said he had not seen Cowboy Bepop when he made Firefly? I’m not sure. Even if Whedon didn’t know he was influenced by the anime, he was. So were his set designers and lighting people and cinematographer, even the wardrobe has influences. The dark recesses and dark undercurrent are so often apparent in both shows. He may not have commented upon it, but he certainly cannot deny it now! (For example:) > [@MrDibble](#): > > And anyone involved in the latter who denied it would be as deceiving as a low down, dirty _deceiver_ . I see what you did there. Shiny! Thanks for the discussion, I’ll be in my bunk. Okay, one last comment, I cannot stop myself. I believe that Whedon spent the entire run of Firefly including the movie Serenity trying to capture a phrase as cool as _Whatever happens… happens_ and never quite succeeded. The movie is FULL of efforts: I am a leaf on the wind, can’t stop the signal, I aim to misbehave, etc. I assume whatever happens… is a theme of the anime which permeates the whole show similar to the way the Battle of Serenity has an undercurrent on each episode of Firefly. Is there a phrase from Firefly? Maybe “You can’t take the sky from me”? ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2021, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/48 "2021-12-01T22:39:04Z")
> [@Temporary\_Name](#): > > Okay, one last comment, I cannot stop myself. I believe that Whedon spent the entire run of Firefly including the movie Serenity trying to capture a phrase as cool as _Whatever happens… happens_ and never quite succeeded. I mean, it’s a good line, but surely that phrase is older than 1998. ---
**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 2, 2021, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/49 "2021-12-02T00:00:28Z")
Spike Spiegel wishes he was half as cool as [Doris Day.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZbKHDPPrrc) ---
**Author:** ![Temporary\_Name](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Temporary\_Name](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Temporary_Name)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/50 "2021-12-02T01:41:51Z")
It occurred to me later that the Firefly quote would be: “No power in the Verse can stop me”. (And I bet no on on Cowboy Bebop can kill using arithmetic, magically powerful women is Whedon’s thing.) I am so glad that Bebop influenced Firefly if they ever realize it or not. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/51 "2021-12-03T00:34:46Z")
I’m getting a Buckeroo Banzai vibe from this, but I haven’t watched it yet. Would that be accurate? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/52 "2021-12-03T13:21:45Z")
No, I wouldn’t say so. ---
**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 3, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/53 "2021-12-03T18:18:00Z")
Unless “Buckaroo Banzai vibe” means, “Does a character randomly wear a full-on Golden Age Hollywood Cowboy outfit, and nobody ever remarks on it,” then yes. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/54 "2021-12-03T19:03:41Z")
I haven’t finished the Netflix series yet. Is Andy in it? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/55 "2021-12-04T00:57:05Z")
No Andy, alas. Maybe next season. ---
**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 4, 2021, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/56 "2021-12-04T01:00:20Z")
I was actually thinking of the hosts of Big Shots, but him too. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/57 "2021-12-04T02:08:04Z")
Now the idea of a cross over is half baking in my head. The Syndicate and the World Crime League are in cahoots somehow and yada yada yada… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/58 "2021-12-04T02:55:03Z")
I haven’t watched it yet, but is this thing renewed for a second season? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/59 "2021-12-04T03:13:01Z")
From what I can see, it has not officially been renewed, but all signs point to yes. ---
**Author:** ![jadielyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jadielyn/32/8808_2.png) [@jadielyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jadielyn)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2021, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316/60 "2021-12-06T19:40:57Z")
Big Shots does make at least one appearance. One episode has a bounty list where Andy’s name shows as having collared the bounty, but no official appearance. I did see a character briefly in passing which I thought looked like a live-action Andy (like an easter-egg cameo), but no one else seems to have remarked on that so might just be me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cowboy-bebop-netflix/953316.md?page=4)