Just saw Senrenity - total virgin. Loved it. Questions.

Cafe Society
1

I’d never seen a single frame of Serenity. Nor Buffy, maybe a few epidoes of Angel. Today I decided to watch the movie On Demand. I gotta say, I loved it. I didn’t know jack shit about any character, no backstory, no nothing. I just watched it and enjoyed it tremendously. (If there’s interest from the hardcore fans, let me know and I’ll drop another post with my virginal impressions of the actors, etc. For example: I loved the nod to Empire Strikes Back, Jurrasic Park, and 2001 - although I’m not sure if that was homage or I just see allusions to the Star Child when they’re not warranted).

Anyway, on to my questions. On Demand is also offering all the episodes of the series for $2.99 per three episodes, through episode 15.

Question 1: Have I ruined myself for watching the series now that I’ve seen the movie? I get the feeling lots of exposition was resolved so I’d be bored watching the setup. Can you convince me that I would enjoy the trip having seen the destination?

Question 2: Are those all the episodes of the show? IOW, I wouldn’t bother paying for them if there were more episodes, since I’d have to watch them all and would rather buy them on DVD and watch them all than pay that much to not see everything.

Much obliged.

[sub]–>[/sub]If some of you recall my dramatic departure and want me to answer for that, keep it out of this thread and take me to the pit, please.

2

The shows stand quite on their own, and honestly, the movie actually resolves very little, other than the (IMHO unlikely) origin of Reavers. If you liked Serenity, I imagine you’ll enjoy the shows even more; they have a depth of characterization and a witty dialog rarely found in either movies or television today. And there’s an undercurrent of humor and self-awareness in the show that just isn’t found in the film.

I’m not familiar with the On Demand distro, but there are fifteen episodes of the show, and they can be picked up on DVD relatively cheaply from Amazon.com. I won’t call it my all-time favorite show, but it really is quite good (perhaps all the moreso for being so limited in its run) and worth the asking price. Whedon understands the genre, or rather genres, he’s operating in and is just clever enough to tweak the formula with a few contradictions in order to obtain surprise without undermining the whole premise. Think of it as the anti-Star Trek.

And Jewel Staite–Kaylee, the engineer–is luscious to a fault. I mean, if she could be any more beautiful, I just don’t…I mean…she’s so…oh heck, I’ll be in my bunk.

:wink:

Stranger

3

Firefly only lasted for 15 episodes, and the quality throughout all of them is exceptional. I was familiar with the characters before I saw the movie, but I saw the movie before I saw any of the show. It took me about a month to see the movie, watch all the episodes on DVD, and see the movie a second time in the second-run theater. If you do it that way, you’ll be fine, and you’re in for a real treat.

4

There’s a heck of a lot more to the series than just a build up to the movie. Firefly wasn’t a mini-series, ie they weren’t telling one overall story, with the movie being the final chapter. The explaination of what was going on with River and the explaination about what the deal is with reavers are just two bits of what was going on in the series.

With the original two hour pilot split into hour-long episodes, yes there’s a total of fifteen. I’ve never watched any on-demand shows, but I’m assuming they don’t include the DVD commentaries, which are well worth buying the DVDs.

I’d suggest watching some of the on-demand episodes. You may decide you like it enough to get the DVD set.

5

Just buy the DVDs. You’re going to eventually. Save yourself some time and hassle and do it now.

6

I’ll second this sentiment… because I rented every disc in the set twice from zip.ca, and just yesterday I brought home a box set of… well, not all of my own, because I was able to get my mom to agree to pay for half of it… (I read her the ebook novelization of the movie, and she’s interested in watching it, and the tv episodes, now. :smiley: )

7

I’ve seen the DVD’s for sale for not much more than the on-demand will cost you. You get more with the DVD’s and can go back and re-view whenever you want. I’d say go get the DVD’s

On a side note I have to tell you I’m quite jealous. I’d love to be a Firefly virgin again with the whole series waiting for me to view for the first time.

Enjoy.

DAMN YOU FOX!

8

Thanks for the replies - sounds like I should just go buy them.

Uh…yeah. I went from zero to crush in about 1.3 seconds there.
Some thoughts running through my mind while watching, and a couple more questions:

  • Hey! It’s Animal Mother from Full Metal Jacket!

  • Did the girl from The Shield (Det. Kavanaugh’s crazy wife) used to be a member of the Captain’s platoon during the war? There was a scene where she told Animal Mother that he needed to leave the room after he questioned whether any members of the Captain’s platoon got out alive or somesuch - I figured there was some backstory there.

  • Hey! It’s the guy from that crappy Knight movie with Heath Ledger!

  • Is the acting by the Captain a stylistic choice, or is he just a bad actor? I was coming around to him towards the end, but I kept imagining a different guy playing that role. Bruce Campbell, for example.

  • Do the guns shoot regular bullets? I was expecting lasers or something.

  • Do they all speak fluent Japanese?

9

Yes; Zoe (Gina Torres) was in Mal’s platoon during The War

Hey, now, don’t be dissin’ the Captain.

Chinese, actually. Everyone presumably speaks it; mostly, of course, they use it to cuss, with occasional other phrases thrown in. (“Dong ma?” means “Understand?”, IIRC.)

10

While I think Nathan Fillion is a fine actor (not great, but he’s just too damn young to be really great yet. Give him time.) the movie is not the best opportunity to appreciate him. His comic timing is superb, and his ability to very - I mean **very **- quickly carry us from pathos to humor and his talent in layering subtext beneath flaring nostrils were sort of hampered by a script that never stopped to breathe. It was all running, running running, and none of the tender slow or hysterically funny bits that made me love the series so much.

11

Between Firefly and Serenity and this new horror/comedy film Slither, I think Nathan Fillion is standing at a crossroads in his career. He has the potential to be the next Harrison Ford, or the next Bruce Campbell. Neither would be a bad thing, but one would serve him much better than the other.

12

Oh, trust me, there’s far more to like about Kaylee than the movie gets across. She’s my favorite character on the show after Mal (well, tied with Wash, and with Jayne close behind… okay, I’m just listing all the characters now so I’ll quit while I’m ahead), but she gets almost as little screentime as Inara in the film.

Funny, I see Adam Baldwin in various movies and television series and instinctively think, “Oh, it’s the man they call Jayne.” :wink:

Yep. She and Mal were the only survivors from their platoon (and among the very few survivors from their entire side) in the Battle of Serenity, for which the ship was named. Mal was her sergeant at the time.

I think this refers to Alan Tudyk, right? Man, you’re gonna love getting to know his character…

…and it’ll make certain events of the movie feel FAR more tragic when you inevitably watch it again.

Is the acting by the Captain a stylistic choice, or is he just a bad actor? I was coming around to him towards the end, but I kept imagining a different guy playing that role. Bruce Campbell, for example.

It’s stylistic, and as other posters have noted, the movie’s pace is generally too fast to get across Nathan Fillion’s great acting talent. He gets some amazing moments in the series (particularly in the episode “Out of Gas”), which moves at a much slower pace, and therefore more character-centric.

Nobody really knows. They definitely shoot bullets of some sort, but sometimes the reports sound like modern gunfire, whereas other times, they gets a bit of a sci-fi zing (even though the guns themselves always resemble old-style six-shooters and the like). My pet theory is that the guns are modeled after old weapons, partly for stylistic reasons, and partly because they are tried-and-true designs, but incorporate appropriately 500-years-in-the-future technology inside.

As other posters have noted, it’s Chinese- though admittedly very badly spoken Chinese. None of the actors had any experience with the language going in, and I’m pretty sure the translator they hired was American-born, so even she spoke with an accent. The general fanwank explanation is that, after 500 years, the language would have evolved enough so that it wouldn’t sound particularly recognizable to modern ears.

13

I just bought the Firefly DVDs last week and the Serenity DVD this weekend. Got roped in after my best friend from undergrad and then mlerose and her boyfriend waxed poetic for yonks. Definitely rent/buy the show DVDs. IMO they’re more than just exposition for the movie. Some of the eps are flukes but for the most part they’re excellent TV-humorous and well-written. Not to mention the fact that some of the best characters from the TV series aren’t even in the movie (Mrs. Reynolds most dramatically)-so you’re missing out on plot elements that didn’t make it into Serenity.

I know they’re on Netflix, if you want to preview a couple of eps. I’m getting over a breakup and really needed to lose myself in something other than snivelling so I ran out and bought them. sigh Must update my queu to put Freaks and Geeks, Corpse Bride and Hamish MacBeth where Firefly used to be.

Now all I need to do is purchase the Sandman books and transition to superbiggeek from vaguelymediumsizedgeek will be complete.

14

Oh, just admit it; it’s not the acting or plot elements–you’re completely smitten with Jayne. (It must be the hat. Walking around with a big knife and an a grunting demeanor never does it for me.)

Stranger

15

Suit yourself. I’ll be in the engine room. Engines make her hot ;).

As for the guns, most of them fire bullets, using the good old tried-and-true technology guns use now. Laser hand-weapons do exist, and they’re more destructive than slug-throwers in the short term, but they’re insanely expensive, and run out of juice quickly. If there’s any doubt about Mal’s guns doing anything other than propelling little bits of lead, remember the dialog with Patience in the pilot: “I realize that last time we met, harsh words were exchanged… And bullets.” And they’re pretty obviously chemical-powered, or Jayne wouldn’t think that Vera needs air to operate (she probably doesn’t, but Jayne doesn’t know that).

16

I too just saw it and enjoyed it. It was a nice surprise.

17

Don’t delve too deeply into the [pseudo]science of Firefly. It doesn’t bear much of a critique before it starts falling apart. But, unlike certain shows we could name, the stories aren’t dependant upon nonsensical physics plot devices and technobabble particle-of-the-week solutions to resolve the plot conflict. Whedon and Minear go to the effort of constructing actual plots and sensible resolutions. They actually mock the notion of technobabble solutions:
Kaylee: Catalyzer on the port compression coil blew. It’s where the trouble started.
Mal: Okay, I need that in captain dummy-talk, Kaylee.
Kaylee: We’re dead in the water.
As for the firearms: don’t delve to deep into that, either. Whedon is crossing space opera with the Western. Just like Bladerunner combined film-noir with neon-grunge to obtain the iconoclastic cyberpunk look, it doesn’t necessarily make any kind of sense but it looks great. Enjoy the ride; don’t expect to justify the technology to the nth detail.

Stranger

18

Something awesome, upon rewatching the series, is that Kaylee is grumping about the port compression coil in Ep1 (and later), showing an incredible patience for building up the details of a fantastic story (see also: Blue Sun.)

19

Where is the novelization?

20

Sorry but there was way too much hoyay on that ship for me to take their purported heterosexuality seriously. There’s way more chem between Jayne, Cap’n and Simon than between any permutation of the females.

Besides, I would be more likely to drool over the math freaks in Numb"3"rs. Yes, that’s me in the corner with my lawyer-mandible open and drooling over science geeks.