Firefly - The best scifi series you've never seen

Firefly was a short-lived dream project from writer/director Joss Whedon. He’s the man behind the two hit television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. With the success of those shows, Fox studios wanted another hit series out of Whedon and so he pitched them Firefly. When he completed the pilot episode, titled Serenity, the studio executives thought it wasn’t funny or violent enough and made him release the second episode, The Train Job, as the pilot. The result was that the show debuted without properly introducing the characters, thus leaving audiences confused and finding it hard to get into the story or the characters. As a result, ratings were low and the show was cancelled after only a couple of months. The pilot episode was actually the last aired episode, but by then it was too late to recuperate the series.

Firefly is set in the future where the United States and China have merged into one superpower called the Alliance. The world is united through countless planets in many different galaxies. Even though the Alliance controls many parts of the universe, called ‘The Verse’ in the show, they exist mainly to collect taxes and offer no real services to the people. Any fan of Star Wars will immediately liken the Alliance to the Empire, though in Firefly there are no Jedi and the Alliance people are not quite as evil as the Empirical forces. The Empire in Star Wars was meant to be like a space version of the Nazis, whereas the Alliance in Firefly is an oppressive government that has no concern for the people, but they don’t blow up planets or systemically destroy people or cultures.

The series centers on the crew of a Firefly-class cargo ship, piloted by a former military officer named Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and everyone calls him Mal. He is the Han Solo of the series and holds the crew together with wit, wisdom, and military discipline. Mal’s second in command is the tough but beautiful Zoe (Gina Torres), and she previously served with him in the military. Zoe’s husband, Wash (Alan Tudyk, A Knight’s Tale), is the ship’s pilot and the resident comic relief.

Jayne (Adam Baldwin, The Patriot, Independence Day) is the resident tough-guy mercenary. He has a booming deep voice and a kill-em-all mentality that makes him highly entertaining. With all of his great one-liners, Jayne reminds me of the Ash character that actor Bruce Campbell played in the Evil Dead movies. Book (Ron Glass, Barney Miller) is a supposed holy man called a Shepherd, but many hints given throughout the show point to him having a past that he’s trying to hide. I think he has some kind of military or law enforcement background.

Simon (Sean Maher) and River (Summer Glau) are fugitive siblings being hunted by the Alliance. River is a young genius who has been abused in a government training program that sought to use her mind as a weapon. Simon is a young doctor who discovers what was happening to his little sister and rescues her, resulting in a large bounty being placed on both their heads.

Kaylee (Jewel Staite) is the ship’s mechanic and the ‘girl next door’ type. She’s so bubbly and cute, you can’t help but wonder what she is doing on an outlaw ship. Her background was never explored on the show but she is a joy to watch. Inara (Morena Baccarin) is the ship’s ‘companion’ (fancy name for a high-class prostitute) who is paying to have her small shuttle be attached to the Firefly vessel. There is constant sexual tension between her and Mal, and towards the end of this series she claims to be leaving, though enough episodes were never made to show whether she did or not.

What really drives this show is the characters. There is an incredible charisma shared by the entire cast and they all interact very well. I’ve seen behind the scenes interviews with the cast and crew and they talk about how much they loved the show and the set and everything about it. The lead actor, Nathan Fillion, twice repeated, “This is the best job I’ve ever had.” When any person loves their work, it shows. Firefly is a show where everyone involved really believed in what they were doing and that love is reflected in every aspect of every episode of this series.

Here is a rundown of some of the best episodes:

* Serenity (original pilot episode) – This episode opens with a breathtaking battle sequence where we see the origins of the Malcolm Reynolds character. It is a two-part episode and runs for about 90 minutes. The characters are introduced and the premise is established, yet somehow the executives at Fox decided not to air this one first.

* The Train Job (aired pilot episode) – Starting to watch Firefly with this episode is like beginning a book at chapter two. This action-packed episode does establish the moral values of some characters when a train heist job goes bad after the crew realizes they’ve stolen medical supplies intended for a diseased community on the outer realm of the universe.

* Shindig – The captain’s big mouth and ignorance of local customs gets him into a duel with a local master swordsman. This episode demonstrates a lot of the sexual tension between Mal and Inara. Be sure to check out some of the incredible costumes used during a formal dinner party scene.

* Our Mrs. Reynolds – After helping a group of people, a beautiful young redhead appears on the ship and introduces herself as Mal’s new wife, thanks to some weird local custom. This episode introduces the Saffron character who will appear in a later episode. She comes off as a sweet young girl and Mal feels guilty for having her aboard, but soon that sweet girl reveals a few surprises, making this one of the best episode of the series.

* Jaynestown – With most series that feature a large cast of characters, occasionally an entire episode is focused around one of the supporting players. This one is about a small town where everybody worships the Jayne character for something he really didn’t even do and the local authorities are quite interested to know that he is back in town. Watch for a bar scene where the townsfolk actually sing a song about Jayne.

* Out of Gas – This episode is so strangely put together that it grows on you. Many fans consider it their favorite of the series. The ship is having mechanical problems and the crew is quickly running out of oxygen. This episode is full of flashbacks that help to better develop some of the characters and how they came to be on board the ship.

* Heart of Gold – This one reminded me a lot of the Clint Eastwood movie Unforgiven. If it weren’t for the spaceships and some futuristic weapons, this episode would look like something out of a western series. A group of women in a ‘house of ill repute’ are being terrorized by a local religious zealot who utilizes their services then denounces them as sinners. They send a distress signal to Inara, who then gets Mal and crew to go in and rescue them and a huge gunfight ensues.

* Objects in Space – One of the most intriguing episodes. A bounty hunter (Richard Brooks of Law and Order) boards the ship, looking for Simon and River. His erratic behavior and comments regarding some members of the crew open a lot of mysterious doors. For example, after he knocked out the Book character, he says, “That’s no shepherd.” This one has a surprise twist where River shows off what she’s capable of doing when needed.

In short, Firefly was too good for television. It was too well written. The actors were all too good. The special effects were too good. The plot lines were too good. The whole premise was just too good. After the series was cancelled, so many fans sent letters to Fox that Whedon was able to get enough backing to greenlight a Firefly movie. With a budget of roughly $40 million, the shooting was just recently finished and the movie is in post-production. It is scheduled for release on April 22, 2005 under the name Serenity, which is the name of the show’s ship.

If you like science fiction but don’t buy into all the alien stuff, then this is the show for you. It is not Star Trek or Star Wars and offers something unique and different. Firefly is science fiction with heart, and I urge you to check this one out.

For more info on the Serenity movie or the Firefly show, visit the official website at http://www.serenitymovie.com