A Case For: Firefly
As part of our continuing service to you, The Correct, we continually find things for you to be in favour of. In our crazy, fast paced, webmanic society, it’s easy to miss something. Our “A Case For” series presents something (a TV show, film, Book, Band etc) that might deserve a look.
Our Cases are often presented by our regular readers, and we encourage that sort of behavior. If you have something you’d like to make a case for, write it up and send it to us at admin@thecorrectness.com . See the end of the article for more info.
This week, we bring you A Case for “Firefly” brought to you by reader Fat American, with some editorial from us (the stuff in italics), as we also have strong feelings for this show.
Admin Rock is a big fan of Joss Whedon, as evidenced by “A Case For Buffy” and his letter to Joss Whedon. Anybody who devotes so much time and effort to tell great stories while having abuse heaped upon them by the fanbois deserves some accolades.
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1. Something Different
The mix of old west and Star Trek. It’s the last frontier meets the final frontier. The characters are believable. The are gritty they have problems people can relate to. They almost never get along with each other. They all have little hang ups that make them a pain in the butt for each other to be couped up with in a broken down flying chicken of a space ship.
Admin_Rock: I love the use of new vs. old, the fact that there are broken down things and people in this universe. It gives a very real feeling. I never had a problem with Western Sci-Fi aspect. It gives the show a unique feel and creates some interesting quirks.
2. Backstory
They have a great back story. A civil war that encompasses all the planets in the galaxy. A Federation that wants to govern all the worlds and make them all better whether they like it or not. The outer rim worlds resist and are crushed. As a result we have the Captain. Mal Reynolds who is just barely keeping his ship in fuel and food in the galley, going world to world looking for any way to make a buck. Legal or other wise. Along the way the pick up some unlikely passengers that just keep staying on the boat. One a fugitive Doctor and his sister. The doctor has taken his sister from a government facility that has been using her as a weapon. A preacher that is often at odds with the captain over his career choices, and a prostitute who the captain harbors more than a fondness for.
Admin_Rock:Whedon is great at populating his shows with strong characters, all of whom have their own stories. Even the much maligned (unfairly) Dollhouse has big expansive story lines and rich characters. River’s past and Book’s past bring complications to the characters, and provide a through line for viewers to dig in to.
3. Serenity
The ship. The ship is like I said a flying chicken. It is broken down most of the time and is just a pile of spare parts. But the ship is like a central character itself.
Admin_Rock: I’m not sure I see the chicken, I always though Serenity looks more like a horse, or a saddle for same. I do love that it’s constantly in need of repair, that the crew quarters are small and cramped, and only accessible by a small hatch. The mess hall area looks like a farmer’s kitchen, which is awesome, and one of the main sets on the show is a big ol’ hangar.
4. Jayne
The man named Jayne. He’s rude, he’s crude, he wants to be in charge, & he has a IQ of sixty. He either wants to kill it or have sex with it. What’s not to like about a guy like that.
Admin_Rock: Jane is great. It’s pretty rare to have a main character with such a strong self-interest, to the extent where he occasionally screws over his own team when it suits him. He calls a spade a spade, and doesn’t knuckle under easily, though he’s a big fan of the chain of command.
5. Reavers
Reavers. They’re like a cross between zombies and the Borg. The fly around in space with unshielded reactors. They are completely mad. They catch you, then kill you and rape you but not in that particular order.
Admin_Rock: Reavers! Great bad guys, creepy and scary. What really sells them is that the crew are AFRAID of them. What makes the viewer concerned is that there is some kind of reaction to these guys. People whisper when they talk about them. If Serenity (the film) made a mis-step, it might have been giving them a solid origin, de-mystifying them. But still, REAVERS!
This show is well written. In fact I have talked several people into watching it and after they get past the pilot episode they are hooked. Lets face it, pilots are ground work shows and you need another episode to show how great you are. Why this show was dropped who can say.
Admin_Rock: For me, I was sold from the point in “The Train Job” where Mal tries to give the flunky the money and a message, and is thwarted. What happened next was a bit shocking, and made me say to myself “Well, this is a show I need to watch”. It plays with hero conventions well, it’s funny and exciting. Really sad it didn’t stick around longer.
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If you have a show or film or book or band you’d like to make a case for, we’d love to hear from you. Read the rules below, and drop us a line.
The rules:
1) Give us 5 good reasons we should care, or watch, or listen etc. Make them compelling. Remember, you’re trying to sell this to us, and our readers.
2) Spelling and grammar count. Admin_Rock doesn’t like having to correct your … oh who are we kidding, he loves that stuff. But still, get it right, k?
3) Send pictures along with the article. Don’t make us work harder than we have to, be sure to send pics, or links to pics in the article.
send you entries to admin@thecorrectness.com
