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Entertainment => Film & TV Talk => Television => Topic started by: DViant on Sep 22, 2002 at 12:33 PM
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I saw it on slashdot and out of curiosity I'm downloading the Video CD. Anyone know what this show's about? What got me interested is the claim it is an "Anti-Star Trek" sci-fi show.
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WARNING: SPOILERS BELOW!!!
SOURCE: SciFi Dimensions
"The Train Job"
Starring Nathan Fillion & Gina Torres
Directed by Joss Whedon
Written by Joss Whedon
FOX TV Original Airdate:
8PM EST, September 20, 2002
Review by John C. Snider Ó 2002
Five hundred years in the future, humanity is just recovering from a bloody civil war. The planets of the Alliance have defeated the Independents, effectively gathering all the inhabited worlds under one governmental umbrella.
Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his first mate Zoe (Gina Torres) were, unfortunately, on the losing side of the conflict. Not quite outlaws, they now operate on the fringes of Alliance space, commanding a small "Firefly" transport ship called Serenity. Mal will take on just about any job - legal, illegal or ambiguous - to get by.
Mal and Zoe have accumulated a loose community of crew and passengers, including Zoe's husband Wash (Adam Tudyk); ship's mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite); an itinerant preacher named Book (Ron Glass); a "Companion" (sort of a high-class legal call girl) named Inara (Morena Baccarin) who uses her own shuttlecraft to entertain clients; Simon (Sean Maher), a physician who has freed his emotionally-fractured sister River (Summer Glau) from some sort of Alliance laboratory; and Jayne (Adam Baldwin), a hard-bitten mercenary.
In the premiere episode "The Train Job", Mal is hired by a nasty crimelord named Nishka (sp?) to steal an undisclosed cargo off an Alliance train (a high-tech antigravity train, no less) on a remote planet. Once on the job, Mal and Zoe discover they are stealing much-needed drugs which help the settlers stay healthy in the alien planet's partially hostile environment. Ultimately, Mal decides he can't live with the suffering the heist will cause, and offers to give Nishka's money back and call it even. Obviously, this doesn't sit well with the syndicate, who vow revenge against Mal.
An Inauspicious Beginning for a Great Idea
Firefly is without doubt the most-anticipated sci-fi premiere of this season, and with good reason. Fans are hoping that Joss Whedon can bring the same pizzazz to space Westerns that he brought to teen-horror with Buffy and Angel.
The basic premise of Firefly takes its cue from the post-Civil War years of the American West. In the late 1860's, many Confederate soldiers, smarting from their defeat at the hands of the Union, headed out West where their pride suffered less and their prospects were greatly improved.
Unfortunately, "The Train Job" offers little more than an introduction to the cast of characters. Firefly is a space Western, and there's nothing wrong with that. The original Star Trek was a Western (Roddenberry pitched it as Wagon Train to the Stars). The first half of Star Wars is a Western. But Firefly takes the "Western" half a little too literally. In the tepid hour-long premiere episode, Firefly dishes up a uninspiring standard barroom brawl, a train robbery (granted, it's a fancy train) and a shoot-'em-up. As if that weren't enough, every aspect of the production screams "It's a Western!" The costumes look Western, the sets look Western, the guns look Western - heck, even the soundtrack is Western, with its scrawling fiddle and plunking guitar! Okay, the big hardware looks pretty cool, including a space station Serenity visits - and, of course, Serenity herself.
Still, Firefly is a great idea that has an excellent chance of rising above this inauspicious beginning. The characters are good (Whedon's specialty), and there's plenty of hinted-at background that could be explored in future episodes. Many a classic franchise started out slow and a bit weak (Babylon 5 comes to mind), but if fans show their support and the FOX brass give it a chance to build up a head of steam, it's a fair bet Joss Whedon will deliver another high-quality, character-oriented drama that won't insult fandom's intelligence.
Firefly airs Fridays at 8PM on FOX.
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Thanks for the review. :)
I was able to finish downloading it last night and I have to say the series really is "Anti-Trek". It doesn't have a rosy outlook for the future. The Alliance (Federation) is a cold and heartless org. Technobabble's kept to a minimum.The Serenity (Firefly Class) is outrageous and funny to look at and reminds me of the one person vehicle shaped like a flying mechanical cow in the cartoon BraveStar. No high tech weapons like phasers, blasters or even sonic weapons are in use. Hard lead and gunpowder is the norm. La ring tricorder. La ring aliens.
This is your layman's SciFi. More on human interaction and action and virtually no science or technology to speak of. I'm not saying this doesn't have your occassional brain twister on the contrary it does. But it is presented in a plain and straightforward way that I would think anyone would understand unlike Trek.
So would I download it again? I would for three reasons.
My brother enjoys and finds it funny.
I think the Series has a potential
Inara (Morena Baccarin) ;D Ganda niya
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This is your layman's SciFi. More on human interaction and action and virtually no science or technology to speak of. I'm not saying this doesn't have your occassional brain twister on the contrary it does. But it is presented in a plain and straightforward way that I would think anyone would understand unlike Trek.
So would I download it again? I would for three reasons.
My brother enjoys and finds it funny.
I think the Series has a potential
Inara (Morena Baccarin) ;D Ganda niya
Though I'm a hardcore Trekker (TOS especially), I enjoy visiting other sci-fi universes. Farscape was the farthest I could get from Trek, and I loved it.
Firefly has Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel) behind it, so it should make for interesting viewing.
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I adore Joss Whedon, I will watch anything that man creates.
Besides, I think you can be a Trekkie and still like Firefly. Trek and Firefly paint the future in different ways, and we should all be open-minded.
I can't wait for it to start showing here. I hope it does well in its first season.
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I hope it dies on impact. Actually, the show it leads into, "John Doe", won two full ratings points after Firefly ended, so....
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i saw the original 10 million dollar pilot beofre they reshot a new one and i got kinda bored. I dunno how much they changed to make the actual pilot that aired. I just think the whole mixing westerns with space idea reeks of trying to hard to be different and failing.
ANybody else think the interior of the spaceship looked lked they got it from das boot? ;D
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i saw the original 10 million dollar pilot beofre they reshot a new one and i got kinda bored.
They reshot the show and did a completely new first 6 episodes, but they're still airing a shortened version of the doomed 2 hour original pilot as an "origin special" this December.
I guess it was too expensive to just junk it.
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i saw the original 10 million dollar pilot beofre they reshot a new one and i got kinda bored. I dunno how much they changed to make the actual pilot that aired. I just think the whole mixing westerns with space idea reeks of trying to hard to be different and failing.
Actually, it's literally that. Apparently, in the pilot, someone showed up in a coolie hat.
You may need to register first, but here is a superb article on His Jossness from the NYTimes Magazine.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/magazine/22WHEDON.html
Hee, Emily Nussbaum says Buffy fans are "smarty-pants." Also, this excerpt, if you're too spoiler-chicken to read it:
Television creators like David E. Kelley and Aaron Sorkin may be better known, but to many critics, Whedon is the more original artist, one who has been unfairly denied prizes and high ratings. To J.J. Abrams, creator of ''Alias'' -- a show about a tough female spy - - Whedon is a pioneer, stubbornly resisting the pressure to take the easy route to cultural respect. ''He's not the normal adult in any way that I can see,'' Abrams says. ''He's the mischievous kid and the wise-adult kid in one package. You know, if he wanted to be taken seriously in the conventional way, he could write a medical show or a legal show. But he cares more about telling stories he wants to tell, and he's being taken seriously on his terms. It's like the title 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer': if you don't smile, you're not going to get the show anyway."
Also, here is a review of "Firefly," "Buffy" and "John Doe" from Caryn James in the same issue:
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/20/arts/television/20TVWK.html
Spoilery for Firefly and Buffy 7.1
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You may need to register first, but here is a superb article on His Jossness from the NYTimes Magazine.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/magazine/22WHEDON.html
Thanks for the link, Holly! Enjoyed the article ;)
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To those of you that were disappointed with the pilot episode, the second episode "Bushwhacked" is so much better. Last night's bad guys called the "reavers" could be this show's "Borgs." The reavers were not shown but the talks about them alone were scary enough. I hope the reavers will show up in future episodes.
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The unreleased pilot's available online though I haven't found an acceptable copy to download. Most if not all are ripped from guy's VCR...
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A bunch of us saw the pilot last Saturday (The Train Job), but it was so painfully draggingly slow that we -- Whedonites Inc., mind you -- gave up on it and put on something else.
I guess the that was what Joss meant when he said it was going to be a space western -- it was as dragging as a real western.
Plus, WERE THOSE POWER LINES?
Mal is pretty, though.
*Sigh* I will watch that pilot again. And maybe I might be able to see it more favorably after I watch the whole thing.
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OK, I just saw the pilot ep four times. Not Buffy-good, but it has potential. With the best writers of Buffy and Angel behind it, I'm sure it'll get better.
Any other people here who liked it?
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The third episode of Firefly was a riot. I couldn't stop laughing... ;D
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Yeah, Fufufly's DEAD. (http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/021025b.asp)
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Yeah, Fufufly's DEAD. (http://www.tvguide.com/newsgossip/insider/021025b.asp)
Noooo!!!
We fireflytes* are a small but proud bunch. Apparently, even smaller still in this country ;D
* there's still an ongoing debate on what to call ourselves, sorry this will have to do
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Good news re: FIREFLY from zap2it.com:
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - To quote a would-be plague victim in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" : "I'm not dead yet."
Despite a rocky development process, a last-minute pickup by FOX, a tough time slot, preemptions by baseball and sagging ratings, Joss Whedon's science-fiction/Western drama "Firefly" is still alive and kicking on Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET.
Some reviewers rated the Oct. 25 episode, "Out of Gas," as the best yet. Written by executive producer Tim Minear (who shares that title with creator Whedon), it used flashbacks to give viewers hints as to how the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity came together in a post-civil-war solar system 500 years in the future, under the command of losing-side-combatant Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion).
Of course, all this was also laid out in the series' two-hour pilot, but, as Whedon says, "There's a lot of confusion, because they didn't air the pilot, which explains everything. We tried to do that as best we could in an hour show."
Reportedly not met with unreserved joy by 20th Century Fox Television studio head Sandy Grushow, the pilot is scheduled to finally air on Dec. 20, begging the question of whether "Firefly" is likely to stay on the air until then.
"Looks like," says Whedon. "We're hoping that we'll get some slow growth, which is what Sandy Grushow said before this season ever started. He said, 'Look, you're going to be hit with baseball. It's not an out-of-the-box thing, we don't expect it to be.' So there's something good on that side. They're letting us keep going, and it really feels like we're ready to hit our stride."
To read the rest of the article, click the link below.
http://tv.zap2it.com/news/tvnewsdaily.html?28704
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If the movie does well, there is a chance of resurrecting the series. If you haven't seen it yet, please, for the love of God, watch it.
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If the movie does well, there is a chance of resurrecting the series. If you haven't seen it yet, please, for the love of God, watch it.
I second. ;D
I miss Serenity. Bitin. :P
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When will Serenity show in the theaters? Does it pick up where the TV series left off? (and do we get to see Mal in the buff again? heh). I miss this show rin. But it's great whenever I see Firefly castmembers pop up on my TV screen, like River Tam in The 4400, Kaylee in Wonderfalls, Jayne on The Inside, Zoe on Alias, and Wash on Dodgeball (the pirate)! The only ones I haven't seen yet are Inara (she's so pretty she should be on more shows) and Mal (my favorite! He's actually on Miss Match but I couldn't get myself to watch that).
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The scary thing is IMDB has yet to list a screening date for the Phils yet. Either it will never be shown here, or we'll get to watch it at a much later date.
The events in the movie occurs 6 months after Firefly's final episode.
Kaylee was in Wonderfalls? Gives me more reason to watch that show. She's probably my favorite character in the show.
Wash makes a cameo appearance in Arrested Development as well.
Of course, I hear the other characters have a habit of appearing in other Joss Whedon shows.
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- Ay oo nga, that's where I know Wash from! --- Dodgeball! ;D
- Kaylee on Wonderfalls? Cool.
- Mal, I've seen somewhere else, hindi ko lang matandaan saan.
Bring back Serenity!
Phobs, if walang screening dito then.... ;) ;D
I have not gone through this thread, Firefly latebloomer, ngayon ko lang napansin may open close parenthesis pala yung title (Anti-trek)... oo nga no? :D
Serenity trailer: http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/serenity/trailer_2/
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Hmmmmm, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place?
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It finally took seeing Slither for me to check out this underrated series. Saw the first three episodes. Loved them all. It was interesting to see Gregg Henry and Doug Savant as guest stars.
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Firefly is the best underrated series ever. Fox was so stupid to cancel the show. >:(
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Most of the cast are doing voices for Justice League Unlimited. Filion - Vigilante, Torres - Vixen, Baccarin - Black Canary, Baldwin - Jonah Hex.
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The only ones I haven't seen yet are Inara (she's so pretty she should be on more shows) and Mal (my favorite! He's actually on Miss Match but I couldn't get myself to watch that).
If you're still watching Stargate, you can see Inara in last Friday's episode (in the US). :)
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Most of the cast are doing voices for Justice League Unlimited. Filion - Vigilante, Torres - Vixen, Baccarin - Black Canary, Baldwin - Jonah Hex.
Oh dear...looks like you got a fanboy to wet his pants.
Anyway...finally got the series on DVD. If only I can commit myself to watching it on the weekend.
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^ When watching the pilot (Serenity) skip the opening credits. It's a spoiler.
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Ron Glass the guy who plays Book is a really fun guy to be with... Superfunny siya ;D
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I finally bought this series on bootleg DVD coz I keep reading and hearing about it. Dare I say it's the best sci-fi series I've ever watched. And it's damn funny, too. And that catchy opening them...even my daughter's singing that ditty. ;D
I wonder why it was cancelled, though. I guess people wanted more aliens and laser beams in thier sci-fi.
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^ Baseball yata ang katapat. Plus it's expensive to produce.
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I watched Serenity first without knowing there was a series based on the movie.
My brother also bought bootleg copies of Firefly and I watched it all. It was a great sci-fi series about "outlaws" in the wild west of the universe.
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Firefly Reborn as an online game. (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72263-0.html)
Bridges shrugs off the pressure; he just wants to make "something worthy of the show," he says. "This all springs from the genius that is Joss Whedon. It's rewarding beyond words to be able to hopefully be a footnote in the history of Firefly."
It gives me hope that Bridges, the co-founder of Multiverse sounds like a fan of the show. Obviously they're not cashing in on the whole Firefly thing because if Serenity's box office performance is anything to go by, there's nothing to cash in on. It sounds like they really want to expand on Joss Whedon's Verse, and that makes me happy.
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Was able to watch the movie first before I was able to get hold of a copy of the series. After completely watching all the episodes, I watched again the movie and it seems that I am watching it from a different perspective.
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Kaylee was in the season ender of SG Atlantis. Hopefully she becomes a regular cast member for season 4. Sayang sana nag-meet pa sila ni Morena Baccarin (who's in Stargate SG-1) pero of course malabo mangyari yon. ;D
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Nathan aka Mal will be on a new show called Drive. Yay!!!
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C/S will start airing Firefly this month as posted by their promo.
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^^yup, it starts on Monday, August 20, 2007, 8:00pm
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Nathan aka Mal will be on a new show called Drive. Yay!!!
He will become one of Wisteria Lane's newest "neighbors" when he plays Dana Delaney's younger husband in the upcoming season of Desperate Housewives.
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Will C/S be starting with Serenity part 1 or The Train Job?