Much praised and much missed after its premature cancellation, Firefly is the first SF TV series to be conceived by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy and cocreator of Angel. Set five centuries in the future, it is a show where the mysterious personal pasts of the crew of the tramp spaceship Serenity continually surface. In fact, it's a Western in space where the losers in a Civil War are heading out to a barren frontier. Mal Reynolds is a man embittered by the war, yet whose love of his comrades perpetually dents his cynicism--even in the 14 episodes that exist we see... him warm to the bubbly young mechanic Kaylee, the preacher Book, the idealistic doctor Simon, even to the often demented River, Simon's sister, the psychic result of malign experiments. Firefly is also about adult emotional relationships, for example Kaylee's crush on Simon, the happy marriage of Mal's second officer Zoe and the pilot Wash, the disastrous erotic stalemate between Mal and the courtesan Inara. Individual episodes deal with capers going vaguely wrong, or threats narrowly circumvented; character and plot arcs were starting to emerge when the show was cancelled. Fortunately, the spin-off movie Serenity is planned; and in the meantime, what there is of Firefly is a show to marvel at, both for its tight writing and ensemble acting, and the idiocy of the executives who cancelled it. On the DVD: Firefly on DVD is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 with Dolby Surround Sound. It includes commentaries on six episodes by various writers, directors, designers and cast members as well as featurettes on the conception of the show and the design of the spaceship Serenity, four deleted scenes, a gag reel, and Joss Whedon singing the show's theme tune, more or less. One of the things that emerges from all of this is how committed to the project everyone involved with it was, and is--unusually, you end up caring as much for the cast and crew as for the characters. The discs have subtitles in English and Spanish and the option of listening to the soundtrack dubbed into Spanish or French. --Roz Kaveney [show more]
Watch this show!
One of the very best works of sci-fi made for TV available on DVD in the last decade.
It has a great ensemble cast of actors playing a likable group of misfit heroes, who are the crew of small spaceship "Serenity" operating on the fringes of civilization and the law.
It has often been described as a Western in space, which is one way to sum it up, but it it is so much more than just that. It looks great, and the script is very sharp indeed. There is adventure, mystery, humour, and heartbreak.
Firefly is a truly great series, but it is a flawed gem. Not all the episodes are as great as the best of the bunch, which is of course is the case with any sci fi show, but that is not its weakness. The flaw is that the show was cancelled half way through its first series, so the huge and epic story lines, and revalations about the characters, which the viewer can just SEE that writer-director Joss Whedon intended, never get played out. Whedon's later feature film "Serenity" continues the story of our heroes in an attempt to complete what the series intended. It does a good job, but the series would have been a joy.
Dont let that flaw put you off though, watch Firefly and enjoy the series for what it is, 14 episodes of brilliant sci-fi from a writer-director and cast as good as you will see anywhere.
Good story telling, lovable characters and a fantastic sense of humour in this western meet sci-fi.
The 'Firefly' was without a doubt grounded too soon. There's been an underlying hum on the web about this show for the last seven years, and I came to the conclusion that any show cancelled before the end of the first season couldn't be any good or worth the time... surely? Well, this absolutely is! The show crosses the border (quite originally) between the futuristic Sci-fi genre and good ol' Western genre and what's more, pulls it off brilliantly. You follow the adventures of a crew aboard 'Serenity' - a spaceship captained by Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). He and his crew take flight into many adventures whilst avoiding the potential cliché's of the genres. I enjoyed it immensely despite generally not being a huge fan of neither Science Fiction nor westerns. Though there are only fourteen episodes its amazing how it communicates in such detail the nine central characters and what they are about. It is hard not to become attached as the viewer to such 3-Dimensional and 'real' characters. This is not a common trait of Science Fiction (starwars springs to mind) and is a testament to how unique and special this show really was. The bittersweet series is not short of anything that you might look to find in any first-class TV show: action, adventure, humour, relatable characters, relationships etc. The only thing that could perhaps be deemed missing is a proper finale. Joss Whedon (creator, writer, director) could most certainly have been onto a winner with a concept with such broad scope. Its premature cancellation therefore baffles me as it has many. There is a light at the end of the space shuttle however: this developed a cult fan-base that helped revive the show, bringing it onto the big-screen for the still critically appraised movie 'Serenity.' So don't take it from me how good it is, this bizarre event speaks volumes. As for 'Serenity' itself, it's great in terms of introducing the plot (for firefly newbie's) and has no real continuity issues (for those already aboard). The movie brings closure after Firefly ended in such upturn mid-season. On the positive side, Firefly never had the time to turn stale and get boring as has been the downfall of other great shows. This is pure, ingenious entertainment!
A masterpiece of scripting and screenplay. Despite the strangeness of the setting which could be described as a western in space, Firefly has the best dialogue and character development of any sci-fi show, or perhaps in any TV series for years. No; probably the best EVER. It is top telly entertainment. Unbeatable. You really get a sense of excitement of the big plot arcs being set up from the start... If ever there was a series they should NOT have cancelled, this was it. Watch it and enjoy. Then watch it again to spot all the subtle hints of things to come. Then watch it again weep for all the fun you might have had, watching the episodes never made because the studio cancelled Firefly in favour of Dark Angel.
Buy it for your friends too. You will make them happy.
Firstly it is VITAL that I state for the record that Firefly is not really a sci-fi show. Put all thoughts of Star Trek firmly from your mind for this is a Space Opera of the finest order.
Part frontier drama, part adventure, part comedy, part drama, Firefly is a unique and utterly enjoyable endulgance of a TV series. The Brainchild of Joss "Buffy" Whedon, Firefly was Unjustly cancelled after only 14 episodes. Thanks to the perserverance of it's creator the show was resurrected in the form of the movie 'Serenity' which is where I first encountered this enigmatic crew of bounty hunters and misfits.
The strength of the film, and subsequently the original TV series, is the casting of the nine central crew members who live aboard the Firefly class ship, cruising through space beneath the radar of the Alliance, the controlling power in the cosmos. Their time is spent equally in looking for oddjobs to survive on and struggling with the pressures of all manner of human suffering. It's these innate human dilemmas that plague each character that drive the interest in the series and make for a constantly compelling watch. From the stubborn rugged captain Malcolm Reynolds to the ever-upbeat pilot Wash to the mysterious fugitive River, the cast shimmer with intrigue. Their interactions are at once funny, touching and most importantly, believable. You feel for the crews hapless situation as they are besieged on all sides by trouble. Each episode is a self contained adventure and yet the ongoing plight of each and every characters various back story leads to a lovely continuity that helps the show grow from strength to strength.
The special effects are perfect, adding to this very human tale, without ever dominating. There's a lovely handheld camera feel to the shaky black smoke billowing shuttle chases, and the Western-styled drybrush setting of most planets adds to the edginess of the visuals.
In short the show is fun. From beginning to end. It will make you smile, it will make you cry and it will make you cheer. Ulimately it's end comes too soon, but who knows, with the success of Serenity on DVD the show may live again in another form.
I, for one, am keeping my fingers crossed.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 or region free DVD player in order to play Much praised and much missed after its premature cancellation Firefly is the first SF TV series to be conceived by Joss Whedon creator of Buffy and cocreator of Angel Set five centuries in the future it is a show where the mysterious personal pasts of the crew of the tramp spaceship Serenity continually surface In fact it&39;s a Western in space where the losers in a Civil War are heading out to a barren frontier Mal Reynolds is a man embittered by the war yet whose love of his comrades perpetually dents his cynicism--even in the 14 episodes that exist we see him warm to the bubbly young mechanic Kaylee the preacher Book the idealistic doctor Simon even to the often demented River Simon&39;s sister the psychic result of malign experiments Firefly is also about adult emotional relationships for example Kaylee&39;s crush on Simon the happy marriage of Mal&39;s second officer Zoe and the pilot Wash the disastrous erotic stalemate between Mal and the courtesan Inara Individual episodes deal with capers going vaguely wrong or threats narrowly circumvented; character and plot arcs were starting to emerge when the show was cancelled Fortunately the spin-off movie Serenity ties up some of the ends; and in the meantime what there is of Firefly is a show to marvel at both for its tight writing and ensemble acting and the idiocy of the executives who cancelled it Disc 1 Serenity - Parts 1 and 2 The Train Job Bushwhacked Disc 2 Shindig Safe Our Mrs Reynolds Jaynestown Disc 3 Out of Gas Ariel War Stories Trash Disc 4 The Message Heart of Gold Objects in Space Special features
All 14 episodes of the sci-fi drama from writer Joss Whedon. Set 500 years in the future, after a galactic civil war has united all the space colonies under the repressive Alliance, former rebel soldier Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) captains the Firefly class cargo ship Serenity, taking on odd jobs and scoring heists where he can to keep his ship and his crew in the air, all the while trying to avoid the attentions of the authorities. The episodes are: 'Serenity', 'The Train Job', 'Bushwhacked', 'Shindig', 'Safe', 'Our Mrs. Reynolds', 'Jaynestown', 'Out of Gas', 'Ariel', 'War Stories', 'Trash', 'The Message', 'Heart of Gold' and 'Objects in Space'.
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