Reviews by Matt

Chances are you missed what could have been one of the most original shows on television. It’s not your fault, it’s Fox’s. In 2001, Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel,) was given a chance to start another television show. It was his dream project, the one he cared more about then any of his previous works. It was “Firefly.” This show doesn’t have a simple story line that could possibly be explained in one sentence and still do it justice.

500 years in the future and Earth has been used up and the only two superpowers left are America and China (more on that later.) We have found another galaxy and made the planets habitable for human life. The inner planets were the richest and most advanced. The outer planets are not so lucky. The Parliament wanted to unite all the planets under their rule and The War for Unification began. Those who fought the decision were called The Browncoats. They lost the war at the Battle of Serenity Valley. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) was one of the Browncoats and after the war bought a Firefly class ship and named it after the bloodiest battle of the war; Serenity. On Mal’s crew are Zoe Washburn (Gina Torres) his first mate and fellow Browncoat, Hoban “Wash” Washburn, pilot and husband of Zoe, Kaylee Frye (Jewel Staite) the genius mechanic, and Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) the mercenary. Also on board, renting one of Serenity’s two shuttles is a Companion (or in modern terms a hooker) named Inara (Morena Baccarin.) While in port one day they take on passengers to help get money to fuel the ship. One is a Shepard (priest) named Book (Ron Glass) and Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher.) It is soon discovered that Simon has a secret stowed in his luggage; his sister River (Summer Glau.) River was a part of a government sponsored school that was really a government program to create assassins (as far as we can tell.) She was experimented on and as a result became mentally unstable.

So if this show is so great, why was it canceled? I knew you would ask. That is all Fox’s fault. Fox showed the episodes out of order, including showing the intended pilot after they axed the show, and put it in the worst time slot on television, Friday night at 9 PM. It was even preempted for baseball a few times. Fox didn’t get what they expected from the show and canceled it after only 11 episodes. The ratings were low and the show was taken off the air before it got the chance to show how good it could be. What is amazing in all of this is that despite the lack of episodes, the fan base was huge…and dedicated. We call ourselves Browncoats, after the losing side of the war. Anyone can show obsession with a show like Star Track, or The Star Wars movies, but to have such devotion to a show that ended years ago and barely lasted a season, well, that takes something more.

So I happen to be an obsessed fan, you may find this review bias, but it’s not. I can be impartial; it’s what I have to do as a critic. If I wrote that a certain director or actor made the greatest film ever when there were obvious flaws, then I would be doing my readers a great injustice. As an impartial viewer, this show is great. It has humor, action, adventure and great characters that you will love to watch. You will find something in at least one character that will make you enjoy the show, heck, maybe you’ll see a bit of yourself in all nine main characters.

Now to address the “super power” issue; the only countries in control at the time of the move to the new galaxy were America and China, we see this in the dress and vernacular. Everyone can speak Chinese, even the poor and uneducated. For the most part the Chinese is used to curse or say something that the viewer won’t need translated. It is used as slang, or when other more appropriate words are lacking.

One thing that is really interesting about the show is the role of the Companion. While in our times being a “lady of the night” is frowned upon, a companion is a position of respect and class. There is a lot of tradition and ritual that comes with being or being with a companion. In fact there are some places that won’t let you dock with out a registered companion on board. Inara even helps get them out of trouble once or twice.

A basic episode of the show goes a little like this; get a job, get into trouble, get out of trouble, get paid for job. The crew is always running into trouble from the Alliance (the official name for the new government,) other smugglers, and Reavers (a cannibalistic group of people who live on the edge of space.) Through all the hardships, we see the relationships between the characters grow and become more evident. All on the ship care for one another and will do anything to help the other members of the crew. We see dynamics grow over the 13 episodes and want to see them go futher, but it is all cut short when the last episode ends. Each other is all they have and they become family. Life in “the black” (space) can get lonely and it’s good to have friends who you can trust to help you through the tough times. And that is what lies at the heart of the show.

This show is not for everyone, it is a space western. But even if you hate sci-fi, and hate westerns, give this show a chance. As a loyal fan of the show, trust me it is worth it. Rent in on Netflix, or other online movie rental places, heck, ask me to bring my box set with me the next time you see me. I’m more then happy to recruit more browncoats. The show is a different breed. It is like nothing in television today. So give it a chance, if you don’t like it, fine at least you gave it a try and that’s all I, an obsessed fan, and ask of you.