Firefly - Prologue
Before I start my blogiating about this series I thought I'd share some basic details about it in the hope of inspiring others to get hold of it.
Firefly was Joss Whedon's newest venture back in '02. It premiered at the same time Buffy's season 7 and Angel's 4 were starting up. Airing on the Fox network in the USA it was going to have to really work hard to firstly, get picked up, and secondly remain on-air.
Joss wrote and directed a 90 minute pilot ep, 'Serenity', that introduces the 9 central characters in a way that gives you time and space to learn who they are and what they are about. The network didn't particularly take well to it, they wanted it to be slightly less serious and more actiony.
So Joss and co-mastermind Tim Minear had 2 days to write what became the first ep of the series to be aired called 'The Train Job'. An ep that, very quickly introduces each of the characters and goes onto show us how the group works as a team etc.
Fox liked what they saw, although they were still dubious about some aspects of the show.
It started to air, was rating better than Buffy but on Fox that wasn't enough and the show went on hiatus over Christmas and never returned.
Being a Joss show, the fans quickly built a campaign to get the show back on air, but it didn't do them any good. After very good DVD sales in the USA last year there were rumblings of a movie being made and at the start of March this year it was announced that Joss would write and direct 'Serenity' the movie. With a budget of $35mil, it should certainly take things a little further in the visual department.
About the show itself, it's a 'space western' set 500yrs in the future. Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds runs the cargo ship Serenity (firefly class). Transport and occasional theft jobs keep the crew busy and in constant trouble. There's lots of guns, a few horses and the odd Chinese phrase.
The DVDs of the series are available now and the film will be released around April 22, '05.
posted by Casyn the librarian
8/08/2004 12:59:00 am
5 viewers interjected with:
Arrgh! It's still not available in New Zealand!!
8/8/04 5:39 pm
Could order it in from over here? Or perhaps get someone you know to get it for you?
8/8/04 11:38 pm
This is on my "to buy" list, though it might end up on my "for Christmas" list. Either way, it will be in my collection by the year's end. :-) I have been waiting for Firefly to grace our TV screens, I'm sure I read early this year that it was one of the new series channel 7 had purchased. I wonder now if there's any chance it will screen.
What is Alan Tudyk's character like? Aside from the fact this is one of Joss' series, the casting of Tudyk was what I was most excited about!
9/8/04 8:28 pm
Now it's on DVD, there's little chance anyone will air it. At the beginning of 2003 it was actually part of ch 9's big start of year promos, where they show glimpses of all the new shows, there was a number of Firefly shots.
Alan Tudyk's character 'Wash' is excellent. He's the pilot of the ship and married to the first mate, Zoe. Kind of wacky, is very good at his job and very committed. It was a very good stroke of luck that he is part of this cast.
It's hard to isolate characters because they are all amazing and complex.
Hopefully you'll find the set on sale so you don't have to wait for Xmas.
9/8/04 10:24 pm
It was channel 9 who bought it, eh? I knew one of the stations had, just assumed it had been 7.
Anyway, I'm now waiting for DVD Plaza to advise me of a price drop.
11/8/04 8:32 pm
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