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In sci-fi fandom, Firefly frequently gets treated as some kind of holy grail, a wonder gone too soon. I've been meaning to rewatch it for a few years now, but my reasons have shifted from "nostalgia" to "how much of the author's now-visible Bad Stuff is underpinning this work" -R
I've watched it twice and remember loving it. I expect I'll still like it for the same reasons, but I'm wondering
-Is it praised for what it was, or what the fandom imagined it would have been if it weren't canceled?
-Without that hype bubble, what are its merits and flaws?
-R
-Is it praised for what it was, or what the fandom imagined it would have been if it weren't canceled?
-Without that hype bubble, what are its merits and flaws?
-R
I do think it's telling that the movie and sequel comics don't get as much love as the original series. The first season is all setup cancelled before there was time for any payoff, which let fan's imagination run wild. How much is good, and how much just implied future good? -R
I'm gonna load up the pilot in the background while I try and make comic storyboard progress. Sporadic thoughts to follow. -R
The intro is solid. Nighttime ground warfare with high-tech spaceships whizzing overhead sets the scene and tone very efficiently. Firefly is consistently very good at atmospheric storytelling, as I recall
I'm a big fan of the grimy lived-in space aesthetic, feels very plausible and immersive. Once again, solid setting. I can see why the environment alone would draw an audience in.
Seems like the main strength of the show is in the ensemble cast dynamics, which I like a lot - but it does make me think that unceremoniously killing off any leads for shock value is a bad, BAD idea
music unconditionally slaps though, no caveats there
A few of you mentioned all the cool stuff firefly did settingwise was done first by Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star, and having watched both of those shows I'm inclined to agree - "perpetually broke spaceship always low on fuel taking a job a week to get by" isn't a firefly original
So far we have a well-executed and engaging space western setting and a basic episodic structure that, while unoriginal, is still solid. The bones of the show are holding up well.
I'm… noticing that, for all the sex-positivity implied by the existence of the Companions as a high-ranking influential organization in-universe, Inara is introduced framed as being dissatisfied with her situation and the idea that it's an "honest living" is phrased as a joke.
Like, when a character says "one of us needs to make an honest living" and then it smash cuts to somebody having sex, it's meant to be startling because it's framed as a contradiction in terms. A contradiction with what's implied in-universe, eg that this IS an honest living.
I'm… sorry, hang on
This shot got some FOCUS, guys. It panned down from the "GOOD DOGS" sign to meat going on the griddle. It's clear visual storytelling. This is also a space future where everyone speaks mandarin and it's heavily implied that Chinese culture is much more widespread. And… this shot
I just… hm. Hm. Hmmmmmmmm
really hope I'm reading too far into this tbh
I'm struggling to remember if Kaylee has a personality or characer arc beyond "chipper"
like we've established the strength of this show that sold people on it was the ensemble cast, but how many of the leads have an actual arc? Simon and River are hooked into the plot, but who develops? What dynamics change appreciably past the pilot? Who grows?
I think it's unfair to judge this show for only a single season when it was clearly planned to have more time to flesh out the characters, but you can usually at least guess where someone's arc was intended to go.
genuinely a big fan of how Simon is introduced looking and acting as villainous as humanly possible though
Mal and Zoe's dynamic is classic Leader-Lancer foil goodness. Both snarky, but Zoe's more clear-headed and deadpan while Mal is more swaggering and impulsive. I think they're the backbone of the ensemble cast.
inara's second scene and we are two for two in "people being uncomfortable and weird about her job in a way that doesn't sound like it would make sense in-universe"
the "kaylee eats a strawberry" scene is a good bit of visual storytelling informing us of the scarcity of fresh food and how meaningful this gift is to kaylee and I'm sure it's a total coincidence that it's kinda shot like actual porn
in contrast the "inara takes a spongebath" scene is largely pointless and very purposefully shot like actual porn, though I am a fan of them letting her and Book actually bond to get the weird slutshaming out of the way
it really is jarring me how the in-universe thing is "companions are held in incredibly high regard and have tons of social clout" and meanwhile every single person who comments on inara's profession is like "lol whore" and even she's like "calling me a whore is totally legit"
Kaylee's narrative role is pretty clearly the Morality Pet - the character who the other characters care about, making them seem more morally good. Even Jayne, who has no redeeming qualities yet, shows concern when she's shot, making us sympathize more with him
is there a watsonian reason simon couldn't give river pants or what
I feel like… river's character would worry me less if they made her, like, an actual child, rather than just *mentally* a child. She'd be just as brilliant and deadly but it'd raise fewer Born Sexy Yesterday red flags
okay I'm getting the vibe from the framing that Mal's arc was intended to go from "I am the captain and what I say goes" to "yay found family and mutual respect" but I genuinely don't remember if he makes progress towards that goal during the show
well, at least river's not being intentionally framed as sexy - just kidding jayne just made a joke about boning her and even though we're not supposed to like or sympathize with him I'm still uncomfortable about establishing this framing not two scenes after her intro
very well done establishing reavers as absolutely dreaded and terrifying, and the lack of further detail really heightens that. good worldbuilding!
I think I've id'd some of the issue I have with river
-her character is functionally a prodigy child. it changes nothing of her narrative role if she's actually a child
-because she is an adult, it's "not creepy" to make her naked or for Bad Dudes like Jayne to sexualize her
-her character is functionally a prodigy child. it changes nothing of her narrative role if she's actually a child
-because she is an adult, it's "not creepy" to make her naked or for Bad Dudes like Jayne to sexualize her
I'm getting big "technically legal" vibes from her character and I really, really don't like it
I'll admit I'm currently hypersensitized to this specific space of issues because of all the stuff currently being discussed about whedon, so I might be reading an issue where nothing actively harmful was intended. But like, choices were made here.
kaylee death fakeout is pretty funny, narratively playing off the fact that a pilot episode has no status quo to maintain
also quite like the fakeout that those fancy bronze-looking ingots were… food rations. I mean, makes sense priority-wise.
Narratively, I really like how they give the audience enough info to put things together so the oneliners work without exposition. We know where Jayne is, we know what he can see through the sniper scope, so Mal saying "Nice hat" tells us exactly what's coming next.
Also love how the reaver ship flies completely haphazardly. You can just tell from the movement whoever's flying it doesn't give a fuck. Once again, excellent visual storytelling.
Also, another good character moment - Wash, who's been silly and vaguely neurotic all episode, becomes surprisingly calm and in control while piloting away from the reavers. Smoothly establishes that he's very good at what he does, not just a goofball.
Giving us the whole crew working together for this chase is brilliant, writing-wise. After a pilot full of dysfunctional shenanigans, it establishes the ensemble cast is more than just a bunch of goobers - they run the ship really well together.
River and Simon's sibling dynamic is excellent and heartwarming. It's a good narrative to hang the rest of the plot on. I absolutely believe this fop would give up everything to save his sister.
It frustrates me that River's arc could be improved so easily just by NOT adding in the sexualization. It adds nothing to the story. Nobody needs to comment on her looks. Nobody needs to talk about how she's probably good in bed even though her brain doesn't work.
And I'd like to point out that she looks very young in this show. If they told me she was 14 I'd buy it. Again, deliberate narrative choices were made by making her Barely Legal So It's Totally Kosher, and they creep me out.
