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The mighty GKarsEye watches Firefly

GKarsEye

Regular
Ok so I started Netflixing (yes it's a verb now, I say so) Firefly and watched the first episode... er, double episode.. whatever.

My question- did a 15 yr old come up with this thing? Having cowboy-type archetypes, imagery, settings and music but setting the thing in space reminds me of junior high-school looser-corner-of-the-cafetaria discussion about who kicks more ass, ninja or pirates?

Seriously, I bet this show is or was gonna have ninja and pirates at some point. I don't mean people who pirate things and are technically "pirates," I mean Captain Hook style "Arh matey!" with a goddamn parrot on the should pirates.

Whenever two of the men talked to each other, the fake machismo was so thick I was just waiting for them to whip 'em out and compare sizes, winner take whore.

Ah yes there's a whore. And a chick engineer but she's a total ditz. Great female role models. The whore is hot, though, but the engineer is way cuter.

Everything looks cool- the way the ship moves and the horses- horses!- are.. well, just there.. and, um.. guns. Those are like some sort of futuristic retro space revolvers. Totally stupid but I'm a Western fan and the sharp camera turns (amateuristic homages of copies of homages to Leoni which aren't even as smooth as the slightly-less amateurish copy of homages in Tombstone).

I hope I get to see those supposedly scary and evil zombie cannibals they were so afraid of.

"Some people call me the space cowboy..."

So it was entertaining and I'll watch the rest and see the movie but unless it develops something beyond "dude, that's totally like cowboys 'n' shit!" I won't understand the devotion that sci-fi fans have. It's "cool" but as soon as I would turn my brain in I would start laughing. Like porn.
 
I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by Firefly. I just finished watching it, and I cannot WAIT for the movie. I was skeptical when I first started, too.

I plan on writing a more in-depth review when I get time... but suffice to say, the characters are much more than they appear and harbor secrets that are still untold... and judging by their interviews on the Special Features disc, this show had the same rare combination of chemistry that Babylon 5 had, and truly considered each other family of sorts.

You'll notice Ron Moore borrowed cinematography elements from Firefly to use in Battlestar Galactica. This includes the zooming exterior shots, the focusing lens, and the handheld-camera feel that gives the show a bigger sense of realism.

As for the horses and cowboys, you'll see more... but you'll also see giant starships, floating cities, flying cars, and more spaceships... all part of one giant human existence.

I finished watching Firefly with the exact same feeling as I had when I finished the final episode of Crusade.
 
I like the idea of everything not being all shiny and new in space. So what if it is like a western? As for the females, good lord, since when do we all need "role models?"

Gosh, sir, sorry we can't all think for ourselves! (dumb doe-eyed look)

/spanks G'Kar's Eye hard
 
You'll notice Ron Moore borrowed cinematography elements from Firefly to use in Battlestar Galactica. This includes the zooming exterior shots, the focusing lens, and the handheld-camera feel that gives the show a bigger sense of realism.

The cgi effects company of the two shows are the same as well, I think. At least, Zoic did the cgi for the four hour miniseries of Battlestar Galactica, and they even snuck in a cameo of a Firefly in one shot immediately before we first see Education Secretary Laura Roslin waiting in the doctor's office.
 
Gosh, sir, sorry we can't all think for ourselves!

Apparently not enough to recognise jokes.:p


Haven't seen Battlestar Galactica yet. There will me a "mighty GKarsEye watches BG" thread once it comes out on DVD.
 
About the bit of commentary about everybody being archetypes:

Note that a *lot* of shows, particularly those aimig toward longer term arcs and character development (not to mention somewhat larger ensembles that need to be introduced), start out with a bunch of recognizable archtypes in their pilot episodes. Then they start revealing more about the characters and having the characters develop and grow starting from that baseline.

It was certainly true of Farscape. It was true to a great degree in B5. And it was true in Firefly.

But you will have to just get used to the "Old Western" idioms (things like "Make yourself to home."). That's just how these characters talk ..... when they aren't cursing people / things in Chinese.
 
The whole Chinese cursing thing confused me til I watched the extras, so to save GKE some confusion, basically it's explained that Joss imagined only two main superpowers influencing the future of humanity -- the United States (English) and China (Chinese). Cultures are so intertwined in the Firefly universe that it's common to speak both languages.

And, since American censors can't really censor cursing in a different language (or, at the very least, don't recognize it when it's done to their faces), they got away with it. :)
 
It is intersting. In my experience so far, people either love Firefly or ridicule it, and the people who ridicule it have only seen one or two episodes. I shall therefore reserve comment on GKE's opinions until he has seen more of the series.
 
people either love Firefly or ridicule it

Can't we do both? :)

LH, thanks for explaining that. It's like Clockwork Orange- that Russian-slang hybrid thing they speak is a result of the two powers of the previous generation.
 
From your description it sounds like the first episode you've watched is Train Job? This wasn't supposed to be the first episode and isn't a good introduction.

Watch 'Serenity', which is the REAL first episode, and see what you think.
 
I remember an okay show that slid into inane stupidity. Though I don't see a similarity between Jerry O'Connell and Nathan Fillion, aside from them both being hot.
 
I just can't see the fascination with Firefly. It was nothing but medicore, in my mind. Joss Whedon doing sci-fi literally had me salivating at first, but it soon went.

The captain reminds me of that guy from Sliders. Remember Sliders?

I do. And do you remember Kari Wuhrer's wonderful cleavage?
 
Unfortunately no, I don't remember anything about Sliders except that it starred that guy that was in some crappy teen comedies.
 
Sheesh! Best sci-fi to come down the pipe since B5 (if not ever), and the critics just keep coming out of the woodwork.

Ah well. I console myself by saying that some people don't like Tolkien, either.
 
Well, to be fair here: Tolkien's work hardly has a lot in the way of female characters. I know there's a woman thrown in here and there, but it's basically a guy's story, isn't it?

I read all 4 books mostly becuase they were so popular at my school at the time. And they are excellent stories, I really can't say otherwise. But they are very focussed on a very particular audience.

That's exactly why I've kind of avoided Firefly, too. That and the perpetual cancellation of shows I like in the sci-fi/fantasy genre. I figured I'd give this one a chance by not watching it. That didn't work.

For all the Firefly fans out there, though, I'm glad to hear it might be coming back in some form some day. I'm certain worse sci-fi shows/movies/tv movies have been made. I've even seen several of them.
 

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