Ace of Spades HQ

November 11, 2012

Firefly 10th Anniversary: Browncoats Unite
— rdbrewer

From Entertainment Weekly, why Joss Wheden's cult classic has endured for over a decade:

Some television shows blaze bright and fade quickly. Others ignite and burn for years. Joss WhedonÂ’s Firefly did neither. The sci-fi opus barely sparked during its 11-episode run on Fox in 2002, yet produced a uniquely vibrant afterglow, nurtured by stalwart fans, as well as new fans who continue to discover the series on DVD and cable. To celebrate the cult classicÂ’s 10-year anniversary, Science will air a reunion special tonight called Firefly: Browncoats Unite, which brings together Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and more for a conversation (moderated by this reporter) about the showÂ’s origins and legacy and where the series might have gone had it continued.

From the New York Post:

Â‘FireflyÂ” aired for only one season 10 years ago, but Nathan Fillion still hasnÂ’t gotten over it.
Â“It was the best character I ever played,Â” Fillion told The Post. Â“The best dialogue to ever come out of my mouth was on that show.
Â“It was my first time truly being in love with my work,Â” he says. Â“ItÂ’s the bar to which we compare every job.Â”
The fans arenÂ’t over Â“Firefly,Â” either. More than 10,000 of them lined up for the 10-year reunion of the sci-fi cult classic at San Diego Comic Con this past summer.
Behind the scenes there, Fillion joined Â“FireflyÂ” creator Joss Whedon and castmates Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Alan Tudyk, Gina Torres and Jewel Staite to film a reunion special airing [tonight] on Science Channel (10 p.m.).

More from Forbes and The Hollywood Reporter.

My theory? It's the hat. People like the hat.

The Jayne Hat

Do a Google image search on "firefly jayne hat," and check out the results. You get something like this. Looks like Jayne's hat is becoming a thing. Now I want one.

No, really, it's got everything: Beam weapons, hot women, shooting, big heroes, revolvers, spaceships, frickin' zombies, great writing and stories, shooting, the frontier, and great characters that we care about. And shooting. Oh, plus wicked martial arts. Another thing: The characters aren't flat. Like most people, they all have good and bad traits. Sometimes it's not so clear where they're coming from. It's really the best science fiction show since the original Trek. And that includes a lot of great shows, like Babylon 5, Space: Above and Beyond, all the other Trek spinoffs, and the original Battlestar Galactica. I can't think of anything else that comes close. And the snowballing cult following pretty much confirms that.

Not bad for 11 episodes. Not bad.

If they ever re-do the show, you know what would be cool? Bringing in favorite stars from the other shows for guest appearances. You know, like the local town heavy could be Dirk Benedict or Bruce Boxleitner. That would be fun. Plus, it would anchor the show with fans even more.

It's on Science Channel (SCI) tonight at 10:00 Eastern.

An hour-long reunion at New York Comic Con.

Follow me on Twitter.

Note: I know there are a lot of people who need to rant about the election. Please use the Open Thread below for anything non-Firefly/sci-fi related.

Posted by: rdbrewer at 01:30 PM | Comments (209)
Post contains 543 words, total size 5 kb.

1 Well, bye then.

Posted by: Meremortal at November 11, 2012 01:32 PM (1Y+hH)

2 Misery loves company

Posted by: ConservativeCrank at November 11, 2012 01:34 PM (RG4AM)

3 Jayne hat???...you'll look like an Occupier kid!

Posted by: billygoat at November 11, 2012 01:35 PM (CfGGV)

4 I'll be watching while wearing my "Mal Shot First" t-shirt.

Posted by: no good deed at November 11, 2012 01:36 PM (mjR67)

5 "May have been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Posted by: Palandine at November 11, 2012 01:39 PM (g7D8V)

6 Quick Correction: "Not bad for 11 episodes. Not bad." There are actually 14 episodes (plus the film "Serenity"), but only 11 aired. The other 3 premiered on the DVD.

Posted by: Synnerman at November 11, 2012 01:40 PM (0Bdlg)

Note: I know there are a lot of people who need to rant about the election. Please use the Open Thread below for anything non-Firefly related.

---------------------------------------------------

The cobloggers are being especially restrictive today.

Posted by: Soona at November 11, 2012 01:41 PM (yZkq3)

8 *insert the long form Whedon rant here* *the one with both the rabid wolves and the camel spiders*

Insty nailed it the other day. Whedon would be on the side of the Alliance.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 01:41 PM (Gk3SS)

9 Weird that a liberal shitbag like Whedon could make such a fantastic libertarian/conservative show like Firefly.

If he and his peeps actually lived in that universe, they'd see the Browncoats as racist, greedy haters, trying to undermine or escape the benevolent Alliance, which provides everyone with everything they could possibly want.

Posted by: Palandine at November 11, 2012 01:42 PM (g7D8V)

10 14 episodes? I wuz robbed.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 01:44 PM (Iyg03)

11 If he and his peeps actually lived in that universe, they'd see the Browncoats as racist, greedy haters, trying to undermine or escape the benevolent Alliance, which provides everyone with everything they could possibly want.

Posted by: Palandine at November 11, 2012 05:42 PM (g7D8V)

---------------------------------------------

Yup. The Firefly crew would have found out that succumbing to a monolithic governance would have given them a much better life, not to mention, free fucking phones.

Posted by: Soona at November 11, 2012 01:46 PM (yZkq3)

12 The appeal was the "Fuck you, I'll do whatever I want attitude." The Chinese was annoying and nonsensical. (No one's ever going to try to integrate tonal words into a normal language.) Also, the mechanic was rather beautiful and charming. (As opposed to a pair of boobs with some yellow hair duct taped somewhere above them.) Later. (And there better be a real thread when I get back.)

Posted by: Mirror-Universe Mitt Romney at November 11, 2012 01:47 PM (uvzjj)

13 Okay. I got nuthin' else. Back to the open thread.

Posted by: Soona at November 11, 2012 01:48 PM (yZkq3)

14 Dear Hollywood, Firefly was awesome. Damn you for canceling it. I know most of you are lefty douches. I don't care. Your politics are your business. But if you shove that crap in my face I will boycott your ass. See: Fillon, Nathan. Whedon, Joss.

Posted by: Secundus at November 11, 2012 01:48 PM (P+Rq+)

15 Tudyk in " Tucker and Dale Vs Evil "rocks too, if you like really stupid great humor. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1465522/

Posted by: mbruce at November 11, 2012 01:48 PM (Fr8N6)

16 Dirk Benedict is getting too old to play the town heavy, make him a town doctor instead.

Posted by: Deathknyte at November 11, 2012 01:49 PM (M9tod)

17 Whedon is such a lefty asshole that he ruins it for me.

Posted by: walkers! at November 11, 2012 01:49 PM (YEG/L)

18 Weird that a liberal shitbag like Whedon could make such a fantastic libertarian/conservative show like Firefly.

That's actually the one tiny, tiny, barely existent piece of respect I have for Whedon. He was consistent with the rules of the universe even though those rules were contrary to his political beliefs. Not many people actually do that.

Of course, that gets heaved out the window when you hear some of the shit he thought about doing if it ever got renewed but I did say it was only a tiny bit of respect.

I really need to start going through Babylon 5 again. It's refreshing to see a show that actually had an overarching plot arc that was thought out and implemented. Yes, I staring directly at you new BSG.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 01:51 PM (Gk3SS)

19 AtC, you purposely brought up spiders ???? Wow. So much hate in such a little body.

Posted by: BCochran1981 at November 11, 2012 01:52 PM (GEICT)

20 I don't think that's it, MUMR. As a conservative, I already feel that way. We're crushed under so many stupid laws that I feel no compulsion to follow. If I didn't work a job with random drug testing, I'd still smoke weed. It's the liberals who want to compel everyone to be the same for their own good (e.g., Michelle Obama, Nanny Bloomberg). I'd been looking forward to winning this election so I could stop CARING for four years about who the president was and how he'd interfere with and oppress me. By the end of the next four years, we'll be more controlled than any Americans in history.

The Alliance wasn't evil (except for what was revealed in Serenity)--they created a galaxy where people who followed the rules had enough to eat, abundant and advanced healthcare, and shining cities. Only those who resisted the sort of control that came with those boons lived in squalor on the edges of the law.

Tunes for our times. It's a fantastic show.

And Jayne was the man, always.

Posted by: Palandine at November 11, 2012 01:52 PM (g7D8V)

21 So, basically, AtC, it's awesome because he never got the chance to ruin it? I'll buy that.

Posted by: no good deed at November 11, 2012 01:53 PM (mjR67)

22 So, basically, AtC, it's awesome because he never got the chance to ruin it? I'll buy that.

Bingo!

Wow. So much hate in such a little body.

Hell hath no fury like a fangirl betrayed.

Okay, I really hope The Following looks as good as it seems. I mean, I'll be watching for the Kevin Bacon on my tv each week but the idea of it could be fantastic. Or it could go right off the rails.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 01:57 PM (Gk3SS)

23 Tell you, Zoe, we get a mechanic, get her up and runnin' again, hire a good pilot, maybe a cook. Live like real people. Small crew, them as feel the need to be free, take jobs as they come. Ain't never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we'll just get ourselves a little further.

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 01:58 PM (LRFds)

24 If you ever get a chance to buy or watch Space: Above and Beyond, do so. It's great. It had an arcing plot even though the episodes stood alone. Favorite episode: The one where Colonel McQueen goes against Chiggy Von Richtofen: http://tinyurl.com/ye8to52

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 01:59 PM (Iyg03)

25 20 Palandine,

No the Alliance was evil.

Suborning man's free choice past a point in coercion towards "perfection" is the basest of evil.

I am not perfect nor do i demand you be so.

Leave me be is not evil and should not be abolished because anyone or any group says "I know better."

I aim to misbehave.

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 02:00 PM (LRFds)

26 Meh. Over my head. Vic and I will pass on this.

Posted by: Billy Bob, pseudo intellectual at November 11, 2012 02:01 PM (wR+pz)

27 "You wanna run this ship?"

"Yes!"

"Well...you can't!"

Posted by: SurferDoc at November 11, 2012 02:01 PM (6H6FZ)

28
Needs more humping lions.

Posted by: Guy Mohawk at November 11, 2012 02:02 PM (PHb2k)

29 I disagree about it being the best SF show since TOS. I think it is better than TOS. Now, it's not the *greatest* SF series ever--that's still Trek, which has seriously impacted the culture, spawned numerous spin-offs, movies, etc. But "Firefly" is the best ever, hands down (helped somewhat by having only a handful of episodes, hence no clunkers). Too bad Joss Wheedon is apparently a functional socialist. Perhaps I should get him a hammer and sickle for Christmas.

Posted by: A. at November 11, 2012 02:02 PM (88erC)

30 My thing is that sure, it was a great show. Whedon and the cast created a new universe and it's a pretty cool place to think about. But it aint comin back to TV so all we have is what there is and "Serenity". I think some people want more because it was a great show and deserved a second chance to really fill the potential that was there.
Really though, American TV has a bad tradition of letting a series linger too long and then what we wind up with is a decade long run that should have ended after year 5. The BBC put out "The Office", which ran for 2 years by design and it's a classic. Look at the American version - it past its prime about 3 years ago. M*A*S*H lasted 5 times longer than the Korean War. BTW - I'm not implying Firefly would be as awful now as the last 5 years of M*A*S*H.
So I just appreciate what there is of that universe. I don't need another 5 seasons to appreciate a remarkable setting for a few great tales of adventure and mayhem. Jayne. A totally hot whore, way hotter than Miss Kitty.

Posted by: CozMark at November 11, 2012 02:03 PM (WAHqd)

31 Sven, I'm a conservative and I agree with you. So would libertarians. But not leftists--since they don't believe in God and have no notion that the human heart is evil above all things and desperately wicked and CANNOT be fixed in this world; they do believe in perfection.

They just have to break a lot of eggs for that omelet--Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, Kim Il Sung and his progeny--all of them believe that people can be coerced into perfection. It's the overarching idea of liberal governance--the perfection of man--and I'm amazed someone like Whedon could make a show where that notion is seen as bad.

The Alliance is no more evil than the Federation, which was ALWAYS portrayed as fundamentally good, until a few episodes in DS9.

Posted by: Palandine at November 11, 2012 02:05 PM (g7D8V)

32 I was falling for Jewell Staite, a sweet girl who could clean your injectors and clean your injectors

Posted by: SurferDoc at November 11, 2012 02:05 PM (6H6FZ)

I absolutely love Firefly. Great show.

But not the best SF show ever. That title belongs to "Babylon 5".

Posted by: SouthofReality at November 11, 2012 02:06 PM (E86oe)

34 huh? i looked at syfyhd on comcast and there's nothing sunday night but big blocks of crap. outlander - 530-800pm, gi joe rise of cobra - 800pm - 1030pm, in the name of the king a dungeon siege tale - 1030pm - 100am having never seen firefly, and having fallen asleep about 10 min into netflixing serenity, i was kind of curious to watch this special but it would appear to me there is nothing but B-movie crap on syfy tonight...?

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 02:06 PM (aB7h4)

35 Wow Alexthechick wishing spiders on someone. The ten-legged camel spiders no less.

Speaking of a whole room full of writers and actors that need feeding to giant spiders, its Moore et al from the new horrible bitter liberal soapbox BSG. Thank goodness with Caprica they Kevorkian'd themselves so no one wants to see sequels.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 11, 2012 02:08 PM (B9up3)

36 Joss Whedon is the subject of my next book!

Posted by: Paula Broadwell at November 11, 2012 02:09 PM (ypzqs)

37 Speaking of a whole room full of writers and actors that need feeding to giant spiders, its Moore et al from the new horrible bitter liberal soapbox BSG.

What's so disappointing is that the first season was great. 33 is way up there on my list of great tv episodes of any genre. Then they just went full retard.

You know, I've never been able to get into any of the Stargates. It should be something I like but I find that 'verse to be boring.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:12 PM (Gk3SS)

38 Maybe your political causes would be more effective and your postions more believable if you shut off the retarded MSM programming and put away your video toys. The irony...

Posted by: jacke at November 11, 2012 02:12 PM (5Cwv4)

39 So why was Firefly canceled anyway?

Posted by: chemjeff at November 11, 2012 02:13 PM (m/eXi)

40 31 Pallandine,

One dayu in heaven or hell depending I plan to have a talk with the 156million 20th century genocided by politics and the 50 million dead US babies.

Not to be too "non firefly political".

The whole point o be on topic is that in trying to do for you or control how far you can run they are controlling you from not running far enough at all or paying the price to attain th perfection they think they can mandate.

I'm gonna go watch and ruminate over the fact a union donk friend of mine literally said the other day, "my movement is worldwide and yours is local and dying, when we get the world you are welcome to be openly right wing off it."

I wish friend....I wish

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 02:13 PM (LRFds)

41 "So why was Firefly canceled anyway?"

It didn't have any ghey cowboys in it.

Posted by: SurferDoc at November 11, 2012 02:15 PM (6H6FZ)

8 *insert the long form Whedon rant here* *the one with both the rabid wolves and the camel spiders*

Insty nailed it the other day. Whedon would be on the side of the Alliance.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 05:41 PM (Gk3SS)

---------------

Yeah, I just don't get it.

Is Whedon brain damaged, or what?

He is dead to me now.

I've been a huge fan, too...but after the things he has said in the last few years, I can't watch his work anymore.

How could he be on the side of government control, censorship and tyranny.

Posted by: wheatie at November 11, 2012 02:15 PM (ICEh3)

43 No Christina Hendricks?

Posted by: Project ORCA at November 11, 2012 02:15 PM (f+dGM)

44 41 surfer doc,

I dunno the one in heart of gold seemed to be overcompensating....

heh

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 02:15 PM (LRFds)

45 42 wheatie,

because we don't agree with him.

I hand Firefly to foljk at random.

I buy four copies at a time.

I'd never do that with any of his other work and may put him on my "Steven Spielberg you're dead to me" list.

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 02:17 PM (LRFds)

46 I've been a huge fan, too...but after the things he has said in the last few years, I can't watch his work anymore.
How could he be on the side of government control, censorship and tyranny.

That's not new, he's always been that way.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:17 PM (Gk3SS)

47 Re: 33. Trouble with Babylon 5 is that sometimes the dialogue veers into something that is too comic-booky. Epic series though, and was a joy to watch. And don't forget--Jayne hats should always have a straw accessory.

Posted by: A. at November 11, 2012 02:20 PM (88erC)

48 So why was Firefly canceled anyway?

Posted by: chemjeff at November 11, 2012 06:13 PM (m/eXi)

Fox + Genre (only X-files did they do right and that was a miracle with the way they treated it at the start)

Posted by: The Dude at November 11, 2012 02:21 PM (tw6Ar)

49 Fox + Genre (only X-files did they do right and that was a miracle with the way they treated it at the start)

The only reason X-Files lasted on Fox the first few seasons was because Fox was to the Big Three networks what CW is to the Big Four networks now. Fox might as well have left it on because it wasn't like Fox had stacks of reality shows waiting in the wings like they would now.

I still can't believe Fringe got a fourth season.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:24 PM (Gk3SS)

Way OT, on ESPN now is the NASCAR race. With 2 laps to go there was a retalliation wreck, crew members fighting, cops separating the teams. Awesome! It ain't over yet.

Posted by: wierdflunky at November 11, 2012 02:25 PM (tlhtD)

51 No way, Fringe is a good show. Sorry it's ending, but the story is kinda over now.

Posted by: Jaimo at November 11, 2012 02:25 PM (/10HE)

52 33 was good and I had hope the new BSG would be decent. Seeing Valley Forge among the refugee ships was hopeful. But the abandoning of that ship turned out to be a sign of how the writers would abandon in totality the original universe.

At the same time it was the small details that clued me in the writers had no real idea of what they were doing. Galactica has just secured from General Quarters and Apollo has to lead a scratch crew on a dash to save the Auxiliary Control before the Cylons seized it. Uh excuse me, where is Aux Con's normal crew. That just rang a false note and warned me.

The original Stargate is my sci-fi popcorn show. Sometimes they got good stories. But I just enjoy all the actors and how they interact in character. McGuyver with guns is not as dumb as he acts and you know it, he just uses that facade to make sure he knows what is going on. Or to put people off guard.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 11, 2012 02:26 PM (B9up3)

53 Two things not to be missed: Christina Hendricks!

Posted by: Dean at November 11, 2012 02:27 PM (eiCOw)

54 No way, Fringe is a good show. Sorry it's ending, but the story is kinda over now.

Posted by: Jaimo at November 11, 2012 06:25 PM (/10HE)

true but you can't deny that Fox treated the show like shit

Posted by: The Dude at November 11, 2012 02:27 PM (tw6Ar)

55 The libertarian stuff in Firefly/Serenity came from Tim Minear.

Posted by: somebody else, not me at November 11, 2012 02:28 PM (nZvGM)

There's a theory, apparently especially popular among Buffy fans, that Firefly is good largely because it died before Whedon could ruin it. The more I see of his political blathering, the more inclined I am to believe it.

As for Babylon 5 and JMS, forget it. JMS's talent is "borrowing" from his betters (E. E. "Doc" Smith and Alfred Bester), larding the stolen ideas up with Hollywood leftist cant, and being lucky that the originals are so good they outshine modern stuff ever after his hack work degrades them. I shudder at his rumored involvement in the Lensman movie development...

Posted by: Browncoat Recruit at November 11, 2012 02:28 PM (R7JnV)

57 Absolutely, Fox has a habit of doing that.

Posted by: Jaimo at November 11, 2012 02:28 PM (/10HE)

58 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9z6AO5KzIU Don't forget the music!

Posted by: Britt at November 11, 2012 02:29 PM (iw8QO)

59 B5 was good, but it was a little too preachy at times. BSG was just a mess after the first season, but I did like the internal conflict between the civilians and military. S:AAB was interesting, but the execution was way too silly. Stargate and Star Trek went on far too long and with too many spinoffs. Star Trek was also too clean and polished.

Posted by: Alex at November 11, 2012 02:30 PM (HwgHt)

60 Han shot first!!!!!! Whoops, sorry, wrong geeky nerd thread. Humble apologies.

Posted by: The Man From Athens at November 11, 2012 02:30 PM (RXQ2T)

Posted by: somebody else, not me at November 11, 2012 06:28 PM (nZvGM)

Always wished Fox didn't kill off The Inside before it got it's legs, had a promising idea there

Posted by: The Dude at November 11, 2012 02:30 PM (tw6Ar)

62 34 huh? i looked at syfyhd on comcast and there's nothing sunday night but big blocks of crap. --------- Don't know why you would look for sci-fi on SyFy. It's the Science channel that shows Firefly. Guess they don't have enough How It's Made to fill the schedule.

Posted by: Anachronda at November 11, 2012 02:31 PM (1c58W)

63 No way, Fringe is a good show. Sorry it's ending, but the story is kinda over now.

Oh the surprise isn't that Fringe was renewed because it's a bad show, I really like Fringe. It's a surprise because Fox has a well earned reputation of shitting all over genre shows.

What the hell just happened in the NASCAR race? This looks terribly bad.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:31 PM (Gk3SS)

64 so.. is this really on sunday night? in chicago i see nothing but B-movie crap on syfy all night long would like to check out the series since i'm a sci-fi nerd and have loved a few other short-lived space series, but it doesn't look like this is actually on syfy channel tonight unless it's just off the schedule in chicago

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 02:32 PM (aB7h4)

If memory serves...Firefly wasn't promoted, and they kept moving it's timeslot around.

I had to hunt for it.

So, I'm thinking this had something to do with why it didn't get higher ratings.

Posted by: wheatie at November 11, 2012 02:33 PM (ICEh3)

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 06:32 PM (aB7h4)

because you're looking at the wrong channel. It's the Science Channel (ie Discovery)

Posted by: The Dude at November 11, 2012 02:34 PM (tw6Ar)

67 so.. is this really on sunday night? in chicago i see nothing but B-movie crap on syfy all night long

Again, it's not one SciFi (I refuse to use the new name), it's on the Science channel. I cannot remember why Science has the rights to it, something with the Universal issues, maybe?

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:34 PM (Gk3SS)

68 Long time moron, first time commenter.

Thought I'd point out for everyone wondering how Whedon could make a show a like Firefly given his politics, his main creative collaborator on the show was Tim Minear whose politics are much more similar to Mal's.

"Mal is, if not a Republican, certainly a libertarian; he's certainly a less-government kinda guy. He's the opposite of me in many ways." - Whedon (http://reason.com/archives/2005/09/30/out-to-the-black)

Posted by: some guy at November 11, 2012 02:34 PM (jCH/T)

Posted by: wheatie at November 11, 2012 06:33 PM (ICEh3)

and the fact that they ran them all out of order

Posted by: The Dude at November 11, 2012 02:34 PM (tw6Ar)

70 Those Bolivian beanies have been standard issue for hippies since the 80s.

Posted by: Jeanne the Obscure at November 11, 2012 02:35 PM (yZBHr)

71 Except Wheedon is a big-govt. Obama worshipping do*che, so why would you support him in this manner?

Posted by: trump at November 11, 2012 02:35 PM (F8Lnm)

72 Serenity really helped to heal the wound of the cancellation. What a great little movie. Nathan is pretty funny on twitter and Adam is just a full on attack dog there. Cracks me up and often he posts his cellphone pictures from the beach. Lucky dog.

Posted by: and irresolute at November 11, 2012 02:37 PM (DBH1h)

73 Ok, the show I really miss is Farscape. That one was just fun.

Posted by: Alex at November 11, 2012 02:37 PM (HwgHt)

74 71 trump,

I just got off the phone with my foster dad a bit ago. Smart guy he worked for the company that had its leader quit under a cloud recently. "Son the media is the left's strategic bomber wing."

Whedon accidentally made a show that makes the arguments we face subtly entertaining.

Whether he was the true force behind that or not I value the work if not the worker.

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 02:38 PM (LRFds)

75 his main creative collaborator on the show was Tim Minear whose politics are much more similar to Mal's.

Minear does interesting work. He was exec producer on The Inside, Wonderfalls and Terriers which I loved so much. Sadly, I am not a fan of American Horror Story. Not my bag, baby.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 02:38 PM (Gk3SS)

76 33: Agreed, B5 was the greatest sci-fi show of all time.

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at November 11, 2012 02:39 PM (Rs1uj)

77 How can I forget that the model for Valley Forge was originally used in probably one of the greatest bad science fiction movies of the last half century. Silent Running starring Bruce Dern, three robots, and songs by Joan Baez?

http://youtu.be/TckJBvl_uT0

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 11, 2012 02:40 PM (B9up3)

78 75 comments and no one's mentioned Christina Hendricks yet?

It's like I don't even know you anymore.

Posted by: Andy at November 11, 2012 02:41 PM (OZPoa)

79 Alex....Yes...Farscape was one of my all time favorites!!!

Firefly was starting to be a favorite before it got the axe.

I'm not sure why, but I never got into Babylon 5. Perhaps I was too young and wanted everything sci fi to be more like starwars at the time. (Too old to begin the training....or something like that)

Anyone...feel free to educated me why Babylon 5 was so excellent.

Posted by: General John Stark at November 11, 2012 02:41 PM (DglcR)

Why did Firefly fail on TV? I can answer that by pulling out my DVD box set.

Serenity Part 1 & 2: Air date 12/20/02

The first episode broadcast was The Train Job on 9/20/02.

In other words, they aired the episodes out of order, with the pilot not coming on until two months later, almost certainly after the decision to cancel had already been made. Anyone tuning into the first episode broadcast would have been completely lost.

Posted by: somebody else, not me at November 11, 2012 02:42 PM (nZvGM)

81 yeah Farscape, I have heard it is a show I should check out
maybe over Thanksgiving break

Posted by: chemjeff at November 11, 2012 02:44 PM (m/eXi)

82 @the dude - ahhhhhhh thanks for correcting my moronic stupidity. i did think the science channel was supposed to be real science n stuff, sort of like how mtv is supposed to be music videos, but i guess since the science channel is 90% morgan freeman crap these days i can understand the exception. thanks for the note!!! i will dvr it. i just hope it's not really awesome and then i get disappointed by the fact that it's only a single season =/

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 02:44 PM (aB7h4)

83 Anyone...feel free to educated me why Babylon 5 was so excellent.

Yeah me too actually, I frankly couldn't make it past the pilot episode, seemed too drama-ish

Posted by: chemjeff at November 11, 2012 02:45 PM (m/eXi)

84 75 comments and no one's mentioned Christina Hendricks yet?

It's like I don't even know you anymore.
Posted by: Andy at November 11, 2012 06:41 PM

I don't know about anyone else but I still have an erection from that episode.

Posted by: Dept. of Accuracy Dept. at November 11, 2012 02:45 PM (BAnPT)

85 mmm...Christina Hendricks...

I'd like to "misbehave" with her

Posted by: chemjeff at November 11, 2012 02:46 PM (m/eXi)

86 Some Guy, glad you delurked. Hope you stick around.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 02:46 PM (Iyg03)

87 o. m. g. dallas might win a game

Posted by: gamer moronette at November 11, 2012 02:50 PM (LpQbZ)

88 Best Christina Hendricks photo ever link in my nic

Posted by: Dept. of Accuracy Dept. at November 11, 2012 02:50 PM (BAnPT)

89 Posted by: some guy at November 11, 2012 06:34 PM (jCH/T) ===== thanks for that tidbit of info and, they never learn, do they?

Posted by: gamer moronette at November 11, 2012 02:52 PM (LpQbZ)

90 OT, but legal insurrection has a small, but interesting post re: "small" conservative blogs and their future. http://legalinsurrection.com/2012/11/whither-small-conservative-blogs/

Posted by: gamer moronette at November 11, 2012 02:56 PM (LpQbZ)

91 I notice no one has mentioned "Andromeda" in their listz of best sci-fi shows. I thought the first couple of seasons were pretty good, although the last was just weird (as in, I couldn't tell if it was *supposed* to be the finale or they just quit making more). Of course, I thought Kevin Sorbo was good looking so may have been just a little biased.

Posted by: Polliwogette, disappointed hobbit at November 11, 2012 03:01 PM (NYki8)

92 Loved Firefly, and thought the Serenity movie a great capstone. That said, I still think Babylon 5 the best, or at least its 1st 4 seasons, I consider season 5 a bonus to thank the fans for staying w/ the show through impending cancellations, as the ONLY 5th season ep part of the main series arc was the finale "Sleeping in Light".

Now that may be only because it 'had' the chance for a long-term plot arc, and Firefly didn't, but I'd say B5 is the best.

Posted by: Shawn at November 11, 2012 03:02 PM (/lltO)

93 I always thought the most conservative sci-fi show was the X-Files. You had corrupt government agencies with shadowy plots, you had Scully's Christian faith which was presented as a strength rather than a character flaw, you had ragtag private organizations like the Lone Gunmen working to expose the lies of government, you had Mulder constantly sticking it to the man in favor of truth and justice. God I miss that show.

Posted by: W.H. Doubter at November 11, 2012 03:04 PM (Td9D+)

94 i was a very very partial viewer of "space: above and beyond" when it had its short life. a number of semi-famous actors included also. loved it who's ready for the big screen version of ender's game to completely ruin the series for us? will jarjarbinks make an appearance?

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 03:04 PM (aB7h4)

95 Andromeda Ascendent had two things going against it in my opinion. Two things from Star Trek Voyager that annoyed me - The Seven of Nine effect and lets have an alien female with super powers.

Posted by: Anna Puma (+SmuD) at November 11, 2012 03:06 PM (B9up3)

96 @doubter - also loved the x-files especially in the early years before they tried to make a plot so cryptic there were never any answers..... or clear questions. the movie was also crap. i think they made a second one but i stopped paying attention by that point duchovney and anderson were also perfect in the show. all good things must eventually come to an end

Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 03:06 PM (aB7h4)

97 yeah the second X files movie was really low-rent stuff. It felt like a Lifetime Halloween special or something. just awful.

Posted by: W.H. Doubter at November 11, 2012 03:08 PM (Td9D+)

98 I have to confess, I didn't get much out of Firefly. I bought the DVD set after hearing a lot of praise, and I thought a handful of episodes were really good, the rest just kind of "eh." And I could see why the last episodes never aired, they just weren't that good.

Still, I'm obviously not in the fan club, but I'm glad the show has such ardent supporters.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at November 11, 2012 03:11 PM (i0App)

99 Does anyone know who was the asshole (at Fox) responsible for shutting down "Firefly"?

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 03:11 PM (R9579)

100 86 Some Guy, glad you delurked. Hope you stick around.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 06:46 PM (Iyg03)

Thanks. If I start commenting regularly I will probably try to come up with a better name to post under. I certainly will keep reading the main content. Usually I'm too lazy to read the comments (slow reader), but my post election fits of madness have me chained to blogs more than is probably healthy.

Posted by: some guy at November 11, 2012 03:12 PM (jCH/T)

101 Insty nailed it the other day. Whedon would be on the side of the Alliance.

Posted by: alexthechick - SMOD. Our only hope. Literally. at November 11, 2012 05:41 PM (Gk3SS)

Politically yes, but subconsciously no. It is interesting that his lead character is the epitome of an independent capitalist being oppressed by an overbearing and evil nanny state.

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 03:13 PM (R9579)

102 I don't get why this blog has such a hard on for Joss Whedon.

Posted by: Ernie McCracken at November 11, 2012 03:20 PM (ZETiK)

103 I absolutely love Firefly. Great show. But not the best SF show ever. That title belongs to "Babylon 5". Posted by: SouthofReality at November 11, 2012 06:06 PM (E86oe) Hands.Fucking.Down

Posted by: Scottye_fl at November 11, 2012 03:21 PM (kb15i)

104 1. Fillion's best role was as Brendan Fraser's punching bag in Blast From the Past. 2. Farscape is the best scifi series and one the best overall tv serials ever produced. 3. Babylon 5 is a story. A long story. In space. Not all the episodes are exciting but they're all parts of a really good story.

Posted by: soothie at November 11, 2012 03:25 PM (KwX0v)

105 So why is Babylon 5 so good? I used to love it as a kid, but I tried watching the first episode and it seem too...corny. Does it get better?

Posted by: A-Hole at November 11, 2012 03:26 PM (wsGWu)

106 So, I'm thinking this had something to do with why it didn't get higher ratings.

Posted by: wheatie at November 11, 2012 06:33 PM (ICEh3)

Not only that, the Fox executives ordered that the episodes be broadcast out of sequence. It made it more difficult for the show to develop a following because the out of sequence episodes added confusion.

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 03:28 PM (R9579)

107 I got a friend into Farscape. The lad had been a stalwart browncoat before that, and yet, there came a day, when, with a quavering, unsteady voice, he said, (and I quote) "Farscape is better than Firefly. There just is no comparing the two." Despite having arrived at this startling truth after much soul searching and tears, the other browncoat cultists would not suffer such blasphemy. Like a cult, they sent him threatening notes on facebook, saran-wrapped his car, and replaced his shaving cream with stale Cheez-Whiz. Yet through it all, in such a dark winter of the heart, he would not be swayed by such riffraff! No, he stood firm in his beliefs regardless of the scorn and calumny heaped upon him. Sadly, this young Icarus flew too close to the sun! He started attending Far-con and caught a nasty disease from some chick in blue facepaint, and died five months later, screaming about Sebacean Heat-delirium.

Posted by: taft at November 11, 2012 03:32 PM (d2FFC)

108 "Son the media is the left's strategic bomber wing."
Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 06:38 PM (LRFds)

And this is a point I cannot make often enough. The media is the greatest threat facing this nation today. It is they who gave us Clinton and Obama, and it is they who got them re-elected.

We either need to match their firepower (not easy) or wipe them out! (still not easy, but likely easier.)

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 03:33 PM (R9579)

109 Folks, I usually lurk quietly and try not to get involved here, but I may actually have something worthwhile to contribute: I'd like to suggest Stargate Atlantis for consideration. It was a solid, amusing, engaging, beautifully-shot show. Its predecessor, "Stargate SG-1" was good, presenting a post-"McGyver" Richard Dean Anderson and niche sci-fi stars Ben Browder and Claudia Black in some fairly entertaining story lines, but for my money, SGA often feels quite a bit like "Firefly". It's easy enough to catch all five seasons of SGA (and the ten seasons of SG-1) on justin.tv. Search for it under "Entertainment", and if you're running Firefox or the Google browser you'll want to intstall the "A Better JTV" plugin to eliminate any ads justin.tv my throw ar you. Give SGA a try - the first season is a little weak, and there are some storyline missteps along the way, but hey, they brought in Jewel Staite in the third season, so they definitely had their priorites straight! (Lol)

Posted by: Glenster at November 11, 2012 03:39 PM (Pqqe3)

110 I really liked firefly, but agree that B5 is the best - my husband and I were just wondering when we should do a(nother) rewatch. What makes it so great is that you have a lot of continuity with the style and story line (minus season 5, but Shawn mentioned that), and by the end, even the characters who are horrible are wonderful! Highly highly recommend!

Posted by: Mrsp at November 11, 2012 03:42 PM (tgRSU)

111 Also, I know that I'm OT, but we just finished watching Friday Night Lights, and I've recommended it to everyone I know. I would say its better than B5, but B5 is the best sci-fi.

Posted by: Mrsp at November 11, 2012 03:47 PM (tgRSU)

112 If only Heroes had been just one series, then a Big Damn Movie to wrap everything up.

You can go on too long. What we got is enough.

Posted by: The Lightworker at November 11, 2012 03:49 PM (eHz90)

113 SG1 and SGA both good serials.

Posted by: soothie at November 11, 2012 03:51 PM (GUbzo)

114 B5, Andrea Thompson, ample bosom.
Firefly, Christina Hendricks, ample bosom.
Star Trek something, Jeri Ryan, ample bosom.

I'm noticing a SiFi trend.

Posted by: lowandslow at November 11, 2012 03:57 PM (GZitp)

115 The Firefly theme song:

Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take this guy from me.

Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take this guy from me.

Leave the men where they lay
They'll never see another day
Lost my soul, lost my dream
You can't take this guy from me.

I feel the black reaching out
I hear its song without a doubt
I still hear and I still see
That you can't take this guy from me.

Lost my love, lost my land
Lost the last place I could stand
There's no place I can be
Since I've found Serenity

And you can't take this guy from me.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 04:08 PM (Iyg03)

116 I tried to teach myself how to knit just so I could knit a Jayne hat and sell 'em. I should get back on that.

Posted by: Hidajunshinette at November 11, 2012 04:10 PM (20NzC)

117 I thought it was "the sky," not "this guy" Hmmm

Posted by: Mrsp at November 11, 2012 04:12 PM (tgRSU)

118 You do realize that since Adam Baldwin outed himself that Joss will not include him in any additional work.

Posted by: Sexypig at November 11, 2012 04:13 PM (tuE4N)

119 One thing I admired about Firefly was the way they dealt with religion, with respect. Or at least, with a hell of a lot more respect than we could expect from any other Hellywood production. Mal starts off in the war being a believer (kisses his cross before going into battle), but rejects God when things don't go his way. And it's pretty clear from the way it's presented that he's WRONG and a total asshole for doing so. Despite Book's mysterious background, he's presented as an honorable man, a trustworthy man, even while being a believer. Sort of an Apostle Paul character. Always liked the succinct description of the Bible as "Don't Be Afraid". You'd have to work pretty hard to find a better three-word description of the Bible's message. But in a way, I'm glad that we didn't see how Whedon would fuck things up. The witch episode was kind of a harbinger of fuckups to come. I always thought it was fair to do that single episode with a religious fanatic moon. A SINGLE episode. Because that kind of community does exist, if extremely rare, and it's perfectly plausible that the Serenity might be unlucky enough to run into them once. But you can bet that Whedon would do like every leftist cocksucker and gin up a whole slew of "Mal vs Christian cult" stories if the series had continued.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 11, 2012 04:17 PM (Rhie+)

120 Talk about a mondegreen............ "You can't take the sky from me..."

Posted by: DDaland at November 11, 2012 04:22 PM (hDPek)

121 Mal shot Patience's horse and said "Now, I did a job. Got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character, so let me make this abundantly clear: I do the job, and then I get paid. Go run your little world."

Sounds relevant today....

Posted by: Astronaut Achmed at November 11, 2012 04:22 PM (qjrjH)

122 Whatever Whedon's political affiliations are, he had the integrity to present a universe where the dominant point of view is kind of libertarian. It takes a little mental horsepower to step back and make characters that aren't you.

F/x, if I was trying to create a liberal character, I'd have a hard time not making him a douche, where reason, accountability, and intellectual honesty are frustratingly absent.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 04:23 PM (Iyg03)

123 Mudder's Milk for everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: kinlaw at November 11, 2012 04:44 PM (uLTng)

124 Re: the Hosing of Firefly

Listen to the commentaries on the DVDs and you'll hear an abundance of pile ons the show got.

Slight spoiler if you've never seen the show

Starting before they aired anything: the ads listed the crew as including "a girl in a box", the big reveal for act II in the pilot.

Which they then didn't air. Until two months after episode 13. Which aired after they didn't show eps 10-12...

Fillion's love of the character has leeched over into Castle at least three times now. The last being a full episode shout-out to Firefly.

Mal: You don't know me, son, so let me explain this to you once: If I ever kill you, you'll be awake, you'll be armed and you'll be facing me.

Posted by: CaptainComic at November 11, 2012 05:00 PM (JG2ty)

125 Watched the series on NetFlix a few months ago, on a tip that it was brilliant, conservative and had Casey from Chuck in it. It was everything I was told it was. The show and the movie were brilliant. It's a shame it didn't get more support. "May the been on the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Posted by: Big T Party at November 11, 2012 05:01 PM (WiQr+)

126 In other Firefly-related media, the first season of Homeland has Morena Baccarin's nekkid boobies. Are they spectacularly perky? Oh yes. Although I'm disappointed that Claire Danes hasn't been kind enough to show her boobies yet.

Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 11, 2012 05:12 PM (Rhie+)

127 Great thread. Thanks, 'rons &'ronettes

Posted by: SurferDoc at November 11, 2012 05:12 PM (6H6FZ)

128

Did you forget it also had two episodes in which Christine Hendricks guest starred?

Thinking about hem I can only say: I'll be in my bunk.

Posted by: joated at November 11, 2012 05:20 PM (VZKiR)

129 Everyone sings the praises of Babylon 5. Everyone was right about Firefly. Maybe I'll watch that next.

Posted by: Big T Party at November 11, 2012 05:26 PM (WiQr+)

130 Talk about a mondegreen............

"You can't take the sky from me..."

Posted by: DDaland at November 11, 2012 08:22 PM (hDPek)

Thanks. Taught me a new word, you did.

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 05:27 PM (R9579)

131 Ahah, well that explains why there was a Firefly marathon on today. (On Syfy, I think).

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at November 11, 2012 05:27 PM (vUK/h)

132 OK, the bestest of the best*: 1. Babylon 5 2. Star Trek TOS 3. Stargate Atlantis 4. Farscape 5. Star Trek TNG/Stargate SG-1 (tie) * Doctor Who was deliberately omitted from the list because some consider it sci-fi, some consider it fantasy, and including it would only lead to deployment of a vast expeditionary force, heading off into the weeds to decide which Doctor was the best (hint: it was the 3rd Doctor).

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at November 11, 2012 05:30 PM (Rs1uj)

133 The Best Sci-Fi since the Original Trek?

Can't agree with that (and I'm a rabid Firefly fan). Better are the first three and a half seasons of Battlestar Galactica. Better still are Seasons 3-7 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 05:31 PM (NPFwt)

134 * Doctor Who was deliberately omitted from the list because some consider it sci-fi, some consider it fantasy, and including it would only lead to deployment of a vast expeditionary force, heading off into the weeds to decide which Doctor was the best (hint: it was the 3rd Doctor).

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at November 11, 2012 09:30 PM (Rs1uj)

You mean the fourth, I think. Tom Baker was the best of the Original group. (Before the reboot.)

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 05:33 PM (R9579)

135 <<And you can't take this guy from me.>>

PLEASE tell me you are kidding....It's "The sky."

Unless your making a common reference to Purple Haze and misheard lyrics. But still...

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 05:36 PM (+8lrP)

136 You mean the fourth, I think. Tom Baker was the best of the Original group. (Before the reboot.) Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 09:33 PM (R9579) Nope, I'm sticking with the 3rd. Tom Baker was a bit boho for my sensibilities. Jon Pertwee was classy and cool even though he was usually dressed like Count Dracula.

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at November 11, 2012 05:36 PM (Rs1uj)

137 <<You mean the fourth, I think. Tom Baker was the best of the Original group.>>

Damned straight.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 05:37 PM (+8lrP)

138 I take full credit for the hat. I mean, I didn't knit it or anything.

Posted by: Tim Minear at November 11, 2012 05:38 PM (Or+Xp)

139 Sgt. York for the win. DS9 needs to be watched in its entirety over a two or three month span. Best series I've watched, I think.

Posted by: A-Hole at November 11, 2012 05:39 PM (wsGWu)

140 Any recommendations for tv shows to watch on Netflix?

Posted by: Big T Party at November 11, 2012 05:40 PM (WiQr+)

141 My favorite Doctor was Colin Baker. He had the worst costume in the history of Western Civilization, but I loved his personality. I wish he'd lasted longer in the role.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at November 11, 2012 05:43 PM (i0App)

142 Although I'm disappointed that Claire Danes hasn't been kind enough to show her boobies yet.
Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 11, 2012 09:12 PM

Oh, but she has...

(nsfw)

http://www.celebnipslipblog.com/claire-danes-nip-slip-on-mtv/

Posted by: Zombie Moron What Died in a Bizarre Gardening Accident at November 11, 2012 05:45 PM (hPlLv)

143 Â“May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.Â” I aim to misbehave.

Posted by: Yenober at November 11, 2012 05:47 PM (6bVkc)

144 B-5 insisted on itself big time. Firefly is Firefly. It is legend now and is best left undisturbed for all time. As for Joss Whedon, well, if things go Mad Max and he came begging at my door for shelter, I likely would let him in, but he'd have to work for his supper. A toilet can't clean itself, you know. The miniseries and first season of BSG set the bar pretty high, in my opinion. It was a time, indeed.

Posted by: eman at November 11, 2012 05:48 PM (sRus3)

145 Firefly was cancelled after one season, does that seem right to you?

Posted by: Jubal Early at November 11, 2012 05:48 PM (mV8sg)

146 <<I take full credit for the hat. I mean, I didn't knit it or anything.

Posted by: Tim Minear>>

I've had an emotional week, and as a result, I want to believe that's actually you.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 05:49 PM (bUpwA)

147 Farscape definitely. Even though I have no money, I considered buying it again for the blue-ray.

Posted by: BeckoningChasm at November 11, 2012 05:49 PM (i0App)

148 Jayne! The Man they call Jayne! He robbed from the rich and he gave to the poor, He stood up to the man and he gave him what for. Our love for him now, aint hard to explain, The hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne! Our Jayne saw the Mudders' backs breakin' He saw the Mudders lament And he saw that magistrate takin' Every dollar and leavin' five cents So he said, "You can't do that to my people" "You can't crush them under your heel" Jayne strapped on his hat And in five seconds flat Stole everything Boss Higgins had to steal He robbed from the rich and he gave to the poor Stood up to the Man and he gave him what for Our love for him now ain't hard to explain The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne Now here is what separates heroes From common folk like you and I The man they call Jayne He turned 'round his plane And let that money hit sky He dropped it onto our houses He dropped it into our yards And the man they call Jayne He turned round his plane And headed out for the stars He robbed from the rich and he gave to the poor Stood up to the Man and he gave him what for Our love for him now ain't hard to explain The Hero of Canton, the man they call Jayne!

Posted by: eman at November 11, 2012 05:50 PM (sRus3)

149 <<DS9 needs to be watched in its entirety over a two or three month span. Best series I've watched, I think.>>

Have to slog a bit through the first two seasons (too episodic, but some very good episodes there), but definitely watch the last half of Season 2 as they set up the discovery of The Dominion and the war with the Klingons.

For the record, I liked Babylon 5, but it doesn't hold a candle to DS9.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 05:52 PM (bUpwA)

150 Yep. The goodness of Firefly was almost all due to Tim Minear. Whedon is a third-generation Hollywood hack.

Posted by: WarrenMuhfugginHarding at November 11, 2012 05:52 PM (pkkxZ)

151 No, really, it's got everything: Beam weapons, hot women, shooting, big heroes, revolvers, spaceships, frickin' zombies, great writing and stories, shooting, the frontier, and great characters that we care about.
You left out space whores.

Posted by: andycanuck at November 11, 2012 05:56 PM (nkiQM)

152 Nope, I'm sticking with the 3rd. Tom Baker was a bit boho for my sensibilities. Jon Pertwee was classy and cool even though he was usually dressed like Count Dracula.

Posted by: Pennsyltucky at November 11, 2012 09:36 PM (Rs1uj)

As you like.

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 05:58 PM (R9579)

153 You left out space whores.
Posted by: andycanuck at November 11, 2012 09:56 PM
-------------
...and that's the last time you get to call me whore.

Posted by: Inara Serra at November 11, 2012 05:58 PM (hPlLv)

154 <> I agree to a point; I knew the seasons 3+ were the good "space opera" seasons, so I watched the first two seasons as a long prequel. They do a great job of setting up the characters. A lot of the best individual character arcs are started there. Just my opinion...

Posted by: A-Hole at November 11, 2012 06:02 PM (wsGWu)

155 One of the greatest series of all time.

Posted by: What's a Seawolf at November 11, 2012 06:02 PM (jxFq5)

156 Firefly was very good but the title, I think, still belongs to Babylon 5. That show weaved a truly compelling story for four and a half seasons. It was powerful aliens, palace intrigue, romance, space battles and a great story all rolled into one. That it faltered a bit in season 5 is forgivable, given that the creator must have been burned out by then, writing almost all of the episodes, himself. Great show.

Posted by: Jimpithecus at November 11, 2012 06:03 PM (GXEEF)

157 Sgt. York for the win. DS9 needs to be watched in its entirety over a two or three month span. Best series I've watched, I think.

Posted by: A-Hole at November 11, 2012 09:39 PM (wsGWu)

I've watched and like Deep Space Nine, but I don't see it as the best. I always assumed the Ferangi were the Hollywood version of Capitalists, and the series was preaching Hollywood values at me.

Posted by: DiogenesLamp at November 11, 2012 06:13 PM (R9579)

158 B5 imho was the best.
Firefly was easily one of the better TV series. I'm surprised with all the talk about Farscape, No one mentioned LEXX. A Sci-fi gem that was just plain weird and strangely appealing.

TV Sci-fi became infected with some terminal writing disease when the Outer Limits and Twilight Zone remakes were such pieces of shit. Those 2 series are the kitty litter of sci-fi.

Give me the originals any day.

Posted by: Gunsmoke at November 11, 2012 06:16 PM (0N+6v)

159

No "UFO" love? Tsk, tsk.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TQUdcYk82U

Posted by: otho at November 11, 2012 06:27 PM (yBF/9)

160 I was out of town all day, so I feel the need to comment heavily. If the thread's dead, then, hey, no worries, right? Since I've never seen Firefly (though I did buy it on DVD at Ace's recommendation a looong time ago), I will boringly ramble about a few other shows that were mentioned. Short version: Blah blah blah I'm a dork.

Ahem.

Babylon 5 was pretty awesome while it was airing. Looking back, yeah, there was a fair amount of speechifying, and some things didn't really go anywhere, but it was fun, and it was nice to see an SF show with an arc planned out and then mostly fulfilled. It really rewarded long-time fans by the end. Even if you don't like the show, I think you have to respect it. Most shows-- I'm looking at you especially, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and your incredibly random and unsatisfying final season-- are just made up as they go along. (Especially older shows. Watching the very early episodes of the original Star Trek is kind of strange. They hadn't worked out all the mythology-- Spock's referred to as a Vulcanian at times, the Federation itself isn't mentioned for a while, that kind of thing.)

I also have to mention B5's spinoff show, Crusade. Good show, but the worst victim of suit-based executive meddling I know of. (TNT had their own ideas, lowest-common-denominator-type ideas, JMS put his foot down-- 'I do my show my way or there's no show' was his attitude, and guess what.)

Anyway. Space: Above and Beyond being fun when I watched it, but the show ends on a cliffhanger- just one season. It's frustrating. At least Firefly got a movie. And comic books. To my knowledge, there's a few S:AaB novels-- written and set during the show-- and that's it for an expanded universe.

DS9 sucked in the first year. Second year was, IIRC, so-so. It really didn't start getting good, IMO, until around when Worf was added to the cast. And then it got really really good. Not because of Worf, even. He was written way way better in DS9 than he was in TNG. Anyway, DS9 added grittiness to the super-clean utopia of Star Trek and tried to deal with the inanity and insanity of the Marxist paradise as it could, often by just ignoring it. (No money in the Federation? Please.)

Therefore such as.

Posted by: Lance McCormick at November 11, 2012 06:28 PM (/D8ux)

161 Jayne...

The man they call Jayne...

We gotta go to the crappy town where *I'm* a hero!

Posted by: CaptainComic at November 11, 2012 06:29 PM (JG2ty)

162

Never seen "Firefly". But Adam fucking Baldwin's in it? Will watch.

Posted by: otho at November 11, 2012 06:32 PM (yBF/9)

163 The Baldwin's got the crazy eyes. Always awesome.

Posted by: otho at November 11, 2012 06:35 PM (yBF/9)

164 Nathan Fillion's character on Castle this past week was attending a Sci-Fi convention and actually said "Shiny". There were several other clever references to Firefly and other series. A very nice shout-out to the fans.

Posted by: LTC Graham at November 11, 2012 06:36 PM (SwEjg)

165 ...and that's the last time you get to call me whore.
I'll be in my bunk.

Posted by: andycanuck at November 11, 2012 06:39 PM (nkiQM)

166 And DS9 sucked until the war started.

Posted by: andycanuck at November 11, 2012 06:41 PM (nkiQM)

167 156 Firefly was very good but the title, I think, still belongs to Babylon 5. That show weaved a truly compelling story for four and a half seasons. It was powerful aliens, palace intrigue, romance, space battles and a great story all rolled into one. That it faltered a bit in season 5 is forgivable, given that the creator must have been burned out by then, writing almost all of the episodes, himself. Great show.

Posted by: Jimpithecus at November 11, 2012 10:03 PM (GXEEF)

Supposedly JMS's office at the time of Season 5, unbeknowst to him, was right next to a generator or electrical room or something pumping out harmful levels of electromagnetic radiation. After he found out, his health (which he'd assumed was suffering due to stress) improved markedly. Not sure when this happened in terms of the writing, but it's an interesting factoid if true. I'll see if I can find the cite; it must've been at The Lurker's Guide.

I also understand that the production schedule was tightened in Season Five too, (fewer but longer days, IIRC), so that wouldn't have helped either.

Also. At the end of each season, JMS didn't know if he'd get another, so he claims that he accelerated/compressed most of his plan for late Season 4 and much (or at least some) of Season 5 into Season 4, just in case there would be no Season 5. When the show got renewed, he suddenly had a whole season to fill. I don't know how accurate his recollections are (I'm pretty sure I'm remembering what he claimed pretty well, but no promises), but he sure seemed reliable to me. YMMV.

I probably sound like an apologist or hack-- and maybe I am-- but I really really enjoyed Season 5. I think of it as an extended epilogue to the Shadow War, and the War itself was really the meat of the show. Season One was really really prelude-y, but worth it IMO. (The pilot movie, though, man. I like it, but it's hard to recommend to anyone right away.)

Posted by: Lance McCormick at November 11, 2012 06:43 PM (/D8ux)

168 34 huh? i looked at syfyhd on comcast and there's nothing sunday night but big blocks of crap. outlander - 530-800pm, gi joe rise of cobra - 800pm - 1030pm, in the name of the king a dungeon siege tale - 1030pm - 100am having never seen firefly, and having fallen asleep about 10 min into netflixing serenity, i was kind of curious to watch this special but it would appear to me there is nothing but B-movie crap on syfy tonight...? Posted by: Zach at November 11, 2012 06:06 PM (aB7h4) Dude, you have to watch Firefly on Netflix first if you can. When it was hot as hell down here in the summer, the kids and I hung out in the AC, and watched all of Firefly before they went back to college. Giving them Serenity for Christmas. FYI-to one and all about Whedon, one of the shows most Republicans/Conservatives watch today is "Castle", and Mr. Whedon is the lead character. Kids made me watch it, and it is not too bad. Starts off really bad, but grows on you. Weird how Whedon ends up in shows where the audiences are so opposed to his socialistic views of life.

Posted by: freeus at November 11, 2012 06:47 PM (caDgg)

169 Found it. http://tinyurl.com/ck5dfdv has the whole story (well, all that JMS posted at the time), but here's an excerpt:

The maximum safe amount of EMF is a reading of 0.4. The guy approached my desk, my chair...and his jaw dropped.

The EMF level was 200.5.

Which explains why, at the end of the day, for the last year or so, I've been practically dragging by mid-day. I always seemed to get more work done at home. Now I know why.

Again, I dunno how that year and a half lined up with B5 writing/production schedules, but I think it's interesting.

Posted by: Lance McCormick at November 11, 2012 06:48 PM (/D8ux)

170

My rant: 5 cities hit by "moderate" islams. Around 10 million dead and this nation WILL NOT GO TO WAR AGAINST THE "peace and light religion" of islam. Fuel at 10.00 per gallon. Inflation between 10--25 per cent. Unenployment nearing 45 per cent. Long lines for almost everything, except prositiution, gambling, and drinking bars. Cigareaits around 2 dollars for just ONE of them. Lots of brown out and no electricy for weeks at a time no matter what time of year. The Constution and Bill of Rights will be abloished by congress and sheria law will take its place as the law of the land. All of this will apply to almost ALL Americans except, anyone with ties to the oral office in dc, or the oral office in sacreamento, mexafornia.

This IS the future of America. Four more years plus another eight years with biden.

so these are the ka-booms we are looking for.

Posted by: Heltau at November 11, 2012 06:51 PM (Tp2Qu)

171 Firefly was cancelled after one season, does that seem right to you? Posted by: Jubal Early at November 11, 2012 09:48 PM

HAHAHAHA!

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 06:51 PM (Iyg03)

172 alexthechick suggested that Battlestar Galactica fell apart after it's first season. I would argue that it managed two seasons before going full retard.

Full retard was when they decided to equate the humans living under Cylon rule with the Iraqi dissidents, complete with suicide bombings.

For that, Ronald D. Moore wall always deserve a hearty "screw you." Also, the ending of Battlestar Galactica sucked ass.

Posted by: Kensington at November 11, 2012 06:51 PM (uaEZS)

173 Firefly. Firefly Firefly - War Stories and Objects In Space are two favorites

Gina Torres: "Take me, Sir. Take me hard."

whoa.

Posted by: mrp at November 11, 2012 07:02 PM (HjPtV)

174 Yeah, that detached, philosophical-waxing bounty hunter was a great character.

They didn't kill him off, exactly.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 07:11 PM (Iyg03)

175 That bounty hunter was never quite fully in the moment.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 07:11 PM (Iyg03)

176

LTC,

At the beginning of one Castle halloween episode Castle was in his FireFly outfit, joking with his daughter about being dressed as a "space cowboy".

Posted by: mark at November 11, 2012 07:12 PM (LxDI7)

177 Well, the Tim Minear explanation makes some sense, because after reading some of the Whedon spew recently I was clutching my head, going, "What the fuck. What the fuck. What the FUCK? How could that socialist asshole have written such a great show celebrating such conservatarian ideals????' And, plus, the whole not having enough time to fuck it up. That's kinda key. That really never occurred to me, but now I'm sure eventually we would have found out the Alliance was just super nice and really caring and it was all that evil Blue Sun Corporation's fault.

I guess loved all of Tim Minear's shows... I didn't know he was involved with American Horror Story. Wonderfalls and The Inside were both great - I have Wonderfalls on DVD, and I wish they'd put the season of the The Inside on DVD. Does anyone know where you can watch that? That show was awesome, and Adam Baldwin was so great as Danny. "Wrinkle beast." Hahahahahaha.

Posted by: Gem at November 11, 2012 07:21 PM (zw+pb)

178 Here's what they could do, now that the Shepard and Wash are dead: Make Jubal Early part of the crew. Imagine him and Jayne going at it. And the captain.

That'd be awesome.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 07:23 PM (Iyg03)

179 And I have always wondered how Adam and Joss get along now.

Posted by: Gem at November 11, 2012 07:23 PM (zw+pb)

180 You know, I don't really care what Whedon's politics are as long as he has the integrity not to create characters like himself, which is the big temptation in writing. He can get outside himself and write from another point of view. I really respect that. I don't know if I could do it. F/x, resisting throwing barbs at statists? That'd be difficult for me.

So, I think he's great. He can yammer all he wants about politics. As long as he can keep the personal and the professional separate... that's fantastic. Great guy.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 07:28 PM (Iyg03)

181 Whedon created Buffy and Firefly. He ruined the end of Buffy by creating a foreshadowing of Twilight. With Firefly, he never got the chance to ruin it. Fox did it for him by playing the episodes out of order.

Posted by: MrX at November 11, 2012 07:41 PM (PxmNZ)

182 Never heard of it.

Seriously.

Posted by: locomotivebreath1901 at November 11, 2012 07:42 PM (+KwfM)

183 <<Here's what they could do, now that the Shepard and Wash are dead: Make Jubal Early part of the crew. Imagine him and Jayne going at it. And the captain.>>

I would make The Operative part of the crew instead...much more tension potential.

(still one of the best villains in film history.)

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 08:00 PM (zPiUx)

184 Yeah, he was a great bad guy. Great actor.

Plus, the backstory on Shepherd was that he was a former operative. So that guy would be a good replacement for "the Alliance insider" angle.

Posted by: rdbrewer at November 11, 2012 08:03 PM (Iyg03)

185 <<For that, Ronald D. Moore wall always deserve a hearty "screw you." Also, the ending of Battlestar Galactica sucked ass.>>

I was OK with the Occupation of New Caprica. For me BSG went full retard when they went beyond the dead husk of the planet they thought was earth and Tigh started having his "flashbacks"...and Starbuck being an "angel"...holy crap.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 08:04 PM (xZBKC)

186 <<FYI-to one and all about Whedon, one of the shows most Republicans/Conservatives watch today is "Castle", and Mr. Whedon is the lead character. Kids made me watch it, and it is not too bad. Starts off really bad, but grows on you. Weird how Whedon ends up in shows where the audiences are so opposed to his socialistic views of life.>>

That's actually Filion. And I've never seen anything from Filion about his politics.

Whedon's been busy with a small indy project called "Avengers".

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 08:07 PM (xZBKC)

187 186 "That's actually Filion. And I've never seen anything from Filion about his politics." I hate pretty much all actors and Hollywood, and their idiotic political musings, but I got hooked on Castle and on Nathan Fillion. I decided to follow him on Twitter because he was pretty funny and he stayed away from politics. Of course, he couldn't keep his fat libturd mouth shut and made a few jerky political posts over the last couple of weeks. I'm kind of sucked into Castle, so I haven't abandoned it yet (like I usually do when one of these idiots opens his mouth), but he's definitely ruined the show for me. I'm not a huge sci-fi buff, but I was looking forward to watching Firefly and Serenity, but now I think I'm going to pass.

Posted by: Damn you, Fillion at November 11, 2012 09:06 PM (9fXdG)

188 187 Damn You Fillon,

well... yeah maybe thing is he stowed it for the role and it is a good libertarian show...

dunno but yeah I saw Fillon's rants through RTing and was not happy.

Posted by: sven10077 at November 11, 2012 09:07 PM (LRFds)

189 <<I've watched and like Deep Space Nine, but I don't see it as the best. I always assumed the Ferangi were the Hollywood version of Capitalists, and the series was preaching Hollywood values at me.>>

...and here comes my rant/rebuttal to Babylon 5 fans and others who may not recognize DS9 for its greatness (Firefly notwithstanding, that show never got the chance to get off the ground) SPOILERS ABOUND!

Part of what made Star Trek: Deep Space 9 the best Sci-fi television series ever aired was the fact that there were no two-dimensional characters. Yes, the Ferengi were a profit-driven species that made 1950's white males look like liberated feminists. And yet, the series (and its writers, etc.) chose to recognize some aspects of the Ferengi species that were beneficial. For instance; the episode in which Nog (First Ferengi in Starfleet) uses his expertise in profit motive to acquire much needed resources for Chief O'Brien. Other episodes where Quark is chosen to accompany expeditions into the Gamma Quadrant in order to establish economic relations with worlds there; this was done as a deliberate matter of choice by the Federation. Yes, the Ferengi undergo social change, like all species and societies, but those changes are seen as good one (such as allowing females to wear clothing and make profit). There are other episodes that show Starfleet personnel recognizing the benefits of a profit motive.
And that's just a tiny part of a series that contained not one, but two major wars; the second one bringing the Federation to the brink of destruction and almost obliterated the Cardassian Empire. An actual, honest-to-goodness courtship and marriage between two major characters (and why Terry Farrell decided going to "Becker" was a good career move I will never understand) that lasted, if only for a season. A struggle for power; leadership of multiple planets amidst a massive interstellar war (we saw governments change on Cardassia, Bajor and the Klingon Empire). The shifting balance of the Dominion War; at one point, the Dominion conquered and occupied DS9 for half a season's worth of episodes, while Sisko and the others were exiled to Starbase 23...and then the all-out win-at-all-costs battle to retake DS9; still the best space battle I've seen in any format. A storyline in which a Starfleet officer comes to discover he is the child of gods, and has a sacrificial role to play in history (if you don't think Sisko actually died, consider two things: the finality with which Sisko's 'mother' says "You're with us now" and the story in the Old Testament in which Elijah is taken to heaven via fiery chariot (connection: prophets). Sisko's obsession with hunting down Eddington; to the point that he was willing to (and did) destroy two Maquis planets in order to bring him to justice. Worf's extended imprisonment in a Dominion asteroid penal colony...and how Dr. Bashir came to be imprisoned there... these are just a few elements from DS9 that I have seen nowhere else in any other television show. Then there are the standout episodes:

Bada-Bing - In which the cast takes time out from the Dominion War to rob a Casino in early 1960's Las Vegas.

Trials and Tribble-ations - in which the cast travels back in time - to and interacts with - the Original Star Trek cast. O'Brien looking Kirk in the face and lying to him is priceless.

Rocks and Shoals - Sisko and several others are stranded on a planet with a platoon of Jem Hadar, and their refusal to do anything other than fight, even when they know their leader had betrayed them.

In the Pale Moonlight - What one Starfleet Captain was willing to do, and compromise, in order to bring the Romulans into the Dominion War under false pretenses.

The Visitor - Quite possibly the best episode of anything ever broadcast on television; with a very original sci-fi plot. If you are not choked up (emotionally) by the episode's twist ending, you have no feeling.

And then there is the greatest list of supporting characters of any TV show ever:

Garek (My favorite) - A simple tailor with a secret; he's one of the most powerful operatives of Cardassia's Obsidian Order...he also has Daddy issues.

Nog - Quark's nephew and the first Ferengi in Starfleet.

Rom - Nog's father, engineering genius, and surprise heir to the Ferenginar throne.

Martok - Klingon general who becomes Worf's adopted father.

Ki Wyn - Cunning, vicious, and all with a smile on her face. Religious leader of Bajor who desires power above all else. Has a bit of a crisis of faith late in the series.

The Founder - cold, ruthless, leader of the Dominion. The moment when she tells Garek that his people will all eventually be dead is deliciously chilling.

Leeta - Rom's wife. I put her here because she's smokin' hot.

and finally...

Dukot - His story arc rivaled Sisko's. Ruthless former dictator of DS9 (Terok Nor), high-ranking officer in the Cardassian Military, exiled warrior who fought a guerrilla campaign against the Klingons, then rose to become leader of the Cardassian Empire when he betrayed his people. Exiled again when he failed to hold on to DS9 six months after he captured it. Descended into madness and became a cult leader and finally conned his way into Ki Wynn's bed. Stood poised to destroy Bajor and the Alpha quadrant opun his final face-off with Sisko.

That's my 2 cents.

PS, everyone always likes to argue "Kirk vs. Picard". But both of them are useless pussies next to Benjamin Sisko.

Posted by: Sgt. York at November 11, 2012 09:09 PM (pJwEb)

190 Space: Above and Beyond was a great show. Thanks for mentioning it...I thought I was the only one that saw the similarity.

Posted by: Gromulin at November 11, 2012 09:12 PM (7Zrx4)

191 Just discovered Firefly for myself this year, I'm afraid. Great stuff. Libertarian sci-fi. After this past election, feel like going out to the black myself. "You can't take the sky from me." Last stand. (Another sci-fi reference, of course.)

Posted by: Mike at November 11, 2012 09:19 PM (IShFQ)

192

Top Ten Reasons Firefly is the Best Modern Sci-Fi TV Show:

10. Zombies and western shoot outs...in space.
9. Zoe Washburne is a true badass and her husband Hoban "Wash" Washburne really is a leaf on the wind.
8. If their teenage crew member unexpectedly goes mental, she just might take out half a battalion. Or Jayne.
7. The chief mechanic is a small town girl who got the job after she was caught banging the original chief mechanic in the engine room.
6. The ship has it's own high class prostitute. Membership has it's privileges.
5. Jayne Cobb and Vera. The second Amendment is king...even in 2517.
4. Browncoats: Remember..."they'll swing back to the belief that they can make peopleÂ…better."
3. "I aim to misbehave."- Captain Malcolm Reynolds
2. The lingering question: Is Shepherd Book an Operative?
1. BELIEF.

Posted by: Bets at November 11, 2012 10:27 PM (nioq1)

193

To 189:

There's a lot to admire about DS9 but it often fell prey to the classic Trek mistake of having its main characters act like idiots to advance a plot. The classic example is the episode in which Sisko & Co. act as spies and infiltrate the Klingon High Command to prove that Gawron is a founder. Okay, so Sisko and O'Brien and the rest have no experience in espionage, can't even speak the language, are totally unsuited for the job, and - oh - Sisko also has a pretty important job already commanding a star base next to the only stable wormhole in the galaxy, but hey, whatever it takes to advance the plot.

And any episode involving Ferengi's and their ear fetish deserves to be burned, compacted, blown up and then the pieces need to be burned, compacted, and blown up again.

"The Pale Moonlight" was a pretty awesome episode however and perhaps the best of any Trek episode in any series.

Yet truth be told, B5 in Seasons 2, 3, and 4 had episodes of the tension and quality of "Pale Moonlight" about every other week.

Anyone who wants to watch B5 be aware that the first half of Season 1 pretty much sucks. I would watch the pilot (but it's pretty bad but it does give you context), Episode 1 "Midnight on the Firing Line", Episode 8 "The Sky is Full of Stars", and then after that the episodes are okay to great for the rest of Season 1. Once you get to "The Coming of Shadows" in Season 2 you're pretty much hooked and the episodes are good to great to amazing until the end of Season 4. Season 5 is a mixed bag with the best episodes coming in the later half of the season.

Posted by: SouthofReality at November 11, 2012 10:35 PM (E86oe)

194 Damn it, I missed it! I hope the run it again/put it online, I started watching CASTLE because of Nathan!!!

Posted by: Amy Shulkusky at November 11, 2012 10:41 PM (uMfFZ)

195 No one mentioned LEXX. A Sci-fi gem that was just plain weird and strangely appealing.

Got all the episodes, even the one-off 1st season movies (there were four of them).

"Love it, Farley, love it bundles..."

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at November 12, 2012 04:55 AM (opLk0)

196 Here's what they could do, now that the Shepard and Wash are dead: Make Jubal Early part of the crew.

Dead post, but hopefully people are still posting here.

How exactly does Jubal become part of the crew? Last we saw him, he was floating in space all by his lonesome. Add to that, he just tried to take River prisoner and space the rest of the crew of the Serenity. Not exactly what I'd call friendly.

Honestly, the Operative would make a better new crew member. Reynolds and him parted ways....amicably....even though he was directly responsible for Shepherd's death. That would be tough to square.

Posted by: EC at November 12, 2012 04:58 AM (GQ8sn)

197 @196

Having something like Jubal or the Operative join the Serenity crew is traditionally what you do during the 3rd/4th season when the show becomes stale and desperate.

Posted by: Bhoddisatva at November 12, 2012 05:15 AM (wH62G)

198 Our two indoor cats, Mal & Zoe. Gota read this thread once I get home tonight.

Posted by: Paladin at November 12, 2012 05:21 AM (LTquJ)

199

I think Tim Minear - who seems like he might be somewhat conservative/libertarian and who wrote and directed some of the episodes - probably was a big reason the show was so great. BTW, he wrote "Out of Gas", which has to be one of the most perfect episodes of television ever created. It was ingenious storytelling.

Compelling and rich Â– not meant sarcastically.

Posted by: Brian at November 12, 2012 05:26 AM (Hd5n8)

200 Weird that a liberal shitbag like Whedon could make such a fantastic libertarian/conservative show like Firefly.

If he and his peeps actually lived in that universe, they'd see the Browncoats as racist, greedy haters, trying to undermine or escape the benevolent Alliance, which provides everyone with everything they could possibly want.

Not weird at all.

At that time the Alliance was analogous to Booooooosh Cheney Halliburton NeoCon Rethuglicans!

Posted by: roy_batty at November 12, 2012 05:34 AM (i/hBe)

201 Pretty Fing disappointed in Fillion referring to Romney voters as "idiots." He always seemed like a guy who knew better than to insult his fan base. I don't mind when celebrities come out in favor of their candidate- I'd prefer they kept their yaps shut but it doesn't offend me - but the sheer number of "celebs" who called me racist, bigotted, homophobic, idiotics, woman hater, etc during the course of the election is what I have a problem. Castle is no longer on my DVR. Get Stephen Baldwin another show, though - its hilarious to me that the "dumb violent" guy from Firefly turned out to be such a smart conservative.

I'd like to be a fly on the wall for that conversation between Baldwin and Fillion- I'm sure Baldwin knows Whedon's a commie but I wonder if he was as disappointed with Fillon as I wasn.

Posted by: Matt at November 12, 2012 06:32 AM (c4UpU)

202 Was up at 4am and came across the marathon by happenstance, said what the hell and I tuned in. Stayed tuned until 8pm.

Hubby's been a browncoat a while and I finally understood why yesterday.

Awesome series.

Posted by: Cecile at November 12, 2012 07:28 AM (n4EDK)

203 Get Stephen Baldwin another show, though - its hilarious to me that the "dumb violent" guy from Firefly turned out to be such a smart conservative.

Adam, not Steve...

Posted by: Additional Blond Agent at November 12, 2012 07:46 AM (opLk0)

204 I, too, liked the show. Nathan, poor boy, is another loopy left wing moonbat that just can't keep his opinion to himself. Watch your own show, loser.

Posted by: Mazzuchelli at November 12, 2012 09:31 AM (piR98)

205 To hell with the election results. The Alliance won and now our only hope is to escape with Captain Mal to the far reaches of the galaxy.

Posted by: paulejb at November 12, 2012 10:06 AM (vWTGV)

206 We are not red states and blue states, we are brown shirts and the alliance.

Posted by: Evan Maughan at November 12, 2012 10:59 AM (XGtPJ)

207 I think it needs to also be considered that it's pretty difficult to make a convincing action hero a liberal. Especially if you're talking about a universe with real consequences, like the one in Firefly, as opposed to something like Captain Planet. Now, if you're making a thriller where the protagonist is an investigative journalist (like in The Killing Fields, All the Presidents Men, or for gamers Beyond Good and Evil) you can get away with a protagonist with liberal sensibilities. But for someone like Mal Reynolds, John McClane, or Batman, the conservative sensibilities will write themselves if you won't, and working against that just creates cognitive dissonance.

Posted by: some guy at November 12, 2012 06:52 PM (BCYnA)

208 The movie Shooter struck me as overtly left-wing back when I saw it. As I recall, the whole movie was about violently murdering Republican politicians. But the main action hero was still a backwoods survivalist military veteran with a redneck vibe.

Posted by: some guy at November 12, 2012 06:56 PM (BCYnA)

209 Loved Firefly, own it on DVD. I'll have to watch it this weekend all in one shot. Some of the best lines ever. "I'll be in my bunk" has been a moron favorite.

Posted by: Paladin at November 13, 2012 08:52 AM (bxc5w)

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