Firefly

Back in 2002, Fox aired a show called Firefly. Unfortunately, in the Big Scheme over ratings (ONLY 4.7 Million viewers), it was cancelled after only 11 episodes out of 14, with a planned 7 year schedule. If you haven't seen the show, it's worth catching.

It aired recently one the Science Channel and was deemed the best Sci-Fi ever. When the show was released on DVD, it got excellent sales and there's still a grass-roots movement calling for a second season. While a new season might be fairly impossible since all the actors are older and have moved on, it's still one of my favorite shows to watch.

After the show was cancelled, Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), decided that the story wasn't finished being told, so he created the movie aptly named Serenity. With less details into how the crew got together and more details on plot, this movie culminates the original concept IMO. The Movie would be lost on most people if you saw it without watching the original 14 episodes, you simply need the back story on the characters to understand it.

What I like about this Series and the Movie was that in most Sci-Fi Space style shows, there is a huge difference in time from now until when the show is supposed to take place. While this show is 500 years in the future, the Planets and the Cities all have that Rural feel of when the US was expanding into the West.

The Space Ships are rough and not all "Star Wars" futuristic, there are very few "Ray Guns" and more conventional weapons. The show focuses on surviving in space after "The Alliance" has won the war against the Rebels with excellent character development. Each of the characters lends to the larger picture and plot of each of the shows. (Quick rundown of the characters below.)

1) The Captain and the code he lives by trying to make a living.
2) His right hand man that's really a woman that he fought beside in the war.
3) The talented pilot that happens to be married to the Right Hand Woman.
4) A gifted engineer that also happens to be a woman and is a mechanical genius.
5) The Brawny, less brainy guy that's crazy about weapons that offsets the rest of the crew.
6) A Shepard (Man of God) for spiritual healing that isn't exactly what he appears to be.
7) The Doctor that gave up everything to save his Sister and now is part of the crew.
8) His Sister that the Alliance is trying to find and capture that turns out to be surprisingly frail AND tough.
9) A Companion (legal prostitute) that has her shuttle (home & office) docked with serenity.
10) Various other recurring characters, some good, some bad.

The chemistry of the crew is "Just Right" IMO and each one of them develops nicely throughout the season. It's a shame that Fox gave up so easily on this show, it had a huge potential and still has a lot of followers hoping that something will change for a possible second season. I know I wouldn't mind seeing one, it was truly one of the Sci-Fi shows that you could really relate to because the characters are real people in a setting that's a little more believable than pointed ears. It was a refreshing change from your normal Star Trek, Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.

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