Rating: 
Summary: Once you've been to Serenity, you never leave.
Review: The hero of sci-fi, the man they call Joss, wrote a great story but got screwed by Fox.
My girlfriend bought me this DVD set for my birthday. I had forgotten just how much I liked the series until I sat down and watched the first six episodes without stopping. I lost way too much sleep last week, and I still haven't seen the special features. I'm just glad the girl knows me better than I know myself.
You can hate science fiction, and you can hate westerns (both of which I love), but it's impossible to hate the characters Whedon has created for Firefly. Each and every character has such a well-developed back-story that you can't help but find them all incredibly interesting. Combined with the wicked sense of humor possessed by the writing team, this made for some great television.
This has been discussed by other reviewers already, but I would like to address what happened with the programming of the show. As with other popular shows that have been ruined by programming execs (think Titus), it's hard to get a following when viewers don't know from one week to the next when the show will air. On top of that, showing the pilot halfway through (or what wound up being the end of) the season tells me that the execs were never really committed to the show. Whedon is an established writer who is great at long-term plot development, and they should have gone with his sequencing. Instead, the network Foxed up everything from the get-go. That's okay, though. Ain't no power in the Verse can stop us from likin' Mal Reynolds and his crew.
Rating:
Summary: Keep Serenity flying!
Review: The only bad thing about this series is that you'll be left wanting more, as Firefly was undeservedly prematurely cancelled by shortsighted TV execs (Now that's never happened before!!!), but the 14 episodes in existence are total gems. Excellent writing, witty dialogue, great characters that you really care about, humorous and dramatic storylines...and the list goes on!An intriguing and entertaining blend of western and sci-fi, but even if you're not particularly a fan of either of those genres, you're sure to enjoy it.
Buy it now...you won't regret it! (Just look how many people have taken the trouble to submit reviews (this is the first time I've ever cared enough to submit one), we can't all be wrong!) And don't despair...a film is now on the way (Serenity), due out in September 2005. (Hopefully to be followed by sequels, and, in a perfect world, resumption of the TV series!) Mark it in your diaries, and go along to your local cinema (with as many family members and friends as possible!!) and show your support for Serenity, Captain Tight-pants and the rest of the crew!!
Rating:
Summary: More Episodes please
Review: This is such a excellent series and I am amazed that they canned it after so few episodes. The character are great and the story lines are captivating leaving you wanting more. Let us hope that, like the animated cartoon series Family Guy, the DVD sales generate enough interest that they will resurrect the series.
Rating:
Summary: Groundbreaking
Review: This show is groundbreaking in its conception for three reasons: 1. The combination of genres was surprisingly effective. Honestly, I cringed the first time I heard about the then soon-to-premeier "science fiction western." But I watched it anyway, and it worked. 2. The inclusion of a main character who is a prostitute is adventurous. But even more, this is a society in which prostitutes are held in the highest esteem and treated like honored dignitaries. That's daring and thought provoking. 3. Most impressive (to me) was the fact that the show mixed Mandarin Chinese words and phrases in with the dialogue, smoothly, and without subtitled translation. The Mandarin was always included in such a way that you could figure out what the essential meaning was from the context (a guy walks up to a bar, says something in Mandarin, and then gets handed a drink, for example). Mandarin provided a unique flavor to the show and a bit of socio-political background: clearly, in this future, Chinese culture has remained powerful, so much so that the language pervades the society and is spoken by pretty much everyone. Chinese culture, too, keeps subtly appearing. The prostitute does Chinese caligraphy in her spare time. Too bad the show didn't last long enough for us to uncover much of the backstory of this future vision. It was certainly an intriguing one.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sci-Fi
Review: This show was a very unique sci-fi show mostly because it didn't use all of this futuristic technology that can do a million things at once. In fact the only real thing that's futuristic about the show is the ship itself. Everything else seems like it was from the old west. The characters are all well thought out and their dialogue is typical Whedon style, which is extremely witty. The special effects are better than most movies. When you see the ship flying in space it looks like there's a camera actually there, following it. The camera is moving around like an old family reunion tape shot by your uncle. But the most atmouspheric thing about it is, is that there's no sound. They decided to take a realistic look at space: no air = no sound. Unlike Star Trek and Star Wars. I would recomend this DVD set to anyone that wants to have a good time watching a great show.
Rating:
Summary: excellent
Review: This was a show of quality. Not many on the tube these days. You have to check it out. I hear something about a feature movie being made too. That should be very good as well.
Rating:
Summary: FIREFLY - Are Fox kicking themselves yet?
Review: TV series, particularly Sci-Fi TV series come and go. Some achieve everlasting fame (like Star Trek), some disappear after one series - and deserve to. Firefly, a window on the life of disparate characters on the "Firefly" class cargo ship Serenity is unique. More reminiscent of the works of John Wyndham than of "traditional Sci-Fi, it draws you into it's world thanks to Joss Whedon's clever scripts and sympathetic character development. Settings, characters and plots are far more believable than the norm for Sci-Fi and identification with the characters hopes and dreams is inevitable. Despite the Fox Network's mismanagement of the series which resulted in poor initial viewing figures and the consequent cancellation of the show, it has built an amazing and massive cult following (calling themselves "Browncoats"). Fox has responded to a mail campaign regarding the series cancellation with this DVD set which offers ALL the programmes in the series (including 3 unaired episodes) and a host of "extras". A Firefly film is anticipated in 2004, and, like "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" (which originally aired in 1992 only to disappear before the phenomenally successful re-incarnation) further series' of Firefly will surely come (hopefully with the original cast). This is a "Must-Buy" DVD set and pre-ordering is essential. A chance to own the most original Sci-Fi TV series made.
Rating:
Summary: Best TV Show Ever
Review: What more is there to say? The combination of scripts, production, direction, cast, and FX are the best I've ever seen on a TV series. Not just fans of Joss or sci-fi but anyone with an eye for quality should love this show.
Rating:
Summary: Look out George Lucas ... Joss Whedon is coming for you
Review: With it's well rounded characters, interesting dialogue and special effects that help the story along rather than overpower it, Firefly is the place to go for all of us disgruntaled Star Wars fans to flock to. If Sci Fi is your thing, watch these DVDs now, because next years biggest Sci Fi movie isn't going to be Star Wars: (insert silly subtitle here), it's going to be Serenity, the movie based off of this short lived gem.
| 
