Mea Culpa (Firefly version)

[Dave Ryan]

Mea maxima culpa.

I watched Firefly when it first hit the airwaves. As some of you may recall from past JR discussions... hated it. To me, didn't make sense, not good sci-fi, just a weak western being marketed as something else, felt forced. Not at all the Buffy in Space I was expecting. Not even a continuation of JW's work in Alien Resurrection and Titan A.E. Gave up after three shows, wasn't surprised when it was cancelled, didn't care.

But SO DAMN MANY OF YOU kept on going on and on about how great it was, and how Fox screwed it by showing it out of order, and that a great injustice had therefore been done. Yeah, sure, right. "Star Trek" is shown out of order, and that doesn't suddenly cause the show to be tedious and dull. You're all full of it, thinketh I.

Yet in the back of my mind I wondered if all of you could really be THAT deluded. Even adjusting for varying taste, it's hard to conceive that so many people could be naught but slavish Whedon fanpeople.

So I saw the Blu-ray on sale one day, and thought, "what the hell. Give it another chance. All I've got to lose is a little time and a little money."

(ahem)

I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO FREAKING WRONG ABOUT A SHOW IN MY LIFE.

Things I learned:

(1) Fox screwed this show -- BADLY -- by showing it out of order.

(2) A great injustice had been done.

When viewed in the original, intended order, the show makes MUCH more sense, and develops its feel and universe more organically. It's not perfect, but it's certainly not the semi-coherent failure that I saw on Fox. I honestly didn't think that a good show could be made into a bad show merely through running order. But Firefly just doesn't work right if you don't start with "Serenity"* and work forward. I can't put my finger on why specifically this is, but that's how it works.

I think there's another factor at work here, too -- Admittedly, I was primed for a sci-fi show, not a western, when Firefly debuted. (After all, that's how Fox promoted it, right?) Being confronted by a western -- and a western that, due to its dual nature, was never going to be as good a western as Deadwood, which was also airing at that time -- was off-putting in and of itself. Thanks for the bait-and-switch, Fox. I don't think I ever really got over that smack in the face right off the bat. Now, going in knowing that this is a sci-fi western, and not purely a sci-fi show, it's much easier to accept it on its own terms and allow it to draw you in.

So let me be the first to admit: I was dead wrong about Firefly.

/prepares for endless and deserved "I told you so, moron" replies

*EDIT: That's the episode "Serenity", not the movie Serenity. Don't start with that. It'll ruin the fun.

[Chinese Jet Pilot]

"One of us."

[BrettCullum]

"One of us!"

[Boba Fett]

The same thing happened to me Dave. I hated the bits and pieces I saw on TV and the first episode I watched was the one with the Reavers. It bored me to tears. Then I saw 'Serenity,' loved it and gave the series another try and have been a fan since.

[molly1216]

i also watched the 'train job' episode and never tuned in again.
when i borrowed a friend's dvds, i wouldn't give them back until i purchased my own set
then i watched it repetitively for 6 weeks.

mea maxima culpa.

[Eric Profancik]

Yeah, I did it too. I gave up halfway through the "you married my daughter" episode, which turned out with that great twist.
I'm not sure I would say I love the series, but it was pretty darn good and should have kept on going.

[Kenneth Morgan]

Sorry, but I still prefer it when it was called "Blake's 7".

[HGervais]

Sorry, but I still prefer it when it was called "Blake's 7".

I know huh? I'm in the middle of watching Blake's 7 and I am really struck by just how much Firefly, and Farscape for that matter, owe to Blake's 7. It does not mean I love either of those two shows any less but Terry Nation's estate should be recieving royality checks.

[ccb]

I bought the series cold after seeing Serenity. Never regretted it.

[Steve T Power]

I adore the show with every fibre of my being, and i hate everything else Whedon has been involved in (outside of Titan AE).

[Kenneth Morgan]

Sorry, but I still prefer it when it was called "Blake's 7".

I know huh? I'm in the middle of watching Blake's 7 and I am really struck by just how much Firefly, and Farscape for that matter, owe to Blake's 7. It does not mean I love either of those two shows any less but Terry Nation's estate should be recieving royality checks.

I remember seeing the trailer for "Serenity" and hearing the announcer solemnly intone that the movie featured Joss Whedon's "unique vision of the future". And as I watched, I said to myself, "Yeah, it's unique. Assuming you've never seen 'Blake's 7'. Or 'Star Wars'. Or 'Doctor Who'. Shall I continue?"

As for "Blake's 7", how far have you gotten with it? At the risk of giving anything away, I'll just say this: things change...a lot.

[HGervais]

As for "Blake's 7", how far have you gotten with it? At the risk of giving anything away, I'll just say this: things change...a lot.

I'm 6 episodes into series 2. It is "Trial", the episode just after Gan's death. Oh and it is worth mentioning that Paul Darrow as Avon is one of the great characters in TV history.

I do think the western frontier mixed with the sci-fi elements made an interesting mixture as far as Firely was concerned and honestly the show does work on its own terms but it is impossible to deny a heavy influence from Blake's 7. Still, all this mea culpaing is getting me ready for a Firefly marathon.

[B5Erik]

And I thought I was late to the Firefly party....

I remember when it first aired I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend my time on it. The previews just made it seem OK, so I wasn't sure. By the time I decided to go ahead and check it out it had already been cancelled. (I was, indeed, lagging a bit...)

Fast forward a few years and the DVD set is selling like hotcakes and people are raving about the show. So I order the set and watch the series, and am totally amazed by how good it is! (Or was...)

But after hearing about how it was shown out of order and a couple episodes weren't even shown at all I was kind of glad that I had the chance to watch it for the first time via the DVD set. In it's proper running order and in it's entirety (including the unaired episodes) Firefly is truly something special.

I was just a little disappointed that Serenity tanked at the box office - it was a great movie, but maybe it did miss a little of the Western feel that the show had (missing the usual Firefly music with all the Western bits made a bit of a difference).

[cdouglas]

Add me in as yet another person who took a while to warm up to Firefly. When it first came out on DVD, my friend was raving about how awesome it was and insisted I watch the double-length pilot. I thought it was okay, but not captivating enough to make me want to continue. Still, for some odd reason later on down the road, I gave it another shot and fell in love with it. Go figure.