It's not a hate message, I just don't get why is it a 9.2 show. I love sci-fi and I had all the good intentions to watch it but after 3 episodes I stopped it. So, I honestly don't get why the rating is so high. I mean no disrespect towards the fans, the creators and all the crew, I just want an answer why do you guys think it's so good that it deserves a 9.2 rating.
Also sorry for my english.
You can't really judge this series by the first three episodes. The show gets a lot better very quickly. Give it another chance. You haven't reached the incredible episodes.
Some of the technical things that attracted me to the show were things like no faster than light drive, no aliens, and no sound in space. But more than that, it's the interaction among the characters. They fight, they joke, they get on each other's nerves - just like real people.
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Sorry, sometimes my wife forgets that she is not an alien from outer space.
But more than that, it's the interaction among the characters.
Exactly - each character has something of a backstory and, as the episodes progress, these begin to emerge. It certainly isn't like, say, Star Trek, where everyone thinks the Captain is God and there is no bickering among the crew - there's bickering a plenty on the Serenity. The series is more about the characters than the action, to be honest (although the action is still pretty good when it happens) and you end up really caring about what happens to them (except possibly Jayne...)
It certainly isn't like, say, Star Trek, where everyone thinks the Captain is God...Exactly! I'm one of those few people that saw the show when it first aired (as Walter Brennen used to say in an old TV western, "No brag, just fact") and the first thing that caught my eye was when Zoe made that move against Mal in Chinese Checkers. When I realized Mal was the captain, I thought, "Spock never beat Kirk at chess", and I knew this was going to be something special.
I loved that the Captain wasn't afraid to run away and the other characters weren't afraid to tease him.
Straightedge means I'm better than you.
So you were the original Browncoat ? Cool.
To me, this show first became a legend, then I watched it. The legend of a show that had rebells who fought big bad system and lost and where that transcended into the audience that fought big bad system (for the show to be continued) and lost. When the rest of us watched we already knew the proper episode ordering and were binge watching so some of the flaws were not that visible and we already "knew" that we were watching a legend.
Add surreal Summer Glau, mesmerizing Morena Baccarin, insanely sexy Christina Hendricks, off the charts Adam Baldwin, and Nathan Fillion wasn't bad either :-)
Christina Hendricks was particularly good at misleading the audience and pulling a surprise. So I'd say that one aspect was that characters mostly didn't telegraph their future actions. You couldn't read them easily. That aspect needs to be credited to Joss Whedon and his writing/plot design.
I guess if you'd want to scrutinize it as a "disinterested party" it certainly wouldn't be 9.2 but the thing is that there are no disinterested parties when it comes to "Firefly". Viewers became Browncoats. Consider it too meta if you like but that's what happened.
Suffice to say that Fox took a lot of long term hate for being a piece of goza :-) and much latter stuck with "Fringe" way beyond all cancellation predictions. So the influence of "Firefly" also became meta. It changed the way Fox treats Sci-Fi. Now that aspect is worth 9.2.
So well stated. The entire regular cast could not have been more perfectly put together. Sexy women, and sexy men, to attract all audiences, and they worked so VERY well together. I have to agree, upon first watch, Christine Hendricks, as a guest star, was totally a surprise in 'Our Mrs. Reynolds'. She did a great, great job. As did Alan Shepard as 'Badger', and Michael Fairman as Adelai Niska. Just all of the guest stars were as stellar as the regular crew!
~Oh, I'm well aware it's not a picnic, Mr. Save the Day~ (Fitz, Agents of Shield)
Hendricks completely won my respect in that ep, and I'm glad they brought her back for another. I only ever saw her on Mad Men so I had no clue whether she had any range before watching "Mrs. Reynolds".
She was brought back? What episode was that?
Oskars problem with Eli is not her ambiguous gender, but her ambiguous humanity.share
No offense but I don't think you ever watched the original Star Trek. There was constant tension between the characters. Everyone respected Kirk, but certainly didn't view him as a G-d. Sulu felt he should be the captain, Bones hated Spock, etc.
shareYou nailed it. I haven't seen much of TOS but just from the movies using those actors you can tell the animosity of Spock/Bones. Kirk and Spock always argue logic/emotion.
shareBones never hated Spock. They had wildly different viewpoints, oeing to their emotional and logical natures respectively, and they bickered like an old married couple half the time, but there was never anything less than total admiration and respect between them.
shareMaybe watch the other 10 episodes... The first 3 are far from the best firefly has to offer...
sharePersonally I consider it to be one of my favourite shows of any genre.
I don't speak for all the fans, but what I liked:
The back and forth between the characters, I thought the dialogue was great.
It didn't seem overly derivative, which a lot of sci-fi does...sure you could draw similarities from anything to anything in this sense really, but it came across as something unique to me - the universe was one I found interesting.
I also liked the range of different characters, depending on their origins and line of work.
I enjoyed that there was an appropriate ratio of intensity and light heartedness across the episodes.
The situations the crew landed themselves in, made me feel - for better or worse, I consider this a plus.
Perhaps it was just that it was cut short and left people so thirsty for more?
For me, it was just a decent idea done well, with a good cast of varied characters...it was absorbing.
You cite a lot of reasons, and to some degree I think it is the 'perfect storm' of any/all of the things you cite.
the one that resonated with me is 'Cut Short and Thirsty for more' Buffy lasted 7, Angel lasted 5... now how much control Joss had at the end I don't know... but in Both Cases those shows did run into a case of 'Broken bases' either because a beloved character was killed or an arc took a left Turn...
Because Firefly didn't last long enough to "break the Base", almost everyone who invested in it at the start remains so today. had it made it to season 3 How many fans would have walked away if Wash or Book's Death were in the Season 2 Finale (I've read rumors that the Movie's plot was based on the Outline of 'season 2')
another thing that keeps the Fans drooling is Nathan Fillion and Adam Baldwin(and probably some of the others) both making references in Social Media, or Post-Firefly projects that show that they are as much Fans of the series as anyone in the audience (Both dressed up in their Series Costumes, well after the show... Fillion as a 'space cowboy' on Castle... and Baldwin one year for Halloween, complete with a "It's Halloween?" quip on twitter
took me a good year to get into NF being some writer on Castle. That Captain on "enterpise" was the same thing --- i thought Quantum Leap sucked soooo badly.
Ive never seen more than 5 minutes of "Buffy" - just dont get it..... obvious HUGE hit - still - guess i missed it.
John: ...yeah, yeah, yeah. Russell: ...no, no, no
John: Ill drive Russel Ramis: OK.
As I understand it, though the entire Miranda thing was originally planned for Season 2, Book and Wash were written off as the actors were unable to immediately commit to another film.
So there is reason to think they were not going to die in Season 2's version of the Miranda arc.
I think One of them (likely Wash) was Due to Die in "Season 2" because well; Whedon.
and when they distilled said season into 'The Movie' Both ended up getting cut due to a combination of schedule and the original plan.
Why is Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead considered so good? Characters! Characters! Characters! The character development of those shows is why they are rated so high. It isn't about making Meth or getting eaten by Walkers. Same with Firefly. It isn't about space. Like wow what a good show!
shareThe Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead I get (though that latter is not THAT good), but not Firefly.
shareI like The Walking Dead, but the characters are the worst thing about it. You want them all to die.
In Firefly, only River, if someone really has to...
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No. It's plot, excitement and compelling writing.
The characters are a part of it, but those shows became megahits not just because of well written characters, they became megahits because of the cliffhangers and exciting moments. Case-in-point: Whenever TWD has a slow-down in action and has character-driven episodes, the message boards are lit up with haters and complainers. Same goes for The Sopranos and any episode without a hit in it. Or Dexter whenever he didn't kill people.
I REALLY wanted to become a die-hard fan of Firefly, but I watched the whole series and simply did not see why it's so great. It's decent, but I wouldn't even put it in the same category as Journeyman.
Or Dexter whenever he didn't kill people.
I REALLY wanted to become a die-hard fan of Firefly, but I watched the whole series and simply did not see why it's so great.
Dexter was a HUGE hit and while it did go off the rails towards the end (because it really should only have been a 4 season show ending with Dexter getting caught or killed) my point remains valid. Fans did not want to see the character-driven episodes, they wanted the action ones and wanted to see him kill.
Or look at GoT's boards after an episode where nobody dies. People get livid.
they wanted the action ones and wanted to see him kill.
Or look at GoT's boards after an episode where nobody dies. People get livid.
Good writing followed by good acting....
Oskars problem with Eli is not her ambiguous gender, but her ambiguous humanity.share
I did not watch this show when it came out. The airing was irregular and often preempted by a sports event. It just did not click with me. Years later I happened upon the DVD set, or at least the first and third discs for $1 each at a close out sale. Since I like science fiction (and at $2 for the two DVD volumes) I figured I'd take a chance.
Yes, I found that it is science function, but this is only the setting or I could call it the wrapper. The show was about people. Very different people who for their own reasons came on board Serenity. And even though diverse they managed to work together. In the first episode it is clearly seen who the crew is and who the passengers are, but as the series develops that line is blurred to a point where everyone is considered part of a team. They all belong on Serenity.
As others have said, it is the character development, but it is also the characters themselves that drew me in. Just briefly, take the Captain. Mal fought in a war that he believed in. Not many details are given about this war, but it seems that a group of people (Browncoats) rebelled against a dystopian governing entity. And as noble as their intention were they lost. Not many show start with the "good guys" losing, in fact, not many end this way. But in Firefly's case the loss of this war is the beginning of the story. We start to see who Mal is. As a Captain we assume that he is the wise and unblemished character in the show, but we see something different. While Mal tries to do the right thing and has his ode of honor, he is also troubled and not a force to be reckoned with.
Each character has his or her story and his or her way. They all have something to say and as different as they are they share a common passion for a special kind of justice (perhaps poetic justice?). I finally got the two missing discs and watched the series from start to finish. I was glad I did not see it when it aired. I would have been crushed to see it cancelled as it was. Few shows really get me involved. Firefly was one of them.
It may not a great show for everyone, but for those who are looking for a good and at times unusual story, this is the show to watch. Regards :-)
The airing was irregular and often preempted by a sports event.
I wonder tha same thing myself it's not bad but from what i've watched from all tv series i have watched it has more cheesy elements and it's just okay with the drama stuff maybe it's a cultural thing as a none american i did find the hats moronic but then again all other tv series that i consider good are 4-5 russian criminal series(cop wars,gangland peterburg and others) and one-two american series(breaking bad,nubsg,the shield) in general..
shareSo, not really into SF then?
shareIt's a good show, and it does get better as it goes on, but I've never understood why it's so revered. It hints at greatness but never quite reaches it. Maybe if it lasted longer it could have been the show people claim it to be, but not after this soul season. Good, but nothing more in my eyes.
shareI just started watching it and I love it. Because of Buffy and Angel I have always been a Joss Whedon fan but I do not like science fiction so I never watched Firefly until this year. Even though I am not into science fiction I absolutely love this show. I think Joss is so good at character development that he makes you care about the characters. That is why I love Buffy so much. Everytime I watch the series I am always sad about leaving Sunnydale at the end of season 7 so then I have to Angel afterwards. His characters draw you in and make you feel for them. It is what storytelling is all about and Joss is a master. I absolutely love this show and I am glad I gave it chance even though science fiction isn't my thing. If you have only watched a couple of episodes keep watching because it gets so much better.
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I am going to watch it after I watch Firefly and Serenity. I saw that it was on Netflix so I am glad you told me it was good.
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