I am watching this show on the recommendation of Sheldon Cooper. I am 5 episodes in and I have to say it is one of those worst tv shows ever.
Mal is basically a dick to everyone. None of the characters are likable except for Wash.
Why did humans revert back to the 1800's? And the music is not fitting for a futuristic sci-fi.
I think this would have been better if it was an actual western show.
It was cancelled because the show wasn't going anywhere. As the film 'Serenity' showed the story was woefully thin and a few good stand alone episodes wasn't enough to make up for the lack of a substantial story. To use a common phrase the show was all dressed up with nowhere to go.
You don't like Mal because he's a dick to everyone, but you like Sheldon Cooper?
shareHe constantly talked down to everyone and constantly called Inara a whore. He is not a good person.
Sheldon Cooper?
Mal is a three dimensional character with a set of values , also the captain so he cant not "talk down"
Sheldon cooper? the guy you mentioned in your OP by the way ,
is a character created purely to be a massive annoying tool
I don't recall him ever talking down to Zoe, and it seemed clear to me that he respected plenty of the others. Mal could be cranky, but he also made it clear he loved his crew. His actions always spoke louder than his words, demonstrated through decisions he makes like the one to return the medicine - risking his own life for others'. It's also shown that people love Mal. Wash barely escapes torture and certain death but walks right back in to save Mal. Most of Mal's grump isn't really serious, either, which is shown in the pilot episode when he jokes about stuffing Kaylee in the hold and she responds with, "I love my captain," showing us that she knows he's not serious and recognizes the truth about Mal: that later on in that episode he will go to any length to save her life.
I agree with moviechatterer that Mal was presented as a three-dimensional character who had good points and bad points. But (1) I'm not sure where he's talking down to everyone (giving orders as a commanding officer isn't talking down), and (2) the show both calls him out on calling Inara a whore and also shows the nuance of his position there in the episode Shindig. This might be beside the point, because it doesn't excuse Mal's poor social graces, but perhaps it bears consideration that Inara's profession is prostitution. She has dressed it up fancy and calls it something else ("Companion") but she is, basically, a whore with a fancy tea-set. Mal still shouldn't be rude, of course.
I think it was cancelled because sky screwed up the scheduling plus they showed the episodes in the wrong order. And because it was an expensive show they pulled the plug ASAP.
But then I liked all the characters and I liked the idea that at the edge of mankind's expansion they would use a mix of old technologies and I thought the music was great.
Guess I'm with Sheldon on this one.
So the show got canceled because you have poor taste?
shareThe hilarious part is:
I am watching this show on the recommendation of Sheldon Cooper.
Mal is basically a dick to everyone.
What does Cooper have to do with this show? He is a fictional character that endorsed Firefly. Since it was only 1 season I decided to give it a shot and it was absolutely terrible. Its basically a show about space cowboys in the 24th Century but act like its the 19th Century. Why do they have old timey guns? The premise is ridiculous and Mal is the worst. He talks down to everyone and calls Inara a whore on multiple occasions. The even worst part is that people here defend his actions and defend his prejudice against women.
shareTV Tropes have a lot to say about the heartwarming scenes in the show and film.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Heartwarming/Firefly
One of my favourite scenes is from the episode Safe.
Simon: Captain, why did you come back for us?
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: But you don't even like me. So why did you come back?
Mal: You're on my crew. Why are we still talking about this?
That right there tells you everything you need to know about Mal.
Another gem that tells you everything about Mal;
Sheriff: You were truthful back in town; these are tough times. A man can get a job, he might not look too close at what that job is. But a man learns all the details of a situation like ours... well, then he has a choice.
Mal: I don't believe he does.
Mal used to be a sergeant in the army. In the army you don't have to be "nice" and you don't have the time to be offended.
Here is a gem from Mal, I am sure this will be heartwarming to all the women.
MAL
You know that? They teach you that in whore academy?
INARA
You have a strange sense of nobility Captain. You'll
lay a man out for calling me a whore, and yet you keep
calling me one to my face.
In response to your points:
No likeable characters - oh, boy... Different strokes I guess, but what I love about Firefly is that each character is fleshed out. We get a clear insight into Mal's mind and soul, which explains his demeanor. Same for all of the characters (see ep 8 - Out of Gas for more information and backstory on them), and their dynamic is great.
Reverting back to the 1800s - With the exception of Ariel in ep 9, we only see the outer edge of the area humans have colonized. These are all freshly terraformed worlds, far from the center. It makes sense that the first settlements would be farmers, builders, etc. They don't get modern resources due to their location and overall status in the Alliance, so they have to make do with what they have on site, on the planet. This might not be realistic, but it's a believable in-universe setup, and I guess an acceptable explanation for the technological level depicted in the show.
The music is not fitting - I consider music as the only weak point of Firefly, so I agree to an extent. The theme song I think really does not fit the show, and I don't really like it. But the leitmotifs heard throughout the episodes are great, and the overall music during the episodes - while could have been better - is OK for me. I too would have liked something more modern sounding music in the show, better yet, a mix of modern and western music. So I generally agree with this point of yours.
But please read up on the history of the cancellation - the actual quality of the show had virtually nothing to do with it...
It’s one of the greatest sci-fi shows ever made and Serenity is one of the greatest sci-fi movies. The series was cancelled because the idiots at Fox didn’t air the first two episodes which introduced the concept and characters, so viewers had no idea what was going on.
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