Finally got to see Firefly

[Felix]

It's actually Mandarin Chinese [EDIT: except Wash's, as jester47 says]. But don't ever aspire to the accents they have on that show. I'm sure you know by now that chinese is a tonal language, but the folks on the show ignore that to give it a natural slang feel. I had to rewind scenes a few times to figure out what they were trying to say, and when they got into extended chinese verbiage I gave up, so impenetrable was the accent.

Still cool, though.

And yeah, watch the DVD set instead of TV airing.

 

[Beretta]

Good to know the local network's keeping its commitments. Last I heard, about a year ago, was that it wouldn't be shown since it was cancelled in the U.S.

I didn't think it would make it either. The 12.30am time slot is insulting to a series of this calibre.

Having read all the hype from fans in this very forum, I was dubious when I sat down to watch the DVD's only a couple of weeks ago now (like you, I didn't think it would get aired here because it was cancelled).

As I watched, I discovered that the fan hype was well justified. How the hell did this show get cancelled? It's one of the better series I've seen. I love how the characters aren't black and white/cut and dried heroes. They exist in the grey area of morality. It's damned refreshing. One of my favourite moments was when

Spoiler

the captain kicks a henchmen into the engine intake!

I have read that most viewers disliked Jayne intensely. I can see why, though I must confess that he was my favourite character. He has the best lines - the actor has a great way of delivering them. Definitely the source of many funny moments.

Now I am left with only burning questions of plot threads left dangling - the Shephard being the most irritating one.

With any luck, the movie will do well and some network will pick this series up. Finger's crossed!

 

[Pielorinho]

Another comment: the captain (I haven't learned their names yet, except that I am presuming the doctor's sister is the one called River) reminds me a lot of O'Neill from SG1 with his comments and attitudes. That's a good thing.

I like him a lot more than O'Neill: O'Neill doesn't trust his crew enough, and constantly gets everyone into trouble because he's too impatient with schmancy intellectualism. Makes me craze. Then again, I've only seen the first two seasons of SG1.

And its fun that the space scenes are silent, except I can't help being reminded of the musings of a Reynolds character Redemption Ark, about how all the sci-fi flicks incorrectly portray space battles as silent.

I'm confused--how is that incorrect? Or is that the joke, that the Redemption Ark character is wrong?

Morrus, I definitely agree that Whedon's voice shines through. Are you reading The Astonishing X-Men? Same thing there: there are so many moments where I'm reading it and I burst out laughing at some classic Joss joke.

Daniel

 

[Aesmael]

As I watched, I discovered that the fan hype was well justified. How the hell did this show get cancelled? It's one of the better series I've seen. I love how the characters aren't black and white/cut and dried heroes. They exist in the grey area of morality. It's damned refreshing. One of my favourite moments was when

Spoiler

the captain kicks a henchmen into the engine intake!

Glad I couldn't resist reading that, it was in the first episode shown. I especially liked the second guy's reaction to it. What episode # is it in the DVDs?

Pielorinho: I have been trying to track down the exact quote for ages (i.e. have not even looked in the past few months to get it right - can't find it flipping through just now either.), beginning to wonder if it even exists. Maybe I should just reread the book. Will get back to it in a day/so for own satisfaction, even if you are no longer interested. Too tired to post independant reasoning on substance of quote now. nite nite

 

[Henry]

Glad I couldn't resist reading that, it was in the first episode shown. I especially liked the second guy's reaction to it. What episode # is it in the DVDs?

"The Great Train Robbery" is #2. The 2-hour pilot, "Serenity" was #1. It almost sounds like you viewed #2 first, and then they played half of #1 behind it, or something.

I'll never forget that scene, because it made a splash on the message boards back in 2002. I remember someone on this messageboard (I think) was posting as they were watching, and the responses were something like:

(spoilers)

Spoiler

"ho hum"

...later...

"hmm. Not bad..."

...later...

OMG! HE KICKED HIM INTO THE ****ING TURBINE!"

(spoilers)

Great series, and I hope something good comes from the 2005 movie.

 

[Ranger REG]

As I watched, I discovered that the fan hype was well justified. How the hell did this show get cancelled?

Genre fans love it, but the greater mainstream audience doesn't. Majority rules.

That and the last season's friday night timeslot belonged to CBS's hit newcomer Joan of Arcadia and the long-running JAG.

 

[haiiro]

I'm confused--how is that incorrect? Or is that the joke, that the Redemption Ark character is wrong?

I just finished Redemption Ark about a week ago, so I should really remember this part better. I believe the gist of that bit in RA is that space battles are selectively noisy -- if you're in a ship that's involved in one, you hear all sorts of noises (obviously), but even from outside, in space, outgassing from hull shots would transmit sound just fine in a localized way.

Like I said, I wish I could remember exactly.

 

[Krieg]

Genre fans love it, but the greater mainstream audience doesn't. Majority rules.

That's not really a fair assessment.

Considering how the series was handled we will never know whether the mainstream audience would have liked it or not.

The show was killed because right now reality TV shows give Fox far more "bang for the buck".

 

[Pielorinho]

I just finished Redemption Ark about a week ago, so I should really remember this part better. I believe the gist of that bit in RA is that space battles are selectively noisy -- if you're in a ship that's involved in one, you hear all sorts of noises (obviously), but even from outside, in space, outgassing from hull shots would transmit sound just fine in a localized way.

Hmm...I'm skeptical that outgassing from hull shots would really transmit any significant sound except to ships in extremely close proximity; the "atmosphere" thereby created is still going to be extremely thin. But I'm no physicist. At any rate, in most space-battle shots, the camera viewpoint is not supposed to be in a ship at all: it's from some advantageous point out in space.

I'm pretty sure that folks inside Serenity are able to hear battle noises when their ship is hit.

My favorite technically-correct scene is in Out of Gas, when

Spoiler

A fire is vented to the outside of the ship, and it exits in a beautiful horizontal incendiary twister; physics-buffs have told me this is a pretty accurate guess as to what it would look like

And my favorite technically-incorrect scene is in the original pilot, when

Spoiler

two enemy ships passing each other in space appear to be going at about 20 miles an hour past each other, instead of the many thousands of MPH they should be moving.

Then there's always the pilot moment when

Spoiler

you see that Wash, successfully piloting Serenity past the bad guys, is doing so without benefit of a throttle or steering wheel: he's just pantomiming holding one and steering

Daniel

 

[Ranger REG]

That's not really a fair assessment.

Considering how the series was handled we will never know whether the mainstream audience would have liked it or not.

The show was killed because right now reality TV shows give Fox far more "bang for the buck".

Again, majority rules. Mainstream WANT reality shows than some silly western sci-fi. And you're right, they're cheaper to produce and audience will go for it, even some genre fans.

Now all we need to cheapen science fiction genre is have a reality show looking for cast of the next sci-fi movie or series.

:\