Firefly Discussion (Merged)

[Ranger REG]

Re: Re: IMHO...

On the other hand, Serenity isn't exactly a big honkin' warship like the Enterprise - they mentioned that it isn't even armed. I don't doubt that a rather young person could find himself "in command" of a small freight ship with a total crew of five people, himself included (plus four passengers).

I know that. But he looks too young to be a veteran of a war between the Alliance and the Independents. But I'm sure he is wise beyond his years. A war could do that to ya.

I just got to get used to his "baby face" look, is all. Come on, guys. I did say the show was interesting. Looking forward to seeing the next episode.

 

[John Crichton]

my last hijack, I swear...

The films is a black comedy. An indictment and celebration of the fascist underpinnings of action-filled war movies. And I personally believe its also a swipe on the portrayal of youth/beauty culture in Hollywood films. Its not be accident that it sends what could be a Nazi-fied version of the 90210 cast into space to fight alien bugs. It has fewer obvious jokes because its that seemless {airless?} kind of comedy where the whole thing seems like a joke, but no one inside the film acknowledges it. The closest it comes are those wonderful WW2 era newsreel parodies.

If it's a black comedy, it wasn't done very well at all. Recent movies like Fargo and Drop Dead Gorgeous are good examples of a true black comedy. If it is supposed to mock and celebrate fascism in action/war movie, shouldn't it also be entertaining and have some kind of soul? Honestly, considering the source material (from what I have read) was mean for teenage boys I can't see it being a true black comedy. Maybe that was what Verhoven was shooting for but the movie seemed awefully brainless considering the rest of his work.

Yeah, there was a ton of pointless shooting, there was a token bad guy with "motivation" and there were the heroes that win in the end, but this does not make a good satire. But I like my movies a little more ambitious than that.

It's been years since I last saw the film so all this is an old opinion. I may feel different after either reading the book or seeing it again. And I know the movie has its fans, I'm just not one of them. Heck, a friend of mine had a religious experience watching the movie. heheh

But I digress...

Besides, how can you not love a film that puts a psychic Doogie Howser in full SS drag?? As one of the heroes...

Well, that was entertaining in a "wink wink" kind of way.

Concerning Firefly: I think the visual feel of Starship Troopers was good and I don't mind them borrowing the costumes for the soldiers. I hope that's all they swipe from that movie...

:: edited to make sense ::

 

[WizarDru]

The funny thing is, I looked at their uniforms, and thought they stole them from either Space: Above and Beyond or Babylon 5...I forgot how similar they looked to the starship troopers outfits. Ultimately, I don't much care...combat fatigues is combat fatigues. They could be a little more stylized...but that's really not the focus of the show, so I can deal. The 'imperial' look of the alliance officers, though....that I'm not as keen on.

Regretably, the show's ratings were pretty weak (and it's not a strong slot to begin with). Whether it will get a 'x-files' treatment, a 'dark angel' treatment or 4-and-done treatment remains to be seen.

 

[Tsyr]

The 'imperial' look of the alliance officers, though....that I'm not as keen on.

I think they are trying to set us up to hate the Alliance... Hence, the dark, imperialistic overtones... But frankly, considering the world as a whole seems to love the Alliance... there has to be a dark side the pilot didn't show.

 

[WizarDru]

I think they are trying to set us up to hate the Alliance... Hence, the dark, imperialistic overtones... But frankly, considering the world as a whole seems to love the Alliance... there has to be a dark side the pilot didn't show.

Well, I'm not sure the Alliance has to be evil, or even very dark. One thing is clear: they keep the trains running on time. The impression I get is most of the inhabitants of the Alliance don't really care either way, as long as things are running smoothly and no one's in their face. But if you step out of line, they can probably be VERY oppresive. It'll be interesting to see how they play it out.

I just hope they get the chance to explore it, before Fox does something unpleasant. Buffy started out slow, too, IIRC.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

My feelings on the Alliance is that we are going to eventually find that a vast majority of it is Lawful Neutral in attitude with small smatterings of Lawful Good and Lawful Evil (the two guys from the Academy I bet fall in this alignment).

 

[Staffan]

Well, I'm not sure the Alliance has to be evil, or even very dark.

I read an excerpt from an interview with Joss Whedon over at rpg.net. He said something like "The Alliance is a lot like USA. Sometimes it's the USA in Vietnam. Other times it's like the USA in Nazi Germany. Since Mal was one of the Vietnamese, he can't see that part however."

 

[Villano]

From what I saw of the show (while babysitting a 15 year old dog with a weak bladder who needs to be let outside every two minutes), I really enjoyed it.

Part of the reason I did is due to the fact that I wasn't really expecting much. Nothing in the commercials made me want to watch it.

In fact, the only reason that I turned it on was due to my finding out that Gina "The sexiest woman in the world" Torres was in it.

God, I love her.

Where was I? Oh, yes, the show!

Anyway, like I said, I missed parts of it, so I didn't see the "girl in the box" from the commercials. Who was she and what was the deal with her?

BTW, I don't feel the Outlaw Star/Cowboy Bebop comparisons are really fair. The sci-fi western concept is actually quite old. There was even an old serial called The Phantom Empire in which Gene Autry fought some underground kingdom (yes, Gene Autry, the singing cowboy).

And does anyone else remember the '80's cartoon, Galaxy Rangers? That was a space western. Aside from being aimed at kids (i.e., occassional dumb comedy and the fact that no one really gets hurt), it was pretty good. Well, I enjoyed it as a kid, at least.

BTW, not to long ago, I stumbled across a website which credited Jerry "Law & Order" Orbach as a voice actor on that show.

 

[Krug]

Great article on Joss Whedon here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/22/magazine/22WHEDON.html?pagewanted=1

Excerpt:
As technicians nudge a glowing white spaceship into the sky, Whedon talks about his frustration with those who mistake his creations for guilty pleasures. ''I hate it when people talk about 'Buffy' as being campy,'' he says, scarfing takeout chicken with a plastic fork. ''I hate camp. I don't enjoy dumb TV. I believe Aaron Spelling has single-handedly lowered SAT scores.'' But despite these inevitable misreadings, Whedon's heart will always be with genre fiction. Like Buffy herself, genre fiction is easily undervalued, seen as powerless fluff. But Whedon finds it uniquely forceful: using its vivid strokes, you can be speculative, philosophical -- and create stories that are not merely true to life but are metaphors for a deeper level of human experience. ''It's better to be a spy in the house of love, you know?'' he jokes. ''If I made 'Buffy the Lesbian Separatist,' a series of lectures on PBS on why there should be feminism, no one would be coming to the party, and it would be boring. The idea of changing culture is important to me, and it can only be done in a popular medium.''

 

[JacktheRabbit]

Well him and I agree on at least one point. Personally I think mr Spelling is the Anti-Christ. But then again I absolutely despise ALL sitcoms.

Great article on Joss Whedon here:

I believe Aaron Spelling has single-handedly lowered SAT scores.''
[/i]