Firefly - I just don't get it

[Wayside]

I could barely watch a Buffy episode and I automatically switch off Angel.

Firefly is one of the best scifi shows made, its just under Battlestar Galactica.

Anyway, what is the point of this thread other than to bash the show? So people need to know about what you think of the show? The entire thread is just an excuse to talk bad about it.

The point of the thread is roughly the same as the point of your post: people like to talk about their likes and dislikes. Generally it's helpful if they include a 'why,' but those are in short supply in this particular thread. I'll contribute to this lack by stating that Buffy is one of the best shows ever made, Angel is solid, Battlestar Galactica blows and Firefly rocks--and none of my friends have ever watched (or necessarily heard of) any of these shows, yet we still manage to get along just fine!

 

[Mark Chance]

Sometimes I wonder if there's anything at all you like. You're worse than Comic Book Guy!

Comic Book Guy? Can't stand him.

Actually, I am pretty consistent in my general disdain for Joss Whedon. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy The Kentucky Fried Movie, so I guess there really is no accounting for taste.

 

[reveal]

Comic Book Guy? Can't stand him.

Actually, I am pretty consistent in my general disdain for Joss Whedon. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy The Kentucky Fried Movie, so I guess there really is no accounting for taste.

"What was that? You need total concentwation."

 

[WizarDru]

Actually, I am pretty consistent in my general disdain for Joss Whedon. At the same time, I thoroughly enjoy The Kentucky Fried Movie, so I guess there really is no accounting for taste.

I think it's one of the funniest movies ever...and I like Firefly, too. So, what does that say about me?

But it's really, really good.

It's not Moonlighting or anything, but it's really good.

..but...
...but...
...but you hate everything I like! How can you like these things? Are you sure you're REALLY barsoomcore. I don't think you are.

 

[Thanatos]

When I first saw Firefly, I didn't really like it.

It was cool, it reminded me of Traveller, but...it didn't seem to jive.

So, I said I'd give it another go...eventually got around to being home to see 'Shindig'. I laughed and laughed...I was really entertained by the whole episode.

The next one I caught...well...(sings) "The hero of canton, the man they call jaaynnneee" lol. It was not only cheesy, but it showed some darkside to it. Very serious ending.

Then, I had to move and work some odd hours and missed it till it was over a friend loaned me 3 CDs (before they came out on DvD) with the unaired episodes and I watched them and was immediately captured by 'Heart of Gold'

So I borrowed all their copies (they recorded them from tv) and watched each one in order and it made alot more sense...and I entranced...bought the DvD's when they came out...bought some for my friends too and got them hooked.

I've pondered alot on why the show appeals so much to me...I mean, it IS cheesy...has some bad dialogue (it did have some funny dialogue too though)...the acting got alot better towards the end.

And it dawned on me...the show had heart. Took a bit to find it, but that was enough to sell me.

and a parting quote:

"Every man there go back inside or we will blow a new crater in this little moon."

 

[John Crichton]

I understand wanting to shy away from rabid fan-boy/girl shows simply because people don't like the hard sell. I had the same resistance to Buffy/Angel/BSG/Wonderfalls/Veronica Mars/etc - you just don't like feeling forced into something. But c'mon, we're not talking about guns to the head. People are often crazy in love with something for a reason, not because they're simply retarded. Since finding out that the rabid fans are usually onto something remarkable, my policy has now become, "Try it out, give it a fair shot." If I don't like a show after a half-dozen eps then I probably never will, but in most cases I'm really very impressed. I'm honestly much happier with the time I've spent watching television because of it.

I look for these kinds of shows and usually pick them up on DVD (God bless DVD). For example, I never really liked B5 when it was on the air but I picked up the first season DVD and started to really like it by the end. Turns out that the series is some of the best science fiction ever put on the air. Go figure.

As for Firefly, I was predisposed to liking it being (evidently) a Joss Whedon fanboy. The dude just knows how to make entertaining TV/comics, much like Kevin Smith that connect with me.

 

[Dark Jezter]

It always annoys me when people say "Keep watching this show. You'll start liking it, I promise." I have a friend who once told me that Neon Genesis Evangelion was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and bugged me to watch the first few episodes of the show. When I didn't like it, he told me that the show was an acquired taste and that I'd like it after viewing a little more. When I still didn't like it after a few more episodes, he promised that after seeing the complete series, I'd appreciate it. So I reluctantly agreed to watch the rest of it.

I still haven't forgiven him for putting me through that headache-inducing, pretentious crap. Blech!

Now, If a show dosen't capture my interest within the first few episodes, I'm not going to waste my time with it.

 

[Acid_crash]

I don't like Angel at all... I kind of like some Buffy episodes... but I love Firefly.

I think he blended in the western and sci-fi aspects very well, in his own unique way. I also think that a lot of people, who having heard on here, and elsewhere, how great this show is. Some people then, upon getting a chance to watch the show, have high expectations, and when you go into a show or movie with high expectations, it's almost impossible to not be dissapointed, no matter what that show or movie is.

With high expectations comes dissapointment. I've only seen a very few amount of movies that ever met my expectations when I had high hopes for them. Most times I get dissapointed because I expect this great, glamorous, awesome show, and it doesn't happen.

I think this is what is happening with Firefly. There are a lot of people who just love the show, rave about the show, and just can't keep talking about it. I am one of them. I think Firefly is one of the best shows on tv. How the character's develop as you watch the show, seeing how they came together, just sitting back and letting them grow on you.

I got hooked on episode I. The special effects, blended with the western style of gun fighting, and how the crew reacts to each other, and how the technology is (no phaser beams, no teleporters, no campy star trek crap) and the difference between the Alliance planets and the outer planets. The overall story of these people living on this ship, just trying to do jobs to make enough to survive.

God I want it to be September now.

 

[John Crichton]

I got hooked on episode I. The special effects, blended with the western style of gun fighting, and how the crew reacts to each other, and how the technology is (no phaser beams, no teleporters, no campy star trek crap) and the difference between the Alliance planets and the outer planets. The overall story of these people living on this ship, just trying to do jobs to make enough to survive.

Same here. It didn't take me very long to really enjoy what was going on. Of course, things got better and better as the stories got more meat but the core characters and concept worked. The 'verse just seem lived in and like things could end up being (which is something Galatica does well, too). And if there was any doubt for me I recall the last scene of The Train Job where they are planetside and it's cemented. 2 of my friends who were never big Joss fans watched almost every ep with me when it originally aired (Friday was Firefly night) so I knew he had something going for it when they liked it.

 

[Ferret]

I'm actually a rather huge Whedon fan, but I've always been fond of his style of dialogue.

But you've nailed what I love about his work; Dialogue.

I love his work but I'd never heard or Whedon before Firefly (I watched buffy copiously, never payed the credits much attention, hell when I saw his name briefly I magined an 'n' in there and Pronounced it Whendon )