Firefly: The Complete Series DVD Boxed Set
posted Sunday, July 30th, 2006 by Andy Gore
As a rule, I don’t cotton to fan-generated hysteria. However, there are exceptions. And Joss Whedon’s Firefly is one of them. For those of you who don’t know, FireFly was Whedon’s tragic foray into Sci Fi (Whedon is the creator of such fan favorites as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). I say tragic because it was a really good show, awash with Whedonesque banter and agile plots that made it immensely watchable, certainly better than most of what FOX offers up these days (FOX is the network responsible for Firefly’s start and premature end.)
The show was horribly mishandled, from time slot to, and I’m still baffled by this one, premiering it not with the pilot but with one of the weakest episodes of its 14-episode run (of which only 12 aired.) It didn’t help that to the casual observer Firefly appeared to be a simple-minded cowboys-in-space-opera. I’m guessing that turned off many viewers. Starting the series off with an episode called, “The Train Job” didn’t help.
In reality, the show is complex and thoughtful. What if Man was to start terraforming another solar system after using up all the resources on Earth? How would those first colonists live? I don’t think it’d be too far-fetched to say that in the outermost reaches where resources are scare and the planets are barely habitable it might look something like the American Old West.
The Firefly storyline goes like this: Mal Reynolds is the captain/owner of a dilapidated freighter called Serenity, a Firefly-class boat that has seen better days. Mal was a sergeant in the border world army that fought for independence from the Alliance, a technocracy formed by the richer, more advanced core worlds. The Independents, also know as “Browncoats” for their signature duster-style coats, lost that fight and Mal, as they say, lost his religion.
In the years that followed Mal gathered to himself a crew of eccentric characters as only Joss Whedon could make them: Zoe, his second-in-command and fellow Browncoat, is part career military pragmatist, part adoring spouse and part Amazon warrior. Her husband, Wash, whose brilliance as a pilot is matched only by the brightness of his wardrobe. Kaylee, the savant mechanic who manages to be both innocent child and in-heat stray cat, simultaneously. Jayne, who, well, kind of defies description. Imagine if Dirty Harry and Lucille Ball ever had a son and you’re, ah, well, not quite there but closer. And finally there’s Inara the companion, a sort of high-class working girl who rents a shuttle on the ship from which she conducts business. Inara is Mal’s unrequited love interest, and somehow manages to maintain a regal presence on the ship, despite Mal’s constant efforts to insure their love never gets requited.
In the pilot the crew takes on three passengers, none of who are what they seem. In fact, two are wanted fugitives, which creates no end of trouble for Mal. Add to that the fact that Mal isn’t exactly particular about the jobs he takes, or their relative legality, and you can begin to imagine the twisting course Serenity must navigate just to keep the crew alive, fed and still flying.
Having heard all this, you might be tempted to think that, while it’s certainly an unusual set-up for a Sci-Fi show, there’s nothing here that sounds all that innovative. Well, my friend, that’s where a little thing called “execution” comes in. Firefly is brilliantly written, with one of the best ensemble casts to grace the small (or big) screen. Even the weakest episode will leave you breathless and wondering how FOX could ever have cancelled such a gem.
You wouldn’t be alone. Despite it’s brief 12-episode run (the extra two episodes were never aired and are only available in this DVD boxed set), Firefly has an enormous, passionate fan base that has lobbied tirelessly for the show’s return. In fact, they’ve had some small measure of success, with last year’s release of Serenity, a feature film based on the show that even Whedon credits fan efforts for making a reality.
Selling for $35.37 on Amazon.com, the box is one of the best entertainment values around even without the commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes and gag reel. Seriously, if you like the show half as much as this reviewer, you’re going to find yourself going back to it over and over. You may even find yourself buying an extra copy to lend to friends, just so you don’t have to give up your set.
Geek-o-Meter. We give the Firefly DVD boxed set a “10″, only because our Geek-o-Meter doesn’t go to “11″. Wonderful stories, terrific acting, compelling characters, watching the entirety of this collection will be the shortest 14 hours you’ve ever spent.
