50 replies on “Movie Discussion – “Serenity””

  1. I saw it Tuesday night.
    My contractual blog entry for getting in is here.

    I enjoyed it. I didn’t get to watch the series when it began, and my kids had other plans for me when I wanted to watch the reruns on SciFi. So I watched it pretty much as a noob. My wife, who has watched even less than I of the series, also enjoyed it.

    Spoilers? I absolutely loved River getting medieval on the Reavers’ asses. Even though I thought for sure River was dead when she locked the blast doors closed, I didn’t give up hope.

    • Re: I saw it Tuesday night.

      My contractual blog entry for getting in is here.

      I enjoyed it. I didn’t get to watch the series when it began, and my kids had other plans for me when I wanted to watch the reruns on SciFi. So I watched it pretty much as a noob. My wife, who has watched even less than I of the series, also enjoyed it.

      Spoilers? I absolutely loved River getting medieval on the Reavers’ asses. Even though I thought for sure River was dead when she locked the blast doors closed, I didn’t give up hope.

      I’d been WAITING for a River vs Reaver fight. This was niiiiiiice!

  2. Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
    I know Josh has a reputation for lack of job security for regulars, but did he *have* to? That was a shocker, even as dark as the movie is.

    Some other random thoughts:

    One thing I particularly missed was the music from the series — I didn’t think the movie music held up.

    I knew the Alliance had created the reavers the minute Serenity broke through the line of reavers orbiting Miranda, but I thought they were “pre-Rivers” — failed experiments.

    My question now is “where can they go with another movie?”

    • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

      My question now is “where can they go with another movie?”

      “Two by two, hands of blue.”

      Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

      • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

        My question now is “where can they go with another movie?”

        “Two by two, hands of blue.”

        Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

        It’s gonna stay that way too, looks like…

        But, he did seem to know EXACTLY what the kind of person that was after them was. He’s good with a weapon, he believes, the Alliance owes him…

        • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

          Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

          It’s gonna stay that way too, looks like…

          The Fans: You’ll Have To Tell Us How Book Know All This Some Day.
          Joss: No, I Don’t.

        • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

          My question now is “where can they go with another movie?”

          “Two by two, hands of blue.”

          Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

          It’s gonna stay that way too, looks like…

          But, he did seem to know EXACTLY what the kind of person that was after them was. He’s good with a weapon, he believes, the Alliance owes him…

          5 will get you 10 that Book is/was a retired Operative.

          Was anybody but me expecting said Operative to join up at the end?

          Other dissapointments regarding the Operative, Jayne never got a shot at him. That would have been amusing to watch. Equally amusing, but for very different reasons would have been River going Neo on the Operative… Just thoughts

      • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

        “Two by two, hands of blue.”

        Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

        The Blue Sun corp might make for some interesting stories, but it would be a spinoff, not Firefly. I suppose there could be some revenge interest, but to be honest, if the Alliance wants revenge, Serenity & crew are toast.

        I think Book’s background could be filled in piecemeal in a series nicely (finding tidbits here and
        there), but I think it would be forced and clunky to do it all in one shot in a movie, as was the ca
        se with River in this one.

      • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

        Also, Shepherd Book’s backstory is still unexplained!

        Just saw it – still in shock.

        But my guess, we’ll never get Book’s backstory now. The scene in his camp
        says it all:

        (from memory)

        Mal: Someday you’ll have to tell me about you
        Book: No, I don’t.

        I think that was Joss, talking to the fans.

        • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

          I think that was Joss, talking to the fans.

          Mental Note: Read All comments Before Posting.

    • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

      One thing I particularly missed was the music from the series — I didn’t think the movie music held up.

      Well, there was some of the music from the series, and they put some of it in the credits. There was an especially familiar piece of music at the very end of the credits.

      • Re: Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!

        Well, there was some of the music from the series, and they put some of it in the credits. There was an especially familiar piece of music at the very end of the credits.

        And in fact, a friend in the group I went with told us it was coming, but even the instrumental was different from the series and I didn’t think was as well done. It didn’t have the same “country twang” (for lack of a better term). I’m sure there are some who are glad it’s not there ;-) but I liked it…

  3. I Have Waited For This Day…
    …to be able to vent. Serenity is a great achievement for Joss…but for the fans, not so much. To me this thing pretty much put a screeching halt to my enthusiasm for the franchise. Firefly is about survival of a family unit in a relatively lawless frontier. Serenity is about Mal’s personal quest to win in a war zone battle, and like a good sergent he is willing to sacrifice any and all of his troops to achieve the mission. Firefly was a cross between the sci-fi and western genres; Serenity is a cross between the war and horror genres. I was so totally there for the little-spaceship-on-the-prairie series, but not this somebody’s-gotta-die-in-such-an-intense-war movie. Yeah, the former is comfort food and the latter is steak not sizzle but the whole beauty of Firefly was just what GOOD comfort food it was, not the junk food normally found on both TV AND movies. I just wish Joss had left making steak to other moviemakers and heaped up instead a double helping of pot roast and mashed potatos with lots of gravy. With some sliced tomatos and cilantro on the side from the abby.

    Somehow what we’ve been given is all the result of contract conflicts for movie sequel support or desire to create something with EPIC WEIGHT once you’ve spent $40 mil or something like that. The Serenity ship crew manifest would have been totally different if Ep 18 or Season 2 had aired instead of Movie 1, and so this whole thing now has an alternate-universe feel brought about not by the series storyline going thru a wormhole but the actual cast and crew moving from TV cancelation to movie production. You really can’t go home again.

    Sigh.

    • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

      Firefly was a cross between the sci-fi and western genres; Serenity is a cross between the war and horror genres.

      Yes! This perfectly sums up one of the things I couldn’t quite come up with about what I felt was wrong with Serenity… Though I think what it comes down to is the calvary came down on the little ship on the prairie and forced them into a Final Battle, when they just wanted to roam free. The striving to roam free makes good TV, where you can tell the story over time, but not so much for movies, which have to pretty much stand on their own, and thus must be more epic.

    • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…
      I had a completely different reaction. For me the beginning and end of the show has always been about the characters. As you say, the family. They could be sitting around eating potato chips and I’d enjoy it.

      The show had the characters in a certain environment, this one placed them in a completely different one. Yet, the characters stayed true to who they are, they reacted like I think they’d react and it was a hell of a ride. I couldn’t expect any more.

      Any complaints I have versus the show are strictly to do with the format. It’s a movie so certain touches from the show can’t be done without ending up pretty crappy. However…there’s ample compensations in this version so on balance I’m very pleased.

      • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…
        SPOILERS! Hey, the article warned…

        I had a completely different reaction. For me the beginning and end of the show has always been about the characters. As you say, the family. They could be sitting around eating potato chips and I’d enjoy it.

        I agree fully. You’ll notice that by the end of the movie, every single character had undergone a major change.

        Considering the characters, I wonder if Whedon had always planned to kill those two off sometime down the road. I wasn’t surprised about Book; the mysterious man of wisdom (or wise man of mystery, or whatever) often ends up dead eventually — not in the least because he’s probably the one who’s most at peace with himself and the idea of death. Plus, his death served as a major motivator to the plot. If Book had survived, I don’t think the slaughter could have plausibly been enough to push Mal over the edge.

        Wash, however, surprised the hell out of me. Come to think of it, though, he was the only one without an apparent interesting backstory. War veterans, fugitives, insane mercenary, preacher who isn’t who he appears to be, and… lighthearted guy in a Hawaiian shirt? Maybe Whedon had grand plans after all, but at his present stage of character development, Wash just screamed “disposable”. I mean, hey, I liked him, but still… Besides, it also gives the Firefly fans a little extra emotional response. Someone new to the characters probably wouldn’t think much of either death, that sort of thing being so common in movies, but I really didn’t expect a member of the crew to die such a meaningless death.

        It’s just too bad that, in a movie, they really didn’t have time to explore Zoe coping with it. The possibility of having seen that stretched out over a season or so makes me even more convinced that this was part of the grand plan.

        If that’s the case, I guess one could argue that Whedon blew his whole wad at once, but as I’ve seen argued elsewhere, he really doesn’t know that there will be more movies. This could be his last story in this universe, so he may have wanted to accomplish the major end goals now. He can always use other planned arcs for any potential sequels.

        • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

          Considering the characters, I wonder if Whedon had always planned to kill those two off sometime down the road.

          Alan Tudyk has been quoted lots of times as having said to Joss that Wash would be a good ‘Season 2 sympathy kill’. After Serenity, who can argue? ;)

          I think Book’s death wasn’t quite so well handled. In fact it was probably the cheesiest moment in the whole movie – the ‘one guy survives to warn the others then keels over’ scene. Shame. I think they missed an opportunity to play Book against the Operative. Now that would make for some meaty flashbacks in the sequel… ;)

        • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…
          Here be spoiler discussion (like the parent didn’t….)

          Wash, however, surprised the hell out of me.

          Yeah, and unfortunately, that’s why I won’t be seeing it again. I loved the movie overall, but there’s a reason I got my wife to iron my Hawaiian shirt so I could wear it today. A fitting, though shocking death – he saved everyone, then *bam*. It reminded me of Tara’s in the “sudden” department. For me, since I had _so_ much invested in that particular character (1 – he made the group a LOT less gloomy. 2 – character most reminiscent of me. 3 – helped balance the crew out, ‘voice of reason’ like someone else said), it put a pall on the rest of the movie.

          It honestly wouldn’t have surprised me had they gone Blake’s 7 on everyone – yeah, good luck on a sequel to THAT, but that’s what it felt like. I’m sorry they killed off Book – more questions that will never be answered, maybe that’s for the best – but Wash hit me to the core. Yes, I know Joss gives you ‘what you need, not what you want’, but it seemed gratuitous.

          The early reviews mentioned that the movie had gotten dark, and the Comic Book miniseries got even grimmer, but I didn’t expect _this_.

          I enjoyed the movie, but I won’t be watching it again anytime soon. I can’t even give it an enthusiastic thumbs up for the hardcore fans – like me, you may feel betrayed.

          • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

            I enjoyed the movie, but I won’t be watching it again anytime soon. I can’t even give it an enthusiastic thumbs up for the hardcore fans – like me, you may feel betrayed.

            I’ve really been amazed by the response to Wash’s and Book’s deaths, although I shouldn’t be. The range of reactions seems to almost exactly mirror that of people dealing with a sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. They feel betrayed, cheated, shocked, horrified, angry, vengeful, sad… To me, that’s about the highest praise that Joss could get.

            Joss has frequently demonstrated his willingness to kill off characters. I think people make the mistake of thinking that he’s bloodthirsty, or that he’s just trying for an immediate emotional reaction. I’m convinced that it runs deeper than that, he wants people to experience the deaths as realistically as possible because he considers that an integral part of life. It would be ridiculous to expect the people in a high risk situation like the crew of Serenity were in to all survive. That would be pure fantasy, instead of the partial fantasy that we get.

            • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

              I’ve really been amazed by the response to Wash’s and Book’s deaths, although I shouldn’t be. The range of reactions seems to almost exactly mirror that of people dealing with a sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. They feel betrayed, cheated, shocked, horrified, angry, vengeful, sad… To me, that’s about the highest praise that Joss could get.

              I thought the same thing. I was in a great deal of shock when Wash died. I can’t recall the next few minutes of the film, except that I had the same expression as Zoe, and that single scene still dominates my recollection of the whole movie. (I still think both deaths were a little cheap: Book lasts long enough for parting words and then "We’re OK. We survived the cra– BOOM.")

              But if Wash and the other characters weren’t so vibrant, I would have just gone on. These are characters I cared deeply for, and to lose one was traumatic. And, for me, it put the whole movie in doubt, as someone else has mentioned. I really didn’t know if the rest of the crew would survive, and whether the mission would succeed or not.

              I keep telling myself there’s room for more stories between Firefly and Serenity, which may be true. I’d love to see more Wash, and even more Book, but I don’t feel cheated. Their deaths made this a great movie and one of the greatest stories I’ve been told in a long time.

              • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

                I’ve really been amazed by the response to Wash’s and Book’s deaths, although I shouldn’t be. The range of reactions seems to almost exactly mirror that of people dealing with a sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one. They feel betrayed, cheated, shocked, horrified, angry, vengeful, sad… To me, that’s about the highest praise that Joss could get.

                I thought the same thing. I was in a great deal of shock when Wash died. I can’t recall the next few minutes of the film, except that I had the same expression as Zoe, and that single scene still dominates my recollection of the whole movie. (I still think both deaths were a little cheap: Book lasts long enough for parting words and then “We’re OK. We survived the cra– BOOM.”)

                But if Wash and the other characters weren’t so vibrant, I would have just gone on. These are characters I cared deeply for, and to lose one was traumatic. And, for me, it put the whole movie in doubt, as someone else has mentioned. I really didn’t know if the rest of the crew would survive, and whether the mission would succeed or not.

                I keep telling myself there’s room for more stories between Firefly and Serenity, which may be true. I’d love to see more Wash, and even more Book, but I don’t feel cheated. Their deaths made this a great movie and one of the greatest stories I’ve been told in a long time.

                I was upset to not see more of Book’s story. And Wash’s death was truly horrifying. And for a bit, I felt like some of the other posters, asking “why?” and getting upset.

                But thinking about it, we got what we asked for. Everyone was clamoring for the completion of River’s story. And I don’t think her story changed just because it became a movie. But to tell her story, Joss had to skip past a lot of other things. If we had had several seasons to get the story, we could have seen all the places that the operative blew up. We would have known those characters, and when/why they had sheltered Serenity. We’d have seen Book leave, and we’d have met Mr. Universe before. But we had to skip those parts. We wanted to get to River’s secret, and we had to get there in less than 2 hours.

                I would love to go back and see movies (or a series) made of the in-between times. But I don’t think it will happen. Maybe the comics can flesh it out. But I’m also happy to watch the movie continue as a franchise, and see where the Serenity family goes from here.

                • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

                  But to tell her story, Joss had to skip past a lot of other
                  things. If we had had several seasons to get the story, we
                  could have seen all the places that the operative blew up.
                  We would have known those characters, and when/why they had
                  sheltered Serenity. We’d have seen Book leave, and we’d
                  have met Mr. Universe before. But we had to skip those
                  parts.

                  I wonder if we would have seen Mr. Universe at all had
                  the
                  series continued. He seemed to be such a plot device. Was
                  he even mentioned in the series? Then they act like he’s an
                  old buddy. I was really surprised that they even had a
                  tombstone for him at the end. In fact, I was a little taken
                  aback – it seemed to cheapened the memorial of Book and
                  Wash to toss in such a throwaway character.

                  I still think knocking off Wash was kind of dumb. 10 points
                  for dramatic effect (I guess 6 points on this site :p ),
                  but the un-Washed (couldn’t resist) don’t care, and the
                  fans get pissed (at least all of the fans in my group).

                  I don’t know, I guess it would have been nice to have the
                  series picked up again even without Book, but jeez, how do
                  you move forward with two characters gone?
                  Nobody’s going
                  to care much for any replacements, especially in a 2 hour
                  film. Perhaps Joss will make it up to the fans with a
                  little nudity in the next film. A gander at any of the
                  womenfolk would be a kindness – stunning creatures, they
                  are …

                  • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

                    I don’t know, I guess it would have been nice to have the
                    series picked up again even without Book, but jeez, how do
                    you move forward with two characters gone?

                    Three words. Zoe is pregnant. Takes away the sting a little. Gives Simon something to do that doesn’t involve River’s brain or bullet holes. Keeps Zoe in the family way (pun intended), but with even more responsibility to deal with. And it fulfills the “I want to meet that baby some day.” line. She could even name it after the Shepherd, if you want to kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended that time).

                    The other alternative I can think of is Kaylee having a baby and naming it after Wash, but I think that that would be pushing the Simon/Kaylee thing too fast.

                    • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…

                      I don’t know, I guess it would have been nice to have the
                      series picked up again even without Book, but jeez, how do
                      you move forward with two characters gone?

                      Three words. Zoe is pregnant. Takes away the sting a little. Gives Simon something to do that doesn’t involve River’s brain or bullet holes. Keeps Zoe in the family way (pun intended), but with even more responsibility to deal with. And it fulfills the “I want to meet that baby some day.” line. She could even name it after the Shepherd, if you want to kill two birds with one stone (no pun intended that time).

                      The other alternative I can think of is Kaylee having a baby and naming it after Wash, but I think that that would be pushing the Simon/Kaylee thing too fast.

                      Well in an interview Jewel Staite said that she would like Kaylee to have a baby. In the interview first Sean laughed and agreed, then Adam said he would like that to happen too.

                      I think that would make an interessting storyline and I hope they do it :)

          • Re: I Have Waited For This Day…
            I believe I actually gasped like I was gut punched. Wash was the comic relief, Wash was the voice of reason, Wash had dinosaurs on the dash, wash was ‘normal’.

            It was an amazing ride. I got to see it last night.

            I hope we see more of this universe.

          • comment 42

            Here be spoiler discussion (like the parent didn’t….)

            Wash, however, surprised the hell out of me.

            Yeah, and unfortunately, that’s why I won’t be seeing it again. I loved the movie overall, but there’s a reason I got my wife to iron my Hawaiian shirt so I could wear it today. A fitting, though shocking death – he saved everyone, then *bam*.

            I enjoyed the movie, but I won’t be watching it again anytime soon. I can’t even give it an enthusiastic thumbs up for the hardcore fans – like me, you may feel betrayed.

            It shocked me, Wash was my fave.

            Damn you Joss, damn you for making me care so much about a fictional character that felt bad about his death. Joss really is a genius… I’m as jaded as they come, and he made me care. The bastard.

          • (spoiler) Purple-Belly Whedon
            I feel betrayed. I loved all these characters, and Whedon just wipes two of them out for the heck of it? What kind of suckerpunch is that? I won’t be watching Serenity again. I just can’t take it. It was such a cruel thing to do, not just to our beloved Wash but to all of us who loved the series. It’s all tainted now.

            I have two workable theories for “Heartless” Whedon to redeem himself: one, Book ingested that drug River and Simon took in “Ariel” to fake their deaths, the same one that kid presumably took in “The Message” to achieve the same effect. If Book is a Fed spy as many have suggested, this would make sense. The Alliance would think he was dead and he could track down Serenity secretly.

            As for Wash, we never did see a body. I kept hoping we’d see him in the Infirmary getting patched up, or perhaps made a bit robotical. But, sadly… So, the only way I can see to bring Wash back plausibly is to make him a Reaver. They could spend the second movie rescuing him, in more way than one.

            As I say, though, given the film’s poor performance, this is all likely a pipe dream. Probably woulda helped if all the fans actually WANTED to see this thing again, wouldn’t it? Welp, Whedon, that’s what you get when you bum us all out. What a totally squandered opportunity, what a cheap shot.

  4. I enjoyed it!
    It was dark, no doubt, but I like to think of it as a sort of trial, and that maybe they’ve come out better for it. You know, ‘darkest before the dawn’ sort of thing.

    I think it tied things up nicely, and leaves room for more if they want to go that way.

    I think I’ll go again next week!

    ~Mark

    (Yeah, I was shocked too. He was a great balance, almost a conscience. *sniff*)

    • Firefly was the sf series where planets sometimes had bad weather

      They maintained the sense of fun in amidst grim tone of the movie, and I think it was a given that a couple of key players were going to die, once they put them into this plot. They could not win easily, and with the deaths, I found myself genuinely wondering if this would be a last stand for everyone, or if they would succeed in the end. That doesn’t happen very often in genre series.

      The movie also touches on a number of timely issues, with its themes of social control versus the creative wild-west messiness of humanity, the media and government control, the nature of heroism…. The tragedy in this film’s plot is part of that.

      This isn’t quite the movie I expected, but Serenity delivers. Apply that to most of the Trek films and any of the Star Wars prequels, and it would be a half-truth.

      • Re: Firefly was the sf series where planets sometimes had bad weather

        They maintained the sense of fun in amidst grim tone of the movie, and I think it was a given that a couple of key players were going to die, once they put them into this plot. They could not win easily, and with the deaths, I found myself genuinely wondering if this would be a last stand for everyone, or if they would succeed in the end. That doesn’t happen very often in genre series.

        I tried to keep myself spoiler free going into the movie, and I’m very glad that I did. Book passing on was one thing, but it made the movie more believable. However, after Wash passed, all bets were off. It really did seem that every character could be wiped out there for a bit. Zoe was cut, Kaylee was shot, Doctor was shot, and River was battling a seemingly hopeless battle. I kept thinking ‘I thought I heard that everybody was signed for a possible sequel, was that all just BS?’ Finding myself so unsure of the outcome that near to the end of movie just doesn’t happen that often.

        I really enjoy Sci-Fi genre movies, but that almost always fail to take the story to the next level, especially if they’re built upon characters we already know. Serenity on the other hand, is the best Sci-Fi movie I’ve seen in years, perhaps ever.

        Joss Whedon is my hero for pulling this off.

        • Re: Firefly was the sf series where planets sometimes had bad weather

          I tried to keep myself spoiler free going into the movie, and I’m very glad that I did. Book passing on was one thing, but it made the movie more believable. However, after Wash passed, all bets were off. It really did seem that every character could be wiped out there for a bit. Zoe was cut, Kaylee was shot, Doctor was shot, and River was battling a seemingly hopeless battle. I kept thinking ‘I thought I heard that everybody was signed for a possible sequel, was that all just BS?’ Finding myself so unsure of the outcome that near to the end of movie just doesn’t happen that often.

          Before I Went In, I Was Thinking ‘Joss Kills His Characters. Someone Isn’t Surviving This Movie.’ When Book Died, I Understood. That Was Joss’s Death For The Movie. When Wash Died, I Sat There In Shock Until The film Went Off The Reel During The Mal/Operative Fight. When The Film Had Gotten Back On The Reel, 15 Minutes LAter, And Mal Told Us He Was A Fan Of All Seven, I had Finally Calmed Down.

          When I Went To See It A Second Time, As Soon As The Reaver Fight Started, I Got Antsy. As Soon As Wash Said ‘I Am A Leaf Of The Wind, Watch Me Soar’, I Had Trouble Watching.

          That Was A Very, Very Powerful Move For Joss. I Don’t Think Any Show Has Ever Elicitted That LEvel Of Emotional Response From Me Before.

        • Re: Firefly was the sf series where planets sometimes had bad weather

          I kept thinking ‘I thought I heard that everybody was signed for a possible sequel, was that all just BS?’ Finding myself so unsure of the outcome that near to the end of movie just doesn’t happen that often.

          i thought the same thing. in fact, i’m surprised i didn’t hear spoilerage about book and wash sooner as it was screened all over the country and i tend to read a lot of movie and scifi sites and podcasts and i wasn’t ‘surprised’ by accidental spoilerage (dunno if that was due to fans being extra diligent or what) but i’m thankful i didn’t find out before seeing the movie.

    • Re: I enjoyed it!

      (Yeah, I was shocked too. He was a great balance, almost a conscience. *sniff*)

      This may show how truely geeky I am, but did anyone else find paralells in the Wash-Mal-Zoe relationship with the Tochiro-Harlock-Emereldas relationship (prior, of course, to Tochiro’s death)?

      For the record, I doubt that Zoe will follow Emereldas’ character path following the movie. But then again, Joss could be a big fan of Leiji Masumoto, for all we know. Also, I doubt that any paralells between the two characters are intentional, and, as much geek cred that Joss has, and despite how much of a geek we know he is, I doubt he’s seen any of the Harlock series (as Harlock fans are, basically, a niche of a niche of a niche.)

      • Re: I enjoyed it!

        This may show how truely geeky I am, but did anyone else find paralells in the Wash-Mal-Zoe relationship with the Tochiro-Harlock-Emereldas relationship (prior, of course, to Tochiro’s death)?

        umm… wtf? i’m going to guess this is some sort of anime reference so i’ll turn the other way and run far far away.

  5. I liked it.
    Not as much as I expected, but it was good. This will be one to see and buy. Hopefully it will make enough to generate sequels.

  6. I just finished watching the four o’clock Saturday showing …
    The cinema was as full as I have seen a 14-screen cinema be for a non-opening day showing, and I saw Episode III at this same cinema on opening weekend Saturday too. Now I’m not saying this movie will gross anywhere near Episode III’s 380 billion, but I’d wager it easily reaches the numbers cited by Whedon here. This bodes well for more Firefly in one form or another. As others have said, we still have LOTS of material for either a sequel series or several sequel movies (wto by two, hands of blue …)

    I really enjoyed this movie, although I have to see it again to really soak it all in. I wasn’t shocked by one death, but was completely astonished by the second. I felt like the whole “reader” thing was brouight on suddenly, but I had to accept that we missed out on character development that would have revealed this over several TV episodes.

    The changes I noticed in Mal, in Inara, in Mal and Inara’s relationship also would have taken several more episodes to develop. I got the feeling we were watching the end of season one beginning of season two cliffhangers edited together. :)

    But it was still Firefly, Firefly on STEROIDS even, and as shiny as can be. :)

    -Joe

    • Re: I just finished watching the four o’clock Saturday showing …

      (wto by two, hands of blue …)

      Didn’t mean to infer that the World Trade Organization has anything to do with Blue Sun, but who knows where the mind of Joss may wander. “two by two …” even.

      Shees, me and my typos …

      -Joe

  7. Sequel?
    "The science-fiction tale Serenity, a continuation of writer-director Joss Whedon’s cult TV series Firefly, debuted in second place with roughly $10.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday." [url=http://www.movieweb.com/news/news.php?id=9431/](1)[/url]

    I’m not an expert in these things but isn’t that not so great? I remember seeing the trailer at Batman Begins and the crowd there had no idea what it was. I had a bad feeling it wouldn’t be marketed well but on the contrary I saw banners at most of my regular websites, and the little TV I watch (2 genre shows and football) had a bunch of commercials for it too. So what’s the deal? Just a case of sci-fi blues? One thing I did notice is a wackload of preview showings starting even in March. Does that affect anything?

    • Re: Sequel?
      As a general indicator it isn’t good. It could be having a slow start as word of mouth on the quality spreads. The fact that most critics like it may also help a second week bounce. It isn’t completely impossible, but it happens rarely enough that I’m not entirely hopeful that it’ll make enough to guarantee the sequels.

      My big hope right now is its international popularity, which may bring in enough. Hopefully their openings will be stellar.

    • Re: Sequel?

      “The science-fiction tale Serenity, a continuation of writer-director Joss Whedon’s cult TV series Firefly, debuted in second place with roughly $10.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.”

      The entire weekend was a low taker (#1 was “Flightplan” with only $15m) – it did better than the T&A flick “Into the Blue”, the thriller “A History of Violence” and Tim Burton’s latest, so honestly it did pretty well. You should also consider that it is a niche movie and that word-of-mouth is what will ultimately drive its longevity. Apparently they were looking for $50m nationally and $80m internationally to consider a sequel, I’m not sure if they’ll make it or not though.

      Damien

  8. Saw it twice this weekend
    I couldn’t get all my friends to agree as to when to see it, so I saw it twice with different sets of friends. I did enjoy it, but I am still kicking myself for reading an unannounced spoiler on Ain’t It Cool’s site several months ago, about two character’s deaths. The first viewing, I was trying to figure out who they would be. When they first went to visit Book, I expected him to buy it. Wash’s death was a little gratiutous and unnecessary, IMO, but sort of expected. Again, because of the spoiler, I knew everyone else would live, and that pissed me off royally in that final battle.

    After seeing it on Friday, I went home to the TiVo’d episode, and realized that I preferred the series’ country-fiddle-twangy music to the movie’s. In the series, it was simple and clean, and more personal, IMO. The movie score was a more generic movie score, and completely forgettable. It didn’t win points with me. Maybe it was an attempt to be more mainstream, but it failed with me. I love movie soundtracks, and will pass on buying this one.

    The dialogue was OK, but the early line by Kaylee about nethers was funny, but a little too script-y.

    Any talk of deleted scenes? I could see where there might’ve been more that didn’t make the final cut. Stuff like Jayne showing up inside the ship after being at the Cannon before the Reaver/Alliance battle.

    I could see a sequel, where someone from Book’s pre-Shepherd past comes to Mal, seeking help to get Book’s mysterious affairs settled. Flashbacks would give a way to bring back Book and Wash for the sequel.

  9. Simon and River’s ages
    This has probably been discussed before but it’s soemthing that’s nagged at me a bit in both the series and movie. They keep saying that River is only 17. How old is Simon? In the episode where they flash back to them as teens, they look maybe 3-5 years apart. But by the time the series starts, Simon’s old enough to have finished medical school and been a practicing surgeon long enough to make embarrassingly large piles of money. Did I miss something? Is he the second coming of Doogie Howser?

    -cb

    • Re: Simon and River’s ages

      They keep saying that River is only 17. How old is Simon? In the episode where they flash back to them as teens, they look maybe 3-5 years apart. But by the time the series starts, Simon’s old enough to have finished medical school and been a practicing surgeon long enough to make embarrassingly large piles of money. Did I miss something? Is he the second coming of Doogie Howser?

      Two things that annoyed me slightly: River’s age (she doesn’t look 17, and it doesn’t quite gel with Simon’s apparent age, and the unnecessary reference (unless I misheard) that reinforced that the series and movie take place in one other solar system. This is another point, however, something which solves certain problems while creating others. Simon’s money, however, need not be much of a problem, since a series flashback clearly indicates that the Tams had money.

      • Re: Simon and River’s ages
        Actually, I thought that’s what they were saying too, which pissed me off. Following what the narrator said, though, it seems that that “one solar system” was in fact the “Core Planets” that they talk about. Which makes a whole hell of a lot more sense.

        And yes, he probably the second coming of Doogie to an extent probably, because he’s smart second only to River.

        • Re: Simon and River’s ages

          Actually, I thought that’s what they were saying too, which pissed me off. Following what the narrator said, though, it seems that that “one solar system” was in fact the “Core Planets” that they talk about. Which makes a whole hell of a lot more sense.

          And yes, he probably the second coming of Doogie to an extent probably, because he’s smart second only to River.

          What I got from it is that it was all in a single solar system, which really is kind of silly. You get rid of the need for magic faster than light spaceships, but at the cost of having magic terraforming and mirror systems (or whatever) that make the sun the same size (and make it deliver the same energy) everywhere. You’ve got to have one or the other, so I guess why not have the one that isn’t done in all the other shows?

          It’s not so silly when you realise that a lot of the places people live are moons; if I remember correctly, the Serenity opening mentioned dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. Presumably, the Core Planets are the habitable inner planets, and most of the outer worlds are moons orbiting gas giants. I dunno, I’m no uberfan.

          SP

    • Re: Simon and River’s ages

      This has probably been discussed before but it’s soemthing that’s nagged at me a bit in both the series and movie. They keep saying that River is only 17. How old is Simon? In the episode where they flash back to them as teens, they look maybe 3-5 years apart. But by the time the series starts, Simon’s old enough to have finished medical school and been a practicing surgeon long enough to make embarrassingly large piles of money. Did I miss something? Is he the second coming of Doogie Howser?

      -cb

      imo, it’s more of a doogie howser sort of deal. the man is about as smart as they come; only his sister is smarter. In the pilot kaylee comments on how young he is to be a doctor, so my assumption is that he’s just that smart.

      • Re: Simon and River’s ages

        This has probably been discussed before but it’s soemthing that’s nagged at me a bit in both the series and movie. They keep saying that River is only 17. How old is Simon? In the episode where they flash back to them as teens, they look maybe 3-5 years apart. But by the time the series starts, Simon’s old enough to have finished medical school and been a practicing surgeon long enough to make embarrassingly large piles of money. Did I miss something? Is he the second coming of Doogie Howser?

        -cb

        imo, it’s more of a doogie howser sort of deal. the man is about as smart as they come; only his sister is smarter. In the pilot kaylee comments on how young he is to be a doctor, so my assumption is that he’s just that smart.

        I recall a scene from the pilot where Simon is explaining River’s gifts. As a point of comparison, he described his own career as a medical prodigy – like, yes, Doogie Howser. He went on to say that River’s intellect made him look like an ‘idiot child’ or something to that effect.

  10. They killed Wash!
    anybody else saying that at random times through the weekend/week?

    *sigh*

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