According to a Wikipedia article, Whedon’s concept for the show was developed upon reading Killer Angels, a novel depicting the Battle of Gettysburg. He wanted to explore the harsh and difficult life of pioneers but set it in a futuristic environment. Indeed, if it weren’t for the spaceships, the first-time viewer may forget that he or she is watching a science fiction series. The crew don't use laser guns – they have six shooters. They don’t run around in sleek space suits. Mal and Zoe look like they're more at home on a ranch than in space. There's even a classic scene of someone being tossed out a window during a bar fight. The only thing is that the window was holographic. And finally, there are no aliens.
The first and only season of Firefly is available as a DVD four-disk set. I'll be reviewing one episode at a time.
Episode 1: "Serenity"
Like many pilots, "Serenity" is a two-part episode that introduces the cast and its major storylines. The opening scene shows Mal and Zoe in a fight reminiscent of the battle between humans and robots in Terminator, and ends with their side surrendering to the Alliance. Fast forward six years later, with Mal now the captain of the Serenity. We meet the rest of the crew - Zoe’s husband Wash (Alan Tudyk), the ship’s pilot, engineer Kaylee (Jewel Staite), courtesan Inara (Morena Baccarin), and mercenary Jayne (Adam Baldwin). They are later joined by Book (Ron Glass), a “Shepherd” i.e. preacher, and Simon Tam (Sean Maher), a young doctor, accompanied by his sister River (Summer Glau). By the end of the episode, we learn that Simon and River are fugitives, running from a shadowy government organization that experiments on the minds of gifted teens like River.
Interestingly enough, "Serenity" was not the first episode aired. Apparently the FOX executives didn't care for the pilot because they thought that it didn't have enough action and that Mal was too serious. Admittedly I agree with them, for I was relatively unimpressed with the pilot and understood why the FOX execs didn't want to air it. Although I liked that "Serenity" established certain elements of the show such as the harsh frontier life, the crew's distrust of the Alliance, and River's mysterious background, I wasn't crazy about most of the characters.
Article comments
1 - Brad Schader
Joss shows are very much like British sitcoms in that they are 100% character driven. I compare them to a snowball running down a hill. It is not very inspiring in the beginning, but once it gets rolling it will have your full attention.
2 - kymk
Interesting coincidence! BigDamnZine.com is also reviewing the Firefly episodes one at a time. The critic there, Chris, also dislikes several aspects of the show but overall has a much higher opinion of it.