As a Nigerian, I'm used to being late to parties, but that doesn't mean I enjoy them any less when I finally get there. I've heard about Firefly) for over a year now. I've heard all the raves and all the abuse of Fox for cocking up a very good thing (no news there).
I finally got around to watching it when the SciFi channel started re-airing it in the right order a couple of months ago. I was hooked about halfway through the first hour of the pilot. I do mean hooked. I decided that the cable format wasn't doing it any justice (not with those gorgeous space cut scenes) and I grabbed the DVD series on Netflix. Lori caught some of it as she'd walk by when I was watching and was at first intrigued and finally completely hooked, as well. We're hoping Netflix delivers the first series CD today so that Lori can watch the only episodes she hasn't yet seen in a marathon before we go to see Serenity today.
And oh yeah, it's all about Serenity today. In my opinion, Firefly is
the best TV science fiction show ever. ever. Better than Star Trek
TNG and DS9. Better than X-Files when it was good (the first three
seasons). Firefly is Is an amazingly tight package of plot, action and
character development. You really do care what's about to happen at every
moment. You find yourself immersed in the very credible universe that
the series depicts. It's a virtuoso science fiction performance. The
common description is "a Western in space, with horses", but I don't
think that quite does the show justice. I think to get a better idea of
the quality of the show, consider that it's really the best of all
genres between Western and science fiction, and it glides effortlessly
across this spectrum. Based on early screening reports from the
Serenity movie, it's every
bit as good as the series, if not better.
It's cool if you're even later than I am to the Firefly party, but don't you miss it completely. First rent the DVDs this week, then catch the movie before it goes off the biggest multiplex screens. I bet it doesn't even matter whether or not you're a sci fi fan (Lori certainly isn't). Firefly is not about caricature aliens, pseudo-scientific babble and the like. It's about strong characters, great humor, tight action, and one brilliant thread of a story.