Firefly

So there's this TV show that aired on Fox back in 2002 called Firefly. And I remember a lot of my friends raving about it back then, friends I believed to have reliably good taste. That told me over and over what a great show it was and how much I'd love it and how unfortunate it was that it got canceled after only one season. And then a few years later when the the season was released on DVD many other friends who I respected told me that it was an "amazing show", "So well done." and that "You'd love it Aaron, it's right up your alley". And yet for no real reason I never got around to watching it. Days slipped into years and this epic television series that was cut down by Fox prematurely due to budgetary concerns slipped out of memory.

Until this year when I happened to sit down at Matt and Marcia's as they were watching the end of the movie Serenity which as it turned out is the movie that had been produced in celebration and memoriam of this legendary tv show. Evidently there was such a public outcry when Firefly was canceled that Joss Whedon, the creator, writer, and director, was able to drum up enough dough to make a last hurrah feature film. I remember thinking as I watched the closing scene that it seemed a little well, hokey, but I assumed that it was only because I didn't know the back story and I was reassured by Matt, Urban Samurai's artistic director who I hand picked, that I would indeed love this show. If there's anyone's critiques that I take heed to on the quality of a show whether its stage or film its Matt's.

So a couple of nights ago I noticed that Firefly was now available for instant viewing on NetFlix. NetFlix described it as "The beloved short lived television series." And so I decided right then and there that I was finally going to see what the buzz was all about. I fired up the pilot which was 86 minutes long. And as the story unfolded before me in all its apparent glory I couldn't help but notice that the show was in all accounts incredibly cheesy. I mean you couldn't make the show anymore cheesy if they started dumping fresh mozzarella on their heads. If you've never seen Firefly the basic concept is Gun Smoke meets Star Trek. No seriously that's what it is, its cowboys in space. It's a group of people flying around in a spaceship that looks vaguely like a horse all wearing outfits that are the love-child of John Wayne and Mark Hamill's respective movie wardrobes. And they fly around to all these different planets that all look exactly like Arizona where they have bar brawls and shoots outs in canyons. And then occasionally the "Alliance" whose ships, uniforms, and attitude are a carbon copy of the Empire from Star Wars swoops in on a occasion to add a little extra tension. I found there was an astounding amount of predictability in the scripting and the acting a slight step above The Young and the Restless. I could not believe my eyes. This, this is what all the fuss was about? Really? They have the spaceship buzzing a herd of wild mustangs in the opening credits for crise-sakes!

Now I must admit I went into this with very very very high expectations. But what I found most appalling about this cornball show is that I effing LOVED IT!!!! I'm already half way through the season. It completely blows my mind that I can look at this show with extremely scrutinizing eyes find all its faults and still completely adore it. God I'm a geek, and my friends know it.