History YMMV / Firefly

** "[[Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob The Train Job]]", "[[Recap/FireflyE09Ariel Ariel]]", and ''[[ComicBook/{{Serenity}} Serenity: Those Left Behind]]'' comic: The Blue Gloves/"Hands of Blue" are a duo of [[MysteriousMercenaryPursuer independent contractors]] hired by [[Characters/FireflyAlliance the Alliance]] to capture the Tam siblings. The Blue Gloves hunt the ''Serenity'' across the 'Verse, killing anyone in their way as they go, and employ a variety of schemes to capture the two, notably allying with Dobson in an attempt to kill the entire crew. The most evil aspect of them, however, is their use of a [[BrownNote sonic device that painfully kills their targets by rupturing their insides until they melt]], which they use to kill an entire Alliance building, systematically checking all of the bodies and murdering any who still cling to life to ensure none survive the massacre, just because a couple of the guards had interacted with the Tams, and the Blue Gloves seek to keep all information possible to themselves.

* CultClassic: It's 1) a mid-season replacement half-season hard science fiction SpaceWestern series that 2) was aired OutOfOrder, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork constantly preempted for baseball, and then cancelled before the season was finished]] that 3) became a phenomenally popular DVD with a rabid fandom that spawned tie-in comics, a ([[BoxOfficeBomb failed]]) theatrical film, a tabletop RPG, and a failed MMORPG.

** According to Creator/AdamBaldwin, there would have been deliberate HoYay between Simon and Jayne if the series had not been cancelled. Creator/SeanMaher also stated in a convention interview that he believed Simon had a crush on Jayne, something that would likely have been used in a future storyline.

* UnfortunateImplications: [[http://www.racebending.com/v4/featured/frustrations-asian-american-whedonite/ One of the criticisms of]] the series was the fact that despite taking place in a future where China was a massive superpower and Chinese influence could be felt in everything from dialogue to clothing, there were almost no actual Chinese (or indeed any Asian) characters in the show. Even the Tam Siblings, who had a Chinese surname, were played by white actors.

* ActorShipping: Simon and Kaylee are so cute together that some shippers want Creator/SeanMaher and Creator/JewelStaite. That he's gay and she's married doesn't apparently enter into it.

* CultClassic: It's 1) a mid-season replacement half-season [[MohsScaleOfSciFiHardness hard science fiction]] SpaceWestern series that 2) was aired OutOfOrder, [[ScrewedByTheNetwork constantly preempted for baseball, and then cancelled before the season was finished]] that 3) became a phenomenally popular DVD with a rabid fandom that spawned tie-in comics, a ([[BoxOfficeBomb failed]]) theatrical film, a tabletop RPG, and a failed MMORPG.

* WhatAnIdiot: The guy who just beat you up and defeated your gang of {{mooks}} offers to give you back all the money owed to your boss and let you go, no hard feelings. Do you A) gratefully accept the unexpected mercy, or B) threaten to hunt down and murder the man while standing between him and his rotating engine intake?

*** A decent case can be made for River and ''anyone'' on the show. She's seventeen years old, traumatized and brain damaged, and the extent to which she improved after the events of the movie is unclear.

** "[[Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob The Train Job]]", "[[Recap/FireflyE09Ariel Ariel]]", & ''[[ComicBook/{{Serenity}} Serenity: Those Left Behind]]'' comic: The Blue Gloves/"Hands of Blue" are a duo of [[MysteriousMercenaryPursuer independent contractors]] hired by [[Characters/FireflyAlliance the Alliance]] to capture the Tam siblings. The Blue Gloves hunt the ''Serenity'' across the 'Verse, killing anyone in their way as they go, and employ a variety of schemes to capture the two, notably allying with Dobson in an attempt to kill the entire crew. The most evil aspect of them, however, is their use of a [[BrownNote sonic device that painfully kills their targets by rupturing their insides until they melt]], which they use to kill an entire Alliance building, systematically checking all of the bodies and murdering any who still cling to life to ensure none survive the massacre, just because a couple of the guards had interacted with the Tams, and the Blue Gloves seek to keep all information possible to themselves.

** Kaylee is not a glamor girl, warrior woman or 'broken bird': she's meant to be friendly, appealing, and prone to a goofy focus on her favorite subject: machinery.
** Simon, mostly when he's around Kaylee, and helped along by his {{Fish Out of Water}} status--notable in that it's quite a change from the calm, collected demeanor he assumed when he first came on board ''Serenity''.

* AntiClimaxBoss: In the post-''Serenity'' comic ''ComicBook/SerenityLeavesOnTheWind'', Jubal Early is revealed to have survived his initial encounter with the crew and marks his reintroduction by effortlessly beating up the soldiers guarding the Alliance Operatives he's meeting with and then [[spoiler:slaughtering Bea's entire crew and blowing up their ship. He once again infiltrates Serenity and manages to subdue the crew one-by-one... then he gets blindsided by Kaylee and knocked out in one hit. He's then dumped out of the ship with the rest of the trash.]]

** [[FauxAffablyEvil Adelai Niska]] is a SoftSpokenSadist proud of his [[TheDreaded feared reputation amongst the criminal community]], and is obsessed with ensuring the horror stories surrounding him are all true. When he first meets the crew of Serenity in "[[Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob The Train Job]]", Niska shows off the mutilated corpse of his wife's nephew to solidify his reputation in their eyes and to show them what price they'll pay should [[YouHaveFailedMe they fail him]] in stealing a shipment of medicine intended for sick settlers. In his next appearance, in "[[Recap/FireflyE10WarStories War Stories]]," Niska carves up another failed employee, before getting his hands on Mal and Wash, whom he proceeds to [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] for hours. Eventually Zoe, Mal's first mate and Wash's wife, offers to buy Niska's captives off of him, but Niska tells her that with the money she has, she can only afford one of them and tries to force her into a SadisticChoice. When Zoe ruins his fun by immediately picking her husband, he responds by saying there is enough money for some of Captain Reynolds. He then cuts off Mal's ear and gives it to her. Niska then starts torturing Mal to death, only to use advanced technology to bring him back to life so Niska can have the pleasure of torturing Mal to death for days.

* EvilIsCool: The Operative plays this trope straight. He is [[AffablyEvil impeccably polite]], [[EvilIsSexy handsome]], [[ManOfWealthAndTaste well dressed]], [[WickedCultured philosophical]], [[TheStoic unflappable]], [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]], extremely good at what he does, and he knows it.

-->'''Kaylee:''' Yeah. One of them's [[Series/DoctorWho a doctor]]

-->'''Inara: So, do aliens live among us?'''
-->'''Kaylee: Yeah. One of them's [[Series/DoctorWho a doctor]]

* FanPreferredCouple: There are three main, widely accepted pairings for this show: Mal/Inara, Simon/Kaylee, and River/Jayne. Simon/Kaylee, however, while running on UST for the entire series, [[spoiler: was made [[TheyDo canon]] at the end of the [[BigDamnMovie movie]]]], and [[BelligerentSexualTension Mal/Inara]] probably would have produced some sort of result anyway if the show had gone on longer - so River/Jayne, which is only hinted at in the show, is the only real example of this trope portrayed here. The latter is also notable because it is something of [[BrokenBase base breaking]] among the fans, but it is also the only ''consistently'' popular fan-preferred pairing.

* AccidentalAesop: From the main page under StrawmanPolitical, the Core Worlds are [[CrystalSpiresAndTogas peaceful and prosperous]], but [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem the government can do damn near anything they want]] to their citizens as long as they can [[IDidWhatIHadToDo justify it]] -- such as [[PlayingWithSyringes cut up little girls' brains]] or [[spoiler:[[GovernmentDrugEnforcement dose entire planets with mind control drugs]]]]. The Rim Worlds are [[CrapsackWorld anarchic and destitute]], but [[ItsUpToYou you can always look your accuser in the eye and settle it one way or another]] -- or even [[TrainingThePeacefulVillagers round up a posse of fellow victims and exact some frontier justice]]. The [[SomeAnvilsNeedToBeDropped argument]] seems to be that ''[[OrderVersusChaos a healthy civilization needs both]]'' and any attempt to [[UtopiaJustifiesTheMeans "rid the world of sin"]] will do [[GoneHorriblyWrong nothing but harm]] in [[GoneHorriblyRight the long run]].

* HarsherInHindsight: After the horror stories that came out about Joss Whedon's abusive behavior on his other shows, a lot of fans noticed that no one from this show seemed to be adding to it, and drew the conclusion that its getting cut short was something of a blessing in disguise, as Whedon didn't have the time to do anything similar with them.

* SpiritualLicensee: WebVideo/BennettTheSage points out various similarities between ''Firefly'' and ''Anime/OutlawStar'' [[http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/the-sage/anime-abandon/42605-outlaw-star here]].

** "[[Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob The Train Job]]", "[[Recap/FireflyE09Ariel Ariel]]", & ''[[Recap/FireflyComicThoseLeftBehind Serenity: Those Left Behind]]'' comic: The Blue Gloves/"Hands of Blue" are a duo of [[MysteriousMercenaryPursuer independent contractors]] hired by [[Characters/FireflyAlliance the Alliance]] to capture the Tam siblings. The Blue Gloves hunt the ''Serenity'' across the 'Verse, killing anyone in their way as they go, and employ a variety of schemes to capture the two, notably allying with Dobson in an attempt to kill the entire crew. The most evil aspect of them, however, is their use of a [[BrownNote sonic device that painfully kills their targets by rupturing their insides until they melt]], which they use to kill an entire Alliance building, systematically checking all of the bodies and murdering any who still cling to life to ensure none survive the massacre, just because a couple of the guards had interacted with the Tams, and the Blue Gloves seek to keep all information possible to themselves.

* NoYay: To some fans, River seems too severely damaged (mentally and emotionally) to be a mutually consenting adult, so efforts to {{ship|ping}} her tend to run into UnfortunateImplications. [[spoiler: She's doing better after the events of ''Serenity'', but the extent of the improvement is unclear.]]

* BiTheWay: Blink and you'll miss it, but Mal, "Leans towards women."
* CargoShip: Jayne and his gun [[ICallItVera Vera]].

* CreepyAwesome: River.

* EvilIsSexy: Saffron, but she ''is'' played by Creator/ChristinaHendricks.

* TooGoodToLast: Probably ''the'' most infamous example in television history.

* NeverLiveItDown: The show is arguably more famous for its early cancellation than for most of what goes on in it.

%%* TooGoodToLast:

* EvilIsCool: Averted.
** Dobson is a petty government bureaucrat who likes hurting people, not a [[TheMenInBlack Man In Black]].
** Badger tries to seem a ManOfWealthAndTaste, but he comes off as paranoid, brutal, scheming and petty.
** The Hands of Blue ''are'' [[TheMenInBlack Men In Black]], but they're not portrayed as 'cool' in any sense: more like a ConspiracyTheorist personification of 'The Government'.
** Niska's efforts to be comical, or even to present himself as strictly business, come off as an insincere cover for his sadism.
** Dr. Matthias is a banal and rather boring person. The sort of person who would be running a government brainwashing project in other words.
** Jubal Early might actually have played this trope straight, if not for River's ruthless and unnerving analysis.
** Lieutenant Womack is a thug and disgrace to his badge the likes of which can be found just about anywhere. He doesn’t even pretend to be affable, he’s just an asshole.
** Rance Burgess is a childish misogynist who keeps the people around him downtrodden so he can play out infantile fantasies of being a cowboy. He’s a zealot who talks family values while doing things like soliciting prostitutes and then threatening to murder them.
** On the other hand, The Operative plays this trope straight. He is [[AffablyEvil impeccably polite]], [[EvilIsSexy handsome]], [[ManOfWealthAndTaste well dressed]], [[WickedCultured philosophical]], [[TheStoic unflappable]], [[PragmaticVillainy pragmatic]], extremely good at what he does, and he knows it.

** The Blue Gloves/"Hands of Blue", from "[[Recap/FireflyE02TheTrainJob The Train Job]]", "[[Recap/FireflyE09Ariel Ariel]]", and the ''[[Recap/FireflyComicThoseLeftBehind Serenity: Those Left Behind]]'' comic, are a duo of independent contractors hired by [[Characters/FireflyAlliance the Alliance]] to capture the Tam siblings. The Blue Gloves hunt the ''Serenity'' across the 'Verse, killing anyone in their way as they go, and employ a variety of schemes to capture the two, notably allying with Dobson in an attempt to kill the entire crew. The most evil aspect of them, however, is their use of a [[BrownNote sonic device that painfully kills their targets by rupturing their insides until they melt]], which they use to kill an entire Alliance building, systematically checking all of the bodies and murdering any who still cling to life to ensure none survive the massacre, just because a couple of the guards had interacted with the Tams, and the Blue Gloves seek to keep all information possible to themselves.

* NeverLiveItDown:
** FOX will ''always'' be the network that killed this show. To the point that the only reason ''{{Series/Dollhouse}}'' got a second season was them not wanting the fans burning them in effigy.
** Netflix for their 2013 April Fool's joke in which they claimed Firefly was going to continue as an original series on their service. To say that many fans were not pleased for getting their hopes up is a bit of an understatement.

* LikeYouWouldReallyDoIt: In "[[Recap/FireflyE01Serenity Serenity]]", everything is set up to make the audience think [[spoiler:Kaylee has died]], up to and including a main character outright stating it. Even those familiar with Joss Whedon's AnyoneCanDie SignatureStyle probably didn't really think he'd kill off a top billed character in the first episode.