Series/Firefly

That might actually be a good thing, or at least a neutral thing. If you don't know what to expect, it's unlikely that what you watch will feel cliched or predictable, right? (Not that I think Firefly is really cliched or predictable.) Of course, if it renders things unintelligible, that's not a good thing. In any case, don't give up on Firefly. It really is a great show. I think (I can't say for sure, since I'm not you) once you make sense of the roles being filled by the characters, the show will begin to go more smoothly for you. Even if you're not familiar with the tropes or devices involved, it will be pretty easy to say "Okay, so he's the big tough guy, she's a cheerful adorable mechanic, and he's a mouthy goofy pilot." Once you've got the characters figured out, the narrative shouldn't be too hard to follow. I think. Maybe.

Like I said, I can't say for sure since I'm not you. :D But I do hope you come to enjoy Firefly. And if not, well at least you tried to expand your horizons. Lots of people don't bother trying.

edited 6th Jul '12 4:06:04 PM by resetlocksley

That's kind of a double edged sword too. Since I'm on unfamiliar ground and don't know what to expect, I don't know if I even should be liking a thing, or if I'm only telling myself I like it because it's popular and/or someone else I know likes it. Then I remember I hate a lot of stuff that is popular...

Do unicorns turn up in fantasy stories, y/n? Do you think that dragons guarding treasure is a thing that would happen in a fantasy story? You get that wizards tend to be magical, have big white beards and be very wise and somewhat old, right?

If you can answer any of those questions, then you probably know enough to "read" a generic fantasy text. Equally, you probably know enough to read a generic Western, or Sci-fi. (What I'm suggesting is that I'm confident that you can have the confidence in yourself to know what these genres are, and shouldn't need to worry. You'll easily get Firefly, or any other show, ever, even if you've never watched much or anything like it. You've absorbed a lot of knowledge via osmosis.)

If you're liking something, you're liking it, surely? Is it much more complicated than that?

edited 6th Jul '12 9:04:49 PM by Nicknacks

The first bit of the pilot is really terrible. I think they shoulda just started from when they land the ship. Less jumping around while the audience is left wondering wtf is happening and why should we care.

Skipping right to the train job episode is not a bad idea, really. It's a more easy to understand entrance to the series and once you've got that down going back to the pilot is easier.

I still hold onto a sliver of hope that the series will get picked up again. I don't know if Joss even wants to renew it though, come to think of it.

edited 7th Jul '12 12:07:02 PM by thatguythere47

Meh. I liked the first bit of the pilot.

"We can't die, we're too pretty."

It might have been better to find a spot to put the battlefield flashback later in the story, after we get a sense of what we're actually going to be dealing with, and bookend it like a flashback.

I can't recall, did we even get a "five years later..."?

I don't think we did.

But as someone who went in knowing nothing but "space western" and "Joss Whedon," I caught on fairly quickly, so I don't think it was needed.

I'm not sure if I caught on on my own or if that scene was fully explained to me first.

I was introduced to the show mostly by seeing references all over this site and figuring "I'll never watch it, I may as well reveal all these spoilers."

Yeah, I had trouble following either.

I just find the pacing off, and the thing looks hideously cheap and the dramatic action unconvicing. The slo-mo end shot being the hilarious capper to the entire bloody*

Firefly could often look unfortunately cheap. Which can make it difficult to convince people to watch, despite its clear pedigree and quality.

The only episode I thought looked cheap was the Train Job, what with the obvious Starship Troopers props.

I find some of Safe to look fairly cheap. Combination of that final sequence with the spaceship and the burning stakes, the flashbacks to the core worlds, and some of those Alliance Interiors. That, and the occasional set/object from Heart Of Gold or Trash.

I do agree about Niska's office, though.

The Starship Troopers props was kinda hilarious. I spent that episode wondering if they were meant to be the same universe.

Your post way back was an excellent analysis of something I already knew, but reading it actually taught me a lot of the mechanics of why I like Firefly, so kudos for that!

So, Twentington, have you watched any more Firefly?

Alright, resurrecting this thread because I have an idea that I want sub-ideas for. The idea for a Firefly Mirror Universe story popped into my head a while back. Their mirrored counterparts (who have arrived via Swirly Energy Thing) are mirrors of the crew in regards to personality and (roughly) morality, but not in competence, i.e. Mirror!Wash is a fantastic pilot, Mirror!Kaylee is still really good with engines, et cetera. I have most of the cast narrowed down, but some I can't figure out how to mirror. Those would be Zoe and Inara. Any of you know how Mirror Universe versions of those two would be like?

Zoe is Buffy-bot on helium?

Mirror Version of Inara? Would that be not very much be like Saffron?

Inara would be crass, but prudish. Somehow.

Zoe would be the Companion?

Pretty sure that Mirror!Inara would simply be Inara as The Vamp. Not like Saffron with her playign at being an Innocent Fanservice Girl, but rather a very refined, classy type who uses her Womanly Wiles (+10 against unattached men!) to manipulate those around her.

Mirror!Zoe I'm picturing as pretty much being a Hot-Blooded Blood Knight, sort of Mal's right-hand attack dog. For kicks and giggles, I'm trying to think of Mirror!Jayne, and I'm pretty sure he's the exact same guy, but with a goatee. Maybe a Genius Bruiser in this version who is always playing the angles in an ongoing game of Xanatos Speed Chess against his archrival, Simon of the Morally Ambiguous Doctorate.

Jayne is the ships doctor and Simon is the Mindless Muscle? And they are a couple (just to screw with the main universe ones?)

j/k....

Jayne already has a goatee.

Actually, with this, Mirror!Jayne is classy, soft-spoken, clean-shaven, somewhat feminine in appearance, intelligent, and disapproves of the less moral actions of the crew.

Mirror!Simon, on the other hand, isn't so much the Morally Ambiguous Doctorate, mostly because he completely lacks them. He's a cold, scary, almost unnatural operative of the Hands of Blue who is in charge of keeping and using Mirror!River, who he refuses to call anything but "Subject 06". His relationship with her, as he'd say, is "only genetics. Nothing more."

Ah, what the hell, I'll throw out what I'm thinking of doing with the rest of the ones I have down as well.

• Mirror!Serenity is a Firefly-class vessel refurbished as an Alliance destroyer. Everything in it is the newest and best, and since that means they don't work well either with each other or with the Firefly, it's up to Mirror!Kaylee to keep it running. It is armed with several weapons, from machine guns to anti-ship lasers, as well as a magnetic grappler and a "scythe", a large blade mounted on a retractable cable.
• Mirror!Mal is a man whose devotion to God is only matched by his devotion to the Alliance: "For God and the Alliance" is something of a Catchphrase of his. He's the sort who would ask questions before shooting, but is more than willing to betray anyone if he has to, including his own crew.
• Mirror!Wash is bad with people, very awkward and prone to rage, and only at home behind the wheel of a ship. When flying, he's cocky and prone to doing risky things (such as using a melee weapon with a ship), though he has the skill to pull them off. He dislikes and distrusts Mirror!Zoe, his ex-wife.
• Mirror!Kaylee is sarcastic, pessimistic, and a bit mean. (Her personality is harder to explain, since I'm basing it on a friend of mine named Kayleigh who is radically different than Kaylee.)
• Mirror!River, AKA "Subject 06", is two things. When not "working", she's like any other girl, if a bit dopey. When activated with a certain phrase, though, she turns into a ludicrously powerful, easily manipulable/abusable psychic, capable of implanting ideas, finding anything from anywhere in the 'verse, and snapping necks from a completely different planet.
• Mirror!Book, known as Evans (for reasons that, if you've read "A Shepard's Tale", are apparent), is antitheistic, and oftentimes gets into fights with Mirror!Mal over it. Somewhat naive, he is open about what experiences he has had.

edited 14th Nov '12 4:38:54 PM by Thnikkafan

Mirror!Jayne would be a woman named Jaque.

You have me intrigued...

Alright, the "prologue" is finished. (It's more like an opening scene focused on the mirrored counterparts, but the main focus will be on the crew we know and love. I'm not sure if it's a prologue or a first chapter or what.) It will be posted once the first chapter is finished.

Also, I've finally got characterizations for Mirror!Zoe and Mirror!Inara down:

• Mirror!Zoe is blonde, blue-eyed, bubbly, and psychotic. She's something of a Psychopathic Manchild, and is perfectly willing to stab people in the back. Or anywhere else, for that matter. She was married to Mirror!Wash, but the events of Mirror!"War Stories" led to a messy divorce, and since she's Mirror!Mal's second-in-command (and maybe more), and due to Mirror!Simon and Mirror!Book being the sort of people who knowing anything about them and not being in their sight means you know too much, meaning none of the crew can leave, Mirror!Wash and Mirror!Zoe are stuck in close proximity to each other. Hilarity Ensues, of course. Or death. We'll see.
• Mirror!Inara is Saffron in every way but name, to the point where the original '"Serenity'' crew think that Mirror!Inara is Saffron and the mirrored crew make a similar mistake when Saffron shows up herself. She's the only "criminal" element of the crew, being a succubus and a con artist. Her relationship with Mirror!Mal is complicated, but less in the "Unresolved Sexual Tension" way and more in different ways.

Also, in the mirrored universe, Reavers are a complete myth, which may be important later.

Succubus? I thought there weren't any aliens in Firefly.