Joss's version of Ballad of Serenity got me thinking

Saturday, September 24, 2005 6:51 PM

Yesterday I was watching the special features on the DVDs for the hundreth time. I listened to Joss's version of "Ballad of Serenity" and it got me thinking about all the comments in the special features he and others made about how Fox insisted that they lighten the mood of the show. The way Joss sings it... it sounds a lot closer to how I imagine Mal would sing it, especially right after the war, the disbelief in crushed unblinking eyes. Despite all the hope and the difience of the lyrics, there is a really hopeless quality to the way Joss sang, enhanced by the minimalistic guitar that he sings with.

I love Firefly. I like it just the way it is, but now I'm really curious as to how it would have been in Fox had just let the show stay dark. I especially wonder about what effect that would have on Mal's character. The way that he was played, its sometimes easy to overlook the sadness and hopelessness that he was supposed to the filled up with, the thing you get a glimps of in "Serentiy" when he's getting ready to fight Patience or in "Objects in Space" when River reads him. I *heart* Mal. I loved all the characters, but now I think it would have been cool if they had taken it to the next level and let the man's heart bleed just a little bit more.

Then I think about the new Battlestar Galactica and I think Fox may have actually made a good call. I love BG'03, but when they have a bad episode, it's horrible. When firefly had a "bad" episode (most argue that HoG was sub par) it was still pretty good. Of course, Firefly was never on long enough for any of us to know for sure... only 6 days until the movie. Now that, I bet, will be darker. You can tell just from the previews, with all the prominent gray and blue coloring... not to mention all those creepy things the allience officer says about killing people...

And River will get to be her psychotic self! yay!

On a completely unrelated note, I just started taking piano lessons and my instructor keeps telling me I need to keep my fingers curled. When I curl my fingers, they remind me of claws, so I came up with this theory: piano players are actually ninjas, and if you bother they while they practice, they'll claw you tiger-style, so watch out! ahh!

peace

COMMENTS: 3

Back to Blog Roll