One chance - where should you start?

POSTED BY: KittyKat
UPDATED: Friday, March 25, 2005 14:35
VIEWED: 11635
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DACUTE1

Monday, February 14, 2005 4:31 PM

If not the pilot I'd say Jaynestown- humor, action, and just plain fun. Not one of my favorites but I know a lot of people who really like it who will still say OoG and OiS are there favs.

Kaylee: Wash, tell me I'm pretty
Wash: Were I unwed I would take you in a manly fashion
Kaylee: 'Cause I'm pretty?
Wash: 'Cause you're pretty

RIVERGIRL

Tuesday, February 15, 2005 9:51 PM

2/3 of the preceding posters to this thread agree with FOX network programming execs, that the pilot is not good enough to start the series.

serenity IS the pilot which was not good enough for Fox--they asked for Train Job==decent enough episode and I guess it got us to tune in the next week but SERENITY is soooooooooo good

Also, I can kill you with my brain.

MAGICALTREVOR

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 10:25 AM

I would start with Serenity, because then everything makes sense. However, it is an hour and a half long on the DVD and this makes stuff difficult. Train Job? Well it has some funny bits and Adam Baldwin sans beard (shallow? moi? ;) ) Ariel is good, but it would be confusifying on its own. War Stories? Lots of torture would put my delicate flatmate off. I would head for Our Mrs Reynolds, because it's funny and you don't need to know everything.

Trev.

OLDFAN45

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 5:46 PM

One chance not to be wasted...well, for older folks (say, 40 on up) start with "Serenity" and explain it's more like "Gunsmoke" than "Star Trek" since most of us in this age bracket think space=aliens=bad makeup and stupid prosthetics. My sister's mother-in-law is almost 80 and she's a convert with a vengeance. This Christmas she asked for the DVDs, and she goes online and reads the fanfic all the time! (Unusual old person, true, but hey.)

ANYBODY should love the show if they see "Our Mrs. Reynolds" and/or "Shindig."

MANOFSTEEL25

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 5:48 PM

Yeah this is tough. Much like the harder what episode of Dr. Who to start someone off on question I tackled a few months back...

Well bottom line is Serenity is the best way to go. It's very solid and it got me hooked even though techncially my firest episode was Out of Gas. And it's very necessary for the set-up.

The only things against the pilot is really it's length- not a lot of people are willing to devote 90 minutes to trying a new show- they'd rather sample like 1 standard ep. And the overt Western stuff for the SciFi fans- I have yet to run into someone who loves westerns and can't wrap thier head around the space stuff.

If you had to go with a standard episode... I like a lot of what's been written on here...

But I'd have to say Out of Gas or Our Mrs. Reynolds are the standouts. I was also highly impressed with Ariel, War Stories, Objects in Space and well at least one scene (or more) in all the other episodes (the interrogation a the end of Bushwacked, Mal kicking the guy through the Engine in the Train Job, the 'training' and duel in Shindig, Inara's breakdown in Heart of Gold, Jayne's reaction in the teaser of The Message, Simon's flashbacks in Safe etc.)

However for everyone I converted I showed all of the Serenity first and in many cases they then proceeded to watch the next two or three in a row. For some other select stubborn people I simply bought them the DVD set sight unseen and would get gushing thank you e-mails a few weeks later. So I am doing my part.

So I've yet to really run into the 'skipping ahead' problem. Most people i kow appreciate good scifi and Serenity is indeed just that.

And while it seems there is an argument for not showing Serenity first- I'm sorry, but the FOX execs are still wrong. It has to go first.

The moment that usually tends to convert everyone for sure: Mal shooting the Fed holding River hostage without breaking stride. Gets 'em everytime!

YT

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 7:24 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rivergirl:
2/3 of the preceding posters to this thread agree with FOX network programming execs, that the pilot is not good enough to start the series.

Actually, that was originally posted by me.

Quote:
serenity IS the pilot which was not good enough for Fox-

I'm not sure of your point. Is it that 9 out of 14 is not 2/3? But my original post includes the word "almost" immediately in front of "2/3".

Interestingly, subsequent posts now bring it even. And in case the implication in my original post was too subtle, I think the pilot is the only good way to start the series.

Keep the Shiny Side Up

Wutzon: Dire Straits, "Romeo & Juliet"

INTHEBLACK

Thursday, March 24, 2005 2:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by YT:
Quote:
2/3 of the preceding posters to this thread agree with FOX network programming execs, that the pilot is not good enough to start the series.

Interestingly, subsequent posts now bring it even. And in case the implication in my original post was too subtle, I think the pilot is the only good way to start the series.

Well them's two different things; kicking off the series, and a Hail Mary one-chance-only conversion attempt.

Of course Serenity should be screened first if you're showing the series - Fox execs must have dust bunnies in their heads to get that one wrong - but when you know you've got one shot or lose 'em forever... you bait the trap with whatever will appeal most to your prey.

What the Fox execs clearly didn't comprehend is that they don't get just one shot - people come into series late all the time. Every episode they get to try to convert people - maybe a few more on opening night, but then again maybe not. The trick is not to lose them once you've got them... by maybe showing it regularly?

Shiniest gorramn show in the 'verse!

CONFEDERATE

Thursday, March 24, 2005 3:17 PM

To get my Brother in Law hooked into the show, I showed him Jaynestown first. After that he was hooked. And of course gave him his own shiny new DVD box set to convert others with.

PERIDIDDLE

Thursday, March 24, 2005 5:44 PM

My first two two converts were both nabbed with Serenity. My sister is a huge fan of sci-fi and the like, so it didn't take much with her. For a good friend of mine, who was a Joss fan to begin with, I just had to give her the first DVD and let her decide.

But in any other situation, it would certainly depend on the person I was attempting to convert. I like watching thigns in orders, so some people might respond better to Serenity, though The Train Job works almost as well when there's less time. But every episode is great for it's own reasons. The only episodes I wouldn't use would be War Stories and Trash, just because they have important backstories in previous episodes. OOG seems like a good choice, because of how it travels into the characters they would get to meet later on.

"Bwaa...it's kind of a warrior...strikes fear into the hearts of..."

DIETCOKE

Thursday, March 24, 2005 8:39 PM

Everyone that I've shown it to I started with the first episode and explain that it was a little slow but that have to watch all the episodes up to and including "Our Mrs. Reynolds" before they make up their mind.

I do it in one sitting with Pizza. Hooked them all!

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