Things people say about Firefly.....
POSTED BY: TheSomnambulist
UPDATED: Wednesday, April 13, 2005 16:56
VIEWED: 8782
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Quote:
Originally posted by zoid:
Back when the show was on F*x, I used to gush over it to all my friends. Here's the most common response I used to get: "Wow! That sounds great! I'm gonna catch that. When does it come on?"
wotcha Zoid - least you guys had it shown on a regular network. That's a small blessing I know but y'know what it was like here.... I mean I mention Firefly to some friends who work in the business of TV and they've never heard of it!!!!
Oh well they'll know soon enough when Serenity comes out :)
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Quote:
Originally posted by Terranell:Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
"It's not futuristic enough"
"Why is Space silent - don't like that"
"What no lasers!?"
"They don't translate the Chinese"
Funny, some of my favourite things about Firefly!
Yeah me too
Quote:
When I've mentioned it to people I have had the "Western and Sci-fi? thats an odd mix don't think I'd like that" i.e. my mum, loves westerns doesn't even care enough about sci-fi to dislike it.
Actually must confess something here I'm not a huge western* fan either - and I was a touch concerned I wouldn't get into Firefly for this very reason, but thankfully it worked it's mojo on me.... Thanks largely for my willingness to try things contrary to my suspicions.
Cheers
The
Somnambulist
*Although I'm not a western fan I have watched enough to have genuinely loved many. (The Good The Bad and The Ugly, Magnificent Seven, Big Country) it's just not my prefered genre)
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Quote:
Originally posted by ghostwriterxx:
I actually have run into many problems converting people. Most of the time if I knew someone was coming over, I'd put on Out of Gas or Ariel to try and draw them in. Most people couldn't take their eyes off it, and would ask a couple questions, but didn't seem interested in actually watching it.
Oh dear, people talking during any show, but even worse Firefly!!!
Quote:
And finally, my more positive cases...one guy said "The only thing good about that show were the lesbians", after he moved in I MADE him watch it and he loves it and quotes Firefly.
Well done for persisting with him.... I may have been more inclined to rent a fifty story apartment and chuck him outa the window!!!! - but y'know your way is perhaps better.....
The
Somnambulist
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Quote:
Originally posted by Aramina:
My Mum and Aunt, both big fans of Buffy and Angel, said they didn't like Firefly because there wasn't enough action. Go figure.
When I think of an interesting signature you'll be the first to know.
Actually you know this raises an interesting point. I've observed of late that my folks have become very, some might say worryingly , interested in action films!
My Dad won't stop going on about Steven Segal films and my Mum is all into Jean Claude Va-- (I can't write the rest of his name sorry) But y'know who. This seems to have become the benchmark to which all other Films are judged?!?! Which is odd, because they never used be like this.... Anyone else notince this about their folks?
The
Somnambulist
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I've run into trouble trying to convert people based on a description of the show. Since a lot of people seem to fall into a kind of Elvis/Beatles argument about Firefly. I like westerns, I don't like sci-fi. I like sci-fi, I hate westerns.
But, the best westerns, I've found, usually hinge on the emotional underpinnings of the story, and not the backdrop its spun against. Take Shane, for example. Shane is a movie most people can get behind, and it doesn't have mush to do with the gunfight, but more of Shane's involvement with the family.
Open Range was another, Lonesome Dove, Unforgiven, even (God help me) The Quick and the Dead. All stories that are very human in nature, and could almost be translated into another genre and still be likeable stories. (I know that I'm listing mostly contemporary movies, but you have to find a audience)
Sci-Fi is almost no different. It just seems to be so on a very grandiose scale. Sci-Fi for the sake of it is bland and cold. More than a few Star Trek undertakings can be used to prove this...The first Motion Picture, certainly. But, when it tries to lean on an emotional understructure too heavily, it can collapse. Episode 1 and 2 of Star Wars goes this way, I think. Its a very tough row to hoe.
Consider (if you will) Firefly to be a sci-fi show that rests comfortably on its western haunches. A sci-fi show with as much emotion in it as a western. The more humanity you put into a western, the better its likely to be...But this formula doesn't always work with sci-fi, as it would seem that is has to be carefully measured. Firefly is the show that's dressed as a western, pinned with science fiction, and very emotional at its core. Its not the ships I want to see. Its not the guns (they are cool though) or even the horses or buggies I want to see.
What I want to see is when are the Doc and the Mechanic going to kiss? The Pilot and the loyal 2IC's marriage going to collapse or fly? When will the Captain ever be happy? Will the Mercernary ever be satisfied? What is wrong with that Companion? Who and why did what to the doctor's sister? And, oh my God, WHAT IS UP WITH SHEPHERD BOOK?
Its Whedon at his best. If people don't like Joss Whedon, (what's wrong with them) tell them that's its a sci-fi show, influenced by westerns, driven by character relationships.
The CGI could be another selling point, as Zoic turned out not only the best CGI on TV, but the best, most believable I've ever seen. My roommate in Korea refused to watch Smallville because the visual effects were not up to par with Firefly. Tell them the people are really pretty. That's worked more times than I care to say.
But, I can not remain objective in the face of criticism of (in my opinion) the best TV chow ever produced. People start badmouthing, and I get angry. I can't help it, and that doesn't help convert anyone. Anyone should be able to find SOMETHING to like in this show. Because, as is so rare in TV, there really is something for everyone.
Sorry for such an overlylong post, but this is a problem I've run into as well, and it confounds me to no end...
Kaylee: "What's so damn important about being proper? It don't mean nothing out here in the black."
Simon: "It means more out here. It's all I have..."
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This is what my brother - to whom I leant my DVDs (only after I'd bought a second set!) said:
"hm - its good - but it does have some weaknesses - actually a lot of
the individual episode plots aren't all that great, even though the
character work is good through out - its like they decided to
concentrate on the character work at the expense of the plotting - not
neccessarily a bad thing but it does mean you end up with a lot of
sci-fi cliches, plot holes & exposition in between the natty
dialogue...
its a shame because i think by, say, season 3 it would have been
absolutely peerless... the movie should be interesting...
also, on a geek note - the fictional universe never quite feels fully
developed - although i always quite liked the way that buffy was
always quite vague about how, exactly, the whole thing worked and was
always more concerned with the episodic stories - but somehow with
sci-fi, that stuff matters more (is this one big solar system or so
they have ftl travel? how do the reavers control their ships if
they're all so mentalist? why are the alliance uniforms soooo gay?
etc). maybe its just me, though. i like that world building stuff."
I personally think the plotting is ok and I like the vagueness, but my brother, who's much more of a sci-fi fan than me, thinks it needs to be pinned down . . .
Maybe its the difference between girls and boys . . . as long as my Mal remains taciturn and funny by turns, I don't care . . . although he's got a good point about the Reavers . . .
N.B. As you can see neither my brother or I spend much time doing actual WORK during work hours!!
Okay, I'm lost, I'm angry, and I'm
armed.
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Quote:
Originally posted by TheSomnambulist:
Well done for persisting with him.... I may have been more inclined to rent a fifty story apartment and chuck him outa the window!!!! - but y'know your way is perhaps better.....
The
Somnambulist
Hah! totally crossed my mind, but then I convinced him to buy the DVD set, so then, turns out, he's good gor something
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OK, this isn't a reason as to why a person didn't watch it initially, rather why they won't watch it now. One I hear often.
"If it's so good, why was it canceled?"
We know why that's a stupid argument, because we know how Fox screwed the show over after they figured out they didn't like the show they ordered. But explaining that to the non-fan... well, you see, Fox wasn't happy with the show Joss (no, not Josh) gave them, so they gave the show no real support, aired episodes out of order, gave it a bad time-slot... I've seen many eyes glaze over. One guy even said, "but yeah, if it was good it would've been treated better by the network." You know, because only good shows get renewed, like According to Jim, and how long has Reba been on the air? OK, preaching/choir, I know. But it's a factor.
That said, I don't think everyone will love Firefly, and it doesn't make them stupid. I really think it may not be some people's cup of tea. I love Joss, really dig his style. But a good friend of mine finds his stuff "overly-pop influenced and too self-referential." Whatever. He's my friend. I don't understand him, but he's my friend.
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I agree -- you can never please everyone. Some people just don't like some thing, for whatever reason.
I showed a few episodes to my cousins. One really liked it, and the other had no interest in watching. I wasn't going to bother trying to get her to watch it with us, because I knew she didn't like sci-fi, and wasn't all that keen on westerns. She is the type of person that likes her entertainment to be obvious - she doesn't want to think too hard while watching it. She also can't relate to anything that isn't mirrored in the real world, so things like sci-fi, horror, and animation just turn her off.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Diz:
OK, this isn't a reason as to why a person didn't watch it initially, rather why they won't watch it now. One I hear often.
"If it's so good, why was it canceled?"
We know why that's a stupid argument, because we know how Fox screwed the show over after they figured out they didn't like the show they ordered. But explaining that to the non-fan... well, you see, Fox wasn't happy with the show Joss (no, not Josh) gave them, so they gave the show no real support, aired episodes out of order, gave it a bad time-slot... I've seen many eyes glaze over. One guy even said, "but yeah, if it was good it would've been treated better by the network." You know, because only good shows get renewed, like According to Jim, and how long has Reba been on the air? OK, preaching/choir, I know. But it's a factor.
That said, I don't think everyone will love Firefly, and it doesn't make them stupid. I really think it may not be some people's cup of tea. I love Joss, really dig his style. But a good friend of mine finds his stuff "overly-pop influenced and too self-referential." Whatever. He's my friend. I don't understand him, but he's my friend.
The "why was it cancelled if it was so good?" drives me nutty too!
But I think you're right - it's just not some people's cup of tea . .. I leant my DVDs to a friend who has liked everything else I've given her - West Wing, Buffy (though she says it's scary)etc. But everytime she watches FF she falls alseep about half way through - very frustrating as I am usually sitting on the other sofa positively glued to the screen - and I've seen them all, well, let's just say, a number of times . . . I mean, last night, she fell asleep in Shindig, literally, and I'm not kidding, on the line "Because you're fast like a freak?", which I love every time! But then, she does have a 3 month old baby . . .
Okay, I'm lost, I'm angry, and I'm
armed.
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