No Aliens in the Serenity Universe

I actually love it that way. It makes it a more tangible world to me.

"I already know you will not see reason" - The Operative

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The lack of aliens was intentional by Joss and honestly is one of the reasons I really love Firefly. Joss did not put aliens into the show so as to better focus on the human experience in space.

It is also one of the reasons many of the hard core sci fi fans shy away from our 'verse. Many argue that a universe without alien life is unrealistic, but that of course is their opinion. For me, I like it just fine.

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Joss said he never wanted aliens in Firefly one of the reasons was cause he didn't want latex on actors like he did on ANgel & Buffy,in other words fed up of it.

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..one other smallish point; the worlds in Joss's Firefly 'verse were all terraformed; created by scientists from 'earth-that-was.' While there might have been mutations of some earth type flora or fauna, no true aliens except for those the humans brought with them...or made (**cough-Niska-**cough**-Reavers-**cough, cough, cough**)

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Quote:

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Originally posted by reginaroadie:
What I don't like is Joss statement of "We are the only beings in the universe." Maybe we won't make first contact in five hundred years or so, but that doesn't mean we'll be the only inhabitants of an entire freaking universe.

I side with Carl Sagan when he says that if we are the only beings in the universe, then it would be an awful waste of space. I just think it's incredibly egotistical and pig headed to think that we're the only inhabitants of a galactic spiral thats sixty thousand trillion miles wide, which itself is just a minute part of infinity.

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Egotistical and pig-headed? How do you figure?

And the mere fact that there's lots of space in the universe doesn't entail that there're other forms of intelligent life out there (i.e. you're going to need more premises).

Also, not to pick nits, but the universe isn't infinite.

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Actually, we could debate universal infinity until the cow-people invade. The universe (in cosmic terms) may well be infinite.

The issue is that the 'Verse (in terms of what the people of Firefly know) is finite. One solar system, no FTL.

Personally, I believe in aliens, and rely heavily on them in my own SF writing, not just because I love freaky-looking creatures and wierdoes, but because of my own fears and hopes.

See, what Joss does by not including aliens is to make space Empty. Remember the (pre-Serenity) explanation for Reavers? People could go out to the "edge of space" (i.e., the edge of civilized space) and find absolute nothingness. They are completely and utterly alone --which is terrifying. Horrible enough to drive men insane.

Joss is a nihilist, but I think on some level he's also a nihilophobe. He seems to be a fairly egregious chap, does well in groups, always interacting with people. Complete and utter alone-ness is probably as as terrifying to him as it is to the characters he writes. By making space empty, and humanity totally alone, makes the setting scary, which sets up the tension that underlies Firefly.

Personally, though, I love being alone. No one to distract me from my thoughts, no one to intrude into my personal space, or demand explanations every time I try to do something, or throw their collective dren into my life. An empty universe would be easy: like Mal says: as long as the Alliance's reach gets, we'll move just a bit further out.

It'd also mean that everyone you're likely to meet can be understood in some way. Everyone, from Niska, to the Operative, to Mal, to Jubal Early all have the same basic sets of desires, capabilities, and weaknesses. Even the Reavers can be reasonably well-understood and predicted.

For me, a universe teeming with life is profoundly unsettling. It means that there is no safe alone-ness. You can't expand indefinitely without meeting the neighbours, who will be unlike anything that you have any experience with.

For me, aliens means dealing with people who are completely and utterly unlike you. People who may be reasonable and articulate, but with no more concern for self-preservation than Reavers. People who switch from "ignore" to "KILL/RAPE/EAT!!!" with absolutely no visible warning. People who make River look completely normal, or who all think and act like Zoe (or, God help us, Jayne).

Also, I consider it a challenge to come up with the most bizarre, inhuman, and incomprehensible characters I can. While you can do a lot with humans, there are limits (humans are short-lived, and limited to seven senses at most, with only two sexes).

(FWIW, my sci-fi universe has humans utterly convinced that humanity is alone well into the 2500s [solar system's colonized, very Firefly-esque divide between the "haves" on Earth and Mars and the "have-nots" on the moon colonies, dwarf planets, and space stations]. Then a young, mentally-unbalanced supergenius girl [sound familiar?] develops Earth's first FTL. When the crew returns, they bring incontrovertible knowledge of sapient non-human life. Within a single generation, that knowledge rips society apart. Human civilization-as-we-know-it just ends.)

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for the firefly world: the no-aliens policy is a nice break. its one of the things i enjoy about the show. for the real world: i know there are space aliens. the mathematical law of averages pretty much proves that something besides ourselves exists on an equal level with ourselves. also, abscence of evidence is not evidence of abscence. just because we havent been contacted yet doesnt mean theres no one there. i bet they think that we're not worth dealing with as they are just now watching war reports on hitler. how long will it take for the broadcasts of firefly to reach an inhabited world and be seen by them? maybe by then we will be worth dealing with and the premise of our show will be as new to them as it was to us. you just gotta learn to unhurry.

Wash> but thats like science fiction
Zoe> you live on a spaceship, dear

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I LOVE the no-aliens rule in Firefly. Aliens are lazy and can be distracting.

One of the main reasons I love Firefly so much is the fact that it's a show about real people, not pristine, morally unambiguous starship captains. I love it because if the 'verse were real, my family would be the border-moon types that Joss wrote about, it's real, you can imagine it happening. If we used up the Earth's resources we would go and take any other planet we can find (which of course would belong to Earth anyway!)that's what human beings have always done.





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