New Series
POSTED BY: SpaceGeneral
UPDATED: Saturday, May 29, 2004 02:29
VIEWED: 16802
PAGE 3 of 7
Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceGeneral:
How many planets exist in the Firefly Universe, surely Earth is not the only one that could sustain life on its own merit ?
It's arrogant to believe we are the only inhabitents of the Universe....
Hundreds but all of them terroformed by humans. They weren't habitable until terraforming. Some still aren't habitable as you will see if you watch the series even though humans still live on them.
The premise of the show is that humans leave Earth after they use it up. They then terraform a whole new galaxy of planets to live on. The premise of the show is that humans can be just as much alien than any aliens you can dress up to look nice. The show says that aliens don't exist, it says they humans haven't come across them yet or made first contact. The premise of the show is that the humans are worried about themselves than any aliens that may come along. You have the people fighting for power or worried about keeping power and then you have the people worried about surviving in the midst of that so all of them aren't worried about any aliens.
If you want aliens then reavers come pretty close. They are pretty alien even if they are human. How many people do you know that eat your flesh, sew your skin into their clothing, and probably use your bones as tools. Not many.
And you're right, this isn't Star Trek, Star Wars, or any other mainstream sci-fi. If you like sci-fi then read Asimov or any of the other great sci-fi writers of the past and you will see very often that sci-fi isn't just about aliens and blowing stuff up.
Oh, and play Cantr II at www.cantr.net.
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Quote:
Originally posted by FireflyFriend:
I really love this show, but I think Space General has made some good points. Besides I think the Reevers will turn out to be alieans. And its true that some people were confused by so many characters. Friends was a big success and it only had five regular characters. the other were occasional as Space general suggested.
There's no point in being mean just because people see ways to improve the show.
Reevers aren't aliens, Reevers are men pushed out to the edges of the galaxy and went mad.
Joss doesn't believe in Aliens and he created a universe without Aliens on purpose.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
MAL: This is my scrap of nowhere. You go on and find your own.
SAFFRON: You can't just leave me here, on this
lifeless piece of crap moon...
MAL: Sure I can.
SAFFRON: I'll die.
MAL: Well, as a courtesy, you might start
getting busy on that, cause all this chatter ain't doin' me any kindness.
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Quote:
Originally posted by FireflyFriend:
I really love this show, but I think Space General has made some good points.
I'm sorry, but he wasn't making points, he was sticking pins...there's a world of difference. What he thought about the show, he had a right to think. But it's pretty pathetic to call other people's thoughts "weak responses" and "if you can't do better, don't bother replying" just because people don't agree with HIM. That's a double standard.
Quote:
And its true that some people were confused by so many characters. Friends was a big success and it only had five regular characters. the other were occasional as Space general suggested.
Yes, some people may have been confused, but with a good show, the number of characters isn't as important as how good the story telling is. If the formula for a good show is having fewer characters, then Friends would have to get rid of one to be as good as Frasier and two to be as good as Seinfeld. (Both Trek's and Star Wars had seven regular characters. Babylon 5 had eight.)
Quote:
There's no point in being mean just because people see ways to improve the show.
You're right. I agree. But on the other hand you CAN'T ask for respect if you're not willing to GIVE it and that's the case that operating here.
You've stated your opinions nicely and while I don't necessarily agree with all of them, you have a right to be treated just as nicely. But throwin' rocks ain't the best way to get people to listen to your message. That's something that the Space Bunny has to learn for himself.
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No aliens in Foundation, that's so. Nor Varley's Steel Beach series or most Heinlein, come to that. (Yes, children, there was science fiction that did not originate on TV...)
Take us outta the world....
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceGeneral:
I hope Joss doesn't make a new series again until he does the following two things, get rid of half the crew, there's too many. The characters I see as being deleted are the couple, the priest and the prostitute.... These character are either duplicated elsewhere or unneccessary. The other thing is to introduce alien life forms, we can't be the only ones in space....
Okay I'll try and explain why I think it neccessary to keep the couple, priest, and prostitute as I don't believe any of them are duplicated or unneccessary. Okay first in the couple category are Wash and Zoe now Wash being the pilot of the ship is a neccessary function to the crew plus he provides comic relief, Zoe being the other member of the couple category fought with the Captain in the war and so she knows the Captain really well which creates an interesting dynamic between the two she's also the first officer/warrior woman. The priest, Shepard Book, is an interesting character because he acts as a concious of the ship and undoubtedly if the show had lasted longer he would've provided contrast to the Captain's lost faith, he also has a as yet only hinted at backstory. Finally the prostitute, Inara, provides contrast with the rustic feal of the ship with her far more civilized nature she also has a sexual tension with the Captain also. I hope that helped you understand the role of some of the characters a little more as I think the ensemble feal of the show is one of the things that really stands out about it.
As for aliens others have stated it far better than I'm about to. First you don't need aliens to make sci-fi they're not required and having Firefly being one of the few (the only?) space shows without aliens is quite refreshing. Second it's not arrogant to assume that we're the only sentient species and even if there are aliens then it's not likely that we'll ever meet them besides we haven't met aliens how dare real life be so arrogant as to assume we're the only sentient species in the universe.
Quote:
(Yes, children, there was science fiction that did not originate on TV...)
Well duh there was Star Wars.
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Quote:
Originally posted by FireflyFriend:
I really love this show, but I think Space General has made some good points. Besides I think the Reevers will turn out to be alieans. And its true that some people were confused by so many characters. Friends was a big success and it only had five regular characters. the other were occasional as Space general suggested.
There's no point in being mean just because people see ways to improve the show.
Oops, didn't realize i was being mean. But Aliens aren't needed its been done many times before, its original to have a space Sci-fi without aliens. If you want Aliens there's plenty of other shows with them.
oh, i'm going to that special part of hell
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Quote:
Originally posted by FireflyFriend:
I really love this show, but I think Space General has made some good points. Besides I think the Reevers will turn out to be alieans. And its true that some people were confused by so many characters. Friends was a big success and it only had five regular characters. the other were occasional as Space general suggested.
There's no point in being mean just because people see ways to improve the show.
I am not going to respond to Spacegeneral because I think he is just trying to get a reaction.
However, I couldn't ignore your Reaver comment Fireflyfriend. Now this is from over a year ago so has become a bit hazy in my memory, but I believe Joss said there won't be 'aliens' in his universe. He doesn't believe they exist and would rather focus on his characters than get involved in latex again. It is possible that Universal have told him to put them in, but I hope not. Humans are scary enough.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SpaceGeneral:
I hope Joss doesn't make a new series again until he does the following two things, get rid of half the crew, there's too many. The characters I see as being deleted are the couple, the priest and the prostitute.... These character are either duplicated elsewhere or unneccessary. The other thing is to introduce alien life forms, we can't be the only ones in space....
Whatever the reasoning behind this post, be it to elicite a negative response from a loyal fanbase, or an actual attempt at some sort of understanding, I think we should approach it w/ a logical arguement.
Getting rid of half the crew is not an option. Nine characters are not too many to keep with, especially since they travel together and share the same experiences. It is not as if they are going in several different directions on different adventures at the same time. To me, and many here, nine characters gives the show variety and depth that a show with only one or two characters never achieves.
"The couple" as you call them, are Zoe and Wash. They are necessary to the story. Wash is the pilot, the comic relief in tense situations, and the man that who is helping to bring Zoe out of the professional soldier shell she sank into after the War of Unification. Zoe is Mal's right hand and his war "buddy". She is the one that watches over everyone, including our captain when he is too busy getting in trouble to take care of himself. The show would not be the same without either of them.
Inara, the Companion (or prostitute as you call her) is also an essential part of the cast. Inara is the love interest of Mal, and her status as a Companion give the crew & Serenity (the ship) some respectability and access to ports they might not otherwise be accepted in. Inara also has some mysteries in her past that add to the intrigue of the show. She is the voice of reason and civility when Mal is being stubborn or passionate about something.
Book, the Shephard, is also necessary to the formula of Firefly. Book is somewhat of an enigma. He is a man of God, wandering the frontier spreading the word to them as need it. Yet he has an unexplainable knowledge of crime, strategy, combat, and other things it seems very out of place for a preacher to know. Add to this the way the Alliance officers jumped through all manner of hoops to aid him in the episode "Safe" and we have the makings of a very intriguing backstory. Book is also the voice of compassion and understanding in an otherwise harsh universe where survival is key.
None of the characters in cast are "duplicated" anywhere in the series, nor should they be relegated to recurring roles. Each character brings a different element to the overall story that creates a chemistry so strong as to make the best sci fi show I have ever had the opportunity to see on television.
As to aliens and the lack thereof in Joss's universe, who is to say what the future might hold. I agree w/ Zoid that the universe is a big place, and in the Firefly story it seems that only a small portion of it has been explored or settled. In such a vast expanse of space, it seems logical that encounters w/ "aliens" would be nonexistant. If aliens had avoided us all the years on Earth, why would they be in a hurry to make contact w/ an aggressive species that just finished a civil war?
Honestly I find the lack of aliens a refreshing change for a sci fi series. Every sci fi out there in mainstream deals w/ aliens: Star Trek, Babylon 5, Star Wars, etc. Firefly is about mankind, our trial & tribulations, and the human experience in a society recovering from a civil war in an environment that necessitates a return to the frontier way of life.
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."
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Quote:
Originally posted by Zophiel:
People, people, people.
Do *not* feed the trolls.
Indeed Zophiel, Indeed.
I'm struggling to contain myself. STRUGGLING in the most powerful sense of the word as I'm sure most of you understand.
I will say this:
Spacegeneral, riiiiiiiiight...
__________________________
There's no show I'd rather see, than the one with Serenity.
You can't take the sky from me...
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When I said there should be aliens in the series, I wasn't referring to intelligent lifeform in the same vein as Vulcans, Klingons, Delvians, Hynerians or the Hutt. I'd be quite happy if the aliens was something they herded like cattle in the cowboy era. I wonder how successful it would've been if aliens were involved. As it is based on the early part of the the US life, I wonder who the equivalent of the Native Americans are supposed to be. If you're going to be base it on a past, you might as well base it on the whole era...
I can understand where people are coming from with respect to the characters. I just would've done it differently, just expressing my view.
Is the film going to be a cinematic version or just an extended episode on Sci-Fi ?
As the series is based on the past, are the Reevers also based on a past group ?
The weak responses I referred to related to lack of argument as seen in the early replies.
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