SF Movies/TV shows as good as or better than Firefly/Serenity

POSTED BY: chrisisall
UPDATED: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 22:10
VIEWED: 12940
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CHRISISALL

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1:02 AM

Movies/TV shows I *like* better than Firefly/Serenity?

None.

Now, objectively, there are a bunch that are better, I guess.
2001, Planet Of The Apes, etc.
But in terms of what I love...
Dark Angel comes close for me. Star Trek TOS is its only true equal in my eyes. The Star Trek 2-4 trilogy is a sentimental favourite. Blade Runner, Nausicaa & Empire Strikes Back are also up there.
But really, NOTHING does it like Mal & Co.
Out Of Gas, Objects In Space & Serenity (the movie) in particular just still blow me TF away, EVERY time.

Comments?

The laughing Chrisisall

ECGORDON

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1:46 AM

Firefly is the best television show I've ever seen, bar none. As for films, there are two SF films I think are better than Serenity, and yes I do like them more than I like the BDM, that being 2001 and Blade Runner. Also, there are several non-genre films I would rank above even those two.

wo men ren ran zai fei xing.

STORYMARK

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1:53 AM

There's lotsa movies I like better than Serenity. Bit tougher with TV. For me, LOST, Babylon 5, ST DS9 and Farscape are on par with it, I'd say.

"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him."

CHRISISALL

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 1:55 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
Also, there are several non-genre films I would rank above even those two.

I could name a few myself, most notably "The Road Home."
But Serenity just hits me where I live & breathe.

The laughing Chrisisall

SEBA

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 8:14 AM

Deadwood, Carnivale and The 4400 were pretty awesome...getting a theme of canceled shows? Why do I bother?

In seriousness, as far as TV shows that are "better" than Firefly I'd have to say The Twilight Zone would rank higher for me and Deadwood is very, very close, but I "Love" Firefly in a way that no other show has ever really done for me: it was right in all the right ways that so rarely happens. Doctor Who gets a good deal of love from me too but in a campier way.

For what it's worth, I'm also a fairly big Trek fan (Gene's, not JJ's) but that's because I see them as opposite sides of the same coin, telling opposing sides of the same story that are both worthy of being told. Problem is we've gotten plenty of one side of the story through countless science fiction properties and Firefly was really one of the few to give us that other side and left us hanging, wanting so much more of that world.

HAKEN

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 10:42 AM

This is tough. It's like comparing apples to oranges with some pears thrown in.

I can tell you what I liked, which isn't necessarily better, but just had that same wow-factor that made me want to watch more.

Not in any particular order:

Farscape
Futurerama
Babylon 5
Crusade
Star Trek: Next Generation
Star Trek: DS9
Dark Angel
Space: Above and Beyond
seaQuest DSV (1 & 2 second season, not 3rd)
Gene Roddenberry's Earth: Final Conflict (1st season with Kevin Kilner)
Dr. Who
Torchwood
Battlestar Galactica (old and new)
All the Stargate series (well, maybe not quite Universe).
Buck Rogers in the 25th century (1st season).
V (original)
The 4400

Though, not sci-fi, I was a big fan of The X-Files and Millennium.

I'm sure I left out something, but these series come straight to mind.

As for movies. That's tougher since the list is way more expansive. Gotta think about that one, but just the top few and not in any particular order:

Star Wars
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
The Matrix
The Abyss
Blade Runner
Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original).
Silent Running
Logan's Run
Time Bandit
Brazil

Quite a few actually, now that I think about it.

Better stop, because I could probably go on for a bit more.

Haken

JONGSSTRAW

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 12:37 PM

No TV show is or was ever better than Firefly. None were even as good. That is my personal opinion, based on my viewing choices over the last 40 years. When I have free time to enjoy a dvd, it's usually one of those 4 discs.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for Serenity. I like the movie, and I'm eternally grateful it got made, because without it I likely never would have discovered Firefly. But there are hundreds of movies I prefer to watch.

BORIS

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 12:42 PM

Firefly is my number 1 but The original Battlestar Galactica had a similar appeal for me as Firefly at the time that I was into it though it's so obviously retro now, I invested a bit of my heart in the series and characters, and still watch it nostalgically. Like Firefly It makes me feel warm and fuzzy...and I still want to be the woman that Starbuck retires with.

PENGUIN

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 12:47 PM

Blasphemers!!

GWEK

Wednesday, February 17, 2010 2:11 PM

I mirror the opinions stating that FIREFLY is the best TV show ever (sci fi, non-genre, whatever). For my money, the only thing that comes close is THE SHIELD.

Of course, I do sometimes wonder if FIREFLY has the advantage over many other shows in that it didn't have time to go bad, or at least get mediocre. It's much harder to do 150 amazing episodes than it is to do 15. There are many series that can probably match FIREFLY on a "run" of a dozen or so amazing episodes (the aforementioned SHIELD, LOST, BtVS, ANGEL, STARGATE SG-1, BABYLON 5, X-FILES, maybe even CHUCK...), but because those shows have more episodes, their overall "lifetime averages" are lower.

(And that leads to a whole different conversation: Was FIREFLY so great--and do we love it so much--because it burned so quickly? I would liken FIREFLY to a tempestuous, passionate, and unforgettable summer romance.)

SERENITY does not fare as well as FIREFLY. It's a very good movie (maybe even a great one), but pales in comparison to both the series and to greater sci fi movies. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK comes to mind, as well as... well, okay, I can't think of many right now, and I suppose there are far worse fates than to be #2 to ESB.

I will say this, though: as a lifelong Star Wars fan, I didn't think there would be any movie scene I would be looking forward to as much as the onscreen confrontation between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. (I don't care what your opinion of the movie itself was, if you grew up in my generation, that was something that was written about, talked about, play-acted out, and speculated on for nearly three decades).

The moment those two lightsabers ignite brought one of the biggest in-theater smiles to my face ever... but that smile was matched by the one I had when we first see Serenity sail across the big screen.

2005 was a good year indeed.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

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