Tell me, what was so lifechanging about the series?
POSTED BY: okcbrowncoat
UPDATED: Thursday, September 6, 2007 16:28
VIEWED: 7228
PAGE 3 of 3
The show, itself, is a gateway into different perceptions of what is good storytelling... The values on display, bought, bartered, and killed for by ordinary people, also speak with a deep resonance to a wide range of people. but, that's just the beginnin' of the whole experience.
I've heard it said that Browncoats are, as a whole, intelligent, generous people. That's the first part of the life-changing aspect of this fandom. Association with other folks who have indentified with some element or other of our plucky crew, with their circumstance, or, with some other aspect of the show.
There is, of course, another layer to this, though... The intelligent, generous bit goes beyond what we get outta Joss' stories. It's also about what we have all shared, both grizzled ol' veterans and new Browncoats still watchin' the DVDs for the first time.
Bein' a Browncoat has become more about our ability as a community to accomplish what we oughtn't reasonably be able to... Just like Cap'n Mal and company.
F*X killed our show abornin,' but, we, as a young, growin' community, got a BDM after the show was cancelled. That was unprecedented! We got kinda full o' our own empowerment, even a sense of destiny. Not a Browncoat breathin' doesn't live for what we all know, deep in our hearts, is yet to come: More from Joss' 'Verse. We have, for good or ill, that sense of Destiny, which lends us the strength and will to do mighty things...
Like supporting charity. Not enough to gather in our numbers and fondly reminisce about our 14 shiny episodes and 1 shiny BDM; Browncoats are now startin' to turn our numbers and our sense of community toward helpin' other folks. Joss' charity, Equality Now! is more than just an excuse to run the BDM on the big screen, once in a while. It helps real women in need, in real life.
Kids Need To Read is another good cause which we Browncoats have adopted. There are more, some bigger'n others, but, now that we have this strength, these numbers, we do more with it than just win TV Polls (Rich Labonte's TV Vote ( http://richlabonte.net/tvvote/index.html); that #1 spot is still shiny, and, a banner which we wave proudly).
We also actively seek, in larger and larger numbers, the opportunity to do the right thing, even if it isn't the "smart" (i.e., self-serving) thing. That it gets us noticed as a group isn't entirely selfless, of course, but, again, the recognition is also a warm reward. Then, there is also the joy in "recruiting" more Browncoats. Firefly is a special show, with broad appeal, and, we love to share it with others.
So, yeah, Firefly was and is a great show. That, alone, is a big draw to folks of taste and insight.
Browncoat fandom, though, is the iceberg which has grown up from beneath that li'l ice-cube. We recognize each other as family, eagerly invite others to the table with us, and, in keeping alive the hope for more, lend our strength to "good works" of many kinds.
That's what is life-changing about Firefly. Each other, and, what we are, as a community.
-Raycheetah =^[.]^=
The enjoyment of any good thing is only enhanced by sharing it with others.
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i am new here and i cant say how exciting it is to join a group of people as enthused about firefly as i am.
i was one who saw the movie first. it was the day after xmas a couple of years ago and i was given the dvd. i am a big Joss fan and should have known what to expect. in 5 minutes...my jaw was on the floor. at the end, i was in this daze. i went right back to the beginning and watched it again. i am one who rereads my favorite books and rewatches my favorite movies over and over and over. when trying to explain why to my friends, i came up with: it's like listening to your favorite cds over and over and singing along at the top of your lungs. it's how they make me feel. i love how my books and movies make me feel and i select them according to my moods etc.
on that same afternoon after having seen the movie a 3rd time (with commentary and all the special features) i got a call that my grandmother had passed away. it was devastating and i met my family at the hospital where we stayed for hours, doing what families do at times like these. when i got home at about 2am, i was wide awake and horribly shaken. so terribly sad, i could barely breath. i was desperate to escape it all and all i could think of to do was put on Serenity.
already in love with the exquisite writing, the characters, the action, the world, the ship and all it could possibly give me...this time was different. it got me through that morning somehow and i felt i was going to be okay. it took almost a year to figure out how it did. after many many more rewatches and having purchased the series and truly getting to know everything i possibly could about the 'verse, i realized that it was all about hope. experiencing firefly gives me hope. i cant really explain why...but i think many of you can probably relate to what i'm saying. and i recognize now that that was the feeling i had that morning after my grandmother died. that's why i got through.
i know this all sounds kinda corny in a way. but i will always be grateful for having serenity there that morning. and any morning thereafter when i need to escape. or when i'm just in a mood to watch it :0) that's pretty often.
anyway...for me, it was lifechanging for these reasons. thank you, joss and everyone involved with firefly. i'm so happy to have it in my 'verse!
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WoW , R-C , that was all articulate...Kinda
nekkid , too .
Had a kind of poetry to it...A lot of the
poetry , it did .
Thanks for that...It's the kind of stuff that
keeps making us proud to be Browncoats...
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Honestly, i had no idea what Firefly was until my brother and dad went to go see Serenity. They never watched the show but they thought the movie was awesome.
Then the movie came out on DVD and that sparked my interest in Firefly.
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Quote:
Originally posted by out2theblack:
WoW , R-C , that was all articulate...Kinda
nekkid , too .
Had a kind of poetry to it...A lot of the
poetry , it did .
Thanks for that...It's the kind of stuff that
keeps making us proud to be Browncoats...
Heh *grins*. Yeah, I wax poetical, sometimes...
But, nekkid?
*Peers at monitor screen*... How did you know? Now I gotta put on a robe or somethin' =^[.]~=.
-Raycheetah =^[.]^=
The enjoyment of any good thing is only enhanced by sharing it with others.
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As an old time sci-fi guy, it was the total concept.
The combination of space and Western had been written before, but not on TV as more than an isolated episode. The English/Chinese thing is a definitely new idea. The sci-fi outlaw combo was a new variation on TV. And all of the past mysteries, and the possibilities of future growth and development. All rolled together, a fascinating mixture.
And then, of course, it got killed off just as it was hitting its stride.
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One of the things I liked about Firefly was the arrogance of the whole thing.
Everyone was at the top of their game - and they knew it. Sadly any re-incarnation may lose this, as cancellation is a bitter pill to swallow.
They took the rulebook that is oft used, and tore it up. Or made fun of it.
The went into space, but had to FTL travel, nor aliens (which I did not realise 'til the start of "The message" to be honest).
I think if they played a little more in the mainstream, the show would have lasted longer. But then it would not have been the same show.
Mal shooting Dobson at the end of Serenity was just icing on the cake.
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Quote:
Originally posted by okcbrowncoat:
If you were trying to convert someone and they asked you *WHY* you liked the show so much, how would you describe the Whedony goodness that is Firefly? What brought you on board? Was it the plot? the dialogue? the character development?
*************************************************
"We've done the impossible, and that makes us mighty."
Speaking as someone who DECIDED not to watch it when it first premiered because the ads convinced MANY an anime fan that it was ripping off Outlaw Star (turned out it only briefly homages the "let's see what's in this stupid bo- OH MY GOD beautiful curled-up naked girl!" scene from there, but then subverts the hell out of it by having River wake up screaming right afterward. THANKS FOX
), I think I too can provide some perspective on what made me check out the show and subsequently fall in love.Here's the stages I went through:
2002: I liked Outlaw Star; only thing I heard/saw about Firefly was "ZOMG OS RIPOFF!". Was not heavy into Buffy at the time, and had not really realized it was made by the same guy, with no inkling of how much I would grow to be a fan of his. Actively boycotted the show.
2002-2004ish: *completely never thought about it, barely noticed when an SF newsletter I had subscribed to mentioned the BDM and original comic miniseries*
2005ish: joined Godawful Fan Fiction forums. Kept seeing people talk about "Companions" in Firefly, which I confused with the girl in a box and assumed were basically intelligent love bots(!), but even that didn't throw me off. The show began to intrigue me a little.
2005, later: kept hearing people mention it on GAFF forums in positive light. Somebody (I wish I could remember who!) I think finally actually explained it a little better, in that I got that it was made by Joss (whom I was a fan of by that time thanks to Buffy, Angel, and having started to get geeky enough to have begun noticing who produces or acts in my favorite shows and track them a little), that it had his trademark wit, but was a little more grownup, and had great characters, and an unusual take on the SF/Western combo that was NOTHING like Outlaw Star's (for one, OS had several species of aliens, a super-cool albeit stolen ship, and a single overriding plotline that involved a hidden alien tech)... at least, I think that's what they mentioned. I can't really remember. But, basically, I saw people I didn't actively distrust the opinions of really liked it, and that it had a mostly-friendly fanbase that was mostly pretty smart and wrote, to my huge surprise, not nearly as high a percentage of truly 100% crappy fanfic as a lot of other fandoms I was huge into at the time like Sailor Moon (don't laugh, I love it for nostalgic reasons and it's better than you think anyway!) or Harry Potter. The combination of a comparatively mature, intelligent, friendly, welcoming, mostly-not-condescending-to-newbies fandom with a Joss Whedon-made show is a HUGE plus to me, especially at the time, as anime fandom can be downright annoying, and it was refreshing to see a more-mature-than-average fandom surrounding even something so inherently geek-prone as a canceled Joss Whedon SF Western show. ;)
2005, pre-BDM: I found out SciFi Channel was reairing the entire series as a promo for the movie. Decided to check it out. Missed the original pilot episodes, amused by Train Job, then fell in love with the humor and plot twists and characters in Our Mrs. Reynolds. Was subsequently in love.
After OMR, I almost immediately ordered the DVD boxset IN DUPLICATE, bought first printings of the original comic miniseries, and made plans to get my entire family into it and to go see Serenity.
So, it was a long process. But the final piece falling into place? When I saw the entirety of Our Mrs. Reynolds. In fact, if I ever try to convert someone who is skeptical of the series and isn't willing to sit through multiple episodes? Our Mrs. Reynolds is what I'm showing first!
The wit, the pl
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It turned out being so much more than I ever expected. From the trailers, I was expecting more of a Galaxy Quest type show, but for t.v. Not so much a spoof on some dated sci fi show, but smart writing, flashy scenes and quick wit. I wasn't all that up on all things Whedon, having greatly ( to date ) missed the bulk of Buffy and Angel.
What drew me in was the attention to detail. Detail in the characters, as well w/ the sci-fi aspect. The more I watched, the deeper I found myself in the story. I'm still stumped as to what to 'tell' folks about this show to get them to watch...I just express my enthusiasm for it, and they end up watching it on their own.
I'm still getting folks telling me how much they love the dvds, and can't believe it was cancelled so suddenly.
People love a happy ending. So every episode, I will explain once again that I don't like people. And then Mal will shoot someone. Someone we like. And their puppy. - Joss
" They don't like it when you shoot at 'em. I worked that out myself. "
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