JediMoose

So, you may have noticed a slightly different flavour recently on JediMoose. If you’re _really_ observant you may have picked up some subtle hints about a TV show called Firefly.

Now – you may, by now, have seen the TV series on DVD, and are patiently waiting for the DVD of the film Serenity to be released on the 27th February. However, should you have missed it when it was on, or just fancy seeing it on the big screen one last time, the Odeon in Dunfermline are showing Serenity at 11.45am on Wednesday 1st February!

Book those tickets now

mrBen

OK – it’s time for a formal announcement for those who haven’t yet read the comments from this post. The BDP (Big Damn Party – a reference to Firefly) is slated to be on Saturday 4th March. There will be a viewing of the entire TV Series and the film (Serenity) – which is going to be about 13 hours of high-quality viewing. The plan is to start at around 10am, which will leave plenty of time to get everything in.

The wearing of costumes is allowed, but not mandatory; if you are new to the series, but like dressing up, then contact me and I can give you some help as to what you would need to wear

The plan is to have available food & drink throughout the day, hopefully even some of the offerings from the official cookbook. Although we probably won’t attempt the Firefly drinking game to early on….

For those not yet aware of Firefly, I am in the process of writing a ‘Moosers guide to Firefly, which should hopefully be online within the next 24-48 hours, but there is a load of info already online. Or, of course, you could just buy it and see for yourself. (CD-WOW now have the complete series for £15.99 including VAT and delivery!). If you’re impatient, then hopefully the following excerpt from my upcoming guide will whet your appetite:

mrBen

Last night was the “Grand Finale” of Season 1 of Lost on Channel4. I’ve watched the whole series, and was, at times, both amazed and disappointed at the series. It in no way was a match for 24, which has been consistently excellent, as some episodes were just plain dull. However, I persevered. And what did I get for this perseverence? A final episode that was neither Grand nor Final. I am thoroughly disappointed. So disappointed, in fact, that I have resolved not to watch Season 2, and have read through the episode guide for the first 9 episodes on the ABC website. (I’m not going to watch – doesn’t mean I don’t want to get at least some closure on what the hell it’s all about!) They’ve certainly Lost a fan!

What saddens me greater is the realisation that a series like this manages to run for 25 episodes and go nowhere fast, and a series like Firefly gets cancelled after only 14 episodes. The world is, indeed, a strange place. So, do the world a favour, and instead of watching season 2 of Lost, or (heaven forbid!) buying it on DVD, spend a lot less for a lot more on the Firefly boxset (am I pimping this too strongly? I think not*). Even better, if you happen to be one of the fortunate ones, there are a few cinemas doing repeat showings of Serenity (see here for a partial list, although there is a showing in Berkshire somewhere too – leave a comment if you’re interested ).

mrBen

*Why is this so important to me, you may ask. Well, the biggest reason is that if they manage to make enough money from DVD sales, the possibility of a sequel is much more likely. Thus me and every Firefly fan out there is doing their utmost to boost the sales of both the series and the film. Money talk in this business.

Or rather, here. Channel4 is currently preparing to screen a new comedy which looks like it might be perfect for those of the, ahem, “geeky” persuasion. And they’re screening every episode online before it goes on air.

Shiny.

mrBen

Back when I was a little geek growing up, there was a pretty basic divide in terms of audio-visual entertainment – there were your Star Trek fans, and your Star Wars fans. (Ok – this is probably a massive generalisation, especially if you are a proper sci-fi geek, but I’m not). I was a Star Wars fan through and through – Star Trek never really appealed that much, although I watched a chunk of TNG when it came out. Now – your Trek fans had alternatively good and bad films, and a long-running TV series that spawned a dozen other TV series’ over time. Your Wars fans, on the other hand, had a trilogy of great films (let’s not discuss the prequels at this point), but nothing on the TV front. I suspect that maybe Battlestar Gallactica might have been good here, but it was a while earlier. Personally I also liked Babylon5 very much – maybe there is a link there too.

Star Wars has been called many things over the years, but it’s usually described as a Space Opera. It is more about the fiction than the science – it’s ultimately about the meta-narrative of good vs evil, whereas ST was more about the quest for knowledge, ie the science end of sci-fi. Star Wars was great because within the meta-narrative you have multiple mini-narratives built around the relationships between a wonderful ensemble of characters, set in a vivid world that is both alien and yet familiar.

Finally I have found a TV series that fills me with enjoyment and emotion as much as Star Wars did when I was a kid. Firefly is that show, and it’s both a blessing and a curse – a blessing because it is one of the most wonderful TV series ever produced, and a curse because some blind executives over at Fox butchered and then killed it (they didn’t even show all 14 episodes that had been shot, and showed them out of order). Equally sad is that UK terrestrial TV never had a lookin – the Sci-Fi channel showed it, but it could really have done with a slot on, say, BBC2, in the way that 24 did, or Lost on Channel4 – a real opportunity for the UK public to watch it and love it. (I believe the film was better received in the UK too)
I saw the critically acclaimed Serenity (the movie which was based upon the TV series) when it arrived at the movies, and was reasonably impressed. However, the TV series blows it away completely, and helps it to make more sense and feel more complete. Joss Whedon brings the quality of character and script that made Buffy and Angel such massive successes, and applies them wonderfully in the unique future world of Firefly. The man truly can write wonders.
It’s hard to express in words the real power of emotion I felt when I reached the end of the boxset (borrowed from my sister, and duly added to my wishlist for a copy of my own) and realised that I was at not only the end of the series, but quite possibly the end of Firefly ever. And so much has been left unsaid, and incomplete, even if you add Serenity onto the end of it.

If you were a fan of the original Star Wars, then I can’t urge you more strongly to go out and buy the Firefly boxset – it’s only £20.97 at the moment on Amazon, for 4 disks (14 episodes) worth of top quality entertainment. Buy now. I don’t know if there is even a remote possibility left for Joss Whedon to do some more of this series, either on TV or film, but buying the boxset seems the best way to help.

(FWIW there is also a 3-part comic book that covers the time between the ‘end’ of the TV series, and the beginning of the film. The combined book edition is due out in February, and you can preorder on Amazon. Ditto for Serenity the movie)

mrBen