Firefly - The Complete Series [DVD] [2003]

The basic story is familiar to all those who enjoy sci-fi. A group of people on a ship trying to avoid/escape a totalitarian authority and not always getting along with each other - we've seen it in, amongst others, Star Wars, Blake's 7 and, perhaps most gloriously, on Farscape. This is not a bad thing. The reason it is a sci-fi staple is because it works.

As with Farscape, the 9 main characters on the ship are completely 3 dimensional. They have complicated and evolving relationships with each other and changing loyalties. The cast are excellent, moving from light comedy to drama seamlessly. Anyone used to Joss Whedon and co's approach to storytelling on Buffy and Angel will be pleased to find the same clever dialogue and humour here, as well as the focus on human drama albeit in an unfamiliar world.

And what a world!

It sounds as though it should be awful and/or cheesy, but the cowboys in space thing really works. We're 500 years into the future and the last two superpowers, US and China, formed a totalitarian govt called the Alliance and we have a world where there is a strange blending of East and West. We don't see any bumpy headed aliens just humans on different planets trying to make a living. Our crew move from place to place taking jobs ranging from smuggling to petty theft to survive and come across some funny/strange/nasty types in the process, however, it is when they pick up a doctor and his mysterious, barking mad sister that they really fall foul of the authorities and their lives get more complicated than they'd like. The Firefly 'verse is fascinating and you will be left with a profound sadness that the series finished without exploring it fully (a film will not be enought to do it justice).

The DVD set contains all 14 episodes, in the right order (I understand that the TV networks messed that up). There are 7 commentaries from actors/writers/directors which are, for the most part, both amusing and informative. There are 3 documentaries (including a making of), a blooper reel and some deleted scenes.

Although this is clearly written by the same team that gave us Buffy it is aimed at a slightly older audience - perhaps going for the Angel demographic. It is a brilliant idea, well executed. I hope you give it a try - if nothing else it'll show you how to swear outrageously in Mandarin!

Although I'm a fan of Whedon's other works, I was at first very reluctant to watch this show. I'm not a fan of your typical sci-fi show, nor am I a fan of Westerns, and so a show that had been advertised to me as a 'western in space' didn't hold much appeal. It wasn't until after meeting with a large group of existing Firefly fans, all of whom raved about it like there was no tomorrow, that I caved in and ordered myself a set.

I can only wish that I'd done so sooner. All the time I had wasted worrying about the concept disappeared from my thoughts the moment the first episode began. Never before have I seen a show that's so captivating. The characters are all realistic and loveable in their own unique ways, the situations are strangely believable and extremely engaging, and after just a few episodes, you become so engrossed in the storyline that there is nothing you want to do more than watch 'just one more' to see what happens next.

I've yet to find somebody who hasn't fallen in love with this show. The set is well worth the money, as not only will you find yourself rewatching it many times, but you'll be getting friends and family to watch it as well. With the feature film Serenity, the next installment in this tale, coming out in September, there has never been a better time to watch this.

Do yourself a favour, and buy Firefly today. Trust me - you won't regret it.

There is so much to enjoy about this show: it is like the wild west in space with lots of cowboy-like stuff such as six shooters, there are interesting planets visited, (but you wont see an alien anywhere if your worried about it), there are spectacular visual effects of spaceships etc, and very good shoot-outs and brawls. There are several groups of baddies who are all interesting, oh, and you can learn chinese swear words, should you feel the need.

By far and away the most interesting thing about this show though is the characters, nine well rounded and interesting people, as you would expect from Joss Whedon. We have the captain of Serenity, Mal Reynolds, and his second officer Zoe, who survived a war together; her husband Wash pilots the ship, and is the resident joker. Kaylee is the brilliant engineer who says that machines talk to her, and that's how she can fix stuff. The final member of the crew is Jayne, a very large and intimidating mercenary with a habit of naming all his weapons. There are three passengers who come aboard in the pilot episode and gradually become part of the crew; Book, a preacher, and Dr Simon Tam and his sister River, who are now both fugitives after he rescued her from a government project. The last character is Inara, a Companion (high class prostitute) with good connections in high places. A very odd mixture of people, but it works brilliantly!

I strongly recommend this excellent series to everyone, and am itching to see Serenity, the movie follow on which is out in early 2005.