I watched the film Serenity when it came out (there's a review in my area raving about that) but I hadn't seen the series it was following on from. I absolutely loved the film, so figured I'd give the series a try. After all, I've enjoyed some of Joss Weadon's other work. This series is very different from some of the work for which he's best known, Buffy and Angel, but has some of the same touches of humour combined with intricate plots. For those who've watched his other shows, I don't think it's as good as some of the best parts of Angel, but it is a whole lot better than, say, the last two seasons of Buffy. For those who have never watched anything by Joss Weadon, you should do, he's a great TV writer, and you could do a lot worse than starting with Firefly.

I've had comments about some of my other reviews that I might have been putting in a bit too much detail when it came to including things like character descriptions. I have read those comments, and I'll try not to give too much away, but I think I'll still put those things in, if only because its much easier for people who don't want to know to skip that section than it is for people who are interested to read something I've not written.

~~~ The Plot ~~~
Firefly is set in a future where mankind has populated other worlds, particularly a system of terraformed planets and moons. The inner planets are highly technological, but the outer ones are more primitive. The system is ruled over by the Alliance, but they have much less of a presence on the outer or border worlds.

The series is set shortly after a war between the Alliance and the Independents. The Independents lost. Two of the main characters fought for the Independents during the war and none of the others have much love for the Alliance. It's set aboard a Firefly class transport ship called Serenity, named after a major battle during the war. The ship's captain will take any job regardless of legality in order to keep his crew safe and paid. This means that they're often in trouble with the law. Trouble becomes an understatement however when they take on some passengers.

The series feels very much like a western at times. The boarder worlds where much of the action takes place use horses and often appear very 'old west'. This was the intent of the creators and as such they use some camera moves that aren't used much any more, but were used in several western films. You don't notice these types of moves (at least I didn't until the special features pointed them out) but they definitely add to the tone of the show.

One of the ideas I really like is that Chinese (Manderin I think) is also a common language. People you really wouldn't expect suddenly come out with statement in Chinese. These aren't subtitled, but you can work out what the general meaning is. Usually, it's rude.

~~~ The Characters ~~~
I like the way the characters are portrayed in this show. They aren't heroes. The just care about keeping themselves alive and safe from one day to the next. Though some of them may have nobles ideals, they're not setting out to change the universe. Life sucks, and they just fit into it. The characters are a nice group of realistic people with flaws and failures as well as their strengths. All of them have likeable qualities and they're all so different that there are a lot of wonderful interactions. Some of the scenes give a feeling of a large family. There are arguments, not everyone gets along, but they'll look out for each other.

I don't have any complaints about the acting. All the characters were pulled off well, despite the difficult situations the actors were having to show. The actors made the characters extremely believable.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds cares for his crew. He'll protect them no matter what, even the ones he doesn't like. He's not subtle and tends to solve problems with violence, but he's an immensely likeable character.

Zoe Washbourne is Mal's second in command. A former soldier, she has no love of the Alliance. Since Mal was her commander during the war, she has a great deal of respect for him.

Hoban 'Wash' Washbourne is the ship's pilot and Zoe's husband. He has a nice sense of humour and the relationship with Zoe creates some interesting dynamics between the characters.

Inara Serra is a companion. She rents one of Serenity's shuttles in order to reach her clients as they move between worlds. She doesn't get on with Mal, probably due to him frequently calling her a whore.

Jayne Cobb is the ship's muscle. He has a huge collection of guns and uses them at every opportunity.

Kawinnit Lee 'Kaylee' Frye is the ship's engineer. She loves engines, but that doesn't stop her sewing teddybears onto her trousers and wanting to dress up in frilly gowns.

Shepard Book is a preacher. He acts as a conscience to the rest of the crew, but it's never really explained why he stays with them.

Dr Simon Tam is wanted by the Alliance for rescuing his sister, River, from being experimented on. He's very protective of her and will do absolutely anything to help her.

River Tam has had her brain cut open and experiented on. Needless to say, she's not quite right upstairs. Summar Glau does an impressive job of playing someone who frequently acts crazy.

~~~ The Effects ~~~
There are some great CGI sequences in this series. It's hardly surprising, since computer effects are getting better all the time. Firefly tries a few new things, simulating camera moves like zooms and pans, entirely in computer effects. Their aim was to make all the CGI look like it was filmed with a camera. This includes having the view shake as the ship comes through the atmosphere of a planet. It thought it worked really well.

The ship itself, Serenity, is beautifully done. It was designed so that it looked like it really could do all the flying and stunts shown. One of the effects I like best it that its back end lights up brightly to give a burst of speed when they're moving between worlds. This is, according to the plotline, what gives the class of ship the name Firefly.

~~~ The Title Sequence ~~~
I think this deserves a mention because I love the song. Written by Joss Weadon, it gives an insight into Mal's mind and the way he feels. He's lost everything, but he's still free. The song has a nice tune, with instruments from different parts of the world to give a feeling of a future where cultures have merged. But it's the lyrics that I think are brilliant.

The pictures that go with the song on the title sequence work very well too, giving a quick view of each of the characters and letting you get a taste of who they are.

~~~ Special Features ~~~
There are commentaries for a couple of episodes, The Message and Objects in Space.

There are documentaries about the making of the show, Serenity, and a tour of the set with Joss Weadon. These are watchable, but I'm not a big fan of documentaries, so I won't be giving them a second viewing right away.

There are four deleted scenes, but I can see why most of them were deleted. One scene, from Our Mrs Reynolds, I wish had made it into the show itself, because I thought it was very amusing.

There's also a gag reel and the title sequence with Joss Weadon singing the theme.

There's also Alan Tudyk's audition showing his first take on what I think is a very funny scene.

And Adam Baldwin singing Hero of Canton. This is another view of a funny moment on the show. This isn't labelled on the special features list, but it isn't hard to find.

~~~ Overall ~~~
I really like this show. I think the story and the acting are brilliant. Joss Weadon fans should give it a try. People who like Westerns and sci-fi should try it as well, because you get two genres in one series.

I expect the sales of this series have gone up dramatically since Serenity came out, as I know a couple of other people who only started watching Firefly after the film. What I want is for lots of people to go out and by these DVD's so that they'll make another series.