Firefly (television series) Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Firefly is a science fiction television series, which was first aired in the United States and Canada on September 20, 2002. It was created by Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Whedon and Tim Minear were the executive producers.
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2 Cast 3 Airing and cancellation 4 Episodes 5 Nominations and awards 6 Movie 7 Speculations 8 See also 9 External links |
Setting
The show is set in the year 2517 CE, following the depletion of Earth's resources and an expansion of the human race into the frontier of outer space. The show takes its name from the "Firefly-class" spaceship operated by the central characters; the ship's tail section lights up during acceleration, causing it to resemble a firefly. Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds is the veteran of a war of resistance against the Anglo-Sino Alliance — an organization that attempted to achieve the unification of all of the colonized planets under a single imperial government. A central "core" of planets is under Alliance control; settlers and refugees in the farther reaches enjoy relative freedom from the long arm of the government, while lacking many of the amenities of a high-tech civilization. Mal now owns Serenity, making cargo runs and performing various other tasks — legal or otherwise — to scrape together a way of life for himself and his crew.
Featuring a blend of elements from the space opera and western genres, the show depicts mankind's future in a way that is uncharacteristic of many contemporary science fiction programs. Unlike most traditional space operas, there are no alien creatures or space battles. The programme is often referred to as a western version of Cowboy Bebop. The dialogue and interplay between characters is central to the plot of the program, resulting in a story that is alternately serious and humorous. The show's visual style also differs from contemporary shows in that camera shots are often handheld, with deliberately misframed or out-of-focus subjects, in an attempt to give scenes an immersive and immediate feeling; computer-generated scenes mimic the motion of a handheld camera. Action taking place in outer space realistically lacks sound effects.
Fans attributed the low ratings in part to some actions of the Fox Network. Firefly was promoted as an action-comedy rather than the more serious character study it was intended to be; episodes were occasionally preempted for sporting events, and the episodes were not aired in the order that the creators had intended. Most notably, the two-hour episode Serenity was intended to be the pilot episode, as it contains most of the character introductions and back-story. However, FOX decided that Serenity was not a suitable pilot, and so the second episode, The Train Job, was rushed into production to become the pilot episode.
The sequence of episodes aired varied by locality:
Cast
The show's plot pits these characters against various criminals and schemers, Alliance security forces, the violently insane Reavers, and the mysterious men with "hands of blue" who are apparently operatives of a secret agency. The crew is driven by the need to secure enough income to keep their ship operational, set against the need to keep a low profile to avoid their numerous adversaries. Their situation is greatly complicated by the divergent motivations of the individuals on board Serenity. The show's brief run did not allow full elucidation of all the complex interrelationships of the cast and their external contacts.Airing and cancellation
Though the show had a loyal following during its original broadcast, it was cancelled by FOX in December 2002 after 11 episodes shown in the USA and Canada. Low ratings were blamed for the cancellation. In the hopes of getting another network such as UPN to pick up the cancelled show, fans formed the 'Firefly Immediate Assistance' campaign, but were unsuccessful in promoting the show's continuance. Fillion later appeared in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Torres and Baldwin took on recurring roles in Angel.Episodes
| D | Code | Name | Writers | Director | Premiere | Channel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1AGE79 | "Serenity" (2 hours) | Joss Whedon | Joss Whedon | December 20, 2002 | FOX |
| 2 | 1AGE01 | "The Train Job" | Joss Whedon, Tim Minear | Joss Whedon | September 20, 2002 | FOX |
| 3 | 1AGE02 | "Bushwhacked" | Tim Minear | Tim Minear | September 27, 2002 | FOX |
| 4 | 1AGE03 | "Shindig" | Jane Espenson | Vern Gillum | November 1, 2002 | FOX |
| 5 | 1AGE04 | "Safe" | Drew Z. Greenberg | Michael Grossman | November 8, 2002 | FOX |
| 6 | 1AGE05 | "Our Mrs. Reynolds" | Joss Whedon | Vondie Curtis Hall | October 4, 2002 | FOX |
| 7 | 1AGE06 | "Jaynestown" | Ben Edlund | Marita Grabiak | October 18, 2002 | FOX |
| 8 | 1AGE07 | "Out of Gas" | Tim Minear | David Solomon | October 25, 2002 | FOX |
| 9 | 1AGE08 | "Ariel" | Jose Molina | Allan Kroeker | November 15, 2002 | FOX |
| 10 | 1AGE09 | "War Stories" | Cheryl Cain | Jim Contner | December 6, 2002 | FOX |
| 11 | 1AGE12 | "Trash" | Ben Edlund, Jose Molina | Vern Gillum | June 28, 2003 | MundoFOX |
| 12 | 1AGE13 | "The Message" | Joss Whedon, Tim Minear | Tim Minear | July 15, 2003 | SABC3 |
| 13 | 1AGE10 | "Heart of Gold" | Brett Matthews | Tom Wright | August 19, 2003 | MundoFOX |
| 14 | 1AGE11 | "Objects in Space" | Joss Whedon | Joss Whedon | December 13, 2002 | FOX |
A box set with the 14 completed episodes, including those unaired in the USA, was released on region 1 DVD on December 9, 2003, and on region 2 DVD on April 19, 2004. The box features the episodes in the original order in which the show's producers had intended them to be broadcast, as well as several episode commentaries, outtakes and other features.
Nominations and awards
Firefly won the Emmy for Outstanding special visual effects for a series.
The pilot episode, "Serenity", won the Visual Effects Society's Best visual effects in a television series award, and was nominated for Best compositing in a televised program, music video, or commercial. It came second in the 2002 Hugo Best dramatic presentation, short form category; and was nominated for a Golden reel award by the Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA in the Best sound editing in television long form: sound effects/foley category.
Nathan Fillion won the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA;'s Cinescape genre face of the future award, male for his portrayal as Mal.
The DVD won the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films;' 2004 Saturn award for Best DVD television release; and was nominated for a Golden satellite award in the Best DVD extras category.
"The Message" came 2nd and "Heart of Gold" 4th in the 2003 Hugoss' best dramatic presentation, short form category; despite not being shown on television in the USA.
Movie
Whedon said in an April 2003 USA Today interview that he hadn't given up on the show, and hoped to continue it in any format. A movie, Serenity, based on the series has completed filming and is scheduled for an April 2005 release.
Speculations
The incompleteness of Firefly has led fans to speculate on some matters that are left unresolved in the series. One such speculation is in regards to the size of the inhabited planetary or star system in which the series takes place; it may take place within several solar systems (which would require faster-than-light travel), or just one. No faster-than-light travel is mentioned in the series, nor is there a precise allusion to the number of inhabited worlds or the distances between them. The introduction sequence to the episodes say that mankind found another solar system and colonised this and its mention of the inner planets of the alliance and the outer planets would seem to suggest a single star system however it would be next to impossible for the amount of planets mentioned and shown in the series to be naturally supported by a single star.
Conspicuous still is the fact that every planet seems to have an equal light source to the sun, both in intensity of brightness, and in color, leaving one in speculation as to how as many planets as are seen on the show could all have an equivalant light source while rotatintg around the same sun, yet not being in close enough proximtiy to disturb each other's gravity, tides, or even being seen in the sky of other planets (excepting the singular occurance in "The Train Job").
Reavers are spoken of as men gone mad after having reached "the edge of the galaxy," though it is unclear whether this is meant literally.
Another speculation revolves around a commercial entity known as Blue Sun. While Blue Sun is never explicitly mentioned in the series, advertisements and billboards are present in several scenes, as are labels on clothing and food products, like canned food and coffee. In the DVD commentary for the pilot episode "Serenity," Joss Whedon noted "I hadn't one hundred percent figured out what I wanted to do with Blue Sun, how I wanted you guys [the cast] to approach it," going on to say that it was intended to be a kind of powerful corporate conglomerate, like Coca-Cola or Microsoft, and that "practically half the government was Blue Sun."
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