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Earth-that-Was....Firefly & Serenity

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Ranked #27,204 in Entertainment, #334,974 overall

Firefly...from the mind of Joss Whedon...also known as the best show NOT on television. This show was cancelled by Fox (who else?!) but had such huge cult followings and successful DVD sales that it was resurrected in the feature film "Serenity"

This is your home for all things browncoats, Earth-that-was, companions, reavers, and all the other things that are "Firefly"

from blogcritics - By Brian Gibson, Associate Editor of Film School Rejects

Serenity is a film that I had not seen until I watched the HD-DVD. I had no idea what I was missing. The movie itself is a home theater gem. Serenity is a title that is completely underrated as a film and as a reference title; On any format it is a must own. The CG is incredibly realistic and is rivaled only by Star Wars. I had not heard of Serenity until its DVD release, but I'm glad I waited to see it because the only real way to watch it is in HD-DVD.

Captivating! The one word or less description of this movie. Starting off with the colors so vibrant and visuals so crisp and smooth, this film kept my eyes glued from start to finish. The action is incredible and Joss Whedon has found the ultimate canvas for his picturesque world in HD. Just seeing the sweat bead down Nathan Fillion's face made me stare in amazement. The world and its characters created by Whedon are absolutely magnificent and Serenity could shape up to be on of the premier franchises for years to come. The film has sparked some major fans to petition for the return of the cancelled television series that inspired the film, Firefly; and rightfully so.

The bass reverberated through the room like a freight train. The film flexed the muscles of every speaker. The tailspin sequence almost made me nauseous as the screen and sound were spinning uncontrollably. This has become one of my favorite films for showing off my home theater, and for good reason. It is films like Serenity that give the HD-DVD format a future. While HD-DVD is still young, after watching one and then watching another, standard definition DVD seems blurry now. With this film setting the HD-DVD benchmark for Sound and Video quality, the only question that remains is 'What is next?'

The Upside:
The best space film since Star Wars.

The Downside:
Will we see another Serenity?

On The Side:
There is an inside joke printed on some of the crates in the cargo bay. Some of the crates have the message 'Reusable Container: Do Not Destroy' printed on them. The original set for the ship, from the show 'Firefly' was destroyed (even though creator Joss Whedon swore he'd make use of it again), and therefore could not be reused for the movie (the set had to be rebuilt from scratch).

Fun Fact O' the Week

"Serenity" - Reaver Oops

At the end of the mule chase, the mule does a 180-degree turn and passes the Reaver ship moving in the opposite direction. The mule is snatched from behind by by Serenity which then crashes into the Reaver ship. It is not possible for the Reaver ship to be in this location.

All About Firefly

from tv.com

Premiered September 20, 2002

Firefly is set five hundred years from today in a new planetary system after humanity abandons "Earth That Was". Under the leadership of Malcolm Reynolds, a renegade who fought against the new unified central government (the "Alliance"), the crew of the Firefly-class vessel Serenity struggles to survive any way they can. They fly between the border planets to keep away from the Alliance and below its radar. This series was described as a "science fiction western" but is different from other space-based shows as it features no aliens.

Each of the crew members has a special role:

Malcolm Reynolds holds the duty of Captain - he is a defeated soldier who opposed the unification of the planets by the Alliance to no avail. He strives to keep all his crew members on task and Serenity flying safely, while trying to make a living and do the right thing...in his rather flexible moral framework.

Zoe (aka The Soldier) is extremely loyal to Reynolds as she served with him during the war and owes her life to him. Zoe has the strength and experience to take command of the ship, if necessary.

Wash is Serenity's pilot (and Zoe's husband) - unassuming, self-deprecating, and calm with a sense of humor.

Kaylee is the ship's mechanic - an experienced engineer who keeps Serenity flying.

Inara is a 'Registered Companion,' most easily described as a high-priced courtesan or geisha. She is also the person with the highest social standing on the ship and acts as the crew's Ambassador.

Jayne is the muscle of the crew. A tough, uncultured Mercenary, unpleasant and offensively direct, but loyal to those on his crew...usually.

The newcomers are:

Simon Tam is the Doctor on Serenity and comes from a wealthy family and has a privileged upbringing. He has spent his life savings and future to save his sister, River.

River (aka The Fugitive) was experimented on by the government. Her psychic visions (a result of the experiments) are taken at first as babble by the crew but they slowly come to realize that there's more going on than what shows on the surface.

Book or "The Shepherd," is a wise minister who knows far more about military matters and battle tactics than a man of the cloth should, and his past is shrouded in mystery.

The correct order of episodes is:

Serenity (parts 1 & 2)
The Train Job
Bushwhacked
Shindig
Safe
Our Mrs. Reynolds
Jaynestown
Out of Gas
Ariel
War Stories
Trash
The Message
Heart of Gold
Objects in Space

Firefly and Serenity Links

FIREFLYFANS.NET: Firefly Fan Site. ... And if you haven't seen Firefly yet, pick up Firefly: the Complete Series while you're at it.
WHEDONesque : Joss Whedon weblog: Joss Whedon weblog and forum
Firefly - IMDb: Firefly - Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, Photos, Showtimes, Link to Official Site, Fan Sites
Official Serenity movie site: Purchase the Serenity DVD starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk.
Firefly info from Wikipedia: Information on the hit show from the Wikipedia
Firefly site on Scifispace.com: Join the Discussion of Firefly and more in our Message Forums.

Firefly/Serenity Trivia

from tv.com and IMDb.com

According to his DVD commentary, Joss Whedon said that he originally intended to play the part of Badger himself.
The ship's name "Serenity" was taken from one of the last places the war was fought before the Alliance considered the war won, which was called Serenity Valley
According to the DVD commentary for this episode, it is revealed that the necklace Zoe always wears is to symbolize her marriage to Wash (instead of a ring). That is why she never takes it off
At the end of the episode "Trash", when Mal is butt naked and talking to Zoe and Wash, when they're leaving him Wash tells Zoe, barely audibly if you listen carefully, "Zoe, he's Jewish!" You can try guessing what he's referring to.
Joss Whedon originally cast Rebecca Gayheart as Inara.
After Fox canceled the series, Joss Whedon cast Adam Baldwin, and Gina Torres on "Angel" (1999/I) and Nathan Fillion on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997). All three played villains.
Chinese phrases are often inserted into the English dialogue (sometimes to get away with saying things that the censors wouldn't allow them to say), and the ship has some signs in Chinese.
On the DVD Commentary on "War Stories", Alan Tudyk pointed out that despite the way Zoe and Wash were constantly portrayed, with Zoe being taller than her husband, Wash, Alan is in fact taller than Gina Torres. He is 6', she is 5'10''.
The Alliance's full title is the "Anglo-Sino Alliance". Joss Whedon intended the Alliance to be the merger of the USA and China, the last of the world's superpowers. (This is why many characters on the show sometimes speak Chinese.) The Alliance flag, seen in the original pilot episode, is a blending of the US and Chinese flags.
The entire interior of Serenity (and some of its exterior) was built full-scale and almost completely contiguous, split across two soundstages - one stage for the upper deck and one for the lower deck, shuttle docks and hold. No "stock" corridors or redressed sets were ever used for Serenity's interiors.
The cast preferred to use the ship's lounge instead of a green room or other accommodations when waiting between shots.
The character 'Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds' was ranked #18 in TV Guide's list of the "25 Greatest Sci-Fi Legends" (1 August 2004 issue).
In the movie, the key phrase, that Dr. Simon Tam uttered to put River to sleep, "Eta Kooram Nah Smech!" in Russian means literally "this is for hens to laugh", meaning "this is very ridiculous".