Eminent Domain Stuff
New London Update (2/24/06)
Bad NLDC!
Coverage of the Rally at New London's City Hall (w/ pics)
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Firefly
Posting has been extremely light these days, and to the 3 or 4 people who noticed (and were upset) I apologize. It's been a combination of life being busy and getting fed up with certain aspects of the world.
Anyway...
I just finished watching the Firefly series the other night. In a word: Awesome. I'm not the biggest Sci-Fi fan in the world, but I have never seen better. I'm not going to give anything away other than a few very general comments.
First, they have satisfied my biggest pet peeve that is generally violated in movies and shows involving the vacuum of space. Namely, that it is a vacuum and, therefore, there is no sound. Something about the shot of Serenity accelerating at the end of the opening credits is just perfect.
Second, the characters are great. To some extent they could be viewed as hackneyed in the sense that they cover a somewhat typical spectrum of personalities and specialties. Of course, any barebones crew of a space ship would need at least (and probably not more than) one of each type of person (i.e., pilot, engineer, doctor, etc.), so it's all right.
Third, the show is brutally honest. By that I mean the level (and type) of morality is far more realistic than most TV shows and movies I've seen. Again, without giving too much away, there is a great scene when a truly evil man has been defeated and is on his knees. The good guys (including the ship's crew) are standing there, waiting. The woman the bad guy had primarily victimized walks up, says a few words (that would give away the scene so suffice it to say she's pretty straightforward) and then kills him with one shot. Frontier justice.
Fourth, the show gains all sorts of points (as was Joss Whedon's goal) by keeping the idea of space and travel through it "accessible". This is not Star Trek or Wars where there are a bunch of (oddly, oxygen-breathing) alien races, phasers and huge military-style spaces ships. Rather, the crew of Serenity flies a beat up old junker (although reliable) space ship and use recognizable guns that shoot bullets. One battle prep scene features a .357 magnum, lever-action rifle, some sort of semi automatic carbine, a 1911 (as I recall) and assorted other 'modern' (or rather 'ancient') weapons. Energy weapons are not completely absent, but they are used only by the oppressive government (the Alliance).
Fifth, the sad fact that Fox canceled this show means that the final episode leaves an awful lot of story untold. You'll definitely want to watch the movie Serenity, which was made as a direct result of Firefly's take off in (cult) popularity after it's cancellation.
So...I will soon be taking my own advice and getting my hands on a copy of Serenity.
|
Anyway...
I just finished watching the Firefly series the other night. In a word: Awesome. I'm not the biggest Sci-Fi fan in the world, but I have never seen better. I'm not going to give anything away other than a few very general comments.
First, they have satisfied my biggest pet peeve that is generally violated in movies and shows involving the vacuum of space. Namely, that it is a vacuum and, therefore, there is no sound. Something about the shot of Serenity accelerating at the end of the opening credits is just perfect.
Second, the characters are great. To some extent they could be viewed as hackneyed in the sense that they cover a somewhat typical spectrum of personalities and specialties. Of course, any barebones crew of a space ship would need at least (and probably not more than) one of each type of person (i.e., pilot, engineer, doctor, etc.), so it's all right.
Third, the show is brutally honest. By that I mean the level (and type) of morality is far more realistic than most TV shows and movies I've seen. Again, without giving too much away, there is a great scene when a truly evil man has been defeated and is on his knees. The good guys (including the ship's crew) are standing there, waiting. The woman the bad guy had primarily victimized walks up, says a few words (that would give away the scene so suffice it to say she's pretty straightforward) and then kills him with one shot. Frontier justice.
Fourth, the show gains all sorts of points (as was Joss Whedon's goal) by keeping the idea of space and travel through it "accessible". This is not Star Trek or Wars where there are a bunch of (oddly, oxygen-breathing) alien races, phasers and huge military-style spaces ships. Rather, the crew of Serenity flies a beat up old junker (although reliable) space ship and use recognizable guns that shoot bullets. One battle prep scene features a .357 magnum, lever-action rifle, some sort of semi automatic carbine, a 1911 (as I recall) and assorted other 'modern' (or rather 'ancient') weapons. Energy weapons are not completely absent, but they are used only by the oppressive government (the Alliance).
Fifth, the sad fact that Fox canceled this show means that the final episode leaves an awful lot of story untold. You'll definitely want to watch the movie Serenity, which was made as a direct result of Firefly's take off in (cult) popularity after it's cancellation.
So...I will soon be taking my own advice and getting my hands on a copy of Serenity.
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