Derk went to Serenity and said it was great. So I'm anxious to see it too. He bought the DVD for the Firefly television series and loaned it to me. So for the last couple of nights, I've watched an episode or two right before going to sleep.

I really have enjoyed this series. The very first episode is confusing for a couple of minutes, because they jump right into action, showing a brief bit of history. Some of the characters are in a battle scene, and you realize after a little bit that they are rebels on a side that eventually fails, sort of like the Jedis in Star Wars.

It's like a cross between the Millineum Falcon and Star Trek, with characters that live like they're in the wild west. It has really grown on me. If you liked the original Star Trek series, I think you'll probably like this one too. It has that kind of feel to me, a science fiction story that's different, unique enough to keep you interested but familiar enough to make you comfortable with the characters.

I've become a Browncoat as well. I have not watched tv for
10 years or so, the series was recommended to me and I
managed to see it in the dvd collection. There's also
a book about it which I read called "Finding Serenity"
which fills in some of the things that the series is
made of... like real Chinese curses and phrases. The
book has a pronunciation key so you can speak the
Chinese correctly. Other articles and essays come from
some of the writers, actors and even one on the music
are contained in "Finding Serenity."

I'll prob'ly wait til the dvd comes out or it hits the
budgets. I have one trusted source for film reviews.
That source is Susan Granger. She began writing for Usenet
when the internet was new and is a professional New york Critic.
Her internet pieces are brief, unlike some of the other
films buffs writing about movies. Susan said that Serenity was high
on fan service but was not the caliber of the big franchises.
This is too bad. I expected more from Joss Whedon. The
book Finding Serenity gives the definition of Joss which is
Chinese for "luck". Whedon changed his name when he became
a Hollywood joe I guess.

Even the IMDb has to be taken with a grain of salt seeing that
Serenity garnered 9 out of 10 stars (meaning "near perfect.")

At first I didn't know what to make of Firefly. My first
impression was that it was just another cutesy "concept
science fiction" production with the sort of clever dialog
all those Harvard grads that get hired by Hollywood are fond
of. That still pretty much holds true.

What I expected from the film may not have been portrayed
such as what The Rievers are all about. And I took some offense
at the prereleases going on for months in enclaves of
fandom like the LA and New York tryouts for the movie to build
word of mouth on it.

Trekkies and Browncoats share the desire for a better
future and better science fiction and I would add
"more of it."

I'm on my second time through watching Stargate SG1 dvds.
Somehow I accept the campiness in SG1 and willingly suspend
disbelief. In Firefly there aren't enough big ideas to
suspend anything. Well maybe one. But that's a
reply for another day.

If they catch you, they torture you, rape you, kill you
skin and eat you... in that order, if you're lucky.

Think of it as The Space Family Manson.

It had that "_Friends_ In Outer Space" quality I can't really
diagnose. But I watched it through a second time after
reading the book.