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Firefly is a science fiction television series that premiered in the United States and Canada on 2002-09-20. It was created by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fame. Whedon and Tim Minear were the executive producers. The series concept merges the classic Western genre with a science fiction backdrop, applying naturalistic science fiction concepts such as showcasing flawed characters in humble circumstances.

The series was broadcast on the FOX network and was cancelled after only eleven of the fourteen produced episodes were aired. Strong sales of the DVD collection of all fourteen episodes allowed Whedon to convince Universal Studios to produce a film based on the series, titled Serenity after the crew's spacecraft of the same name.

Production

Setting

Template:Spoiler

The series is set in the year 2517. Long before the events in the story, a large population emigrated from the Earth to a new star system in multi-generational ships that traveled much faster than today's ships, but nowhere near light speed (unlike many science-fiction shows). The emigrants established themselves in a new star system, with dozens of planets and hundreds of moons, many of which had been terraformed, a process in which a planet or moon is altered to resemble the Earth. The terraforming process is imperfect, and the outlying settlements are typically set in forbidding, dry environments, well suited to the Western genre.

Characters in the story occasionally refer to "Earth-that-was", suggesting that the original home planet has been somehow destroyed, or is so far out of reach that for them, it is mythical (it is cryptically stated in the opening narration that Earth "got used up", and the humans left).

The show takes its name from the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity that the central characters call home. Somewhat resembling an insect in general arrangement, the ship's tail section (analogous to an insectoid abdomen) lights up during acceleration, causing it to resemble a firefly (and hence the ship class' name).

The star system is governed by the Alliance, an organization of "core" planets that has succeeded in forcibly unifying all of the colonies under a single government. Although the central planets are well under Alliance control, the outlying planets and moons resemble the 19th century American West, with little government authority. Settlers and refugees on the outlying worlds enjoy relative freedom from the central government, but lack the amenities of the high-tech civilization on the inner worlds. Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds and his first mate Zoë are veteran "Browncoats" of the Unification War, a failed attempt by the outlying worlds to resist the Alliance's assertion of control. After the war, Mal bought the spaceship Serenity in order to scrape together a way of life for himself and his crew by making cargo runs and performing other tasks, legal or otherwise.

Featuring a blend of elements from the space opera and Western genres with a bit of Robin Hood and his Merry Men, 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. Firefly takes place in a multi-cultural future, where the divide between the rich and poor is great. Chinese is a common second language for many people; it is used in advertisements, and characters in the show frequently use Chinese words and curses (pronounced with a varying degree of accuracy). According to the DVD commentary on the episode Serenity, this is explained as being the result of China and the United States becoming the two superpowers that expand into space. This Sino-American (named the Anglo-Sino Alliance) allegiance is supported by close examination of labels on the crates from the episode "The Train Job", where crates of Alliance goods are marked with a Chinese flag superimposed over a United States flag. An interesting intrusion of Japanese is noted in the form of katakana script throughout the television series and the film.

For fans, the dialogue and interplay between characters is central to the charm of the show, resulting in stories that are 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. Exterior shots of action taking place in the vacuum of outer space realistically lack sound effects, an approach that stands in contrast to many science fiction films and television series.

Cast

Main characters

The show's plot pits these characters against various criminals and schemers, Alliance security forces, the utterly psychotic and brutal Reavers, and the mysterious men with "hands of blue" — who are apparently operatives of a secret agency which is part of the megacorporation referred to in the DVD commentary only as The Blue Sun Corporation. 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.

• Nathan Fillion plays Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, Serenity's captain and former Independent sergeant in the pivotal Battle of Serenity Valley. Captain Malcolm Reynolds was named #18 in TV Guide's "25 Greatest Sci-fi legends" list in 2004.

• Gina Torres plays Zoë Alleyne Washburne, second-in-command onboard Serenity, loyal wartime friend of Reynolds, and wife to Wash.

• Alan Tudyk plays Hoban "Wash" Washburne, Serenity's gifted pilot and Zoë's somewhat timid husband. He expresses jealousy over his wife's unconditional support of their captain.

• Morena Baccarin plays Inara Serra, a Companion, which is the 26th century equivalent of a courtesan or geisha, sometimes mistaken for a prostitute (and is often called a "whore" by Captain Reynolds). Like her Renaissance counterparts, Inara enjoys high social standing. She and Mal have a strained relationship, with unspoken romantic tension playing a significant part in several episodes.

• Adam Baldwin plays Jayne Cobb, hired muscle who joins the crew for mercenary reasons, is often the "main gun" for jobs. Jayne is keenly skilled, crude, large (6'4"), uneducated (though occasionally quite clever), and often appears to lack both morals and ethics of any kind, though he does struggle with his conscience more and more as the season progresses. Jayne is often tempted to sell out his crew members, especially River and Simon, and sometimes appears to cross over the line between "good guy" and "bad guy". At the same time, he sometimes displays unexpected emotional sensitivity.

• Jewel Staite plays Kaywinnit Lee "Kaylee" Frye, the ship's mechanic. With no formal training, she keeps the Serenity running with an intuitive gift for the workings of mechanical equipment. Her talent shows when she talks about equipment, sometimes speaking in a manner others can't keep up with. She is very sentimental about Serenity's workings, and as a result, she's extremely sensitive to insults (or even candid observations) about the ship's appearance. A carefree and bubbly young woman, Kaylee pines after Dr. Simon Tam.

• Sean Maher plays Dr. Simon Tam, a medical researcher and trauma surgeon of the first caliber (top 3% in his class at a top core planet institution), on the run after breaking his sister River out of a government research facility. His bumbling attempts at a relationship with Kaylee are a recurring subplot throughout the series, and at every turn he messes it up just when things are looking up.

• Summer Glau plays River Tam, a stowaway. River was a child prodigy of unparalleled genius, but she was experimented upon at the hands of Alliance doctors, where, among other terrifying "experiments," they stripped her amygdala, cutting into her brain over and over. She sometimes gives way to bouts of psychosis and is at these times nearly impossible to communicate with, though still undeniably brilliant; though her wording at these times is, at least, highly unconventional, it is almost always understandable in context, and both insightful and gives a unique perspective. She very clearly has the ability to read minds and see things as they happen, though this is never explicitly stated. She displays uncanny agility and hand-eye coordination, especially in one particular fight scene, where she shoots three men with her eyes closed. She has more than once commented on the names of those around her, telling Jayne "Jayne is a girl's name", and staring at the Captain and remarking "Mal. Bad. In the Latin."

• Ron Glass plays Derrial Book. He is a "Shepherd", the equivalent of a reverend, minister or pastor. He has priority status in the Alliance for unspecified reasons, and demonstrates a peculiar depth of knowledge about firearms and criminal activities, such as an electromagnetic field ("net") that disables ships and leaves them vulnerable in space. His full identity remains a mystery throughout the series, and like most characters on the show, he is more than he appears.

Recurring characters

Despite the short run of the series, some recurring characters emerged from the colorful inhabitants of the Firefly universe:

• Badger: An established smuggling middleman on planet Persephone. He has provided jobs for Serenity on at least two occasions. In the DVD commentary for the episode "Serenity," it is revealed that this part was originally written with the intent of Whedon himself playing the part.

• Adelei Niska: This criminal kingpin has a reputation for violent reprisals, including severe, prolonged torture, against smugglers who fail him.

• Saffron: A con artist whose original name is unknown. In the series she also uses the aliases "Bridget" and "Yolanda", leading Mal to jokingly refer to her as the compound "YoSaffBridge" on one occasion. She has a habit of marrying her marks in order to achieve her scams.

• "The Hands of Blue": Two anonymous men wearing suits and blue gloves who pursue River (apparently to return her to the institute she escaped from), as shown in "The Train Job", "Ariel", and the comic book miniseries Serenity. They have a tendency to kill off anyone, including Alliance personnel, who has had contact with her, using a mysterious handheld device that causes fatal bleeding to anyone in its proximity except them. How they shield themselves from the device's effects is unknown.

Episodes

The fourteen episodes of the series are, in the order originally intended:

Cancellation

Though the show had a loyal following during its original broadcast, it was cancelled by FOX in December 2002 after only 11 episodes aired in the USA and Canada due to low ratings. In the hopes of getting another network such as UPN to pick up the cancelled show, fans formed the Firefly Immediate Assistance campaign. They were unsuccessful in promoting the show's continuance.

Three members of the Firefly cast appeared on Joss Whedon's other TV series as villains. Fillion was cast in the final season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Torres and Baldwin took on recurring roles on Angel in its fourth and fifth seasons respectively. (Summer Glau had appeared in the third-season Angel episode "Waiting in the Wings" before she was cast in Firefly.) In addition, Jewel Staite appeared in several episodes of the Tim Minear-produced Wonderfalls.

Fans (self-named Browncoats) attributed the low ratings in part to actions of the FOX Network—most notably the fact that FOX had aired the episodes out of chronological order, making the plot much more difficult to follow. For instance, the two-hour episode "Serenity" was intended to be the series' premiere episode, and therefore contained most of the character introductions and back-story. However, FOX decided that "Serenity" was not suitable to open the series, and so the second episode, "The Train Job", was rushed into production to become the first episode aired. In addition, 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.

Original airing

The sequence in which the episodes originally aired varied by locality:

• In the USA and Canada, starting on 2002-09-20, Fox (and Global in Canada) broadcast the episodes on Fridays at 20:00 (except for the second hour of the pilot which was shown at 21:00). The order was 2, 3, 6–8, 4, 5, 9–10, 14, 1; with 11–13 unaired in the USA during the series original run (these episodes remained unaired in the USA until they were broadcast on the Sci Fi Channel in late 2005 shortly after Serenity premiered in cinemas).

• In South Africa, starting on 2003-04-15, the SABC3 broadcast the episodes on Tuesdays at 19:30. The order was 2, 3, 6–8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1a, 1b, 11–13.

• In Mexico and South America, starting on 2003-04-19, MundoFOX broadcast the episodes on Saturdays at 18:00. The order was 2, 3, 6–8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 13, 11, 14, 12; the pilot episode was not shown.

• In the United Kingdom, starting on 2003-05-12, Sci Fi Channel (United Kingdom) broadcast the episodes on Mondays at 21:00 (except for the first hour of the pilot which was shown at 20:00). The altered episodes of the first season were shown in the originally intended order.

• In Canada, Space has been airing the series in the originally intended order regularly since 2003-09-08, including a marathon of the entire series on 2003-09-05.

• In Australia, starting on 2004-11-10, the Seven Network broadcast the episodes on Wednesdays at 12:30 a.m. The order was 2, 1a, 1b, 3–14.

• In New Zealand, starting on 2004-12-21, the show was aired on TV3 in the order 1–3, 6–8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 13, 11, 12 on Tuesdays at 23:00.

• In Switzerland, TSR1 (Swiss French channel) aired the entire series in a three week time period, beginning on 2005-07-25, with one episode per weekday. Each episode was dubbed in French on one sound channel, and the original English on the other.

• In Sweden, TV400 aired the show chronologically starting on 2005-01-14.

• In Israel, HOT (cable television) aired the show chronologically starting on 2005-10-25.

• In the United States, starting on 2005-07-22, the Sci Fi Channel aired the show on Fridays at 19:00 Eastern/Pacific in their originally intended order. Following a marathon on 2006-01-06, Firefly was removed from the Sci Fi Channel line-up.

• The Sci-Fi channel aired the episodes as a marathon run over the first weekend of October 2005. This was timed to celebrate the release of the film Serenity. The channel also aired a marathon of the first eight episodes (in chronological order) on 2006-03-10, from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., EST.

• In Portugal, SIC Radical aired the show starting on 2006-01-12 until 2006-04-20. A new episode was broadcasted on Thursdays at 11:00 p.m., GMT, and then again broadcasted on Sundays at 06:30 p.m., GMT. The episode order of broadcast was 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1a, 1b, 13, 11, 12.

• In Italy, Canal Jimmy (satellite television) aired the show chronologically starting on 2006-02-17 every Friday night at 9:00 pm, with several repeats during the week. The show was aired in 4:3 format with a very bad adaptation and dubbing in Italian.

Music

Theme song

The series theme song, "The Ballad of Serenity", was written by Joss Whedon before the episodes. It is often interpreted as being about the main character of the series, Malcolm Reynolds. A preliminary recording performed by Whedon is found on the DVD release. Sonny Rhodes sang the final version.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack to the series was released on CD on 2005-11-08 by Varèse Sarabande. The music was composed by Greg Edmonson.

Awards and nominations

Awards

• Emmy Award: Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series, 2003
• Visual Effects Society: Best visual effects in a television series, 2003 (episode "Serenity")
• Saturn Award: Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award, Male, 2003 (Nathan Fillion)
• Saturn Award: Saturn Award for Best DVD Release (television), 2004

Nominations

• Visual Effects Society: Best compositing in a televised program, music video, or commercial, 2003
• Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA, "Golden Reel Award": Best sound editing in television long form: sound effects/foley, 2003
• Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, 2003 (episode "Serenity")
• Hugo Award: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, 2004 (episodes "Heart of Gold" and "The Message", which at that time had not been shown on television in the USA)
• Golden Satellite Award: Best DVD Extras, 2004

DVD release

A box set with the 14 completed episodes, including those previously unaired in the USA, was released on region 1 DVD on 2003-12-09, region 2 DVD on 2004-04-19, and region 4 DVD on 2004-08-02. 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. The DVDs feature the episodes as they were shot in 16:9 widescreen, with anamorphic transfers and Dolby Surround audio.

By September 2005, its DVD release had sold approximately 500,000 copies and was one of the top movers at both Amazon.com and DeepDiscountDVD.com for months. As of May 2006, Firefly is still in Amazon.com's top 25 for DVD sales. This is notable because the Firefly box set has been out since 2003.

Technical specifications: (USA)

• Bitrate: 9.8Mbit/s
• Framerate: 29.97 frames per second
• Resolution: 720x480

Features: (USA)

• Available Subtitles: English, Spanish (note that the English version only has subtitles in English for the hearing impaired)
• Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), Spanish (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround). (Note that the English version only has English available)
• All 14 episodes, including three that never aired in FOX's original broadcast
• Commentary on Serenity, The Train Job, Shindig, Out of Gas, War Stories, The Message, and Objects in Space
• Deleted scenes from Serenity, Our Mrs. Reynolds, and Objects in Space
• Featurettes: Here's How How It Was: The Making of Firefly, Serenity: The 10th Character, and Joss Tours the Set
• Alan Tudyk's audition
• Gag reel
• Joss Whedon sings the Firefly theme
• Easter egg: Adam Baldwin sings Hero of Canton

Spin-offs

Several spin-offs from the television series have been released in the years following its cancellation, spanning various kinds of media.

Videos

The R. Tam sessions, which are set before the TV series, were released unofficially by Whedon via the internet from August 16 to September 5 of 2005. They were meant as a form of viral marketing for the film Serenity.

Comics

A three-issue comic book miniseries titled Serenity: Those Left Behind was written by Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews, illustrated by Will Conrad and Laura Martin, and published by Dark Horse Comics. It serves as a link between the final episode of the series ("Objects in Space") and the film Serenity. Each issue of the series features three different covers, with each cover featuring one of the nine main characters, each by a different illustrator, including Joe Quesada, Bryan Hitch, Tim Bradstreet, John Cassaday and Jo Chen. The first issue was published in July 2005, and the final one appeared in September. The story focuses on the crew of Serenity taking a salvage job from Badger following a botched theft on a backwater planet, and the pursuit of River by the ominous blue-gloved men seen in two Firefly episodes. The story is considered part of the Firefly canon and bridges the TV show and the movie. The comics quickly sold out on release and both #1 and #2 issues went to second printings. A compilation trade paperback was released in January 2006.

It has been recently confirmed that Joss Whedon and Brett Matthews will write more Serenity comics for Dark Horse. The new comics are expected to be released sometime in mid-to-late 2006 or early 2007.

Film

Joss Whedon said in an April 2003 USA Today interview that he had not given up on the show and hoped to continue it in any format. Serenity, a movie continuing the cancelled television series, was released in Australia on 2005-09-29, the USA and Canada on 2005-09-30, and the UK and Ireland weeks later. At a preview screening for the film, Whedon indicated that he would consider reviving the series if a network purchased the broadcast rights from FOX Television, as he refuses to work with FOX again. More recently, Whedon has said that he would prefer to continue the stories in films, but if he were offered a television deal and not a film deal, he would probably accept (though any TV continuation would not be Firefly per se).

Books

Following the motion picture release and its subsequent novelization, a Firefly-based book series of original stories will be released. It is not yet known if they will be considered canonical, as is the comic book series, although it is unlikely considering Whedon's comments regarding the film novelization: "I don't have much involvement … I just whistle and look the other way."

Keith R. A. DeCandido, author of the Serenity movie novelization, said in an interview that two novels are definitely going to be published. Additional books may follow, depending on the success of the franchise. There is no news on who will write the novels, although DeCandido and Steven Brust hope to publish one, and in fact Steven Brust has both completed and submitted his novel. Details on when in the Firefly timeline they will be set, who will be in the novels, or what the plots will be are also not forthcoming. According to Amazon.com, DeCandido is set to write a 304-page novel known as Mirror Image, which will be set in the Firefly universe, and is to be released on 2009-07-01 (), but DeCandido has denied this in several interviews. (, )

A non-fiction book about the series, entitled Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly, was edited by Jane Espenson with Glenn Yeffeth, and was published in paperback on 2005-04-01. Through numerous essays, the book analyzes the various themes and ideas of Firefly.

As a follow up to his Serenity: The Official Visual Companion, Joss Whedon has written a two-volume book known as Firefly: The Official Visual Companion. The first volume is 176 pages, and is set to be published by Titan books and released on 2006-09-30.

Role-playing game

A role-playing game entitled Serenity, published by Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd, was released in 2005. This was followed by Serenity: Out in the Black by Tracy and Laura Hickman.

Notes

1. In 2005, New Scientist magazine's NewScientistSpace.com website held an unscientific poll to find "The World's Best Space Sci-Fi Ever". Firefly came in first place, with its cinematic follow-up Serenity in second.
2. In the series, it was not made completely clear whether the planets and moons seen were in one star system or many (or whether Serenity's mode of propulsion was sub-light or faster-than-light). The film Serenity makes it clear that all the planets and moons are in one large system, and production documents related to the film indicate that there is no faster-than-light travel in the Firefly/Serenity universe.
3. A website, Fireflyseason2.com, has been created in order to spur interest in a possible second season of Firefly. The site's goal is that the data collected from the survey can be used to convince a TV network company to pay for the production and distribution of the series.
4. On May 9, 2006, all of the Firefly episodes were added to the iTunes Music Store for download as part of FOX Television Classics along with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost in Space. This is notable as it proves the cancelled show Firefly remains popular and salable. The episodes are listed in the order FOX originally aired them.
5. June 23, 2006 is considered Firefly Day, on which fans plan to buy — and get others to buy — copies of the Serenity DVD in hopes of convincing Universal that creating a sequel is a good business decision.
6. June 23, 2006 is also the date of worldwide charity screenings of Serenity, organized by fans, dubbed Serenity Now / Equality Now.

References

• Firefly — The Complete Series DVD set (ISBN 6308024716)
• Serenity — The Official Visual Companion; Whedon, Joss; Titan Books (ISBN 1845760824)

1. Breznican, Anthony (2005-09-21). "'Firefly' alights on big screen as 'Serenity'". USA Today. Retrieved 2006-06-04. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)CS1 maint: year (link)

External links

Episode analysis

• Firefly at IMDb
• Firefly at TV.com
• Firefly and Serenity at Wikia
• Firefly wiki
• Firefly at the TV IV
• Firefly and Serenity on Whedonesque
• Firefly timeline
• Chinese words in Firefly

Fanbase discussion

• FireflyFans.net - The primary Firefly fansite.
• Browncoats.com - An unaffiliated Firefly fan community and resource site
• Browncoat board - Forums set up for Browncoats when the Universal forum was closed down
• Firefly at Prospero forums, the original Firefly board (aka OB)
• alt.tv.firefly (Google Groups)
• The Signal - Firefly/Serenity podcast
• Firefly Talk - A weekly Firefly podcast
• Into The Black - A Canadian fansite that is creating "spin-off" web-distributed episodic content based upon the Firefly universe but not involving original show characters
• Firefly Virtual Seasons - A collection of fan-based stories of what "might have been" in future seasons of Firefly
• Virtual Firefly - A fan-based site dedicated to a "virtual continuation" of Joss Whedon's Firefly in the form of scripts of additional episodes
• Worlds of Serenity - A hard SF author examines the plausibility of the 'Verse.

• 2000s TV shows in the United States
• Firefly
• Fox network shows
• Fox Television Studios shows
• Lists of science fiction television series episodes
• Science fiction television series
• Science fiction Westerns
• Space opera