Lovin' that Firefly!
Oct. 21st, 2002 11:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynSpoilery for the past few Firefly episodes
The scary word about Firefly not surviving for long has me a little depressed, because I’m truly loving this show. I love the sort of meta-jokes about both westerns and science fiction in here. A lot of people have rejected the show not because of character issues or story issues, but because they either hate westerns or space operas, and I feel kind of sorry for them, because they’re missing some wonderful tweakage of the cliches and underlying themes of both genres. Part of the fun, for me, is the “of course” factor -- that of course people wouldn’t return to speaking and dressing and living their life like we did in the old west of America, but that’s part of the fun of this make-believe vision. I like that life is rough and difficult in a pioneering situation, much like it was back then. If we wouldn’t have mag-lev trains that look like old-fashioned train cars, well, so what? That’s the fun of the vision. And how cool was it that in the third episode, when they went through the space web, there was no sound? Finally, someone remembered.
It’s been years, too, since I’ve like all the characters on a show. And I like each of these -- Mal is a perfect embodiment of that former-Reb soldier who moves west so he can have his freedom, which is very true to the history of the peopling of the west; Zoe and Wash are just wonderful as a couple, and her outranking him (and constantly reminding him of that) is such a nice touch; Jayne cracks me up with his boorish and hilarious behavior, and I never expected to like Inara, but I love her, she’s delightfully complex and her attraction to Mal is handled deftly. Everyone’s just great and interesting (Simon has so much potential) and I can’t wait to see the pilot Fox forced Joss to “fix” and then moved to later, so we can see more of who these folks are.
Our Mrs. Reynolds was a perfect example of why I love Joss -- the script was funny, odd, character-developing, filled with witty twists on western and sci-fi cliches, and just all-round fun. And Jaynestown did something I really appreciate in a show, and rarely see -- the big “fight” scene lasts about less than a minute. Guy jumps in front of shot and is killed, Jayne quickly beats the bad guy’s head into the ground. Nothing protracted, just animal rage and it’s over. And his inarticulate speech doesn’t change anything, it’s just over and they move on. Not one of those Very Special Episode life changes. (Plus, as I said, Jayne just cracks me up — first his whole Vera gun speech in OMR, and then being moved to tears over a riot in his honor on Jaynestown... he makes me laugh.)
Right now, the eps are largely plot driven, and probably that’s a necessity to convince people to give it a try. But I’m hoping we’ll see more character-driven eps. OMR definitely felt that way -- we learned a lot about Mal through his behavior with Saffron, about Wash and Zoe, about how the crew sees Mal (not with fear, but with respect yet with the ability to mock him), and about Preacher. I’m praying this survives long enough to give us some more character details. It’s really a delightful show, and too bad so many are dismissing it because of the genre associations. It’s like the people who dismiss Buffy on the basis of the name -- they’re missing more than they realize.
Angel last night 10/20 -- Spoilers
It was nice to see Clayton Rohner again — I sure did love that first season of G vs. E on USA. However, he didn’t really get a chance to be evil enough. Overall not much of an ep, but a way to get Lorne back, of course, and Cordy. Although that painful shuffling of everyone once they got back to the hotel... they move soooo sloooowwwllyyy through the courtyard so we can build up to the Cordy appearance; hate that kind of padding.
I still want to know where Gunn’s personality went to. I want the sass back, dammit. I enjoyed Angel’s sass being completely obliterated, though, and it almost felt like a theme joke, in a way: that so many people see Angel that way already, as almost brain-dead and oblivious and dull. The kid bores me to tears, only I know we’re stuck wit him. But the thing that keeps niggling at the back of my brain that Angel has done in the past couple years that bothers me, especially in scenes like Connor’s chasing the vampire: What’s the point of the Slayer if everyone can do it, and does? We’ve had Justine the wannabe slayer, we’ve had Holtz and any number of reVENge minded bad guys, we’ve had Wesley and his new gang, and Fred and Gunn, and Gunn’s previous gang... fighting forces of darkness, I get, only... why is everyone a vampire slayer? Where’s the sense of importance and destiny in that if anyone can do it? This episode reminded me of how much that began to bother me last year, and now it’s becoming a bigger issue than ever with the kid around.
I’m glad Lorne’s back, I love the character even while I dislike his singing. He, unfortunately, has the kind of voice I can’t stand listening to: that nasal-range tenor with the super-vibrato Mandy Patinkin voice, and I just wanted them to make it stop even though I know it’s plot juice. Did love Wesley with the phone sex, though. And would someone *please* feed Amy Acker! Overall, a nice refreshing jaunt away, but nothing to write home about.
The scary word about Firefly not surviving for long has me a little depressed, because I’m truly loving this show. I love the sort of meta-jokes about both westerns and science fiction in here. A lot of people have rejected the show not because of character issues or story issues, but because they either hate westerns or space operas, and I feel kind of sorry for them, because they’re missing some wonderful tweakage of the cliches and underlying themes of both genres. Part of the fun, for me, is the “of course” factor -- that of course people wouldn’t return to speaking and dressing and living their life like we did in the old west of America, but that’s part of the fun of this make-believe vision. I like that life is rough and difficult in a pioneering situation, much like it was back then. If we wouldn’t have mag-lev trains that look like old-fashioned train cars, well, so what? That’s the fun of the vision. And how cool was it that in the third episode, when they went through the space web, there was no sound? Finally, someone remembered.
It’s been years, too, since I’ve like all the characters on a show. And I like each of these -- Mal is a perfect embodiment of that former-Reb soldier who moves west so he can have his freedom, which is very true to the history of the peopling of the west; Zoe and Wash are just wonderful as a couple, and her outranking him (and constantly reminding him of that) is such a nice touch; Jayne cracks me up with his boorish and hilarious behavior, and I never expected to like Inara, but I love her, she’s delightfully complex and her attraction to Mal is handled deftly. Everyone’s just great and interesting (Simon has so much potential) and I can’t wait to see the pilot Fox forced Joss to “fix” and then moved to later, so we can see more of who these folks are.
Our Mrs. Reynolds was a perfect example of why I love Joss -- the script was funny, odd, character-developing, filled with witty twists on western and sci-fi cliches, and just all-round fun. And Jaynestown did something I really appreciate in a show, and rarely see -- the big “fight” scene lasts about less than a minute. Guy jumps in front of shot and is killed, Jayne quickly beats the bad guy’s head into the ground. Nothing protracted, just animal rage and it’s over. And his inarticulate speech doesn’t change anything, it’s just over and they move on. Not one of those Very Special Episode life changes. (Plus, as I said, Jayne just cracks me up — first his whole Vera gun speech in OMR, and then being moved to tears over a riot in his honor on Jaynestown... he makes me laugh.)
Right now, the eps are largely plot driven, and probably that’s a necessity to convince people to give it a try. But I’m hoping we’ll see more character-driven eps. OMR definitely felt that way -- we learned a lot about Mal through his behavior with Saffron, about Wash and Zoe, about how the crew sees Mal (not with fear, but with respect yet with the ability to mock him), and about Preacher. I’m praying this survives long enough to give us some more character details. It’s really a delightful show, and too bad so many are dismissing it because of the genre associations. It’s like the people who dismiss Buffy on the basis of the name -- they’re missing more than they realize.
Angel last night 10/20 -- Spoilers
It was nice to see Clayton Rohner again — I sure did love that first season of G vs. E on USA. However, he didn’t really get a chance to be evil enough. Overall not much of an ep, but a way to get Lorne back, of course, and Cordy. Although that painful shuffling of everyone once they got back to the hotel... they move soooo sloooowwwllyyy through the courtyard so we can build up to the Cordy appearance; hate that kind of padding.
I still want to know where Gunn’s personality went to. I want the sass back, dammit. I enjoyed Angel’s sass being completely obliterated, though, and it almost felt like a theme joke, in a way: that so many people see Angel that way already, as almost brain-dead and oblivious and dull. The kid bores me to tears, only I know we’re stuck wit him. But the thing that keeps niggling at the back of my brain that Angel has done in the past couple years that bothers me, especially in scenes like Connor’s chasing the vampire: What’s the point of the Slayer if everyone can do it, and does? We’ve had Justine the wannabe slayer, we’ve had Holtz and any number of reVENge minded bad guys, we’ve had Wesley and his new gang, and Fred and Gunn, and Gunn’s previous gang... fighting forces of darkness, I get, only... why is everyone a vampire slayer? Where’s the sense of importance and destiny in that if anyone can do it? This episode reminded me of how much that began to bother me last year, and now it’s becoming a bigger issue than ever with the kid around.
I’m glad Lorne’s back, I love the character even while I dislike his singing. He, unfortunately, has the kind of voice I can’t stand listening to: that nasal-range tenor with the super-vibrato Mandy Patinkin voice, and I just wanted them to make it stop even though I know it’s plot juice. Did love Wesley with the phone sex, though. And would someone *please* feed Amy Acker! Overall, a nice refreshing jaunt away, but nothing to write home about.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2002-10-23 03:43 pm (UTC)Hmmm. It's a good point. We've had Kendra and Faith and then Angel can kill vampires and demons for the good of the world, and like you said, Hotz and Justine, and the Gang, and Spike, and for a while the Scoobies did it without Buffy.
But I think that the slayer -- the actual *SLAYER* -- brings a special dedication to it. Anybody else can just quit. Buffy can't -- there's something insider her that just *can't*. Even as obviously miserable and closed off and alone as Buffy was in the doppelganger universe, she still couldn't quit.
I don't think the series has ever said it, but I get a feeling like... as goes the Slayer, so goes the world. As long as there is a Slayer, and she keeps fighting, the world is going to be there and be fighting. So in that way, I think that what Angel and the other people fighting vampires and evils of various species is important, but that they're maybe given the opportunity to do it because Buffy keeps doing what *she's* doing. And if she stopped -- if she were killed, or if she just gave up and quit and there were no Slayer to take her place -- then none of what they were doing would matter.
Anyway, it's a theory.
no subject
Date: 2002-10-24 10:03 am (UTC)Okay, it works for me! And anything that can help me get over that is a good thing!