Firefly (2002)

In space, attire must always blend in with the ship's desert...

Genre: Sci-Fi Fantasy Action Adventure Western Series

Starring: Nathan Fillion (Slither), Gina Torres ("Cleopatra 2525"; "24")

Directed By: Joss Whedon (Serenity; "Buffy The Vampire Slayer")

Overview: This series set 500 years in the future tell the story of smugglers living out on the fringes of the galactic frontier by the gun, their wits and the skin of their teeth. The ship they ride is Serenity, a Firefly class cargo ship.

Acting: The acting is on par with great television, while still not attaining the film standard of excellence. The direction was very much television oriented, but I guess that's fair, given that it's a TV show. There are some real heavy moments though, and the acting there is just bang on. Good stuff.
Rating: 8

Cinematography: The special effects in space are really good, like the ships themselves. The sets are very high budget. The shootouts and the action are also quality. It is television, again, so I'm not going to say the angles were artistic, but there were some effects and camera works that enhanced scenes, and made me realize that this was truly professional.
Rating: 8

Script: "Ok, Captain Tight Pants!"
You know with lines like that it's going to be sweet sailing throughout the entire series. Funny, serious, good stories told during down time, nice moral wrap ups, and we really know the headspace of the characters. They're all really well written individually, and the writing adds an element of plot twists that you wouldn't normally see, like cruel little pranks. That last episode, however, had this bounty hunter who spouted such dark conversation through his madness that it alone is worthy of mention.
Rating: 8

Plot: The stories are the stuff, my friends. Each and every episode is interesting and they not only do well as stand alones, but they also advance the plot of the overall series. Fox and their stupid way of handling it means that I don't know what the deal with shepherd is and River's big power is lost to me. Damn them to Hell, those people ruined my life!
Rating: 9

Mood: The look and feel of this show is top notch. When I first realized this was going to be cowboys in space, I thought, "Puh-Lease! Are you seriously going to have me believe that... whoa... hey... this is effin' cool... and dig the guns." The western feel is just prevalent enough for us to realize we're frontier here, and the sci-fi is just enough to make us wow and wonder at a very interesting (and actually believable) future. Never quits.
Rating: 9

It's called that 'cause there's big fireball blinkin' out it's ass.

Overall Rating: 84% (An Island Of Serenity Amidst A Sea Of Banality)

Aftertaste: Gotta see the movie now I guess. Highly recommended series, it's right up there with any HBO production, like "Sopranos", "Six Feet Under" and "Oz". Don't you love Fox for airing the shows out of order and pre-empting it for baseball on top of that? What knobs. Hopefully they'll bring it back, there's a chance.