Serenity

December 2005

Firefly was a short-lived TV series that ran on Fox a few years ago. By the time it was dropped, it was gaining an enthusiastic following, and when the series was released on DVD, the word spread and the popularity grew. I saw the series on DVD in November, and have some real enthusiasm for the show.

The production team (= Joss Whedon) didn’t want to give up on the story, and they eventually got things lined up to make a movie. (They’re a bit proud of being the only movie in history based on a failed TV series.)

There are some “rules” about movies based on TV shows. The movie needs to be true to the series (keep the trekkies happy), but it needs to take you farther, and not play simply as just another episode. Plus, the movie has to work on its own as a movie — you shouldn’t *need* to have seen the TV episodes. Serenity succeeds. Two in our living room were familiar with the series, and two were new to it. All four found the story engaging and exciting, although we cheated a bit and gave some backstory help to the newcomers.

Anyway: I recommend both the series and the movie.

(And “only” PG-13!)

(Not counting the out-takes on the special features, where everyone says Ralphie’s soap poisoning word.)