Firefly to Serenity: An Epic

Recently, thanks to the magic of DVD, I have been granted the opportunity to criticize FOX for hanging Joss Whedon's show Firefly out to dry in 2003. Under the obvious influence of LSD or some other hallucinogen, the network decided to air episodes of the witty and dramatic series out of order (for some reason, the pilot was the final one shown). Combined with its Friday night death slot, it comes as no surprise that FOX yanked the show after only 11 low-rated episodes.

Fortunately, in world where Joe Gibbs can return from retirement to coach the Redskins and Hollywood can finally come up with a decent Batman film, Firefly fans were not left hopeless. Miraculously, Whedon was able to get a green light for making a Firefly movie that could draw his series to a close. That movie, entitled Serenity, was released in theaters last Friday as a beacon of light to all victims of the TV axe.

Partially to blame for its cancellation, I ignored the positive reviews that came out about Firefly and have only been drawn to the series since I found out about the movie. I suppose that this makes me a poser among Firefly fans, but I'll take that distinction in exchange for being able to add the series to my own personal pop culture hall of fame. I'm instantly attracted to anything with a cult following, especially when it comes in the form of a short-lived television show, whose loose ends are tied up in a movie released solely due to fan demand. Taking an interest in Serenity, I was determined not to see it as some schmo off the street, but in the way that the fans who watched the show originally would. In order to do this, I dedicated myself to watching the series over the past few weeks (thanks to Linden for the birthday gift DVDs)...as well as to reading the 3 part Serenity comic book that bridges the gap.

With Firefly's sharp writing and great characterization, it is no shocker that Serenity is a wonderful movie. What impressed me most about it, however, is its success in following through on its promise to provide a satisfactory conclusion to a story which Joss Whedon had originally planned to develop over the course of years. Without feeling rushed or forced, Serenity compacts what would have been several seasons of TV into a spectacular two-hour movie. And while it certainly can stand on its own as a quality science fiction film, Serenity works best as a top notch series finale, a genuine rarity in television today.