Firefly: The Complete Series DVD

If the best thing about DVD is the opportunity to watch whole seasons of television shows in great big chunks -- and I think it is -- then the very best thing is the opportunity to catch up on older shows you never got a chance to see, little-seen shows that never found a mainstream audience. The perfect example is Firefly, a little gem of a program that never truly got a chance during its abbreviated run in 2002. Fox wanted another show from Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy and Angel), and greenlighted the very odd Firefly without truly thinking through what it was they were approving. When they got it, they weren't happy, and ended up sabotaging the show by rearranging episodes (including the bizarre decision to not the air the pilot episode) and poorly promoting those they did air. But now, through the magic of DVD, Firefly lives again.

It's five hundred years into the future. With Earth no longer inhabitable, humanity has taken to exploring the depths of space. The "central planets," where the humans have concentrated, are governed by the Alliance, a bureaucratic union of the US and China (Earth's final two superpowers). They rule from huge, towering city-like ships, all flat and gray in their dominance, the sterile ambiance of the interiors suggesting more a corporation than a military. But out on the fringes of civilization, those without the benefits of the latest state-of-the-art technology make do on briskly terraformed planets, eeking out humble livings not unlike those of the pioneers of the old west. They herd cattle, they use rifles and six-shooters (while the Alliance shows them up with laser weapons), and do what they must to survive. Even if it means ducking the law.

For Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the Firefly-class transport ship Serenity, ducking the law is a way of life. He smuggles contraband, salvages wrecked spaceships, and avoids the Alliance at all costs. Mal has no love for the Alliance -- he was a soldier in the civil war that pitted the independent planets against the Alliance, and named his ship after the Battle of Serenity Valley, the final decisive battle than gained victory for the Alliance. The crew that follows him on his life of crime: Zoe (Gina Torres), his second-in-command, who fought with him in the war; Zoe's husband Wash (Alan Tudyk), the pilot; Jayne (Adam Baldwin), the gruff hired muscle; and Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the bright-eyed engineer. Along for the ride are a rather odd trio of passengers: Book (Ron Glass), a preacher -- "shepherds," they're called -- with a lot more beneath the surface than initially apparent; and Simon Tam (Sean Maher), a doctor on the run from the Alliance for rescuing his sister, River (Summer Glau), from sinister medical experiments that have left her a schizophrenic mess of her former self. Mal also rents one of his shuttles to Inarra, a "companion" -- in this future, prostitution has become a revered occupation (sex being the one product that can truly be sold everywhere and anywhere), heavily regulated and supervised, and allowing Inarra aboard not only allows her to earn her living but gives Mal and Serenity access to places that would not have them otherwise.

Phew -- that is a complicated universe and a whole lotta characters goin' on there, and the two-hour pilot episode, "Serenity," should be commended for pulling off the remarkable task of introducing everything and everyone in a coherent, intelligible manner (and it's also entertaining, too). Firefly is a show of impressive depth, and the scripts show a great deal of faith in the intelligence of the viewer -- the link between the US and China, for example, is never completely spelled out, just hinted: all signs are printed in both English and Chinese, the architecture and interior design of the various planets and ships often display both Western and Oriental influences, and the dialogue will occasionally lapse into mid-sentence Chinese epithets (for which no translation is provided).

Of course, trusting the intelligence of the audience is a dangerous thing in TV land, and it's really not surprising that Firefly didn't last long on the airwaves. Not to mention the sheer weirdness of the "space western" style on display here -- gunfights in the desert are followed by frantic races through the atmosphere in giant spaceships. It's an odd mix, and definitely not one that would appeal to everyone. The show also abruptly shifts tone from episode to episode -- we go from tense suspense thriller ("Ariel") to screwball comedy ("Our Mrs. Reynolds") to psychological horror ("Bushwhacked") to Old Western train robbery ("The Train Job"). The smart, witty scripts and marvelous ensemble cast keep Firefly on its feet, and the finest episodes are nothing short of miraculous. I also love the sly visual style of the show: the handheld, unsteady camera movement -- even on the CGI shots of the ship -- match the rough-and-tumble lives of the protagonists. But when dealing with the Alliance, everything is bolted down, smooth, no disturbances. Again, subtlety you rarely see on television.

You may have missed it on TV -- I know I did -- but now's your chance to catch up on what truly is a great show that should been given a full run. And you need to catch up fast: the movie, Serenity, hits theaters next April. I can't wait.

Rating: ****1/2

Special thanks to Rene, for loaning me the DVDs. And since he asked, here's my ranking of the episodes:

1. Our Mrs. Reynolds
2. Out of Gas
3. Objects in Space
4. The Message
5. Serenity
6. Bushwhacked
7. War Stories
8. Jaynestown
9. Trash
10. Ariel
11. Safe
12. Shindig
13. The Train Job
14. Heart of Gold