The Last American Non-Firefly Fan

[jon_chaisson]

I know lynxreign and emmalyon heard this already--repeatedly, actually--I am proud to say that I believe I am the only American, or on Live Journal at least, who wasn't impressed by Firefly.

Why, you say? Especially after watching just one episode?

I'm still trying to figure it out, but it just didn't jive with me. Should I watch another few episodes and give it a chance? Maybe I should, but just for the record, I just wasn't hooked. Although I was amused by the obscure Beatles reference at the beginning of the pilot episode.

I think part of it was the deliberately slow pace. I understand that Whedon was going for a "Western in Space" thing, but I just found it a bit too plodding. Even when the action picked up, it still felt too slow for me. I wasn't expecting explosions left and right, but I really, really wanted a little more action. A little more tension!!! Please? Just a little? Okay, I also admit that plot tension in Westerns hinges upon the time-honored High-Noon-Gary-Cooper-who-will-shoot-first showdown, but it just felt contrived here.

I'm just posting this simply because of Serenity coming out this weekend. I'm not talking anyone out of going to see it--on the contrary, I think movies like that should get people's money. It's just not something I'm interested in going to see. And no, head58, I'm not kidding you like Lynxie did. It just didn't grab me, that's all. ;)

Comments

[peartreealley.livejournal.com]

I liked Firefly, but my friends hyped it up so much before I saw it, that I was a bit disappointed when I actually got to see it.

The series has some very cool things in it, but a lot of it is hype and fandom, in my opinion. It's larger than life because people have made it larger than life. I've seen much worse. I've also seen much better. It also has a lost-cause mystery to it. Because it was canceled before many of the storylines could be resolved, it not only makes it wide open for the fandoms, but it also gives people a rallying cry to want more.

That's my take on why it's so popular, anyway.

My friends all went to an advanced Serenity showing earlier this week, while I had to work, so since I have no one to go with, I'm just going to wait until the lines die down before I see the movie and hope no one spoils it too much before then :)

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

I liked Firefly, but my friends hyped it up so much before I saw it, that I was a bit disappointed when I actually got to see it.

I think that's my problem too. Pretty much your entire post reflects how I feel about it! I've been hearing so much hoo-hah over it that when I finally sat down and watched the pilot, I felt a bit cheated. Maybe I expected too much because everyone else loved it so much. I'll try another couple of episodes, though. I'll give it a chance, but honestly I just can't see myself getting all fannish over it.

Amusing aside though, about halfway through I thought of a line from Stand By Me: "You ever notice on "Wagon Train" they never really get anywhere? They just keep wagon trainin'..." :p

[animated-max.livejournal.com]

I'd give it another episode or two.

[emmalyon.livejournal.com]

My feeling also. I watched the original run sporadically and out of order, so it took a while to figure out the names, let alone anything else....

[mekkasimian.livejournal.com]

MEKKASIMIAN LIKE ALL CHARACTERS. FIT TOGETHER PERFECTLY.

MEK HARDLY *EVER* LIKE TV CHARACTERS, LET ALONE ALL. ESPECIALLY CAST SO BIG.

ALL ELSE LESS IMPORTANT: IF FOCUS ON SCI-FI OR WESTERN STUFF, THEN MISSING POINT.

BESIDES, SOMETIMES INTRO MORE EXPOSITION THAN TENSION. WITHOUT KNOW CHARACTER OR CONTEXT YET, SOMETIMES HARD JUDGE WHAT "JEOPARDY" IS.

HOW LONG WOULD GIVE BOOK BEFORE GIVE UP? MEK GENERALLY GIVE 50-100 PAGES.

(SEEM LIKE MEK GIVE TV SERIES PREMIERES THIS SEASON 5-10 MINUTES OF FIRST EPISODE, TOPS!)

=M=

[emmalyon.livejournal.com]

I said almost the same thing--character is by far the most important element. And too much SF falls doen on that job, esp. with regards to female characters.

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's a matter of "missing the point". Like I told h58 and shadawyn, my expectations were too high because of the hype and I was let down by that. I've read enough spoilers and descriptions (and lord knows how many LJ posts! :p ) to know generally what the show was about and where the plot is going, so I knew what was going to happen later on.

As for the other question, when reading potential book purchases, if I'm up to page 15 or 20 in the store, then I buy it. If I don't get past 5, then it's not for me. ;)

[dasmarzipan.livejournal.com]

No, you're not.
:)

[dasmarzipan.livejournal.com]

But I *am* a huge Joss Whedon fan...

[head58.livejournal.com]

The pilot is plodding, I'll give you that. I don't think it needed to be a full 2 hours. General consensus is that the series really finds its groove about 4 episodes in, with "Our Mrs Reynolds". If you give one more episode a try, I'd say that would be the one. After that point the episodes are much tighter and in a run on the third disc (Ariel and War Stories in particular) the action and tenion REALLY pick up. If not, oh well. At least you gave it a shot.

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

I have to agree, it should have been a one-hour episode. I think that was my main problem: it felt like Whedon was trying to fit as much exposition and setting-up of the plot as he could into one episode while at the same time keeping the plot as paced as possible.

I also have to agree with my friend shadawyn though that I think the hype kinda hurt my expectations for it. It's not that I set out not wanting to like it because everybody else does...I think it was more that I set my own expectations too high because of everyone else's praise.

[emmalyon.livejournal.com]

Watch it again without making up your mind beforehand. You could really like it(like I did with The Ring, and others), or hate it (like I did with Arrested Development). Just don't start getting all film-studently about it. :-p
As we discussed offline, I felt like you were not giving yourself a chance to like it. Maybe the whole, "everyone else loves it, but it can't be THAT good" syndrome? It's a common disease of the alternative subculture.

[head58.livejournal.com]

More than likely, he caught that disease from Lynx. :)

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

Feel free to shoot me if I start doing that again. ;)

[joncwriter.livejournal.com]

On the contrary, I almost never judge things by the "it's popular so it's crap" reason, and I wasn't trying to be film-studently. It just didn't grab me is all. I guess I was just trying too hard to actually find a reason why I didn't like it. ;)

[anais-ninja.livejournal.com]

I was not instantly won over by it either. I do like it though, but not in the fanatic way everyone seems to think I should. It reminds so much of one of my favorite anime(s?) that I feel suspicious of it. Like, "hey this isn't as original as previously indicated".

But it has grown on my whole family. Even my mom likes it, and she doesn't generally like sci-fi. We all watch it together and get drunk. Maybe that's your problem: you don't drink enough while you watch it. I say, fix some margaritas and give it another go.