Spaceward Ho!

Let's talk about Firefly, since I've been largely ignoring it here in favor of other SF shows, and it really deserves better. I am definitely liking this show. I like the characters, I like the smart-assed sense of humor, and, as I believe I've mentioned before, I like the western-in-space feel of the whole thing, too.

Last week's episode, in which Jayne, improbably, discovers he is honored as a folk hero in some "crappy little town" where he once pulled a robbery, was especially good. It was wondefully funny, it raised some interesting issues about ethics and human nature without succumbing to the temptation to preach or moralize about them, and it did an excellent job of humanizing Jayne without ever turning him into less that the complete bastard he really is. Good stuff.

Though this week's episode, while still entertaining, wan't quite up to the same level. It starts with Malcolm lying alone in the ship, bleeding, and then proceeds to flash back and forth, without much in the way of transition, between that point in time, the events leading up to it, and Mal's first meetings with the various members of his crew. This kind of non-linear storytelling can be made to work well -- Reservoir Dogs leaps immediately to mind as an example -- but it's difficult, and I don't think it's completely succeessful in this case. Not only is it a bit confusing, but it does leave one wondering exactly what the point was in structuring the story that way. Though I have a strong suspicion as to what the reason might be... From what I've heard, Joss Whedon wrote and shot a two-hour premiere episode which was intended to introduce all the characters and explain how they got together, and then Fox apparently decided they didn't want to start the show off with a two-hour episode and never aired it (though supposedly they will eventually). And it seems to me that someone -- presumably Whedon -- is extremely concerned over the fact that we were never properly introduced to these people and is trying hard to make up for the fact. So we've got the new opening, which introduces each of the characters specifically, instead of just describing the setting (and which, in my humble opinion, isn't nearly as good as the original version). And we've got episodes like this, which try to explain what these people are doing together via flashbacks. But personally, I don't think it's really necessary. I think we've already got a pretty good handle on who these people are, and even if there's a lot of backstory that we don't know about, it hasn't resulted in any serious confusion, at least in this viewer's mind. I say, Relax, Joss! It ain't broke, and there's no need to fix it!

Then again, what do I know? I definitely seem to be out of the mainstream American viewing audience, or at least out of what the networks perceive to be the mainstream American viewing audience. I've heard rumors that Firefly may be facing cancellation in the pathetically near future, which, all things considered, really shouldn't surprise me. I like it, so of course it's likely to be cancelled.

Sorry. Let my cynical side take over there for a minute. Anyway, bottom line, it's a fun show. If you haven't yet, I'd definitely suggest checking it out before it gets axed like everything else good on TV.