Equal parts squee, snark and "WTF?". Like most anything else I suppose.
Firefly: Pilot Episode.
I never was any good at focused essays, and I'm still processing my impressions anyway, so, just a bunch of random observations here:
--How they managed to visually throw together Oriental, Space Opera, Old West, Cyberpunk, and WWII influences without making it look like a trainwreck, I don't know; but they did. The spaceport scene is especially impressive: it looks exactly like what I'd expect a frontier spaceport to look like.
--BSG totally stole Firefly's spaceship/EVA cinematography, esp. the "we're in space" random camera-jump trick.
--BSG's Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is also obviously a graduate of the Malcolm Reynolds School of Hostage Negotiaton.
--Josh Whedon's trademark snarky dialogue: I didn't realize how much I had missed it.
--Yeah, it's "Cowboys in Spaaace!". What it also is, is a good old-fashioned Traveller "free trader" campaign. (Then again, Buffy felt a little like someone's half-serious / half-parodic Vampire: The Masquerade campaign. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Whedon's a hard-core gamer.)
--Tactical advice: never use a live horse as cover. Your opponent will just shoot the horse, and it will fall on top of you. Have to remember that for the next gaming session.
--Ron Glass? Oh hell yes! It's been literally decades since I've seen him onscreen. I just hope Book doesn't turn out to be as much of an obvious sterotype as he seems.
--Speaking of which: Kaylee. Yeah, even as I'm falling madly in love with her, I'm thinking, "Great. Another vulnerable, more-or-less innocent female for the universe to beat the shit out of every episode." Was I surprised when she turned out to be the first one to take a bullet? Not really.
--But, you know, the "falling madly in love" part? That happens to everybody, right? It's not just me?
--Um. Also. Reavers. "...they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing and if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order." Riiight. "Skins", not "scalps", got it. And please tell me that's not warpaint on their ships. Because, yeah, I just suddenly remembered one of my big problems with Westerns.
--Must not imagine River with "MARY SUE" in big neon allcaps flashing over her head. Must not.
--The Lesson of Jayne Cobb: If you give your son a girl's name, he will grow up to be a hyper-masculine badass. Fair warning. (Fifty credits says he writes romantic poetry when he thinks no one's looking...)
--The "Ration bars: you thought it was gold, didn't you?" mindfuck was perfect.
So yeah, even given the squicky bits, I'll definitely be watching the rest of the series. If only as a relief from BSG's constant doom & gloom.
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars. Best watched with Johnny Cash playing in the background, and one or two shots of bourbon, rum or tequilla on the table in front of you.
I never was any good at focused essays, and I'm still processing my impressions anyway, so, just a bunch of random observations here:
--How they managed to visually throw together Oriental, Space Opera, Old West, Cyberpunk, and WWII influences without making it look like a trainwreck, I don't know; but they did. The spaceport scene is especially impressive: it looks exactly like what I'd expect a frontier spaceport to look like.
--BSG totally stole Firefly's spaceship/EVA cinematography, esp. the "we're in space" random camera-jump trick.
--BSG's Kara "Starbuck" Thrace is also obviously a graduate of the Malcolm Reynolds School of Hostage Negotiaton.
--Josh Whedon's trademark snarky dialogue: I didn't realize how much I had missed it.
--Yeah, it's "Cowboys in Spaaace!". What it also is, is a good old-fashioned Traveller "free trader" campaign. (Then again, Buffy felt a little like someone's half-serious / half-parodic Vampire: The Masquerade campaign. Wouldn't surprise me in the least if Whedon's a hard-core gamer.)
--Tactical advice: never use a live horse as cover. Your opponent will just shoot the horse, and it will fall on top of you. Have to remember that for the next gaming session.
--Ron Glass? Oh hell yes! It's been literally decades since I've seen him onscreen. I just hope Book doesn't turn out to be as much of an obvious sterotype as he seems.
--Speaking of which: Kaylee. Yeah, even as I'm falling madly in love with her, I'm thinking, "Great. Another vulnerable, more-or-less innocent female for the universe to beat the shit out of every episode." Was I surprised when she turned out to be the first one to take a bullet? Not really.
--But, you know, the "falling madly in love" part? That happens to everybody, right? It's not just me?
--Um. Also. Reavers. "...they'll rape us to death, eat our flesh and sew our skins into their clothing and if we're very very lucky, they'll do it in that order." Riiight. "Skins", not "scalps", got it. And please tell me that's not warpaint on their ships. Because, yeah, I just suddenly remembered one of my big problems with Westerns.
--Must not imagine River with "MARY SUE" in big neon allcaps flashing over her head. Must not.
--The Lesson of Jayne Cobb: If you give your son a girl's name, he will grow up to be a hyper-masculine badass. Fair warning. (Fifty credits says he writes romantic poetry when he thinks no one's looking...)
--The "Ration bars: you thought it was gold, didn't you?" mindfuck was perfect.
So yeah, even given the squicky bits, I'll definitely be watching the rest of the series. If only as a relief from BSG's constant doom & gloom.
Rating: 3.5 of 5 stars. Best watched with Johnny Cash playing in the background, and one or two shots of bourbon, rum or tequilla on the table in front of you.