So the family binge-watched Firefly/Serenity this Christmas break (and yes, I know). Nathan Fillion and Joss Whedon at their best. A very smart show, a very thoughtful show, and as a result a necessarily dark show. There are too many obscure historical parallels to use to explain why the show had to be so dark. You can think of it as survival on the outskirts of civilization when you realize that the central government doesn't have your best interests in mind. It's not pleasant. What makes the show so meaningful is the contrast it paints between the state of civilization and state of humanity localized in the crew of Serenity. A captain's fierce loyalty to his crew, a husband/wife's love for one another, a brother's devotion to his sister. You take those relationships and put them in any number of barely-civilized situations and you get this show. Am I appalled at the theology of the show? Of course. But I don't watch television shows for theology.
Twelve years after the show was cancelled, it actually has a stronger and more vibrant following than when it ran (I guess that makes sense or else it would have been a stupid decision to cancel it); there aren't too many shows that can say that (one website only put Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks, and Firefly in this category). I've read myriads of reasons why the show was cancelled and more than a few reasons why we should be glad it was (go out on top - don't drag us through seasons 7 and 8 of X-Files again). I have no doubt that it would have a place if it were released today - there are so many channels needing programming - and costs of special effects have come way down. But there are a number of reasons why it had to come out when it did for it to work. The cast was affordable because they were still mostly young. Joss Whedon was affordable because he wasn't appreciated enough yet. The money went into sets and locations (which can't be fixed by special effects on a network scale). And there was nothing on television like it. I wonder if it would be lost in the crowd and weeded out by it's too-large budget, like so many sci-fi shows before and after. Think about it - how many otherworldly fantasy/sci-fi shows "make it"? X-Files was basically set on modern-day earth, so it's in a different category. Doctor Who has the backing of the BBC. Frankly, the longevity of Star Trek TNG is somewhat baffling when you take all of that into account. To illustrate my point, consider these shows that got cancelled pretty early on (I hadn't watched most of them, but they sound interesting):
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AuthorIf I ever say something in here that doesn't make sense, please ask me to clarify. It always makes sense in my head, but that doesn't necessary mean anything to you . . . Categories
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