Customer Reviews

Firefly: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(1,001)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

If you're not a science fiction fan, you may be looking at the endless string of rapturous reviews for "Firefly" and rolling your eyes. While "Firefly" certainly doesn't lack in geek appeal, its sharp writing, excellent cast and often-striking visual style elevate it into the ranks of Just Plain Great Television. After a somewhat bumpy start, this series found its groove with remarkable speed, and began cranking out hour after hour of compelling drama as if it had been on the air for years.

The Fox network employed a novel strategy to introduce Firefly to audiences in the fall of 2002-- sidelining its brilliant two-hour premiere in favor of a dumbed-down and hastily-written successor, airing the series out of order (with all its least compelling episodes up front), and frequently pre-empting the show in favor of the world series. Fox then proceeded to throw up its hands in feigned amazement when the series tanked in the ratings. While fans of writer/producer/creator Joss Whedon do tend toward fanaticism, in this case it's more a testament to the quality and intelligence of "Firefly" that the series has enjoyed eye-popping pre-orders on DVD and new life as a feature film.

Standout episodes include "Serenity," the series' haunting, dryly funny pilot; "Our Mrs. Reynolds," a sly mix of screwball comedy and crime caper; and "Objects In Space," a nail-biting, beautifully shot game of cat and mouse between the series' most mysterious heroine and one of the more memorably whacked-out villains in recent TV memory.

For killing this jem, there is a special level of Hell for Fox network executives. One reserved for child molesters and people who talk at the theatre.

I wish them nothing but "Da-shiang bao-tza shr duh lah doo-tze".

I think there's enough 5 star reviews for this show that me continuing to rave about it would serve no purpose. So instead I choose to berate and chide the "brainiacs" who first decide to bring the master storyteller Joss Whedon to their network only to drop his show before the tale could fully be told. IDIOTS!! Do these people not know Joss Whedon? Have they not seen Buffy or Angel? Do they not know that Joss is all about big story arcs that pay off wonderfully in the end? To just kill the show was an absolute crime! If it were up to me, I would take all the people involved in cancelling Firefly, lock them in a room, and make them watch American Idol or Joe Millionaire, or whatever the latest reality garbage show is on, over and over and over again until they choke on the filth they've created and pandered to the public. That wouldn't quite be justice, but pretty close.

Well I guess its the fans that showed them. The sales of this dvd set are through the roof and after reading several reviews, its clear that anybody who's watched this show loves it. Can't wait for the movie!!

Saying this is simply a sci-fi western isn't doing this show justice. It's a comedy, it's a character piece, it's a mystery. It exciting, it's creepy & it's at times so deliciously twisted & other times hilarious. It also takes a few episodes (I'd say 2-3) to get your head around this odd duck. Once you do, I ALMOST guarantee you'll love this show. I'm not exagerating. This is the only show I've ever seen where I found myself attached to every character. Fox never gave this show a chance to find it's audience, which is a major shame. For the record, I thought this show would suck. I wasn't expecting much but instead found a show that's deceptively simple & intelligently layered with character, story & spectacle.

Absolutely amazing show. Very funny, witty, smart, it'll make you care about the characters. Me and my entire family watched the series front to back in 2 sittings, the 4 of us rarely agree on anything. Don't forget to check out the movie to this series Serenity.

It is a little embarassing to say that I had forgot about this series until it was mentioned in The Big Bang Theory as a travesty for ever being cancelled. When I found the whole series on Amazon, I had to try it. Series creator Joss Whedon has a cult like following and a reputation for delivering well written and original angles on popular genres. In this case, he blends Star Wars, Kung Fu and Gunsmoke into a world that has freaky mutants one moment and Old West gun fights the next next. Terrific special effects and great story development makes me sad that the series didn't last a lot longer. Definitely worth a look.

For a DVD this has great quality visuals and is well worth watching! I must have rewatched the whole series in a week's time, it was THAT good! I highly recommend this!

Bar none- one of the great tv series of the past decade!!!

Engaging characters, cool music and sets, fabulous screen writing.

So sad Fox killed it.......

Great, great show (one of the few in my opinion). In fact, I don't think a show has ever taken me away like this one has. I really love it. I have never seen a sci-fi show like this: the character development is central, unlike much of the silly sci-fi out there. I think firefly is a mature expression of the sci-fi genre. As cool as the sci-fi scenes and ideas are on firefly, you realize that they are simply the backdrop for a wonderful story, once you get to know the characters and how much they need each other. Loads of suspense, authentic and thoroughly interesting characters (played so well might i add), great stories, and great comedy when you least expect it (I had to pause and rewind a few times because I missed dialogue over my laughter).

Question: Have you ever watched the characters in the recent star wars films try to be funny or romantic, and you end up cringing because it is so out of balance and feel with the rest of the film? Firefly succeeded where star wars has struggled.

The cancellation of this series has to go down as one of the biggest boardroom blunders in the history of tv broadcasting. What were the execs at Fox thinking when they pulled the plug on this brilliant piece of television?!?

This series had everything. Science-fiction/western/action/mystery/social commentary/romance/comedy. Firefly was so hard to just pin down to one genre, that it is almost impossible to describe to somebody who hasn't watched it. I had only seen bits of episodes when the show was originally aired and had to wait for this DVD release to see the whole thing.

I was skeptical when I first started watching it, noting similarities to Starhunter and other shows, but by the time I was a few episodes in, I was totally hooked. OK, I'll say it, I'm a 'browncoat' now.

Enough of the other reviews should give you a decent synopsis of Firefly, but what I think, is that Joss Whedon and company have accomplished, is a complete re-invention of the space-opera genre. There's none of the ridiculous pseudo-science-techno-babble that series in the Star Trek vein (and others) seem to suffer from. The universe of Firefly is far-flung, but beleivable. The technology looks far-future, but well-used. I liked the blending of space-colonization and frontier-towns. It works really well. And I like the fact that there are no tacky bumpy-headed-alien costumes to be seen, anywhere in Firefly. It's a future where humanity has colonized and terraformed dozens of worlds in the galaxy, but still human nature has remained unchanged. All the greed, corruption and the basic need for survival are active driving forces in the show. Firefly is like a bittersweet satire of our world as it is now. It also doesn't have the problem of taking itself too seriously all the time (though there is a lot of drama). There are situations and dialogue from the characters that had me rolling on the floor with laughter. I was even surprised at what I found myself laughing at sometimes.

The cast are brilliant! Each and every one of them. The characters are wonderfully flawed, and also endearing. They are each very gradually fleshed out as the series unfolds. You only find out bits of information at a time. There is a mystery to each member of Serenity's crew (and, no doubt, mysteries about Serenity herself).

While viewing the entire series, I did not see a single episode that I didn't thoroughly enjoy. I don't just mean that none of the episodes sucked (that's a rare enough accomplishment in itself), but that almost every episode made me feel like I was watching something exceptional.

I'm going to purchase the Serenity DVD next (haven't seen it yet). And now I'm hoping that somehow, they will be able to make more in this series. Firefly has become one of my all-time favorites.