Firefly Series Overview: A Space Western That Was Gone Far Too Soon

"Firefly" only lasted for one season in 2002 (14 episodes total). A movie entitled "Serenity" followed in 2005. Both were written and produced by Joss Whedon (of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" and "Avengers" fame). The show is often dubbed a "space western"-- which sounds like it shouldnt work but it does. The intro song sets the mood "Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me. Take me out to the black, tell them I ain't coming back. Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me......There's no place I can be since I found Serenity, you can't take the sky from me."

"Firefly" was doomed from the start since Fox aired the original episodes out of order (and didnt even show the last three). Luckily it built a fiercely loyal fan base that is still active today. They are known as Browncoats (named after the rebel group that Mal and Zoe fought with). "Firefly" is often listed at the top of many sci-fi "best of" lists.

It's the year 2517. Humans have traveled far away from the "Earth That Was". The Alliance (remnants of the US and Chinese superpowers combined) controls the unnamed star system. Most people live on core planets that have been terraformed. The crew of the "Serenity" (a Firefly class vessel) make a living doing odd jobs (some legal, some not so legal). They stick to the outlying areas in hopes of avoiding the government.

Humans (interestingly there are no aliens in this world) speak a hodge podge of English and Mandarin. They often curse in Chinese. English words are used in novel ways. "Shiny" for example means great or cool. "Gorram" is a curse word. "Old West" terms are also sprinkled throughout.

There are eventually 9 people aboard the Serenity. We met Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillon of "Castle"), husband and wife duo Wash (Alan Tudyk) and Zoe (Gina Torres). Mal and Zoe served together during the Unification War so they're very tight. There's a young girl named Kaylee (Jewel Staite) who is the ship's engineer. Jayne (Adam Baldwin) is a surly guy who cant be trusted. He does love his gun Vera though.

Inara (Morena Baccarin of "Gotham" and "V") is a "companion" who rents one of the ship's two shuttles. Companions are part Geisha and part hooker. Prostitution is legal in the future. Inara is very cultured and has many wealthy clients. Inara and Mal have a thing for each other but neither will fess up to it. He calls her a "whore" and she calls him a "petty thief".

To make ends meet, the crew picks up some passengers for transport. They include a Shepherd (similar to a pastor) named Book (Ron Glass) and Dr Simon Tamm (Sean Maher). Simon's cargo turns out to be his sister River (Summer Glau). They are fugitives. River was being experimented on in a government facility. Simon rescued her. River has mental problems and some psychic abilities. She keeps repeating "Two by two, hands of blue".

During one of their planet stops, Mal ends up with a "wife" named Saffron (Christina Hendricks of "Mad Men"). She turns out to be quite the con woman and has at least three aliases-- Safron, Yolanda and Bridget. They meet her again at various times. She and Mal's relationship provides some comic relief.

Other episodes take them to various locales as they attempt to stay away from the Alliance and keep River out of trouble.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). Despite it's short run "Firefly" has become a cult favorite and is on many "best of" sci-fi lists. The characters are fun and the stories interesting. It looks like the actors are enjoying themselves. Too bad we couldnt explore this world in several more seasons.