"Serenity" - "Firefly" Series info + film discussion (*SPOILERS START ON POST #31*!)

guardian_owl

guardian_owl

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[SIZE=+2]Do not read past Post #30 if you want to avoid spoilers!!![/SIZE]

Introduction:
I am sure there are many people on the board, like me, who ventured to their local movie theater to partake in the nationwide release of Serenity by Universal Pictures on September 30th. If you are not familiar with the background of the film, it was based on a short-lived, excellent Sci-fi series called Firefly which aired on the Fox network (available from Amazon.com for $24.96 add a couple of $0.03 paper clips to get free shipping) which was cancelled within half a season. The high sales of the series dvd (in part) led to this film.


Firefly Files:
Original Cut of the Firefly Pilot Episode:
The unaired, original cut of the Firefly pilot episode. Features extended scenes, alternate lines, and an alternative music score. Cobbled together from tapes so the quality isn't very high. Filetype is RealVideo.
Original Firefly Pilot "Serenity" - Part 1, Part 2

River Backstory Viral Marketing Clips:
To casual fans of Firefly who have seen all the episodes, but have not followed the production of the film much online, there were a series of viral marketing clips released featuring backstory on the character River.

Full 13 Minute Firefly Gag Reel:
On the Firefly dvd set is a gag reel which is an edited version of one that was shown at the wrap party for the series. A lot of the stuff taken out are jokes which require music rights and likenesses. Below is the gag reel in its entirety.
Unedited Firefly Gag Reel - 13 Minutes (in quicktime format)

The Fan Film:
Firefly fans will also enjoy this fan produced parody of the series called "Mosquito." It runs a little over 10 minutes and is pretty funny.


Serenity/Firefly in Print:
The Comic:
There is also a short series of 3 comics which have been released to fill in the details of the time period between the final episode of the series and the film "Serenity." They are available via the link above and should be available at your local comic book shop or bookstore. Each issue of the comic is available in 3 different covers

Issue #1
10845.jpg
10755.jpg
10844.jpg


Issue #2
10847.jpg
10846.jpg
10756.jpg


Issue #3
10757.jpg
10848.jpg
10849.jpg


On January 25th Dark Horse will release a single book which has all 3 comics brought together into one book,

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1593074492/qid=1135373001/sr=2-2/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_2/104-0996287-8573506?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

The Comic Synopsis:
For those who cannot or do not want to track down the comic but would still like a general description of events which take place during the comic, check out the summaries below:
Issue 1 + 2 Synopsis
Issue 3 Synopsis

Finding Serenity: A collection of essays about the show:
[quote name='MrBadExample']If you're into the show, here's a very good book:
Finding Serenity
It's a collection of essays about the show that really gets into how well-crafted it is. Reading this made me want to go back and watch the entire series again.[/quote]Another valuable inclusion is a reference guide which has translations of all of the Chinese phrases spoken in the show.

Serenity: The Official Visual Companion:
Serenity: The Official Visual Companion
Features the shooting script for Serenity, an extensive interview with Joss Whedon, production photos, concept art, storyboards, and a bit of history of the Firefly 'verse.

Serenity Novelization by Keith R.A. DeCandido:
Serenity Novelization
Decent adaptation of the film, writiing style is serviceable but the real treat is added insight and background information to characters and events in the film. Want to know how Wash knows Mr. Universe? Want to know the Operative knows so much about Mal's contacts? The answers are in the book.


Historical Promotional Material:
The First Nine Minutes of "Serenity":
This clip is the first 9 minutes of the film Serenity and covers much of the exposition about the Firefly universe. If you have never seen the show, or have friends who have never seen the show, have them watch this.
http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2681478?htv=12&htv=12&htv=12

Serenity DVD:
Serenity, order the Widescreen dvd for $17.99 from Amazon.com
It was released on December 20th and features the following Special features:
Commentary by: Writer/Director Joss Whedon
Deleted scenes and outtakes
Future History: The Story of Earth That Was
What's in a Firefly
Re-Lighting the Firefly
Joss Whedon Introduction

The Trailer:
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/serenity/trailer_2/

The Poster:
serenity14.jpg


http://versaphile.com/download/firefly.html
 
Im a huge firefly fan, and i have already seen this movie, about 4 months ago. Its good, doesnt quite live up to what the fans "deserve"... but its still enjoyable...


Ill be seeing it opening night, if i can...
 
[quote name='alonzomourning23']Call me when they make more LEXX.[/QUOTE]

Ok, is it still 1800 GlitterEyes

will do!
 
Firefly rocks. I dled the whole thing and watched it, then bought the DVD's to support the show/movie/franchise.
 
I have Firefly in my Blockbuster queue and it seems like the type of show I like. I'll probably watch it in theaters, but after I watch the series...
 
Man i need to catch the series was a huge fan of Buffy and Angel. My question is will that marathon have all the episodes? Wasn't there like two episodes that never got aired? Also wasn't there 14 episodes because that marathon is only running 12. Also I believe the series started on Fox not Sci Fi
 
[quote name='jlarlee']Man i need to catch the series was a huge fan of Buffy and Angel. My question is will that marathon have all the episodes? Wasn't there like two episodes that never got aired? Also wasn't there 14 episodes because that marathon is only running 12. Also I believe the series started on Fox not Sci Fi[/QUOTE]
Updated my original post to include this information, reproducing it here:

There will be a Firefly marathon on the Sci-fi Channel on September 27th starting at Noon EST and running to 10:00 PM. This will feature the 2 part pilot and the next 8 episodes of the series. The 11th episode, War Stories, will be broadcast friday, September 30th at 7:00 PM EST. The 3-unaired episodes of Firefly will be broadcast one-at-a-time on the following 3 Fridays. Unfortunately, at that point, Sci-fi will be having a 13 days of Halloween movie maratharon so the last episode of the series, Objects in Space, probably won't air until November.
 
Thanks for the info I'll probably just use my second tivo machine to catch the series and I will probably only have to rent one or at the most two of the dvds to catch the last 4 episodes
 
This is my most anticipated movie ever. I am a HUGE Firefly and Joss Whedon fan. I will probrobly end up seeing it 4 or 5 times just to put my money in so we can get a sequel. Firefly fans need to drag everyone they know to see this to get the revenue up.
 
I may catch this one on video eventually. Heard great things about the series but not sure I have the time to devote to a marathon.

Think this will get an audience outside of Firefly fans?
 
[quote name='nevposey']I may catch this one on video eventually. Heard great things about the series but not sure I have the time to devote to a marathon.

Think this will get an audience outside of Firefly fans?[/QUOTE]
I don't know, I never underestimate the power of a fanatical cult base. I was highly surprised that The Grudge made almost $40 million the opening weekend and the only thing I can figure out which caused this was a combination of 1.)Buffy fans, 2.)Raimi fans 3.)Japanesse Horror fans. If I remember correctly, the Serenity trailer played before Batman Begins, which I think gives a better picture of the film then the kinda crappy TV spot. They way I see it, Serenity will most likely either be a monster hit, or a colossal failure.
 
The grudge also was helped because horror movies were very bankable at the time and it had no other similar movies competing with it. I also thought it had a well done ad campaign.
 
I saw it, and I loved it.

Anything i say will spoil something... it's that good.

I plan on seeing it again however, gotta support it if we want a sequel.

~stew
 
thanks for the heads-up, I'll see if I can get in on that marathon since I'm interested in the film but want some background info before I see it.
 
I picked up the Firefly DVDs during the last DDD sale, and it's become one of my 2 favorite Sci-Fi shows (the other being the new Battlestar Galactica). I can't wait for Serenity. I'll be in the theater on Friday, and maybe a few more times.

Be sure to bring everyone you can to Serenity. Someone over at Universal said we need to make about $80 million world wide if we want sequels, and I want sequels.
 
[quote name='sanjuro']thanks for the heads-up, I'll see if I can get in on that marathon since I'm interested in the film but want some background info before I see it.[/QUOTE]
If you are short on time and can only watch a few from the marathon I recommend these four episodes to get you ready for the film: Serenity Pt. 1 and 2, Out of Gas, and Ariel.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']bump and edit as a reminder for the marathon on Tuesday, hope ya got a dvr, a tivo, or more than one VCR ;)[/QUOTE]I heart my dvr sattellite reciever

anyway, I'm definetly going to record the marathon because of what I've heard about the series, and if I like what I see, I'll go and see the movie on opening weekend, otherwise, on dvd
 
Ok, ok, I'm sorry for beating a dead horse ;), but one more reminder for those CAGers who check in the morning before heading off for the day.
 
i cant wait to see the movie, but i think im going to show the series to a friend first so he doesnt go in the dark... then again, ill have to wait a day or two longer then, well see, ill go in the first week for sure
 
Cool, thanks for posting all the info. I just saw the trailer on Yahoo. It'll take me a while to go through the TV episodes and backstory, so I'll probably have to wait for the DVD.
 
Well I saw it today at the first showing, I can't believe it actually lived up to my expectations, I didn't think that was possible. If you are a Firefly fan and have not been moved by the time of the end credits, you're just not human ;).
 
Just got home from seeing it, thought it was very good. I'm only disappointed that this story couldn't unfold within the series.

I wasn't surprised by Book dying, but I was a little disappointed that Wash died, especially the way he died. He obviously won't be in any sequel... Its too bad.
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Just got home from seeing it, thought it was very good. I'm only disappointed that this story couldn't unfold within the series.

I wasn't surprised by Book dying, but I was a little disappointed that Wash died, especially the way he died. He obviously won't be in any sequel... Its too bad.[/QUOTE]
Well there's always the possiblity of flashbacks.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Well there's always the possiblity of flashbacks.[/QUOTE]
I'm sure if he really needed the work, they could do flashbacks, dream sequences, holographic recordings, perhaps a haunting, cloning, or pretending it never happened at all. But, still, its not going to be the same without him, if there are sequels. The story seems to be written with sequels in mind.
 
Yes, I've been hanging around some of the higher traffic Serenity and Firefly message boards and there seems to be a bit of a schism forming between hardcore browncoats who prefered the lightheartedness of the series and those who were able to fully embrace and love the darker Serenity. I just hope that once people have about a few days to a week to process Wash's death and see the film again in the theatres or on dvd they can come to terms with it.

It was sudden, it was vicious, it was random. Just be thankful it was a clean and quick death, not death by the Reaver's actual hands. Poor Book had to bleed out for who knows how long.
 
Wash won't be missed in future movies, know why? Because he was hardly used in this movie anyhow. His only important part was the scene just before he died. He's the witty comedian and a witty character is no good unless he's in any scenes that give him a chance to really be witty. Plus the witty comedian type always dies anyhow (the actor who plays him even said at some point he'd be the guy most likely to die in the series), so I kinda saw it coming, but not at that moment. Also, my feeling is if you never saw the show his death had little effect. Partly because it was kinda random, but also because they didn't get anytime to connect to the character (keeping in mind that's if you never saw the show). Hell they just barely mentioned he was married to Zoe. I think killing off someone like Simon would've had much more effect for the film. Wash's was, dare I say, somewhat pointless.

And overall to be honest, while I enjoyed the series, I can still the film objectively enough to say that if you never saw the show it would be just an above average sci-fi flick. However if you saw and enjoyed the show like I did for the most part, you'd likely see it as kind of a proper season finale without the pesky comemrcials.

edit: and we may wanna add to the topic title that spoilers do start on the 2nd page...
 
[quote name='dafoomie']Just got home from seeing it, thought it was very good. I'm only disappointed that this story couldn't unfold within the series.

I wasn't surprised by Book dying, but I was a little disappointed that Wash died, especially the way he died. He obviously won't be in any sequel... Its too bad.[/QUOTE]

I wasn't disappointed, I was pissed off. I would have liked to have learned some more about Book's character, but could live with him being killed off. But Wash? WTF?

And I definitely disagree about it being anywhere close to average. I saw it with a couple of friends who have not seen the series (yet) and they loved it. I thought it was incredible - Joss has really perfected his mix of action, witty banter & serious moments. He's made lightening a dark scene into an artform. I really want to see it again - this may be one of those rare movies I see twice in the theater.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I can get a good buy on the series? I borrowed a friend's copy the first time I watched it, but I defintely want to own it now.
 
[quote name='argyle']I wasn't disappointed, I was pissed off. I would have liked to have learned some more about Book's character, but could live with him being killed off. But Wash? WTF?

And I definitely disagree about it being anywhere close to average. I saw it with a couple of friends who have not seen the series (yet) and they loved it. I thought it was incredible - Joss has really perfected his mix of action, witty banter & serious moments. He's made lightening a dark scene into an artform. I really want to see it again - this may be one of those rare movies I see twice in the theater.

In the meantime, does anyone know where I can get a good buy on the series? I borrowed a friend's copy the first time I watched it, but I defintely want to own it now.[/QUOTE]
I didn't think it was average... I thought it was very good. I loved it. I thought some things could have been better, but that had more to do with editing than anything. I think the best compliment I can give it, is that non scifi fans like the series and the movie.

They give you enough about Book that the audience should figure it out. Its Book that points out that The Operative is a "believer", and Book's last words are about believing in something. Book basically was The Operative until something happened (he found Jesus?). Most people would like to know, but theres something to be said about knowing something about the character without being told, without knowing all the details, that sort of preserves the Book that you know from the series... If they had a flashback with Book killing some kids, you probably wouldn't think of him the same way afterwards.

Duo_Maxwell was pretty much right in his post. If you have to condense the story down from a series into a movie, you just don't have time for witty characters like that, or really any character development outside of what the series gave you beforehand.
 
I am pretty sure the best deal currently is the one that is my OP, deepdiscountdvd for about $30 with no tax and free shipping. If you want it for cheaper you could wait another 2 months or so and get it from Deep discount during the 20% off sale.
 
Just got back from seeing Serenity tonight. After a slow summer for good scifi movies I thought it was great. I loved the firefly series so maybe I am bias. My wife went with me and she had never seen a single episode of firefly. She said after the first 10 minutes she was able to get right into it and enjoyed the constant sarcastic lines the show is famous for. Everyone needs to spread the word and cross fingers for a sequel.
 
Just over $10 million at the box office, too bad. Guess we'll just have to see what happens next weekend, if there's the normal drop off I'd say that's the ball game. About the only other thing that could save it is abnormally high overseas business. High dvd sales of the movie alone won't cut it.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']The title lies! There's only one page to this thread. :sad: I want to see this movie soon.[/QUOTE]
Sorry if you got spoiled, I just have number of posts per page as the forum default so for me there are 3.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Sorry if you got spoiled, I just have number of posts per page as the forum default so for me there are 3.[/QUOTE]
I just click the last post button, so I didn't see much of anything. :lol:
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']I just click the last post button, so I didn't see much of anything. :lol:[/QUOTE]
Ok, I changed the title to more accurately warn people of where spoilers start ;) It's been pretty awful on some of forums like IMDB.com, as soon as friday night came people started spamming topic titles with forum names containing major, major spoilers.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Ok, I changed the title to more accurately warn people of where spoilers start ;) It's been pretty awful on some of forums like IMDB.com, as soon as friday night came people started spamming topic titles with forum names containing major, major spoilers.[/QUOTE]
:lol: I love that place. It's the only place where I've ever seen a US vs. UK flame war actually throwing in stuff from the revolutionary war.
 
[quote name='guardian_owl']Just over $10 million at the box office, too bad. Guess we'll just have to see what happens next weekend, if there's the normal drop off I'd say that's the ball game. About the only other thing that could save it is abnormally high overseas business. High dvd sales of the movie alone won't cut it.[/QUOTE]
A 10 million opening weekend for a niche Scifi movie isn't bad at all, 2nd only to Flightplan's 15 million.
 
I really like the movie, although I hated to see Wash go. I was hoping for more than a $10 million showing. Here's to hoping word of mouth gets more butts in the theatres. I'd see it again if I weren't a broke bastard.
 
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