The future is worth fighting for.

Described as a science fiction western without aliens, ‘Firefly’ is set five-hundred years in the future, after humanity has abandoned Earth and forged a new frontier in another planetary system. The show follows the exploits of the crew of Firefly-class cargo ship, Serenity, captained by Captain Malcolm ‘Mal’ Reynolds. Mal once fought on the side of the Independent forces against the new unified central government, known as the Anglo-Sino Alliance; however, when his side lost to the Alliance at the battle of Serenity Valley, Mal decided to set up his own salvage business. His crew is comprised of a motley assortment of characters: Zoe Washburne, who served alongside Mal in the war; Zoe’s husband, Hoban ‘Wash’ Washbourne, who pilots the ship; mercenary Jayne Cobb; mechanic Kaywinnit Lee 'Kaylee' Frye; and Mal’s live-in client, Inara, a 'Registered Companion' – or high-class prostitute. Mal makes a decent – if dishonest – living, obtaining goods and doing deals with nefarious characters, whilst avoiding the Alliance authorities. However, when he takes on new passengers in the form of minister Shepherd Book, and Doctor Simon Tam and his psychotic sister, River, Mal’s life get unnecessarily complicated…

Created by Joss ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ Whedon, ‘Firefly’ began life as a rather dull pilot episode; however, sensing that they were onto a good thing, the network bosses instructed the production team to re-shoot and re-edit the story, and once that proved to be much better, they then commissioned a series. Unfortunately, although the subsequent episodes were highly enjoyable, filled with cracking adventures, entertaining characters and liberal doses of humour, ‘Firefly’ was cancelled after just fourteen stories.

But the story of Serenity and her crew doesn’t end there: after fans campaigned for the show to be brought back, Joss Whedon managed to get a feature film commissioned. Released in 2005, ‘Serenity’ is a fantastic movie, which succeeds in being both a stand-alone adventure for newcomers, and a decent finale for followers of the series. If you haven’t seen ‘Firefly’ then you should – it’s a brilliant, if under-appreciated and overlooked, slice of television.


Firefly - Season 1
Serenity - Movie

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