138 replies to this topic

[Ulkis]

Speaking of which, I prefer the movie to the TV series.

Me too. The series didn't seem to involve a definite premise. Of course they only got to show just the first couple of episodes, so maybe it didn't get a chance to to sort itself out.

I don't know if finding Kaylee a tad annoying is that unpopular. But I don't think Mal is hot.

Edited by Ulkis, Sep 19, 2006 @ 3:05 PM.

[CarolJude]

The last couple of months I've been starting to catch up on a show I never watched when it was on.... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I am LOVING it, and also finding that it often makes me think of Firefly - seeing season by season is making me mad that Firefly still hasn't had a chance to grow. Certainly there are a lot of ideas that have not had the chance to be realized (and a lot of Asian actors that didn't get the chance to be put in!)

I think I digressed there, but to bring it back to the topic at hand: My accelerated digestion of BtVS is finding me by turns annoyed and then appreciative by/of Xander, and so of course I am.... finding Wash more and more annoying. This bothers me, as I am a Wash type - always with the wisecracks. It's making me examine myself and causing me to bite my tongue more and more often (and I am DAMNED witty, so it's torturous!) Shut up, me. Shut up, Xander. Shut up.... Wash.

I don't know that I could spend a day with Kaylee and not wind up killing her. I appreciate the value of cheerful, nice people, but I'd rather be cooped up with Jayne.

Guess I just prefer the dark to the shiny happy people.

[frannyglass]

I. Hate. River.

Both the character and the actress' portrayal of her. I know I was supposed to be moved by her plight, but frankly I spent the whole series (and the movie) just wishing that she would die. Why did she have to be good at EVERYTHING? (I know I'm exaggerrating, but still...) She was the psychic. Okay. She was the most geniusy genius ever. Annoying, especially for Simon. She was the bestest fighter the world has ever known AND she could beat up all the Reavers. Improbable. Moving momet when she rushes out to fight, but...just given her body mass - she couldn't win.

And it's her fault Wash and Book and everyone who was ever nice to the Serenity crew is dead. How is she gonna live with THAT knowledge?...

Inara. Grr. This hurts because Morena Baccarin is GORGEOUS and, being shallow, that wins her a lot of points with me. But previous posters are right. She's a prostitute. Dress is up in all the balls, status, and remade wedding gowns you want, she has sex for money. Her character is extremely underdeveloped and in the film she was reduced to the damsel in distress. (who had some doing in getting herself out of trouble, but - after that moment she could have been killed off and no major changes would need to be made the the second half of the film. Inara in the movie = device.)

Kaylee - weirdly never bothered me as much as Willow on Buffy or Fred on Angel. I think because she was so into sex. I liked that about her.

[alexmarsz]

Inara's role and status was so poorly and inconsistently explained that it still seemed like nothing more than the typical 'hooker with heart of gold' that's been done a million times before.

Totally see that on the individual level. What I like on the larger level is that apparently in the future, a bunch of Hookers with Hearts of Gold get together, realize they're all cliches, and decide to form an HHG union. I'm just sorry the series ended before we got to meet the Interplanetary Order of Wacky Neighbors.

River I gave more of a pass too. I was always acutely aware that she was annoying, narrowly complex (if that makes any sense), and seemingly more trouble than she's worth. But I always assumed a huge payoff years later would change her, make her my absolute favorite character, and render it all worthwhile.

My own unpopular opinion is that Mal should have died at the end of the movie, if not all of them. As a soldier, and a cowboy, and a ship captain, he should have gone down in the action. Dying for his cause would have been more poignant than sacrificing his pilot for the cause.

[Eris]

Must say I like both River and Kaylee, but Inara is both annoying and useless in the series and the movie. Never saw much of anything between her and Mal. I'm glad Mal survived the movie, but I wouldn't have minded if Inara had died. In fact, that might have been great; wonder how Mal would have reacted?

And now for my truly Unpopular Opinion: River + Jayne 4-evah!

Ahem. *goes quietly into corner to hide* That was embarrassing.

Edited by Eris, Sep 20, 2006 @ 12:38 PM.

[sailorwind]

The more I watch FF, the less I like Inara.

I totally agree. After the first time watching the series, I loved her as much as I loved Mal or Zoe or Wash, but after repeated (and repeated and repeated) viewings, she is really starting to grate on me. Plus, since Mal is my favorite character, it really annoys me to see him in unneccessary pain and Inara is excellent for that.

I also agree that I liked the movie better than the series. I never did like the whole "Western in space!" idea. I was never a Western fan, and it never made sense to me that if you dump settlers on random planets with nothing but a few guns and a flock of sheep that they would revert to the clothing, speech, and mannerisms of the wild west. All of a sudden it makes sense for girls to wear only puffy patterned dresses and bonnets again while the men get chaps and cowboy hats! I also never understood why, 500 years in the future, they only had guns that today would be considered antiques and much more expensive than the guns criminals use today. The movie really downplayed that aspect and up-played the "Chinese and America were the last superpowers so their cultures have melded" card, which I found much more interesting.

My next unpopular opinion is that I REALLY don't like Simon and I don't find him very pretty. Sure, there were a couple scenes where he got a laugh out of me, but mostly I found him annoying and not deserving of Kaylee. I honestly would have preferred him to go and Book to be in more of the movie, as I always liked Book.

[PixiesSix]

To me, it seems like everyone here hates Inara. So I guess my unpopular opinion is that I like her. Then again, I've only seen up to War Stories, so there's still time.

Also? Don't like Simon. Don't like Simon and Kaylee. I like Kaylee fine, just not Simon AND Kaylee. I'd rather see Kaylee with Jayne. Or Simon with Jayne. Or anyone with Jayne. Or just Jayne.

[Eegah]

Wait until Heart of Gold. That's the worst Inara ever gets.

[Atropos]

How's this for an unpopular opinion: Firefly is basically a clone of a little seen, oft-maligned little syndicated sci-fi show called.... you guessed it.... Andromeda.

Now, first off, let me just say that I really do love the show, and if nothing else I think it's vastly better than Andromeda (and most other shows, for that matter) in terms of execution. And also, let me go ahead and apologize in advance if a hundred million people have already made all the points that I'm about to make.... I've been a FF fan for years, but I'm new to Andromeda, so I'm just discovering these parallels for the first time.

That having been said.... the parallels are numerous, and hard to ignore. Both shows revolve a crew of what are essentially crooks and scavengers following the lead of an honorable, idealistic captain (the only difference being that Mal tries to pretend like he's not as honorable as he is, whereas Capt. Hunt- the lead character of Andromeda- pretty much wears his altruistic intentions on his sleeve). Both shows feature a "spiritual" character with a dark, possibly violent past (Shepherd Book on FF, Rev Bem on Andromeda). Both feature a surly "mercenary" character who makes no secret of the fact that he would betray the crew in a heartbeat if it suited his purposes. Both feature a sarcastic, "tough chick" first officer. Both feature a beaten, broken-down old ship whose old, beaten and broken-down status is a source of constant humorous barbs among the crew. Both feature a young, chipper female crew member, as well as a young female crew member with "strange powers" and a past shrouded in mystery (granted, these traits are combined in the character of Trance Gemini on Andromeda, whereas the FF producers chose to split them between Kaylee and River). And of course, there's the immature, wise-cracking blond guy in the Hawaiian shirt. And if that weren't enough.... is there really much difference between the Reavers (who swarm ships and rape, skin, and devour the flesh of their victims) and the Magog (who swarm ships and mutilate, impregnate, and devour the flesh of their victims)?

I'm just sayin....

[alexmarsz]

I also never understood why, 500 years in the future, they only had guns that today would be considered antiques and much more expensive than the guns criminals use today.

Actually, I totally explained that part away for myself. Of course I'm no gun expert so I'm sure my illusion is easily dispelled. But here goes:

The virtue of older guns meant that the ammo was simpler and therefore easier for distant settlers to craft for themselves. The compact self-contained nature of modern ammo would require being crafted in a factory.

Can't account for clothing styles though.

[Treppie]

I share marlass's unpopular opinion re: Serenity vs Train Job. I saw Serenity as my pilot ep (off the DVDs), and I almost didn't watch any more. I think I might have liked it better if I had seen it in the order it aired in, but it's hard to say. It was still clunky to me.

And another unpopular opinion. I generally don't care for Inara, (Wait, no, that's not it! It gets better.) but there was one time when I really did like her: the end of Trash. That's right, I like Inara getting the jump on Saffron at the end of Trash and then snipping at Mal about it.

[sailorwind]

Actually, Atropos, until you outlined them like that, I never drew any parallels between these two shows other than the Reavers/Magog, but you are totally right. Huh. And in both shows the ship is a main character, though in Andromeda it's more literal and in Firefly it's more metaphorical. And now I'm totally off topic, but you really got me thinking about it.

[Lady Agnew]

Atropos, hm, what I've also heard that Joss pretty much re-configured his screenplay for Alien Resurrection to cough up Firefly, though really, I always pretty bought into the whole "based on Stagecoach" idea, because that's a classic idea. A bunch of people on a fragile vessel, making a journey together despite disparate aims and goals, bound together because of a violent, psychotically lethal enemy (Reavers, Apache, etc.).

[Atropos]

If we were simply talking about a ragtag crew of "misfits" in both cases, I'd agree with you. It's the replication of specific character types that makes me think this is more than just coincidence. Not only do both shows have a preacher, a mercenary, a blonde guy in a Hawaiian shirt who makes childish jokes and basically acts exactly like a contemporary human being, a captain who's a disenfranchised former officer, etc.... they both have all of these characters. In that exact configuration. Now don't get me wrong.... as I said, I love the show, and I respect Joss Whedon enormously, but.... I don't think this is something that was entirely unconscious on his part. The similarities are just too striking.

[frannyglass]

I also like "Train Job" better than "Serenity". "Serenity" has serious pacing problems, and could've used some judicious editing. I, too, almost stopped after seeing the pilot, thinking the show had an interesting premise but was ultimately too boring. Since it was Joss, I gave it another episode. I'm glad I did.

[Loandbehold]

I'm sure its been said (many times, many ways) before, that the slow pacing of Serenity (allegedly) led to Fox's decision to air The Train Robbery first.

As for my unpopular opinion, I didn't like Simon and did like Book. Especially The Hair when it was on the loose. That scene where River gets scared of Book's hair is great. Every Western, even those in Space, needs a moralizing preacher w/ an unknown and possible violent past. As for Simon, he was way too cliche for me in the beginning. Fish out of water, totally out of his league, but having just the skills needed at the exact right time. Seen it before.

[PixiesSix]

Now if you could just come up with one to explain the 'down home' Western speak, that'd be very shiny indeed...I'd love to stop wincing every time I hear the characters utter "ain't" and tons of double negatives :)

Oh! You just reminded me of another of my unpopular opinions. I actually kinda like the "plain speak". I'd imagine settlers out populating distant planets wouldn't have much access to formal education, so each generation's speach would revert back to a more simpler style, too. Not much time for schoolin' when you're tryin' to stay alive in the wilderness. I noticed that no one from the core planets talked that way.

[Velvet Voice]

Unpopular opinion, the characters and the premise of Firefly was much more promising than Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (I LOVED Buffy... but to me ... Firefly was just... MORE)

[zombygirl]

I like the speech. It kind of reminds me of the way my family speaks. Ours is slightly more southern in dialect, but a lot of the phraising and such corolate nicely. It's rather comforting.

[sailorwind]

I liked the speech, too. I found it endearing. Plus, it IS Joss Whedon. I don't think he's capable of writing a show in "normal speak". It's not exactly like the Buffy-verse people spoke the way the rest of America does, either.

[Flyingdi]

I liked the character of Kaylee. My problem with her was that her reactions to Simon's character seemed rather forced and stupid. I get the two different worlds thing. I get the crush thing. I get the diverse personalities, hers being extremingly outgoing and open and his being standoffish and shy.

I don't get why she practically went nuts anytime he said anything to her. Man couldn't say "Good Morning!" to Kaylee without launching her into a hissyfit.

"MY GOD, SIMON! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT TO ME? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU CAN'T TELL ITS AFTERNOON OUT HERE IN SPACE! HOW INSENSITIVE! I CAN'T TALK TO YOU ANY MORE!"

I may be the only one who saw it that way though.

[sailorwind]

You're not the only one, Flyingdi. I was not a huge Simon fan and I loved Kaylee in general, but everytime the two of them had a conversation my heart always went out to the snobby doctor. She would back him into corners, fishing for compliments in a manner that reminds me of a scene from a movie I can't remember the title of where they went fishing with dynamite to blow as many fish as possible out of the water. She was constantly asking this question with changin phrasing: "Do you like me best of all the single women on Serenity who aren't hookers or related to you?" And then get irrationally pissed off when he would point out she was the only one that described. Well, Kaylee, the dude has a point and I don't understand why you're going for him when you've got a perfectly hot Jayne at your disposal.

[zombygirl]

I'm a Jayne/River shiper all the way, from the first to the last. The idea kinds creeps some people out, but I can't help it, I'm a sicko.

[redrobin27]

First time poster to the thread here, and currently watching the Firefly DVDs. I'm almost done, so thought I would share some UPOs:

I, too, prefer the movie to the series. Don't get me wrong, I am enjoying it very much so far. Long term, I don't think the premise would have worked out for TV. The world Joss created seems to translate better to film.

I don't hate Inara. Or River. They could both be annoying, but I think I prefer both of them to Kaylee. Goodness, she really bugs me. For me, it's not the perky, infinitely optimistic view she has (though that can be annoying). I found her to be a bit of a hypocrite when it came to Simon. She had a problem with his view of their lifestyle, when it seemed that she was somewhat critical of his, and expected him to change to suit what she wanted. Plus, she was kinda desperate.

I like Simon, particularly since he was true to who he was despite Kaylee's constant insecurity and, to a degree, criticism. I never got the sense he looked down upon anyone on the ship for how they live; I thought it was more like he was perplexed that someone would choose that life. That's different, IMO. And he wasn't alpha-male like Mal or Jayne, but he was still manly to me, because of his complete devotion to River. He was a bit too serious, but given he and River's background and their plight, I could understand why he wasn't exactly Mr. Sunshine.

Even less compatible than Simon and Kaylee are Mal and Inara. Besides the fact that NF and MB had no palpable chemistry, IMO, I could not see them ever working out. She was a companion, and Mal clearly didn't approve. I didn't see him magically being okay with her potentially sleeping with other men if they got together. What was the alternative? Her not being a companion anymore? If she continued in the occupation, and Mal slept with other women, she would clearly have a problem with that as well.

[rivka]

I didn't dislike Inara initially, but as I have watched the episodes more and more, sometimes I'll get a Lana (Kristin Kreuk) vibe from her. And that is a bad, bad thing. Morena is a much better actress, but the character herself occasionally comes off as a Lana perfect-pretty-princess, and then Morena will have this dumb-as-rocks look on her face, and it will just ruin Inara for me at that moment.

Not sure if this unpopular or not, but I've never liked Jaynesville very much. I find it rather boring.