tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post6654618965576570017..comments2024-02-11T15:29:31.409-05:00Comments on Richard's Pretension: June is Firefly SeasonRichard Bellushhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-59612959612492268852016-06-27T09:17:11.436-04:002016-06-27T09:17:11.436-04:00Yes, Babylon 5 was very much a part of that 90s tr...Yes, Babylon 5 was very much a part of that 90s transition. Buffy was an odd hybrid with a story-arc for each season, but perhaps that is because Whedon was always worried each season would be the last. The finale of each season would have worked as a place to end the whole show.<br /><br />That is an interesting response to the accents. One might suppose that the frontier areas of the new solar system would draw westerners for various reasons, but I honestly hadn’t noticed it. Now if they spoke with a Sopranos-like Jersey accent…<br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-25002231793192993062016-06-26T19:07:23.014-04:002016-06-26T19:07:23.014-04:00I enjoyed the series and the movie too. I watched ...I enjoyed the series and the movie too. I watched a number of the episodes off TV, but I'm not sure if I've seen every one or not. Something that has been on my list to revisit. <br /><br />My only criticism of Firefly is the western drawl. I may be in the minority on that, but it still bugs me as I can't see an advance society whether on Earth or even one that's expanded to a newer settlement on the Moon or Mars or whatever reverting back to that type spoken behavior. It just seems more comic book-y than real. <br /><br />Other than that, I've enjoyed the series. Good cast, and well written episodes. I agree too that at that time there was just too many series to keep up with even if you had a VCR. Boy I couldn't and I tried, no less that some might move to a different time or day of airing. <br /><br />I'm not which came first, but I think Babylon 5 may have been one of the forerunners to that story arc type of storytelling, where it built sort of like a novel, so you wanted to get in early with the storytelling. El Voxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05985563041511492981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-35752996393959293122016-06-26T14:36:59.561-04:002016-06-26T14:36:59.561-04:00Part of the fun of a broad exposure to screen and ...Part of the fun of a broad exposure to screen and page is the way it allows you to see connections and derivations. While I’m aware of those anime productions’ existence, I’d never spot the specific borrowings in “Firefly.” Thanks for the link back to your review. <br /><br />Summer Glau seems to find herself in well-regarded commercial failures including the “Sarah Conner Chronicles” and “Dollhouse.” Her character in “Firefly” is the one who isn’t someone you’re likely to meet. I like that the others are, such as, for example, Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the ship’s mechanic who would like to be more girly than she usually has a chance to be, or Jayne (Adam Balwin) a self-serving ruffian who is sometimes tempted to virtue.<br />Richard Bellushhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10108081864942272619noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1656921634940224775.post-5611640811761604642016-06-26T12:00:38.979-04:002016-06-26T12:00:38.979-04:00Yeah I was late to the "Firefly" boat to...Yeah I was late to the "Firefly" boat too. I picked it up right after "Serenity" hit DVD. There was some kind of two pack that was priced affordably. I really enjoyed it, and we revisit it pretty often. Although my wife really doesn't like how Wash is treated in the movie and we rarely watch that one together.<br /><br />The main reason for me avoiding "Firefly" when it first aired was the simple fact that it looked like a combination of two very popular anime from the late 1990s - "Cowboy Bebop" and "Outlaw Star". It felt like Whedon was just ripping off those two anime and trying to pass it off as his own creation. I was still in my snobby "anime is superior to everything" phase, so as much as I enjoyed Buffy, I just couldn't bring myself to watch "Firefly" when it was on TV.<br /><br />That said, yeah Whedon does borrow heavily from "Cowboy Bebop" and "Outlaw Star", but he puts his own Whedon touch on everything. But if you ever get the chance, give the two anime series I mentioned a whirl. Most people really enjoy "Bebop" the most, and the animation and design are top notch. You may also recognize some of the characters tropes crossing over into "Firefly". <br /><br />"Outlaw Star" influenced the world Whedon created, with the Chinese overtones and the way Gene and his crew take odd jobs to make ends meet. But he did lift (and I'm talking shot for shot) River's first appearance, folded up in a crate. The same thing happened to Melfina the first time we see her in the first episode of "Outlaw Star". <br /><br />http://romansreviews.blogspot.com/2014/08/outlaw-star-1998.html<br />My review contains a screenshot of Melfina's first scene.Roman J. Martelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09545497713474664555noreply@blogger.com