Yet another brilliant Joss Whedon show stricken down in its prime (see journal entry for a rant on Angel’s premature retirement). When I initially heard the premise — a western set 500 years in the future — I resisted pretty strongly. I’m not a big fan of the western as a genre, and I think the last few crappy permeations of Star Trek have tapped out the “humans struggle in the final frontier” thing.
Like the Fox execs that cancelled this show, I should have put more faith in Joss. More than Buffy or Angel, Firefly is an ensemble show, and it’s almost impossible to imagine it enduring the same cast shakeups that either of those shows have. Each character fills a very important role, and together, they comprise a powerful (if sometimes morally shaky) family. Everything about this show is (was) top notch: from the better-than-TV effects to the acting to the writing to the scenery. Hell, one of the characters was your typical tough-guy-who-can’t-be-trusted, played by one of the lesser Baldwin brothers. And he still managed to be an incredibly fascinating and entertaining character! That’s just how good this show was. Joss claims there’s a Firefly movie in the works… one can only hope.