This is the best movie review ever written.

Wait, even the fans think that out of only 13 episodes a few of them suck? What's the big deal, then?

There's not much hope fot TV's sci fi fans these days.

Sure, there were a few decent episodes of a slightly less bad than Voyager Star Trek series.....but aside from that, there's really been....nothing much. It's a step above the aforementioned Cleopatra 2525, Andromeda, etc.

Everyone BUT America gets the new Doctor Who series.....bastards.

Firefly was better than Who.

[Edited on Sep 29, 2005 by fpkk]

Seven, eight paragraphs before he gets to the fricking point?

It reads like my dissertation. IOW, pure crap

Well, I can think of a few contemporary fantasy shows that I've liked (Carnivale, Northern Exposure) but the only sci-fi show I ever thought was worth a damn was Star Trek: The Next Generation. Up until I saw Firefly on DVD. I worked at a used DVD store, and we sold tons of copies of Firefly, and wound up using it as a recommendation when the person didn't know what they want. A complaint about it was very rare.

That being said, I wouldn't say the show was uneven exactly, but some episodes were better than others. The first in particular was slow to start, but gives you necessary backstory. But I can't think of any episodes of it that were bad.

Oh, and to Ryan: the "space karate" thing is totally inaccurate, since that's sort of a new development. Up until that trailer, the only fights on it were gunfights and bar brawls. If you have to pigeonhole it, it's a sci-fi/Western, in equal parts. The link between sci-fi and Western has been made before, most notably in Star Wars, but this takes it much further. It's worth seeing if only because, like Carnivale, you're seeing a show that is unique and clearly someone's vision, as opposed to a studio's.

Also, Jeff is totally right about AICN. It's total fanboy shit, even when I agree with them. The impression I get is this: if you've seen the show, you'll like it. If not, it's just going to be weird and disjointed. I know they give you backstory at the beginning, but it's just not going to be so exciting to see what River's deal is if you've been introduced to River not half an hour ago.

Edit: Also, there's an 80% so far on Rotten Tomatoes. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, but I trust a critical consensus a hell of a lot more than AICN, since I sort of hate AICN. Sometimes they come up with interesting information, but the layout, writing quality, blind fanboy reviews and general willingness to destroy any possible surprise for us really drives me crazy.

[Edited on Sep 29, 2005 by TedKoppel]

Sorry, I got to the phrase "I hate Buffy" and stopped reading.

Looks like I lasted longer than Tuffy, though...

[Edited on Sep 29, 2005 by penates]

This is nonsense up with which I will not put.

This is like some sub-rule of Murphy's Law or something. The main rule is that if you only ever watch a show once, then watch it again some time later, its guaranteed to be the same episode you already saw.

But the sub-rule, is that if you didn't like that episode, it will always be considered (by someone who likes the show) to be one of the worst episodes of that series.

Such a coincidence.

Haven't read them often in the last few years, eh? That used to be the only reason I preferred AICN to anything else, they used to be spoiler central....now though? No. AICN is very much an antispoiler place. Pretty disappointing, really.

The thing about "fanboy" reviews is while most of them are terribly insipid, every so often I'll read one that, by virtue of either being actually well-written, or igniting my own inner fanboy, seems positively transcendent. This one falls in the middle.

That said, even though I've never seen an episode of Firefly, I'm really jazzed to see Serenity. I'm gonna have get the series first, though.

Doesn't always work though. I got the exact opposite once. The first full episode of X-Files I watched was Clyde Bruckman, and I was confused for a while whenever I watched a different episode and it wasn't nearly as good.

Here's how Firefly works:

The first four episodes are a bit shit.

The next three are alright.

The last 7 episodes are the most entertaining, gripping, intense, and insane pieces of TV ever made.


When it comes down to it, the first few episodes exist solely to build up the characters. The real strong storylines come in during the second half of the season - and that's why it's so good. Once you've gotten to know and love the characters, the show really takes off. By the time the last episode airs, you're a Browncoat. Even if you only ever wear black.

The best episodes are Out Of Gas, and Objects In Space. Those are two of the best tv episodes ever made, full stop. Firefly had 14 episodes and 2 of those were Absolute Classics. Buffy had 144 episodes and about 10 Absolute Classics. Do the math. If Firefly had gone on at this rate, it would have just become the best TV show ever made. Remember, the first season of Buffy wasn't amazing - it was only until Spike entered in Season 2, Episode 3 that a good show became a Great Show. Firefly took 7 episodes to become Great.

Of course, Freaks and Geeks took about 2 minutes to ingrain itself as the best tv show ever made, but that's another story.