Firefly & Serenity

2002-2003 & 2005
-created by joss whedon
FIREFLY, a sci fi western, was cancelled after eight episodes, but an ardent fan base wouldn't let it die. Two years later, unprecedentedly for a series that fell short of a season, it hit the big screen as the movie SERENITY. The show features crisply intelligent dialogue, adrenaline rushes, subtle sexual interplay, cheeky gallows humor, and superb chemistry. You pine for the seasons that never came, and are forever interested in the subsequent efforts of the cast and creator. Set in 2517, the show follows the crew of an old cargo ship in a galaxy dominated by a dystopian Alliance (a dark negative of STAR TREK's Federation). On the fringe of the galaxy, they eke out an existence with legal (and less legal) jobs. A refugee doctor (sean maher - PARTY OF FIVE, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING) joins the crew with his rescued, genius sister (summer glau - TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES, ALPHAS), who had been in training as a psionic government operative, her mind reduced to the level of a two year-old. Captain mal reynolds (nathan fillion - BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, CASTLE) is a hard-bitten veteran hiding a gentle heart. Jayne (adam baldwin - MY BODYGUARD, FULL METAL JACKET) is a hard-living, mostly amoral enforcer. Kaylee (jewel staite - SPACE CASES, STARGATE: ATLANTIS) is a spunky, sweet, shmutzy engineer who "ain't had nothin' between [her] legs what ain't had batteries" in years. Inara (morena baccarin - STARGATE SG-1, V) is a spiritually-trained prostitute. Sheperd (ron glass - BARNEY MILLER, THE NEW ODD COUPLE) is a wandering religious pilgrim. Zoe (gina torres - THE MATRIX RELOADED, THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS) and wash (alan tudyk - ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT, DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY) are the mismatched first officer & pilot whose romance somehow works (she's tough/sexy/dominant, he's beaver cleaver...you go, fanboys). The show effortlessly establishes itself as one of the five greatest sci fi shows of all time.
-Serenity ****
Building slowly, this pilot clicks in about halfway through. Will mal do the sensible thing, and abandon simon and river, his stowaway sister? Will he send Inara away? Will the Alliance find them? Will reavers eat them? Dark and sexy. Add to all the aforementioned qualities a sense of unpredictability. Guest starring carlos jacott (BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP), and mark sheppard (GALACTICA, BIONIC WOMAN), in his first of two appearances as badger, a lowlife kingpin.
-The Train Job ***
The humor of the show kicks in, plus the instability of jayne's mercenary morality, as he asserts his agenda when mal and zoe are captured by a local sheriff (gregg henry - STAR TREK: INSURRECTION, THE RICHES) after a partially successful heist.
-Bushwhacked ***
A derelict is discovered, with one deranged survivor and many bodies. While liberating supplies, Serenity is discovered and detained by an Alliance cruiser. As Simon and River hide, the crew is interrogated by the captain (doug savant - TEEN WOLF, MELROSE PLACE). The survivor goes on a killing spree, having been turned into a reaver by what he's seen. Trivia buffs, take note - the Alliance uniforms are a re-use from STARSHIP TROOPERS (watch closely for a soldier who wore the uniform in both shows).
-Shindig ***
On Persephone, a royal offers inara a place as his permanent companion. At a fancy ball, mal punches the man for demeaning her, and soon finds himself outclassed in a sword duel. Aside from garish makeup, a winner. Guest starring larry drake (L.A. LAW, DARKMAN).
-Safe ***
Sale of a cattle shipment goes bad, and sheperd is shot...but simon and river are kidnapped by locals who need a doc, so mal has to appeal to an Alliance cruiser for medical help. The locals soon take river for a witch (in need of burning).
-Our Mrs. Reynolds ****
A stowaway reveals that she was part of a payment made by bumptious villagers, and that she and mal are wed. Saffron's innocent act fools everyone except inara, who realizes she has companion training. She escapes, after sabotaging the ship on behalf of scavengers. The show hits new highs in tense, sexy, and funny. The first of two scintillating episodes for christina hendricks (ER, MAD MEN). Is mal playing possum at the end, pretending to not know whom inara kissed?
-Jaynestown ***
Trying to pick up a shipment of contraband on a planet of mud, Serenity discovers the townfolk have made a hero of jayne, who unintentionally dropped boxes of cash on them years before. He warms to the hero treatment...until things go sour. Does he discover a sliver of conscience? Kaylee and simon drunkenly canoodle. River freaks out over shepherd's evil hair.
-Out of Gas ****
How is it that no sci fi has ever nabbed this title before, and its obvious double meaning in a spacefaring situation? After an accident leaves the engine and life support dead, mal sends the crew away in the shuttles, while he awaits death in the hope that some ship will respond to their distress signal. As he goes through flashbacks of the crew's first meetings, a ship shows up - and shoots him. Mal manages to get the needed replacement part and expel the hijackers, before passing out...
-Ariel ****
While visiting a core planet for inara's yearly companion physical, simon proposes a hospital heist, during which he can get brain scans of river. During the caper, jayne betrays the tams to collect their bounty. No part of anyone's plan goes right, but they all escape. Back on Serenity, jayne thinks no one knows of his treachery, until he finds himself locked in a decompressing airlock by mal. One of the best scenes (and episodes) of the series.
-War Stories ***
Mal and wash are captured by a vengeful former employer. Let's call this one a victim of "Buffy Syndrome" - when a franchise regresses to the level of the creator's previous show. The writing drops from adult to teen, with a torture scene that's played for cutesiness. I've never been around genuine torture, but i'd be willing to be tomorrow's lunch that it's nowhere near as "entertaining" as this. And the contrivance of having the villain randomly quoting the same author as the crew, is pretty bush league as well. But that's the amazing thing about FIREFLY...the chemistry is so bursting that even on its worst episode, i can't give less than three stars (well, chemistry plus a lesbian scene).
-Trash ***
Mal reunites with an old friend who has a new wife...mal's own "wife", saffron (or bridget, now). The two of them are abandoned, and she offers Serenity a percentage of a priceless artifact heist. The crew react negatively, but go along. Double-crossing aplenty ensues. Christina's lovely chemistry with the cast continues...
-The Message ***
An old army buddy of mal and zoe's turns up dead, with a recorded request. Suddenly, a brutal Alliance officer (richard burgi - THE SENTINEL, STARSHIP TROOPERS 2) is hot on their trail, and the corpse is not so dead. Plus...the debut of jayne's hat!
-Heart of Gold ***
Serenity responds to a distress call from nandi (melinda clarke - SPAWN, NIKITA), an old friend of inara's, who runs a brothel which is being terrorized. Mal and nandi share a night of passion, which brings mal and inara's feelings into the open. She decides to leave Serenity.
-Objects in Space ****
A bounty hunter (richard brooks - TEEN WOLF, LAW & ORDER) invades the ship in deep space, and incapacitates or incarcerates everyone except for simon and kaylee...but cannot find river. The scene between he and kaylee is unforgettably dark.
-SERENITY ***
Six months later, the Alliance catches up, in the form of a hyper-deadly operative (chiwetel ejiofor - 2012, 12 YEARS A SLAVE). A subliminal public transmission triggers river into a destructive spree. Every haven the ship might run to, is massacred (including the one where shepherd lived). Reuniting with inara, they head into reaver territory to unravel the mystery of river's secret - an Alliance population-control scheme gone horribly wrong. Wash dies. Also starring michael hitchcock (WAITING FOR GUFFMAN, BEST IN SHOW) and sarah paulson (STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP, THE SPIRIT). Brilliant, exciting...but not quite great. They didn't bring enough humor, or slow down the pace long enough to make us remember why we love these characters.