Actually, my perception of Star Trek, TOS is that it was basically a western in Sci-fi clothes. I do see a lot of similarities to ST TOS and Firefly in the way situations are handled by the two captains, Prime Directive notwithstanding.
I call Firefly a sort of “life and times of Han Solo before he met Luke Skywalker” as well.
I remember the first episode of ST TOS. It was a week before it was supposed to air. A Thursday night. I was so excited I turned to that station just to remind myself to tune in the next week. To my shock and pleasure, there was a “Sneak preview” episode. It was the salt-sucking beast episode. I think I’ve seen every single episode of that show at least 15 times.
FWIW, I call TNG “Star Trek for women”. But the interesting thing about Firefly is that women really like the show. My wife thought it was very entertaining and funny. She really liked the characters and their interactions. She is NOT a sci-fi fan normally.
I did, however, catch "The Trouble with Tribbles" on a LPUFH station Saturday. I couldn't resist.
I did wonder about what the prop guy was thinking at the time, tossing tribbles down at Shatner.
Actually, it makes perfect sense... None of the women are "shrinking violets," dependent on a macho guy... In fact, every one of those women could kick your ass, and some do on a regular basis. Even River, the "victim," is actually found to be quite possibly the most dangerous human around.
More importantly, let's face it. For most guys, it's a winner if there are guns, explosions, and nubile women wearing wholly inappropriate, and far too scanty, costumes. Women, on the other hand, seem to be interested in characters, story, and plot. And Firefly has those covered in spades. Coupled with Joss Wheedon's sense of humor, and demands that his characters have GREAT one-liners, you've got a show that would have been the biggest hit Fox had since The Simpsons. I have yet to meet someone who's actually seen a few episodes of Firefly who hasn't fallen in love with it.
Mark