Posted on 08/08/2005 7:28:50 PM PDT by 68skylark
At its best, science fiction advocates liberty. While Star Trek lamentably supported a "Federation knows best" mentality, other works like Star Wars and Robert Heinlein's novels have promoted the dissolution of central rule and the triumph of the individual. For the science fiction writer, space means one thing: freedom. Like the Wild West where men made their own rules and property rights were enforced at the end of a landowner's shotgun, space has afforded the hope that one day man can move beyond the reach of any government's oppressive hand.
No recent T.V. series understands this better than Fox's Firefly, the tragically cancelled masterpiece spawned from the mind of Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. Firefly was critically acclaimed, but sadly mismanaged and was cancelled after only eleven episodes aired in 2002. But thanks to DVD sales, Firefly has maintained a steady popularity. It currently ranks at 49 among DVDs on Amazon.com after seventeen months since its release.
The story of the series follows a smuggling ship captained by Malcolm (Mal) Reynolds. Mal and his first mate Zoe fought in the great galactic civil war as Independents resisting the unification of all the planets under the rule of the great behemoth, the Anglo-Sino Alliance. Ultimately crushed by the boot of empire, Mal buys a spaceship that can give him the freedom the Alliance threatens to steal. He tells Zoe that with the ship, "[We] never have to be under the heel of nobody ever again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we'll just get a little further." And one gets the feeling that, while Mal, Zoe, and the other independents lost the battle, they will never give up the war.
Naming his ship Serenity, Mal takes on a crew, which includes a pilot, a mechanic, a mercenary, a preacher, a prostitute, and a fugitive doctor and his sister. A diverse band whose crimes almost solely revolve around a desire for freedom, the crew of Serenity must endlessly dodge the ever-looming presence of the Alliance that threatens to close them down. The series' central theme seems to concern the ineptitude of strong central government and its tendency to oppress and stifle rather than free or secure. As Mal says, "That's what governments are for, [to] get in a man's way."
Through Mal and his crew Whedon asks us to consider: What does freedom mean when the nearest government agent could be millions of miles away? Like the nineteenth century American West, civilization on the outer rim of the "verse" depends not on bureaucracy, but on natural law and contracts.
Precisely because the centralized law is the very force that Serenity escapes, Mal must hold his ship afloat through a very rigorous sense of duty and loyalty; his crew is his life, and to defend them, he would do just about anything. Because of their basic human decency, Mal and his crew embody the responsible spirit of freedom. Here are some of Firefly's foundations for liberty, the foundations Mal upholds:
Trade should be uninhibited. Operating under the precepts of free trade, Mal is a principled smuggler; while the government places barriers on trade, Mal believes the smuggling he does is honest work. As he tells a prospective client who is apprehensive about dealing with supposedly dishonest smugglers, "Seems to me there's nothing dishonest about getting goods to people that need 'em." That philosophy extends to mud, medical supplies, and in one delightful episode, cattle.
The best protection is self-defense. Everyone in Whedon's universe is armed and ready to fight at the first sign of trouble; after all, if the government is too far away to protect you, or if it is itself the aggressor, someone must take up arms. Even the resident preacher will. As he says, while the Bible may be specific about killing, "It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."
Prostitution is just another way to earn a living. Inara, the ship's prostitute, lends the band of smugglers "a certain respectability." Prostitutes, or companions as they are known in the story, are a highly organized, highly selective group of cultured and trained women. They are not forced into their work and carefully choose each of their clients out of a screened registry.
The government is not always benevolent. The fugitive doctor, Simon, and his sister River are running from the Alliance. River was the subject of a government experiment and Simon helped her escape when he discovered the danger she was in. It is unclear what the government was trying to accomplish with the teenage girl, but what is clear is that River is left damaged, violated, and afraid.
Contracts must be honored. On the outer rim of the Alliance, no government entity is accessible to uphold contracts or settle disputes. Even when dealing with clearly immoral and corrupt clients, Mal is sure to either provide the service he agreed to or return the money he was paid. Without such basic principle, the outer planets fall into lawlessness, and the Alliance might feel the need to step in and regulate; by honoring contracts, the outer rim stays free.
The ship Serenity may represent freedom, but those of us who seek it on television are out of luck for the time being. Thanks to poor scheduling, Firefly was canceled before the end of its first season, and while episodes can still be seen on DVD, no new revelations have emerged in the past three years regarding many of the story's mysteries.
But there is hope. On September 30th of this year, a full-length feature film entitled (what else?) Serenity will take up, once again, the story of Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. Set six months after the final episode, the movie picks up right where the last show left off, with Serenity still existing at the edge of the 'verse and evading the not-so-omnipresent Alliance. Like the best of science fiction, Joss Whedon's Firefly is a tale of freedom and self-reliance. Here's hoping Serenity carries on with those themes.
Sara T. Hinson is a freelance writer and is the assistant director of a fellowship program in Washington, D.C.
I've watched the show on Sifi channel. It is great.
I caught it at a friends house, and was fascinated by it. I watched for and noted that the first commercial I saw for it was just after its cancellation was announced. Kindof hard to imagine it succeeding if no one knows it is on and people only find it by accident.
The first episode of Family Guy's new run gave a hint of the idiocy of Fox:
"Everybody, I've got bad news: We've been canceled"
"Oh no, Peter, how could they do that?"
"Well unfortunately Lois, there's just no more room on the schedule. We just gotta accept the fact that Fox has to make room for terrific new shows like Dark Angel, Titus, Undeclared, Action, That 80's Show, Wonderfalls, Fastlane, Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Skin, Girls Club, Cracking Up, The Pitts, Firefly, Get Real, Freaky Links, Wanda at Large, Costello, The Lone Gunmen, A Minute With Stan Hooper, Normal Ohio, Pasadena, Harsh Realm, Keen Eddie, The Street, American Embassy, Cedric the Entertainer, The Tick, Louie, and Greg the Bunny"
"Is there no hope?"
"Well, I suppose if all those shows go down the tubes, we might have a shot"
I saw an episode. It seemed well acted and competently written. Just not my cup of tea. Nothing against it, just did not enjoy it as much as other shows. People should check it out and form their own opinion.
I'm soooo looking forward to Serenity.
Firefly.....Awesome show! I bought the DVD collection and cannot wait to see the movie. Firefly is what Enterprise should have been.
There's a lot of sharing between shows. In the Firefly episode Train Job, look at the alliance troops' armored uniforms: Someone's been shopping at Starship Troopers mobile infantry surplus store.
Oh no way!? Is this during/after the initial nuke attack by the Cylons? Im going to have to check that out big time.
I read somewhere that in the new "Battlestar Galactica" during the mass evacuation of Caprica scene, one of the ships leaving is the "Serenity."
Its possible. The same company does the effect for both shows.
I'd never use that description -- to me, the Confederate cause was repulsive and the Mal Reynolds character seems like the kind of person who would see that. But if someone has a warm spot for the confederacy I guess I can see that point of view.
Found a screen capture of it;
http://www.fireflyfans.net/thread.asp?b=7&t=2815
Science fiction ping.
I saw the mini, but I don't recall. Personally I thought GINO was a bit lame. But, given Ron Moore's penchant for stealing versus creating, I wouldn't be surprised if he stole the name.
Of course Ron Moore's problem is not having one quarter of the talent of Joss Whedon.
I just found Firfly on Skiffy, and think its great, I might have to get the DVD set to bring me up to date before the movie because I don't think they'll be able to air all the shows before then.
So many funny one-liners on that show. Truly brilliant comedic writing. I hope they carry on the tradition in the movie and it gets picked up again for a series on Sci-Fi. By the way, were is Book in the movie???
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.