Uhm I don't know if this counts as a 'series' but I thought 'the Prisoner' was the schiznit.

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"The captain has turned off the `No Dubbing' sign. You are free to speak any language you choose."

I just finished watching the first 2 episodes. Not bad at all.

I'm not sure I'd call Firefly "hard" sci-fi. But it is much more down-to-earth (so to speak) than most TV sci-fi. There's no sound in space, no faster-than-light travel, no aliens etc... Joss actually wanted to avoid the 'artificial gravity' conceit, but it was just too demanding budget-wise. The most realistic aspect, and what makes the show near and dear to my heart, is that it's about "real" people facing real challenges. In Joss's words, the show "isn't about the people who made history, it's about the people history stepped on".

The original idea for the series was inspired by the plight of Southern soldiers dealing with the realities of the post civil-war American South. Mal, the captain of the ship, is a relatively dark character, bitter and jaded after coming out on the losing side of a system-wide civil war. Now, he rides the fringes of civilized society (and the fringes of the law) ferrying freight to the outer planets on the frontier.

The style of the story-telling is actually more properly considered "western", or even "family drama" than traditional science fiction, as it's more about Mal's struggle to keep his crew together and out of reach of the "feds" (yes, they actually call them "feds" ). Arguably the best episode in the series, "Out of Gas" is about a mechanical breakdown that leaves the crew stranded in open space. That one really got to me. I've never fought an alien empire to save the galaxy from ultimate evil. But I have been stranded on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere, late at night, out of gas, with no cell-phone and my kids in the back seat - wondering whether the approaching headlights in the distance were friend or foe....

As to those of you doubting the ultimate goodness of Firefly, well, everyone is entitled to their own ill-informed, uncultured opinion. But Firefly is good stuff.

Ahhh... it actually starts a little slow. Can't wait to hear your opinion after four more.

Good stuff, no doubt.

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He's come to save the day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVFdAJRVm94

Got in the 3rd episode. I like it!I keep waiting for Jackie Soo and Abe Vigoda to walk into the squad room though.

I agree. It really is a great series that died before it's time. Oh well, perhaps they'll make another movie based on the series perhaps.

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"Democracy passes into despotism." - Plato

Sounds like a well written show. However (and forgive my glibness), it sounds kinda like a post civil war story, set in space to give an old story a new twist. Very light on science, and very heavy on character development. Not my cup of tea, but I can see why others would like it.

Think Im gonna go rewatch the entire series now. Dont forget the space prostitute and the slutty mechanic! Space gets lonely.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson

That's reasonably accurate. The sci-fi elements definitely play second-fiddle to the character development. As mentioned, one of the characters turns out to be a kung-fu, psychic, yada-yada - though even that is an obvious metaphor for the troubles of a (relatively) mundane gifted teen. But the show doesn't do much of the traditional, sci-fi "what if"-ing, unless the question is, "how will mankind change when facing the frontier of outer space?", in which case the answer would seem to be "very little".

I don't know. I think it does a fair bit of "how will mankind change" work. It just does so from the position related to government than human evolution. One of the reasons that I find myself liking the show more and more is for that very reason. People are still presented as the bastions of immorality that they are but still they end up doing the right thing. Mal is most definitely a malcontent but he still ends up doing the right things although sometimes for the wrong reasons. The first episode presents Mal as pretty much an asshole but the character development shows that he is much more.
I understand Jefe's preference for the technological realities but it is the human side that is the most problematic when it comes to space exploration. All you have to do is look back that the NASA astronaut/love-triangle/diaper episode of last year to be reminded of that fact. We had some of the most technologically advance human beings but they still fell victim to the age old human problems that plague us all. One of the major criticisms for Star Trek is the lack of dealing with this aspect during the shows. Babylon 5 as an exploration was much more realistic because the technology was simply a back drop and not a significant focus of the show. The focus on was human(alien) interaction which will be the most significant stumbling block of spreading out.

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anybody watch the new V? I thought it was ok, hope they have some new spin before they get too far. and sizzzzzle, the chick playing Anna is hot! remember who she is? She's the prostatute chick on Firefly.

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The bush administration and bank lobbyists proudly killing our economic system - 2003.

I like the new V allot. I thought it was better than the original 1980s version.

Yea, I think Anna is hot too, but she be even hotter if she had long hair. The short hair doesn't seem right to me somehow.

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"Democracy passes into despotism." - Plato

Just watched the Firefly pilot again. Damn, thats a good show. I forgot how dark Malcom Reynolds was.

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"To take from one, because it is thought his own industry and that of his father has acquired too much, in order to spare to others who (or whose fathers) have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, "to guarantee to everyone a free exercise of his industry and the fruits acquired by it."

-Thomas Jefferson