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Firefly Premieres Tonight

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the stuff-to-lust-after dept.

fm6 writes "Firefly, Joss Whedon's 'anti-Trek drama' premieres tonight, on Fox, 8 E/P. I normally despise hypespeak, but this time it's the only language that fits: this is groundbreaking, mind-boggling, totally original. I've seen a bootleg of the pilot (which, unfortunately, the network is holding back) and I promise you this is the most geek-friendly SF you've seen in a long time. Yes, more so than Star Trek and B5, and way past Star Wars. I've never seen the future so skillfully, realistically, and lovingly portrayed. Here is the Official Site and a leading fan site." This is the single new show this season I have added a season pass for to the old Tivo. But I'll probably watch it live. This looks like it could be as good as we hope.

10 of 650 comments (clear)

  1. Malcolm's Seven? by CommieLib · · Score: 5, Informative

    This show's premise sounds like Blake's 7, a fantastic 70's Brit sci-fi show. Not quite as much under the gun as those characters were, but pretty similar.

    Not that this is a bad thing; you can only churn out so many episodes with shiny happy future people like Trek has.

    --
    If your bitterest enemies are people who hack the heads off civilians, then I would say you're doing something right.
    1. Re:Malcolm's Seven? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Very like Blake's 7.

      But a heavily Americanized version.

      I wonder how many people here even remember Blake's 7.

      Hey, the fx will be better ;-)

    2. Re:Malcolm's Seven? by prnz · · Score: 4, Informative

      Was that anything like the other Brit Sci-fi's? Y'know Dr. Who and Red Dwarf?

      Less funny than Red Dwarf, more serious than Dr. Who. Production values were similar to Dr. Who at the time (late 70's/early 80's) with lots of blinking lights and spaceships that on screen were obviously models. Plots were often very slow, often made tolerable only by good dialogue from Avon, one of the B7 crew (well...in name at least), or Commander Servalan, the villian of the show who's always trying to recapture Blake and the rest. As I recall, Avon was the only one of the 7 that had any common sense at all, the rest would blindly walk into the most obvious traps. Avon wasn't a very sympathetic character though, but very well acted by (...short trip to imdb...) Paul Darrow.

      If Firefly is like B7 it may have some promise but I doubt it'll be enough to replace Farscape (damn you Sci-Fi channel).

      Paul

  2. Only on Slashdot by Wind_Walker · · Score: 2, Informative
    Only on Slashdot would they hype up a great-sounding new series premier and NOT TELL YOU WHEN AND WHERE YOU CAN SEE IT!!!

    Ahem.

    It's on FOX at 8:00 PM EST, 7:00 Central. Or check your local listings.

  3. Fan Site? by N8F8 · · Score: 5, Informative
    Is there doubt in anybody's mind that Fox is paying for the "Firefly Fan Site". Way too slick for a show that hasn't even premiered yet......


    Registrant:
    AdvanceMania.com
    555 Oluwalu lane
    Odwana, Michigan 00918
    US
    --
    "God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
    1. Re:Fan Site? by spoonboy42 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Looks like this is a spoofed address. I live in Michigan, and the zipcodes here all begin with a 4.

      --
      Anonymous Luddite: "What do you think of the dehumanizing effects of the Internet?"
      Andy Grove: "Not Much."
    2. Re:Fan Site? by handle · · Score: 3, Informative
      Odwana, Michigan 00918


      00918 is in Puerto Rico. Odwana doesn't seem to be a town anywhere.
  4. Remember other Fox Fridays? by Lysander+Luddite · · Score: 3, Informative

    I hope it lasts longer than these other shows that were on Fox Fridays:

    Millenium (3 seasons)
    Strange Luck (17 episodes)
    Brimstone (12 episodes)

    and of course Harsh Realm which was hyped to death and cancelled *3 days* after the pilot aired. I think they ran 1 more episode.

    What else am I missing?

  5. Write your own stuff, man by mblase · · Score: 5, Informative

    Or at least don't blatantly cut-and-paste them from other linked stories.

  6. Yes Fan Site by fm6 · · Score: 4, Informative
    So it's a spoofed address. Are you willing to share your real name, address, phone number? Didn't think so.

    I'm actually sort-of-friends with Haken, the owner of fireflyfans.net. He hacked it together from ASP and other ActiveX technologies. I agree he did a very good job. People are often suprised when they find out he built it from scratch -- if using standard web components counts as "from scratch".

    By contrast the official site is a simplistic HTML/Javascript/Flash thing, obviously done by a total newbie working sparetime and using FrontPage or something similar. If Fox or Mutant Enemy were going to spend a lot of money on web presence, I think they'd start by hiring a proper webmaster for their own site, before branching out into bogus fan sites.