New International Serenity Trailer Released

Tenken writes "The international Serenity trailer has just popped up online and it looks to be even shinier than the first. This new trailer doesn't really spell out the plot of the film as explicitly as the first one, but for that reason it may play better with fans. Chiwetel Ejiofor's "Operative" character is also shaping up to be one of those memorable Whedon villains along the lines of Jubal Early from the episode "Objects in Space.""

Comments

Serenity

[Anonymous Coward]

SERENITY NOW!

Re:Serenity

[Minwee]

Hoochie mama!

Re:Serenity

[Anonymous Coward]

INSANITY LATER!

Re:Serenity

[kelzer]

SERENITY NOW!

Hey, you plagiarized my sig!

Re:Serenity

[Tatarize]

You know it's bad when the first post is redundant.

For those that are clueless...

[yellowbkpk]

IMDB: http://imdb.com/title/tt0379786/
MirrorDot: http://mirrordot.org/stories/cf80588bb543b2334180f 052ec99e36f/index.html

Re:For those that are clueless...

[Anonymous Coward]

I haven't seen this and it looks decent. Anyone got a torrent? I just want to make sure my bit torrent client is working...

Re:For those that are clueless...

[Anonymous Coward]

Since when did IMDB require you to signup just to view comments posted by users?

Re:For those that are clueless...

[Fred_A]

Aha ! Now I finally know what it is ! a movie version of Firefly ! Yay !

All I need to figure out is what the hell Firefly is.
Thankfully, Google never fails.

Can't wait!

[nuknuk]

[fanboy]

Someone tipped me off about the original TV series about a year ago...after getting the movies from Netflix, I was blown away by how great they are...what an unfortunate turn of events that they got cancelled so soon. I can't wait for this movie!

[/fanboy]

Re:Can't wait!

[Anonymous Coward]

Ditto dude, only my intro was only 1 week ago.

Re:Can't wait!

[Rei]

Zoe: "You paid money for this, sir? On purpose?"

Mal: "What? Come on, seriously, Zoe. Whaddya think?"

Zoe: "Honestly, sir? I think you got robbed."

Mal: "Robbed? What? No. What do you mean?"

Zoe: "It's a piece of fei-oo." [fei-oo. = junk]

Mal: "Fei-oo? Okay, she won't be winning any beauty contests anytime soon.
But she's solid. Ship like this, be with ya 'til the day you die."

Zoe: "Cause it's a deathtrap."

Re:Can't wait!

[Eagle5596]

I worry about this movie. With luck, it will be good just as the TV series was, but I keep on coming back to Joss Whedon.

Lets face it, I know a lot of Slashdotters worship the ground he walks on and think is the next best thing since sliced bread. In reality he has done a lot of shallow shows with crappy pseudo-witty dialogue (which in reality is just childish and moronic), lame plots, and shoddy writing. Firefly is his shining gem of achievement.

Even Firefly had it's moments of idiocy though where you just kind of frowned and said "Boy that didn't work at all, what the heck was he thinking?" that made it obvious Joss Whedon had been involved. Most of the best episodes were written by people other than Joss.

So when it boils down to it, I'm hopeful but afraid he'll sink it with a crappy movie, and pull to many "Josses" during the show. There are already some evident in the trailer. I just hope the movie overcomes this weakness.

Re:Can't wait!

[darkonc]

I never saw much of "Angel", but some of what I saw was brilliantly funny. Far more worth watching than most TV schlock. I just don't take much time out for TV.

I originally expected that Buffy was likely to be just schlock... A TV version of a really good bubble-gum movie. When I finally got around to watching it (because a friend had asked my roommate to tape all the episodes (then being brooadcast daily on the Space channel), I fell in love with it. It really is brilliant, and goes far beyond the delicious throw-away lines (which are worth it in their own right).

Re:Can't wait!

[BewireNomali]

Agreed!

I actually find it really interesting that Josh Whedon gets so much love here given how unimaginative his stuff is, for the most part.

I'll get modded down, I'm sure... but this looks lame.

I work in film, and from my experience, far more imaginative and progressive sci-fi gets passed on regularly because the audience settles for this stuff. It makes financial sense for the industry to be "dumber" than its audience, or as smart or smarter. Just general understanding of human nature reveals that most people would rather have the satisfaction of having figured out something (which is why hollywood uses the formula that my nephew's already deciphered) rather than original shit that leads the audience to believe that there might be some smart people out there. Fundamentally, the state of Hollywood is that, for the most part, it reflects its audience. We don't want something novel, we want overstimulation to the point of numbness.

For the most part, this movie has the things that bore me in movies, unrealistic fight scenes that insult the intelligence (let's all attack the guy one at a time; even though we all have guns and could end this.... no, wait your turn to get your ass kicked), shitty dialogue peppered with trendy but utterly anachronistic one-liners, cookie cutter set and ship design from the same guys who bought you Star Trek Deep Space 94 and Andromeda.

Oh, and cue the messianic character....

It's just more of the same.

As a matter of fact, if you guys took a book, any sci fi book or graphic novel. Say Slashdot decided to host a petition to get a film done: half a million unique signatures would get that book serious consideration by a studio or independent investor. Find an obscure book and buy the option from the author for pennies before you pitch it here so when the studios come calling, you can up the price and profit (with flowthrough to the original author, of course) Anything would be better than this Whedon guy.

Let the mod-downs begin. *bows*

Re:Can't wait!

[jeblucas]

I know a lot of Slashdotters worship the ground he walks on and think is the next best thing since sliced bread.

Gotta tell ya, I'm just not that impressed with sliced bread. I'm more of a whole loaf kind of guy. Pita, stuff like that.

Re:Can't wait!

[wealthychef]

I worry about this movie. With luck, it will be good just as the TV series was, but I keep on coming back to Joss Whedon.

I see a lot of what I liked about the series in the trailer. In particular, the acting was pretty damned solid in the series. A major criteria for me in film is that you have to care about the characters. Good actors help that immensely, even with a fragile script or poor production. Poor acting sinks even the best of scripts.

Re:Can't wait!

[Golias]

As a matter of fact, if you guys took a book, any sci fi book or graphic novel. Say Slashdot decided to host a petition to get a film done: half a million unique signatures would get that book serious consideration by a studio or independent investor. Find an obscure book and buy the option from the author for pennies before you pitch it here so when the studios come calling, you can up the price and profit (with flowthrough to the original author, of course) Anything would be better than this Whedon guy.

The end result of such obsession over making movies out of sci-fi novels?

Johnny Mnemonic.

I'll tell you what, instead of pissing all over a beloved work of brilliant genre fiction, you go rent that piece of shit adaptation next September while the rest of us go to the theaters to see Serenity, and everybody will be happy.

Re:Can't wait!

[Rei]

A couple things:

A Firefly-fan friend of mine already saw the movie. He was very apprehensive after seing the trailers, and left quite, quite pleased with the movie (and has had to resist spoiling it for me).

Unrealistic fight scenes

How many fight scenes did you see in firefly? Or are you judging a movie and the series that it is based on from a few seconds of (barfight?) scene in a trailer?

utterly anachronistic one-liners

Actually, some of the best parts of Firefly are where one-liners would have been used in most shows, but weren't. For example, Mal's "huh.." after the discovery of River.

cookie cutter set and ship design

Firefly actually stands out in that they built the entire ship set as one complete piece.

queue the messianic character

Are you referring to River or Mal? If you're referring to River, I think the Bible would have been a lot more interesting with Jesus talking about how quickly the human body can be drained of blood given adequate vacuuming systems, claiming that he's a ship, speaking incoherently, and threatening to kill people with his brain.

Re:Can't wait!

[e_slarti]

Don't worry too much about the movie. I've never seen Firefly, nor am I a Joss Wheldon fan, but I loved this movie.

They had 2 preview showings so far and I was lucky enough to see one of them.

Good solid action/sci-fi flick.

Re:Can't wait!

[Serenity.Flan]

" I'm hopeful but afraid he'll sink it with a crappy movie" He didn't! I 've seen a screening and it's a very good film! It's not the TV show, but it stays true to it.

Re:Can't wait!

[BewireNomali]

So wait, what you're telling me that my choices are Serenity or Johnny Mnemonic? lol.

I'll run some laps, thanks.

lol.

Re:Can't wait!

[Eagle5596]

Did it have a lot of the crappy Alan Tudyk moments like the Piolet "Serenity" did? (aka the Dinosaur scene)

Re:Can't wait!

[Serenity.Flan]

He doesn't play with them, but there is a second or two of them in the BG of a scene if I remember correctly.

Re:Can't wait!

[dorsey]

There were three preview screenings actually.

Re:Can't wait!

[georgewilliamherbert]

I'm not going to mod you down despite having a fistfull of modpoints at the moment, but I just went and read your blogs, and I have to question your judgement and impartiality.

What you're writing is sorta neat, but it's not necessarily edgy in a new and good manner.

What I see in Joss' stuff is good characters with depth, that develop over time, and humor that is mostly achived by putting realistic characters in absurd (but in context for the assumed macguffins) situations and watching the results.

You don't like it? Fine. But over 95% of the sci fi book writers out there can't do that well with their characters, situations, etc. Joss is good at what he does by any measure.

Re:Can't wait!

[BewireNomali]

I'll buy that. We agree to disagree. It's all good.

Re:Can't wait!

[StalinsNotDead]

I think the Bible would have been a lot more interesting with Jesus talking about how quickly the human body can be drained of blood given adequate vacuuming systems, claiming that he's a ship, speaking incoherently, and threatening to kill people with his brain.

What do you think is written in those secret books of the Bible kept in the vaults in the Vatican?

In the Gospel of Vernon, threats of killing them with his brain was how Jesus got the money-changers out of the temple. And he mentioned the blood/vacuum thing as sort of an aside at the Last Supper, but the published Gospel writers chose to leave that part out.

Re:Can't wait!

[PriceIke]

> Actually, some of the best parts of Firefly are where one-liners would have been used in most shows, but weren't. For example, Mal's "huh.." after the discovery of River.

Mal has the best line in the entire series: "I'll be in my bunk."

I made the mistake of watching that particular episode in flight to Miami in coach. I'm afraid my travelling companion was rather embarrassed by the fact that I'd suddenly (I was listening to audio with headphones) started laughing and could not stop myself.

Re:Can't wait!

[Kazzahdrane]

Almost, that line was said by Jayne :P (twice in the same episode, I might add)

Re:Can't wait!

[Tiger4]

"How many fight scenes did you see in firefly? Or are you judging a movie..."

Actually, I did see an early preview, and the unrealisitc fight scenes were my biggest (and really only) criticism in the feedback.

They are cool to watch, but really are more fanboy fantasy that barroom brawl. You know, how we're all Muhammed Ali and Bruce Lee in our own minds? That is how they played to me. It was too easy to kick the bad guy's a**.

But on the good side, I agree with the cast (Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, and Jewel Staite at Dragoncon) when I say "SUMMER GLAU IS AMAZING!!" I guess ballet training really makes you a *GREAT* stuntwoman. Really can't wait to see more of her.

Re:Can't wait!

[Tiger4]

I've seen the preview, and I have to say I disagree with the parent on some grounds, but not all.

Whedon is formulaic, but formulaic like Silverado or Raiders of the Lost Ark were. He knows the genre and he knows what buttons to push and he tries to push all of them. That means he needs interesting plot twists and unexpected surprises, but it also means the audience knows that the "thump in the dark" is really a cat, and when they calm down the bad guys jumps out at you anyway.

For example, this film has two characters that go in two completely different directions. One is, I think, indispensible to the plot. Interesting and dark and different. We need like this one. The other was totally forgettable. I think they created that one just to be sacrificed. That is formula too. You need cannon fodder so the hero can look heroic.

Bottom line: Hollywood is about the money. They don't make what won't sell. Oddball may be artisically cool, but it goes straight to video, then the Late Late Show two weeks later. Whedon is making stuff that sells, and is getting as close to the edge as he dares.

Re:Can't wait!

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

I'm afraid my travelling companion was rather embarrassed by the fact that I'd suddenly (I was listening to audio with headphones) started laughing and could not stop myself.

If I had a companion travelling with me, I can think of things I'd rather be doing than watching Firefly!

Re:Can't wait!

[Mingco]

Lets face it, I know a lot of Slashdotters worship the ground he walks on...

He walks on the ground? I was worshipping the water he walks on and getting my boots so very wet.

Re:Can't wait!

[steve_bryan]

...from my experience, far more imaginative and progressive sci-fi gets passed on regularly...

So you take a cheap shot at some sci fi that we can see in the theaters and compare it to stuff that is unavailable for reasons that seem to be related to your vastly superior intelligence? If you have something in mind that is in your opinion actually superior and deserves everyone's attention then please share the information. I think there are some stories by Vernor Vinge that are much better science fiction than Firefly but they are only available as books. I don't even know if they'd make good movies.

The point is that Firefly was overlooked when it was bungled by Fox and there are many people who will appreciate hearing that others are interested in the movie that is soon to be released. Rather than the relentless TV ads, Serenity has the benefit of actual fans which probably is annoying to professionals who know how this sort of promotion is supposed to work.

Re:Can't wait!

[EricTheMad]

Hollywood is about the money. They don't make what won't sell.

Tell that to Uwe Boll.

Re:Can't wait!

[BewireNomali]

Again with the personal attacks:

wow, everyone gets so sensitive.

It has nothing to do with my "vastly superior intelligence" as you put it.

My point is that there is a lot of sci fi out there, most of it better than Whedon's crap, that will never see the light of day because the INDUSTRY assumes it too intelligent for the audience (read: you) that goes crazy for Whedon's crap.

Regardless, I was interested in hearing some intelligent postings as to Whedon's appeal, but for the most part have gotten emotional cheap shots.

I don't even mind you calling it a cheap shot if you can honestly disagree with my points with evidence to the contrary. you haven't, as the show includes all of those formulaic things I described.

My point is and will remain, that it is fans like you that reinforce the formula. Why should they change anything when it's clear they've got it right? Care to enlighten me with your so called "vastly superior intelligence?"

Lol

Re:Can't wait!

[PriceIke]

The poster above is right .. it was Jayne, not Mal.

> If I had a companion travelling with me, I can think of things I'd rather be doing than watching Firefly!

In a crowded airplane? Hmm .. that's awfully kinky for Slashdot.

Re:Can't wait!

[steve_bryan]

I called it a cheap shot because you chose to make an invidious comparison of something that exists (just barely) with something you claim would exist if only enough people were as discriminating as you. You say Whedon's stuff is crap but you only make promises for what would exist if only we weren't such sheep. Why be so coy? Why not be more explicit about what is so much better?

Part of your frustration with the limited success of Firefly may be that you assume its main reason for existing is its exploration of science fiction themes. I don't claim they are entirely absent but feel it is a mistake to put too great an emphasis on that aspect of the story. The appeal of Firefly is the collection of diverse characters and the writing that makes their interaction so entertaining to a fairly large group of people.

You claim the formulaic writing and hackneyed wisecracks renders the series inferior to what should be available. There are wisecracks and formulas are not entirely absent. But the end result is still enjoyable. Oh, the wisecracks are often more clever than could reaslistically occur to the characters but so what? At the risk of stretching too far do you think Shakespeare's characters would really speak in iambic pentameter? It is what is done with formulas that counts, not that formulas are used.

My main point of contention remains that you are awfully imprecise when you fault Whedon in comparison to writers to whom you only allude. Why not be more forthcoming so others could evaluate the potential which you claim is surpressed by Whedon's popularity?

Re:Can't wait!

[Brandybuck]

I greatly suspect that the unrealist fight scenes are a plot element in and of themselves. We're talking about a thin mentally disturbed girl being able to fight like Bruce Lee on speed. The big plot mystery is what "they" did to her brain that enables her to do that.

Re:Can't wait!

[BewireNomali]

Part of your frustration with the limited success of Firefly may be that you assume its main reason for existing is its exploration of science fiction themes. I don't claim they are entirely absent but feel it is a mistake to put too great an emphasis on that aspect of the story. The appeal of Firefly is the collection of diverse characters and the writing that makes their interaction so entertaining to a fairly large group of people.

Wow. Ok.. I'll definitely concede that. I do indeed get frustrated with the limited exploration of science fiction themes. In that, you are absolutely correct, so much so that I didn't see it before. It makes perfect sense. In that regard, I want it to be something that its not, so I in turn get more frustrated by what it is. Absolutely. I'll buy that.

In regards to other authors, the point isn't whether or not I have someone better in particular, it's more that as far as science fiction and genre projects are concerned, Hollywood is definitely prepared to produce what the audience embraces. To say that there is better sci-fi out there than Whedon's stuff is readily apparent if we both concede that the strength of his material isn't the sci fi. My point is merely to point out the power that the genre audience in particular has to shape what hollywood produces.

That was my original point, back in the original post... that the geek audience has critical mass; they can choose what they want to see. This is also readily apparent in that Serenity is a film that has received wide distribution. I'm merely stating that if I could choose, I wouldn't choose Whedon's stuff, and I wanted to understand the reason why other genre fans felt differently. I do know, for the most part.

will someone please explain this to me

[ashpool7]

trailers, screeners, etc... why all the hype and no theatrical release?

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[Zediker]

It was a popular series (popular among sci-fi fans) on fox when it was canceled pre-maturly. Thats why there is so much hype.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[Anonymous Coward]

It'll be in theatres September 30th, dork.

WTFT.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[Cromac]

trailers, screeners, etc... why all the hype and no theatrical release?

Usually trailers and hype happens before the movie hits the theater. Serenity is due Sept 30th.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[BewireNomali]

Just so you know, September and February are usually considered throwaway months for Hollywood, meaning that this is when they choose to release films which they consider inferior but still worthy of release (by virtue of audience size or a soft spot in the release schedule at large).

This is interesting. Kids usually don't go to films the first month of school. Their parents start to embrace the theaters in September, but they only see quality films. There's been a bit of a row over the fact that Cinderall Man, starring Russell Crowe, should have been a fall release given the kind of film it is.

I wonder how it will do?

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[B3ryllium]

The Universal execs have stated that their decision to move the release from April to September was based on marketplace competition. I.e., Star Wars 3.

They have also stated that they now regret the decision, because the audience turnout and reaction for the previews has stunned them enough to think that it would have held its own against SW3:ROTS.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[BewireNomali]

September is still a very weak month for moviegoing in general, which is why it tends to be reserved for what are called "soft" movies.

Perfect example of such a film is "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" which was released on 9/17. It went on to gross ~$60 million worldwide boxoffice, with a production budget of about 70 million (the budget was actually closer to 100 because of CGI cost overruns).

It was originally scheduled to be released in the summer, but it would have been crushed. With little competition it was unable to earn back its budget domestically.

Serenity's production budget is listed at $40 million. This means its marketing budget is somewhere around $20-25 million, probably... Let's assume $65 million as the figure in question.

The film has to double its budget (assuming equitable split between exhibitor and distributor, which isn't always the case) in box office receipts to ensure zero risk for Universal at stage one of the revenue stream. It has to earn $130 million at the box office in OCTOBER! That's a stretch.

So what is more likely is that Universal is willing to take a loss on box office, which they are conceding by moving it to September so that they can get all the box office revenue possible (less competition). Geeks are loyal DVD purchasers, so they are banking on DVD sales to not only offset any loss, but for DVD sales themselves to buck the trend of flattening DVD sales as the DVD market matures.

No one releases a press release stating that they think their movie is going to fail, so refering to one in this instance doesn't amount to much. Also, other films released early summer, with established stars and directors (for example: Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom and Ridley Scott) failed miserably... with much bigger marketing budgets and the entire summer audience to cater to.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[Cromac]

Just so you know, September and February are usually considered throwaway months for Hollywood, meaning that this is when they choose to release films which they consider inferior but still worthy of release (by virtue of audience size or a soft spot in the release schedule at large).

I didn't know it was considered a throw away month, it's obviously not a blockbuster holiday weekend like some movies get though.

If it's a throwaway month then the release will fit right in with the Friday night timeslot the series was shown in. :)

I suspect it will do quite well the first week or so when the die hard fans see it (I loved the series) but won't have the legs for a long run in the theater. I don't expect it to be breaking any sales records.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[BewireNomali]

The two biggest moviegoing demographics are 12-25 and 45-64 at about 26% and 25% respectively.

the film industry targets 12-25s significantly because that audience is "review proof" - they'll see anything they like regardless of how the film is reviewed. They aren't in school during the summer, hence Hollywood being a summer and Christmas holiday phenomenon.

45-64s are smart, monied, well-educated, discriminating. They like going to the movies, but they have reviewers they respect, actors and directors they have long-standing relationships with. And they go to the movies in the fall when the kids are in school. Hollywood doesn't chase this audience as much - there's just not enough good movie material to please them. So they develp so called "specialty divisions" which make smart artistic films that cater to this audience.

So September is considered throwaway becasue kids are back in school. February for the same reason, although the dead-zone is disputed: some include January in the dead-zone, but the market is occasionally invigorated by kids on extended break.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[mr.mighty]

I think it can manage it. With less competition, it's likely to stay in theaters longer than it might have otherwise, allowing word-of-mouth to build.

Even if it falls short, DVD sales will definitely make it worthwhile. Also, the sets are built and the cast is signed, so the sequels are less of a gamble.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[Rhipf]

This is assuming that this is a typical movie. There was a little film that hit theaters a year ago last February (long considered a "soft" movie month) called The Passion of the Christ that did $83,848,082. Now I realize that Serenity will not be quite this popular but it just goes to show that a movie can make money any time of the year. If you want an example of a breakout hit in September just remember that a little film called Sixth Sense premiered in September a few years back.

Re:will someone please explain this to me

[BewireNomali]

The Sixth Sense was released on 8/6/99. It was summer movie.

The Passion of the Christ is a religious movie that was marketed to Church groups and released during the holiest time of the year on the Christian calendar. The Passion of Christ mobilized the Bible Belt, a demographic that is consistently underrepresented at the box office. Quite simply, many who went to see "Passion" don't go to the movies. So the performance, while spectacular, is a statistical aberration.

Re: Assuming it to be a typical movie. Should I asusme that it will be a blockbuster and build a model around that? That doesn't make much sense. Of course I assume it to be typical. Most asumptions are made based on typical outcomes, I imagine. I have no reason to believe this film will perform spectacularly; it couldn't draw enough of an audience to remain on the air. It does not have a name cast to appeal to the MTV crowd (who won't be going anyway because they're back in school). The 45-64s rely on reviews and product with pedigree, which this doesn't have.

It's being release during a soft time in the box office anyway. I just don't see it.

I want to know who's getting it in the throat

[The I Shing]

Just can't wait for this movie, if only to find out who those suited guys are who are getting stabbed in the throat with the short sword.

Those are some funny lines in the trailer.

Re:I want to know who's getting it in the throat

[Anonymous Coward]

Ah, but the real question is ... were they being stabbed by HatfulOfHollow ?

Re:I want to know who's getting it in the throat

[bingo4000]

I'm right there with ya brother, not to mention how I love a good throat stabbing.

Another version

[Midnight Thunder]

Another version of the trailer can be found at Apple - Trailers: Serenity.

Re:Another version

[retinaburn]

http://movies.apple.com/movies/universal/serenity/ serenity_ifs2.mov
if you don't have/want itunes.

Re:Another version

[Naikrovek]

you don't need itunes, you just need a web browser with quicktime installed (or a plugin that can play .mov files)

Re:Another version

[mattdm]

you don't need itunes, you just need a web browser with quicktime installed (or a plugin that can play .mov files)

Or wget and mplayer.

Re:Another version

[Anonymous Coward]

You do if you want to view it fullscreen as (Cr)Apple only let you watch fullscreen with iTunes installed. The link to the fullscreen movie begins with itms:// which is associated with iTunes. Sadly Apple are becoming the new MS, but because MS are still the old MS no-one is noticing.

If you can find direct links to download the movie it can be viewed in fullscreen, plus if you install Quicktime Alternative you can view the movie without using Apple's software.

Re:Another version

[LS]

"Best be the idiot that has learnt, than the genius who can't."

Is this some kind of zen koan? There is no such thing as a genius who can't learn.

Re:Another version

[Fourier]

It's a completely different trailer. That one's been out for a couple of months already.

Re:Another version

[Midnight Thunder]

"Best be the idiot that has learnt, than the genius who can't."

Is this some kind of zen koan? There is no such thing as a genius who can't learn.

This is more a question of attitude than ability.

Re:Another version

[LS]

Well, more a question of definition - it depends on what is meant by genius. A true genius would also have the proper attitude.

Re:Another version

[JimmehAH]

Being a genius doesn't make a person perfect.

Re:Another version

[Tombstone-f]

This has always been the case. Quickime doesn't let you view full screen unless you get the pro version.

In the words of Eric Cartman ....

[Alranor]

Sweet.

Super sweet.

sounds mellow

[yecrom2]

Is that a Recreational Vehicle where people of differing cultures, nationalities, and backgrounds meet and discuss nothing in an effort to achieve minor enlightenment?

At least that's what I got from the headline.

Re:sounds mellow

[blackomegax]

no, but i hear that's where the UN meets nowadays.

I hate trailers...

[tktk]

This new trailer doesn't really spell out the plot of the film as explicitly as the first one.

Good. I hate watching trailers that give away too much of the film. The worse is when it's a particularly bad film and you realize that all the good parts were IN the trailer.

Re:I hate trailers...

[Anonymous Coward]

The thing is, this film didn't even have enough good parts to make a trailer like that.

Re:I hate trailers...

[xami]

The worse is when it's a particularly bad film and you realize that all the good parts were IN the trailer.

Thinking of a certain movie you are, hm?

Re:I hate trailers...

[Serenity.Flan]

"Good. I hate watching trailers that give away too much of the film." Having seen the film (5/5 screening in Seattle) I can tell you that neither of the trailers give away the plot in a way. :)

Re:I hate trailers...

[dinsdale3]

Its even worse when the trailer is better than the movie.

One example that comes to mind was "Playing God" with David Duchovny. The trailer had some fairly funny comedic moments, but when they played out in the movie the timing was off and it didn't play nearly as well.

That said, I'm glad that the new Serenity trailer is less spoiled. I try to avoid spoilers in general, and was afraid to view the previous one.

Re:I hate trailers...

[nettdata]

You got to see it already? ...bastard! ;)

Re:I hate trailers...

[Council]

The first one only spells out the plot for people familiar with the show.

I watched the Serenity trailer before seeing the show. Then I saw the whole show in the gap between then and this new trailer.

I had watched the first trailer several times and I did not understand that it was about this one ship. It's obvious in hindsight, but all the shots of fleets made me assume it was something about space war and politics, nothing like what the show turned out to be (which is wonderful).

I guess my semi-on-topic point is to keep in mind that once you understand something, you cannot look at it with the eyes of someone who doesn't. Once you hear a theme or words in a piece of your favorite music, it's impossible to not hear it, and hard to understand how someone doesn't. And as a fan, it's very hard to tell how something will play with non-fans. So fans are not in good positions to judge trailers aimed at the public, more than you might think.

Just a general note that I've only just realized.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Curse you!!!

[JoeLinux]

I got to 35%, when everyone else here on /. noticed the trailer too...and my work has Bittorrent blocked...

*sigh*, so, here I am, downloading at a whopping 5k/s.

Of all the days to stop taking methamphetamines...

Re:Curse you!!!

[DaHat]

I mock you both! I'm at 25% and still going strong at 35.7k/s!

Re:Curse you!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Same happened to me, only I was in the middle of watching it and it almost froze my OS.

Re:Curse you!!!

[steve_bryan]

Yep, I think there is something wrong with the encoding. After having this occur in my browser I right clicked and downloaded the file directly. It locked up QuickTime Player on my Mac and after transferring it to my PC running XP and QuickTime it locked up hard in QuickTime Player PC both running QuickTime 7.0. Did they bother to check this stuff before posting it?

Firefly Podcast

[lesinator]

I'm part of the team that produces The Signal, the only podcast in the 'verse totally dedicated to Firefly. http://www.serenityfirefly.com. The response from listners has just been amazing. We had to switch providers 12 hours after launch because of bandwidth problems. I'm sure the international trailer is about to have the same problems. Serenity is definitely one to keep your eyes out for even if you never saw the TV show.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

Am I the only one who found Firefly to be dull and boring? I couldn't even make it through the first episode, and didn't miss it when it got axed. Why is everyone gushing orgasmic over a show that couldn't even make it through one season?

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm right there with you.

The chemistry of the actors was off.

Joss Wheadon has the talent to come up with an entirely new phrase, but make it sound like a cliché and tired.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Karma Farmer]

RTFA. This is about Serenity, not FireFly. They're two totally different things.

Well, that's what I got from the writeup, anyhow. The article itself is unreadable.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

Yes. Yes, you are.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

Just watch the "objects in space" episode.
(You might want to view some other episodes
for character background, or browse some
spoiler sites first.)

Re:Am I the only one?

[mynameisnotnick]

You must have seen the premier on Fox - like I did. I was bored senseless, turned it off and never watched again.

Until, just a few months back, I gave in to all of my geek friends telling me how amazing it is and bought the DVDs. It's amazing.

The problem with the show as I (and I assume, you) originally viewed it was that Fox showed the series out of order - the episode we saw had no context. We didn't know anything about the characters, universe, or meta-story.

Rent/Buy the DVDs and watch them in order - you'll be glad you did.

-gary

Re:Am I the only one?

[tricops]

Well, no, they're not. Serenity is a movie based on the cancelled FireFly series.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Shky]

over a show that couldn't even make it through one season?

I certainly hope you're not saying that a show being canceled means it isn't good. All of my favorite shows have been canceled (at least once): Wonderfalls, Futurama, Farscape, Family Guy, and (though not officially) The Inside. Instead of these shows we have shows like So You Think You Can Dance. Cancelation != poor quality.

Re:Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

Yes, I saw the premiere on Fox, and predicted the show was going to get the axe. Shame on Fox for screwing it up like they did, but the premiere left me with no desire to see what the rest of the season was like. I don't think I'd even waste a selection getting it from Netflix at this point.

Apart from BSG, the current state of sci-fi shows sucks. Fox killed off my other fav sci-fi show before its time... it seems they have a knack for doing that. At least with Firefly it wasn't upsetting.

Re:Am I the only one?

[downward dog]

Did you watch more than a few episodes? In the right order?

Were you hoping for more action?

You are definitely entitled to your opinion. Personally, I saw a few glimpses on Fox and was never that intrigued. Later, I rended the first disc from Netflix and I was hooked. Firefly had more thoughtful writing, more compelling characters, and a better mix of drama, humor, and action than I had ever seen in a TV series.

If you enjoy a drama with good writing, characters, settings, and (usually) plots, you might want to give the series another try. Watch the episodes in order.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Falcula]

You left out Strange Luck. I wish that would come out on dvd.

Re:Am I the only one?

[dfn5]

Am I the only one who found Firefly to be dull and boring?

I reckon you are.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Fo0eY]

yay for wonderfalls
and here i've been believing I was the only one that thought that show was great

one of the funniest ever on tv imho

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

Samurai Jack being another one.

Re:Am I the only one?

[mynameisnotnick]

Shame on Fox for screwing it up like they did, but the premiere left me with no desire to see what the rest of the season was like. I don't think I'd even waste a selection getting it from Netflix at this point.

But that's just it - you didn't see the "premier", you saw the episode Fox showed first - big difference. It's like starting LotR with the Two Towers and blaming Tolkien because the story doesn't make sense.

Look at it this way; by watching Firefly (as mentioned above, showing on Sci-Fi (didn't know that, thanks)) what you'll really be doing is thumbing your noses at the marketing idiots at Fox who were sure they knew how best to "position" the show, against the wishes of the creative folks.

-gary

Re:Am I the only one?

[electrichamster]

The first episode sucks gigantic hairy balls - the rest however, rock.

My advice to anyone who first watches the DVD's:
Watch the first three episodes (force yourself if you have to), then make your mind up.

I've not yet had one person come back to me saying they disliked it after following that advice, but most of them said they hated the first episode.

Re:Am I the only one?

[tabacco]

Nope... I'm a huge fan of both cancelled Bryan Fuller shows... Wonderfalls and Dead Like Me :)

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

Every show gets cancelled eventually (with the possible exception of The Simpsons). Getting cancelled after one series probably correlates well with sucking - I can't think of any good series that got cancelled so quickly (I've never seen Firefly so I can't judge).

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

So...you found the entire series to be "dumb and boring"... ...but you only saw part of one episode.

Well, sounds like a perfectly valid analysis to me!

Re:Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

But that's just it - you didn't see the "premier", you saw the episode Fox showed first - big difference. It's like starting LotR with the Two Towers and blaming Tolkien because the story doesn't make sense.

Oh, so there are differing definitions of "premiere". Silly me to think that "premiere" would be the first showing of something.

Look at it this way; by watching Firefly (as mentioned above, showing on Sci-Fi (didn't know that, thanks)) what you'll really be doing is thumbing your noses at the marketing idiots at Fox who were sure they knew how best to "position" the show, against the wishes of the creative folks.

I do that by watching Family Guy on Adult Swim instead of on Fox.

Re:Am I the only one?

[SpryGuy]

You do realize that the first episode was actually the SECOND episode, as the two hour preimier was never shown by Fox, and that subsequent episodes were shown out of order as well.

You might try renting the first DVD from NetFlix and watching the first four shows in order. And the show did get stronger and stronger as each episode progressed. I found the premier shown on Fox to be dull as well, but I kept with it anyway and was rewarded. And when I finally saw the two hour pilot, I was hooked. I own it on DVD now.

Re:Am I the only one?

[SpryGuy]

Fox axed the pilot which was INTENDED to be the premier, and instead showed the second episode, which wasn't the premier episode, just the first episode shown.

Yes, it matters.

And it's really worth watching in order. Seriously. Sacrifice a Netflix queue slot. Or better yet, just wait until later in August when Sci-Fi will run the entire series IN ORDER, in the run-up to the movie's premier at the end of September.

Re:Am I the only one?

[scatters]

What's not to like? Interesting and funny dialog, likable characters, a bevy of babes (Inara, come to Beavis :), better than average acting, and sh*t getting blown up.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Re:Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

I watched whatever Fox showed first. Apparently there is the first episode (shown second), the second episode (which was shown first), some premier that isn't a premier(which as never shown and the second episode was the premier)... I need a scorecard to keep up here. Obviously this show requires a level of involvement that I'm not willing to put in for.

Hoping for more action? Not really, although that might have saved it. The story is enough for me, and the "premiere that wasn't a premiere but really the second episode" just really lacked.

That my original post has been labelled a troll is amusing though. I'm obviously out of sync with the /. groupthing yet again.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

Why is everyone gushing orgasmic over a show that couldn't even make it through one season?

SCI FI GEEKS

And I'm happy to be one, so there!

Re:Am I the only one?

[Fahrenheit 450]

Well, that all falls square on the shoulders of Fox. You know, those guys who advertised for weeks about a show that included "a girl in a box", and then decided at the last minute to scrap the two hour premiere containing said girl in said box, and made Joss and Tim write a brand premiere over the weekend to be hurried into production. Oh yeah, the new premiere also had to be just an hour long... and with more action, so all of the backstory had to be compressed into quick blunt exposition so we could try to figure out who all these people on this ship were...

And then they had the whacky idea to jumble all the episodes more or less randomly, cause hey... who doesn't love Keno! And oh yeah... they finally decided to show the real premiere as the last episode of the series. Because that makes perfect sense...

It's not that the show required too much involvement... it's that Fox got too damned involved with it.

Re:Am I the only one?

[SFEley]

And it's really worth watching in order. Seriously. Sacrifice a Netflix queue slot. Or better yet, just wait until later in August when Sci-Fi will run the entire series IN ORDER, in the run-up to the movie's premier at the end of September.

Actually, that begins tomorrow night.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Fahrenheit 450]

And on top of that, that wasn't even supposed to be the second episode. It was a brand new "premiere" that Joss and Tim had to write over the weekend after Fox told them they weren't going with the true preimere (which they had been advertising for weeks).

So what ended up being shown as the preimere that was supposed to hook viewers was the equivalent of a hastily thrown together b-side. Boy... those folks over at Fox are goddamn programming geniuses.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Coryoth]

Every show gets cancelled eventually (with the possible exception of The Simpsons). Getting cancelled after one series probably correlates well with sucking - I can't think of any good series that got cancelled so quickly (I've never seen Firefly so I can't judge).

Space Above and Beyond was cancelled during it's first season. No it wasn't the greatest, but it was definitely good. The first episodes were decidedly average, but given the last two thirds of the season it probably rates as one of the best Science Fiction series I've ever seen. The new BattleStar Galactica owes a lot to SAAB in many ways. Certainly SAAB didn't suck.

I'm sure there are plenty of other examples. That was simply one I could think of rapidly.

Jedidiah.

Re:Am I the only one?

[Anonymous Coward]

i hate it !

however, follwing perfectly reasonable logic

fox has tried to cancel the simpsons millions of times. simpsons was great
cancelled family guy . family guy is great.
cancelled futurama and anythig else the discerning cognoscenti deem to be great.
ergo firefly/ serenity was/is great
so yes i hate it and you hate it i would guess only use two and the studio execs.
[and hey i wish i could like it .. i hate it to be on teh side of studip execs... but i hated vuffy and angel too]

Re:Am I the only one?

[sartin]

Oh, so there are differing definitions of "premiere". Silly me to think that "premiere" would be the first showing of something.

Yes, you've figured it out. There are differing definitions of "premiere" - good work.

The show had a pilot. Fox did not show it until the end of the season. The pilot set up a lot of context for the later episodes. The episodes in the sequence produced had implicit and explicit references to earlier episodes. Fox showed the episodes in an apparently randomly selected order that made the connections nonsensical because viewers had not seen the "earlier" episodes in the filming sequence. It really ruined the show. It makes much more sense in order.

Re:Am I the only one?

[B3ryllium]

Most shows have a 'pilot' episode, typically a two-parter, that defines all the characters and establishes their motivations and personalities. It's typically followed by a few shows of all the characters settling into their storyplace.

You watched the settling; you didn't watch the definition. Fox chose "The Train Job" instead of the pilot as the first show they aired, because they wanted more "action". And in doing so, they screwed the writers and the entire series, because from that point on they had to play catchup to explain what was going on.

They didn't show the pilot ("Serenity", no relation to the movie ;-) until after the show was *cancelled*. So, that might explain why you didn't like it. Did you like "Dark Angel", with Jessica Alba?

Re:Am I the only one?

[st0rmshad0w]

Personally, I want Good Vs Evil and Brimstome back.

Re:Am I the only one?

[sword42]

Actually, the two hour premiere was shown by FOX... it was the last episode they air'ed... and really made you want to see more... and then you realized there would be no more... You're DVDs will show the original air date on the back... and Yes, they're amazing...

"Ah, curse your sudden - but inevitable - betrayal!" -Stegosaurus to T-Rex in Firefly

Re:Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

Dark Angel was mediocre. Jessica Alba's easy on the eyes, but the show itself wasn't very good. Intreresting premise, but I never bothered to watch more and a couple of episodes.

Re:Am I the only one?

[maxpublic]

Some people take Slashdot too seriously. My Freaks list proves it.

It isn't Slashdot they take too seriously, it's YOU they take too seriously.

Max

Re:Am I the only one?

[capebretonsux]

How right you are. I did the exact same thing, and now half-regret having done so, 'cause there won't be a season 2. Really looking forwards to Serenity though.

Re:Am I the only one?

[noewun]

Agreed.

I don't understand why people treat Joss Wheadon like he's the second coming of screenwriting. Listening to his dialogue is like listening to someone who grew up watching too much TV with too little Ritalin. Galactica is a little melodramatic for me, but at least I feel like I'm watching believable characters and not collections of quirks.

How long until I'm modded "Troll" for disagreeing?

Re:Am I the only one?

[TheCabal]

How long until I'm modded "Troll" for disagreeing?

Shouldn't be long, look at my original post. I just received the summary of mods for that post and let's just say it's an interesting battle, but GroupThink(tm) is in full force.

Re:Am I the only one?

[iplayfast]

The shows had a unique perspective on Sci-fi, and often had a good twist to keep it interesting. The characters all have individual personalities, and they actually stay true to them during the show. The personalities are all interesting, and believable. Some of the skills possessed are far fetched, but then again this is sci-fi.

The people in the show had the same sorts of problems that people have now, (money) and are just trying to get by in their world. This helps people to relate to them.

The reasons it couldn't make it through a season are not due to the show, but rather the lack of scheduling. Nobody could find it. It was moved around so many time slots that it never had a chance to develop a following... (I obviously stand corrected).

I also like the writing. It is humorous and entertaining, without the need of a laugh track.
I'm so sick of cheers/friends/king of hill/fresh new price/fraser, that whenever I hear a laugh track the channel gets turned. This was original. This was entertaining.

The fact that some people don't like it is ok. They haven't had their fill of all the other shit that's on TV now.

Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[Anonymous Coward]

Early: "You know, with the exception of one deadly and unpredictable midget, this girl is the smallest cargo I've ever had to transport. Yet by far the most troublesome. Does that seem right to you?"

Simon: "What'd he do?"

Early: "Who?"

Simon: "The midget."

Early: "Arson. Little man loved fire."

Re:Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[Rei]

Yeah - there are some great quotes from that ep. My favorite:

(River/Serenity laughs)

Early: "You folks are all insane."

Simon: "Well, my sister's a ship. We had a complicated childhood."

Early: "Doesn't anybody care that I have a finely crafted gun pointed at this
boy's head?"

I think, to sum up the series, though, one quote really does a good job:

Kaylee: "Well, we're headed for help... right?"

Zoe: "Captain will come up with a plan."

Kaylee: "That's good. Right?"

Zoe: "Possibly you're not recalling some of his previous plans."

For more firefly quotes, check out fortune-mod firefly.

Re:Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[Anonymous Coward]

meh. Favorite firefly quote: "Also, I can kill you with my brain."

Re:Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[sflory]

I don't know War had some of my fav quotes:

Book: The government is a body of people, usually notably ungoverned.
Simon: Now you're quoting the Captain. ...

Niska: I think this is not enough. Not enough for two. But sufficient, perhaps for one. Ah... you now have --
Zoe: Him.
Zoe: I'm sorry. You were going to ask me to choose, right? Did you want to finish? ...
Mal: So. I hear you all took up arms in that little piece of action back there. How you faring with that, doctor?
Simon: I, uh... I never-never shot anyone before.
Book: I was there, son. I'm fair sure you haven't shot anyone yet. ...

And of course everyone's favorite

Jayne: (After seeing Inara meeting her female client) I'll be in my bunk.

Re:Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[Golias]

Best moment in the whole series for me:

Mal is in a life-and-death struggle with a man who was torturing him for hours. Just as he's getting the slight upper hand in the fight, his crew comes storming in with guns at the ready.

When one crew member raises her gun, Zoe interrupts her...

Zoe: "Wait... [earnestly] He has to do this himself."

Mal: "No he doesn't!"

Zoe: "Oh."

Then the crew proceeds to shoot the bad guy. Priceless!

Re:Jubal Early: Best. Dialog. Ever.

[Darth23]

Heh, Bobby Fed ruled.

good movie?

[mnemonic_]

Must one be a Firefly cult fan to be excited about this movie? It just looks like a sci-fi B-movie with completely tired "bad boy" characters and mediocre fight scenes.

Re:good movie?

[Anonymous Coward]

You do not have to be a cult fan to be excited about this. BUT you have to have at least watched an episode or two of the show before you can call it a 'B-movie with completely tired "bad boy" characters and mediocre fight scenes.'

That's just politeness.

Re:good movie?

[seawall]

Of course not everyone liked Firefly but the "1st" episode wasn't the 1st. It was the 1st aired.

In the correct order it's better than in its original aired order. Of that I have heard little disagreement.

....of course you may still think it not worth your time and that's OK. I like the no-aliens, no-latex-face-appliances premise and wildly different tech for poor and rich terraformed planets but it's not everyones cup of green tea. I liked the preview just fine.

Paraphrasing Joss Whedon: "About the same number of people as worked on the show, saw the show. But you people insisted we make this movie....so if it sucks, it's your fault."

Re:good movie?

[LqqkOut]

I'm a Firefly cult fan, so take this with a grain of salt.

What I really liked about the show is that the characters aren't tired "bad boys", but instead is a revival of "The Han Who Shot First" and his adventures in the outer rim territories, his dealings with the Hutts, the rabble he associated with... Yes they run outside the law, but it's refreshing to see situations where there's no clear "sheep" answer to a situation. Case in point: Train Job - the crew has a choice to make and neither outcome is very attractive - good vs. evil is much less exciting than evil vs. worse evil! It's this complexity that I miss about the series.

Hello, my name is LqqkOut and I am a fanboy.

Re:good movie?

[jpietrzak]

I suspect you'd need to be more of a "Whedon" cult fan than a Firefly cult fan. Yes, Firefly covers much of the same territory that any normal sci-fi B-films cover, but where most writers focus on the starships & firefights, Whedon puts unbelievable amounts of depth into his characters. I'm a latecomer to the whole "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" thing myself -- although the premise of that series was somewhat ridiculous, the interaction between the characters was wonderful, and drew me in despite the overt plot.

So, in Firefly, the action sequences are fun, but it's the banter around the dinner table that really sets the show apart. :)

--John

Re:good movie?

[Anonymous Coward]

That's a great description of the show. A revival of "the Han who shot first" just about collectively sums up the crew of Serenity. Let's hear it for likable scoundrels!

Re:good movie?

[SpryGuy]

Very, very well put.

Re:good movie?

[jpietrzak]

If you haven't seen it before, you should check out the old BBC sci-fi "Blake's 7" -- now, there was a show full of "bad boys". The concept was that Blake, a freedom fighter up against a corrupt interstellar Federation, gathered together a crew of pirates and thieves to pursue freedom. But the actor playing Blake left the show after the first season; so, one of the thieves took over the ship after that. :)

Now, that became a show without a truly clear sense of good vs. evil. The main characters occasionally did the "right" thing for the right reasons, often for the wrong reasons, and sometimes didn't accomplish anything good at all! It made things quite interesting...

--John

Plot

[Sheepdot]

Setting: Nice, calm and serene office for United International Pictures in the Netherlands.

Premise: Evil technocrat (Taco) unleashes hordes of his minions on the poor defenseless webserver.

Re:test

[Anonymous Coward]

OH GOD, HE AIMS TO MISBEHAVE!

SOUNDS THE ALARMS!!111one2122

Seriously, get the fuck over Joss Whedon, folks, its old and not particularly entertaining.

The Series

[KD5UZZ]

Don't forget, the Sci-Fi channel has picked up Firefly. They will be airing the orginal series, in the correct order, starting tomarrow (Friday) at 6pm central time.

Re:The Series

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah.. I for sure gotta make sure my cable is on SciFi all Friday..

Anyway.. Quick question. In the BS:G mini serie right before the camera fade into the doctors office on Caprica (spelling?) where the "future" president is waiting for her results. Is that a Firefly that is in the sky. Seen thru the roof windows? Anyone seen this too? I looked at the AVI I have but haven't been able to make a screenshot as of yet. It is a short sequence and a pretty "big" view of the spaceship. It really looks like a Firefly to me. I just wanna know if anyone else have noticed this and agrees with me.

Thank you.

Re:The Series

[JackRuby43]

apparently it is....same folks did the effects. If you google for it I think you'll find an interview with one of the CG guys talking about how they reused the model.

pfft

[fracai]

Downloaded 10.6 megabytes in 16 seconds. (649.49 KB/s)

thank you axel.

Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys?

[L. VeGas]

Or is it coincidence that someone else used the same description of the trailer?

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[fracai]

whatch the series. or at least the first 10 minutes. it means good and is a term used several times in the show.

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[ferat]

slang from the show. I tend to think of it in the same way as someone saying "cool".

Mirror of movie (I know I'm gonna regret this)

[winkydink]

Is available here.

Re:Mirror of movie (I know I'm gonna regret this)

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

Just as a heads-up, while that trailer played almost completely on my machine (WinXP, Firefox), it then took out the browser completely and rendered my system unstable for some time until I could kill Firefox. Something's not right...

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[mcflaherty]

"Shiny" is used a lot in the series. It would be like linking to Stranger in a Strange Land with the hyperlink of "Grok This!"

If you haven't seen Firefly....

[thewiz]

get the DVDs!

I remember seeing part of the first episode and thinking, "Eh, just a western set in the future." and (due to work obligations) never saw the rest of the episodes. I recently picked up the DVDs and was blown away by the quality of character development and story line! Light-years beyond what I'd thought when I saw the snippet when it originally aired.

I'd really love to see Firefly come back to TV (SciFi Channel) and see more of what Josh Whedon has to offer! Can't wait for the movie!

Re: If you haven't seen Firefly....

[Black Parrot]

> I remember seeing part of the first episode and thinking, "Eh, just a western set in the future."

Yeah, I remember after the first week of that season thinking that John Doe was going to be better than Firefly.

Didn't take long to change that opinion.

> I recently picked up the DVDs and was blown away by the quality of character development and story line! Light-years beyond what I'd thought when I saw the snippet when it originally aired.

I recently saw the DVDs for the first time, and was astonished to discover that it was even better than I remembered. Even that first episode they aired is interesting, given some context about the characters.

Unfortunately, all this sets some extremely high expectations for the movie.

Re:If you haven't seen Firefly....

[Anonymous Coward]

It's strange how many people are fans of Firefly. It's watchable and sometimes enjoyable, but I don't particularly like it compared to most other sci-fi series. The characters all seem immature and mostly behave like teenagers, which may be fine in some different setting, but as a crew of a spaceship, I'd find people who are a bit more organized, responsible and level-headed more believable. Or if they have to be goofy, make them out-of-this-world goofy (Farscape, Lexx), or let one character hold the others together (Andromeda), even if he is a caricature.

Firefly plots are also mostly kind of predictable (and I'd have preferred more continuity), although the episode where they find a community that worships Jayne as a hero is full of totally hilarious (and well acted) moments.

Re:If you haven't seen Firefly....

[rotor]

I think you'd have found the continuity you're looking for if the show had been allowed to continue. There was a lot going on that was never allowed to develop - especially the storylines revolving around River and around Book.

Totally agree about Jayne's Day though. That's one hell of an episode. I remember last winter sitting down to that episode with my guitar and playing along with "The Ballad of Jayne". Joss not only writes good shows, but good music too.

Rent/buy dvds or watch it on SciFi

[JLavezzo]

Instead of buying them... you could watch the re-runs on SciFi...

Re:Rent/buy dvds or watch it on SciFi

[Kjella]

Instead of buying them... you could watch the re-runs on SciFi...

Hey, if you got a recommendation from a friend you trust that it is good, and it's already out on DVD, I consider that a very good time to put down money for it. The quality and convienience of a DVD can't be beat. I wish most shows were like that, unfortunately I find out about them long before they air on TV here, far less come on DVD...

Here's a tip for TV producers: DO NOT KEEP YOUR CUSTOMER WAITING. There are people who would kill to get the latest Potter book a week early. Now pretend I'm supposed to wait a year (or more) for a TV show (they usually get bought based on US rating last year, if at all). Offer it for international web download, damn it. Lowering foreign ratings? Hint: I won't watch in on local TV anyway.

Kjella

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[mattgoldey]

"Shiny" is lingo straight out of the show.

Thank Goodness the Trailer has no spoilers...

[gspeare]

...but hey, the Slashdot text does! Thanks!

The trailer is available for download...

[Anonymous Coward]

here:
http://www.filecloud.com/files/file.php?file_id=19 08

mod parent funny

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.stanthecaddy.com/the-serenity-now-scrip t.html

I concur

[PCM2]

There's clearly a certain type of sci-fi fan who hangs out on Slashdot whose tastes are totally different from my own. I, for example, really can't stand most anime, and even the stuff that's pretty good (Cowboy Bebop, for example) has some qualities about it that I find totally grating. But obviously a lot of Slashdot people love the hell out of the stuff.

Similarly, I saw the first Serenity trailer and my immediate reaction was that this movie looks like one of the worst pieces of sci-fi fanboy garbage to hit the screen since The Chronicles of Riddick. Space ships, people shooting guns, "mercs," a hot chick doing kung fu ... this is exactly the kind of crap I expect to see on any given Tuesday on the Sci-Fi Channel. I like Star Wars, I like some (but very little) Star Trek, I like the new Battlestar Galactica, I'm a big fan of Doctor Who (both old and new) ... but this thing doesn't seem to have a single redeeming quality that would make me want to even rent it.

Obviously, I must be missing something. Is it the subtleties of the plot, though, or is it just something in my genetic make-up?

Re:I concur

[The I Shing]

I had the same reaction when I saw the other trailer in front of Hitchhiker's at the cinema, but my buddy lent me his DVD of the 14 episodes that comprise the TV series, and by the end of the first (2-hour pilot) episode I was totally hooked.

Everyone's saying it, but I'll say it again... watch all four DVDs in the boxed set (just borrow it or rent it or something), read the three Dark Horse comics that are coming out (the first one came out on 7/13/05), and then see the movie in September. It's just too damn much fun to miss out on.

Re:I concur

[Anonymous Coward]

"I saw the first Serenity trailer and my immediate reaction was that this movie looks like one of the worst pieces of sci-fi fanboy garbage to hit the screen since The Chronicles of Riddick. Space ships, people shooting guns, "mercs," a hot chick doing kung fu ... this is exactly the kind of crap I expect to see on any given Tuesday on the Sci-Fi Channel."

I agree. I'm going to give it a shot, but the first trailers looked stilted and awkward.

Re:I concur

[SpryGuy]

If it helps, I can't stand Anime either. But FireFly (and the new Serenity movie) are nothing like that. And while the trailer may have concentrated on those aspects you cited, trust me that the show isn't "all about that" at all, or I would be completely bored with it.

The show was all about the characters. The culture. The universe they inhabited. It wasn't about the sci-fi technology or technobabble or any of that stuff. It was about connections and motivations and wit.

Seriously, give the show a chance. Rent the first DVD on NetFlix, or force yourself to watch the first four hours of the show on Sci-Fi when it reruns in August/September. Chances are, you'll get as hooked as I am. And if you do start watching the series, each episode gets generally better and better. I found the last episode ("Objects in Space") to be nothing short of brilliant.

It's a show that's worth the investment and the risk. You will be rewarded.

Re:I concur

[TheRagingTowel]

SEE THE FUCKING SERIES!

Re:I concur

[Anonymous Coward]

Ugh Chronicles of Riddick...

That movie basically took a dump on that story and the Riddick universe in general. If you're smart, don't let that movie turn you away from Riddick, the books (and to a lesser extent Pitch Black, much better movie) are a much better experience.

I hope this movie doesn't crap on firefly like chronicles or riddick did to riddick.

Re:I concur

[mr.mighty]

I thought the first trailer was awful. This one isn't so hot, but it's better. After seeing the first trailer, I was worried they had ruined everything. How bad can a trailer be when someone who loves the series is considering not going to see the movie?

Re:I concur

[kalidasa]

If you like Cowboy Beebop (it's the only anime I can stand), the new BSG, and old Star Wars, you almost certainly will like Firefly. Borrow the DVDs, watch them in order, and don't give up until you've seen "Objects in Space".

No, this is not like Stargate SG-1. (Nothing wrong with SG-1, but Firefly is on another level.)

Re:I concur

[RedBear]

Obviously, I must be missing something.

Yes, you're missing the entire set of subplots that lead to this movie. Get the DVDs and watch the series in the proper order (not the way Fox broadcast it, completely out of order). Pay attention to the character development, which was as good or better than what you're seeing in Battlestar Galactica. Notice that the more episodes you watch the more you feel like these are real people that you personally know and want to know what might happen to them in the future.

Honestly, it's a good series. Watch it and you'll get a lot more out of this movie.

Re:I concur

[steve_bryan]

...I saw the first Serenity trailer and my immediate reaction was...

Please tell me you aren't trying to make a critical judgment about a body of work that comprises fourteen "hour" long episodes and now a feature film, based on a sixty second trailer? Do you do book reviews based on blurbs on the dust jacket?

There is no telling if you would enjoy the movie but if you haven't ever seen the series it might be worth your time to rent the DVD's of the series. Like many others I saw a few of the oddly sequenced episodes when it was first shown and did not find it very interesting. Since seeing the episodes in order I'd say it is the most entertaining SF-related series I've seen on TV.

Re:I concur

[WhatAmIDoingHere]

I watched all the episodes in order. I made the mistake of starting at 11pm. I fell asleep at 9am and finished them off when I woke up at 4pm. I'm actually quite pissed at FOX and have been for the past few days.

Because they want the best release possible

[arete]

1. Each successive screening has been better than the previous. They're still in post-production and they're still improving stuff.

They probably have a relatively small advertising budget. So,

2. You don't want to compete with the summer blockbusters - because you don't want to compete with their advertising budget. So you schedule a fall release to not compete with them.

3. You want to magnify your small $ as much as possible. So you release trailers on RELEVANT movies that interested people are going to see. And you do what you can to make your fans advertise for you for free/cheap.

that makes a lot more sense

[ashpool7]

thanks

Re:that makes a lot more sense

[Anonymous Coward]

I think the less than graceful replies were from fanboys who are eagerly awaiting the release and have been following the news on Serenity since it's inception.

While I fall into that category I can also accept that there are others that don't. I just don't get some peoples really narrow worldview sometimes.

International Serenity?

[Anonymous Coward]

Isn't that a feminine hygiene product?

/ducks

wrong name of the movie

[tont0r]

this should be called '5th element 2'... or maybe '6th element' because it looks like the same damn movie. you compare them... 5th element
Serenity

Re:wrong name of the movie

[temojen]

It looks like the same movie, unless you take into consideration factors like characters, plot, setting, actors, set design, art design, wardrobe, etc.

So yeah, they're both space fantasy, have lighting, and were filmed on photochemical film.

Yeah, and a conetticut yankee in king arthur's court and gone with the wind are basically the same movie too.

Re:wrong name of the movie

[Anonymous Coward]

Having seen (and liked) both, I can tell you that there is very little in common.

Re:wrong name of the movie

[Anonymous Coward]

this should be called '5th element 2'

Ummmm, Mila.

no spoilers

[milimetric]

For everyone that's seen the Serenity Sneak Peak, I'd just like to point out how Awesome (was this intended???) it is that this Slashdot story is right above the story about the little mind-altering depression curing device. If you did this on purpose, whoever you are, VERY FUNNY.

Re:no spoilers

[Serenity.Flan]

That is funny! :)

Personal favorite

[downward dog]

Simon: "Are you Alliance?"

Early: "Am I a lion?"

Simon: "What?"

Early: "I don't think of myself as a lion. You might as well, though. I have a mighty roar."

Simon: (pause) "I said 'Alliance'."

Early: "Oh." (pause) "That was weird."

Re:Personal favorite

[DevNova]

Zoe: "Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?

Book: "Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."

Re:Personal favorite

[spurtle15]

My favorite:

Jayne: Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you get who's in charge.

Re:Personal favorite

[dtfarmer]

Jayne: Do you know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you get who's in charge.

actually it's even better than that:

You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with 'til you understand who's in ruttin' command here. ~ Jayne Cobb

Jayne always had some great lines (actually everyone did)
another good jayne quote:

Mal: Can't get paid if you're dead.
Jayne: Can't get paid if you crawl away like a bitty little bug neither. I got a share of this job. Ten percent of nothin' is, let me do the math here... nothin' into nothin', carry the nothin'...

Re:Personal favorite

[drsquare]

According to all these quotes, it IS buffy in space. Maybe this is one programme which deserved to be cancelled.

Coral Cache

[TekGoNos]

http://www.uip.nl.nyud.net:8090/Pictures/seren/tra iler2.mov

Works like a Charm :)

it looks like a decent movie

[Anonymous Coward]

Personally I prefer Farscape, and it would've been awesome to see the peacekeeper wars on the big screen.

Still, this movie looks to be worth my money. Certainly more than fantastic 4...

why

[Anonymous Coward]

Why does the corner of /. tell me "Your code should be more efficient!" when their html is horrific?

Saw the pre-release screening in Boston

[doublem]

Trust me, this is one movie that's worth the hype.

I haven't watched the trailers, but if the scene is the one I'm remembering from the movie, the ones getting it in the throat are bad guys.

And that's all I'll say. :)

Stupid title

[Anonymous Coward]

Why don't the producers just called it Firefly: the movie, or Firefly 2? If they want people to know it is based on the Firefly TV series, they should have at least market it as such.

Re:Stupid title

[Anonymous Coward]

You apparently never watched the show to learn the significance of the name Serenity. If you did you wouldnt be making such an asnine comment.

Re:Stupid title

[Anonymous Coward]

If it is so important, then why not called it Firefly: Serenity?

Re:Stupid title

[tabacco]

Because that sounds awful?

Re:Stupid title

[Anonymous Coward]

'cause maybe they realize the targeted audiance isn't made up of drooling idiots?

That's because it's a trailer.

[downward dog]

Firefly is not about fight scenes or "bad boy" characters, and it is sci-fi in setting only. The series only used action as a vehicle, not as an end in itself.

Jubal Early

[ArmorFiend]

For the clueless: Jubal Early was a semi-famous confederate general during the American Civil War. After a string of crushing defeats, he went into hybernation for a while. Awakening into the 24th century, he became black like me, and retrained himself to become a schizo Boba-Fett-esque bounty hunter.

Re:Jubal Early

[Serenity.Flan]

Also, athan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds) is a distant relative of Jubal Early.

Re:Jubal Early

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, I believe Nathan Fillion is a distant relative of Jubal Early, which is why Joss Whedon used the name for that character.

chick doing kung fu

[exp(pi*sqrt(163))]

If you know the character and the developing plot then that scene was very entertaining - it's not just a chick doing Kung Fu scene. I love the new Doctor Who, and I also like Firefly, they're both a cut above the average science fiction series. Firefly has interesting plot threads that work their way through the epsiodes pulling you in. And Firefly probably has the highest production quality of any science fiction TV series I've watched. Firefly isn't going to make you have new revelations about the nature of the human condition, but you'll get to like and know the characters and they'll entertain you.

I aim to misbehave

[Martok7]

I can't wait. It was a shame the TV show was canceled.

Re:I aim to misbehave

[TechnicalDifficultie]

It was a shame indeed. But with the way so many great TV shows seem to lose their way and get flat after too long on the corporate broadcasting ticket, perhaps it was best our beloved "Firefly" died an early death. That way we get the MOVIE (can you say "movies"?)!!

earth?

[Anonymous Coward]

I saw earth, I saw earth. They're going to earth!! ;p

Re:earth?

[Helios292]

Nah. In the Firefly universe, Earth got used up a long time ago. What you probably saw was one of the heavily developed Core Worlds. They're all terraformed.

Re:earth?

[Anonymous Coward]

The scene is clearly zooming in on the Gulf if Mexico, i.e. Earth. If not Earth then somehow an exact copy!

Re:earth?

[dtfarmer]

The scene is clearly zooming in on the Gulf if Mexico, i.e. Earth. If not Earth then somehow an exact copy!

While I haven't been lucky enough to see a sneak preview, this question was asked a lot after the first trailer came out, and people in the know (and some who saw a preview) indicated that the image of earth is from an early scene in the movie giving the history of earth that was, and how and why we left it. In this trailer, the four ships in the forground of the earth shot are leaving earth not approaching it, which supports what I've heard.

Picking up empty popcorn bags...

[Anonymous Coward]

in the local cineplex does not mean that you work in the film industry.

Re:Picking up empty popcorn bags...

[BewireNomali]

zing!!!

let see.

personal attack (check)
AC posting (check)

lol. you're already on solid footing. please continue.

I only watched one episode

[asoap]

and it started off with them sellling cattle. I got the impression that the show was about futuristic cattle ranchers and never watched it again.

Although I love Joss Whedon's work on shows like Angel which was dark and as soon as you thought the show was pradictable and boring it would throw you curveball and completely change.

After seeing the trailer for this, I really want to see this movie.

I love trailers...

[jfengel]

I'd say that if all of the good parts of the film are in the trailer, it's more the film's fault than the trailer's. If the film only has three good jokes in it, and they're all in the trailer, I can usually tell, and then I've saved myself $10 and two hours.

(How can you tell? If there are three good jokes and six so-so jokes, the odds are that they're reaching for material just to fill three minutes. Occasionally a film is better than the trailer makes it out to be, but generally it's on the money.)

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[Durin_Deathless]

Actually, insofar as I can tell, shiny originiated in the Chicago area BEFORE Serenity ever broadcast. I've used the word on and off since the mid-90s, although I will admit it's become more prevalent since the show aired. Prior to the airing of the show, very few people used it, and all the people I knew that used it had connections to the particular region of Chicagoland where I grew up.

Soundtrack

[RealErmine]

For those interested, apparently some songs from the soundtrack can be found here:

www.cantstopthesignal.co.uk

Please warn...

[Run4yourlives]

us users when the link is going to something other than an html page.

kthx.

Trailer vs. Movie

[dagny_dev_]

I saw a screening of Serenity last month, and then saw the US trailer at Batman Begins. That trailer is really more of a shoot-em-up, ooh look at our special effects trailer, and it actually displayed a scene near the end of the movie that, while spectacular, should be left to the film - once you had seen some events near the middle of the film, you would almost certainly recall that image from the trailer and instantly know what was going to happen. That would spoil a very well-placed surprise. The new international trailer does a much better job of drawing you into the characters and getting you interested in the plot, instead of just showing off the effects. And it's so jumbled up and out of sequence that it really doesn't give *anything* away.

First trailer looked like crap

[Anonymous Coward]

I will first preface this post by saying I have never seen a single second of firefly, but when I saw the first trailer in the theater I couldn't help but be glad of that.

It looked awful: cheesy lines, bad acting, random chick jumping around doing dumb kicks, and an uninteresting premise.

Maybe i just don't *get it* because I never watched the show, but after seeing that preview there is no way I'd go unless it was to MST3k it from the back.

Firefly is going to be back!!!!

[NarNax]

Havent you guys heard? Sci-Fi Channel has picked up the contract for Firefly...so if all works out..more seasons + more movies = YAY! why would they ever bother making a live-action Cowboy Bebop now?!?! although Ed & Ein do rock like WHOA

Re:Firefly is going to be back!!!!

[Seeth42]

I wouldn't hold your breath for more seasons. Apparently this rumour was nixed quite a while ago - most of the cast has already moved on to other projects. More seasons are not planned because of this, However, scheduling a movie shoot is a lot easier for all involved so movies are the way the cast and crew are going. I read somewhere (don't remember where) that Alan Tudyk revealed "Serenity" is the first of a planned 3 movie series. Hopefully the first movie will make enough money to keep the studio interested for the next two films.

Re:Firefly is going to be back!!!!

[chiok]

No, there won't be more seasons--at least not for a long while. They have said that contractually there cannot be another season of Firefly for 10 years.

Ten years is about the right time for the three projected movies. A second season could happen after that, but not before.

IMDb sure has evil administrators

[Jugalator]

They recommend Star Wars Episode I - The Phantom Menace if you're ending up liking this movie.

Wow...

Hmm, I wonder how that algorithm works anyway, if it's automated. :-) ( or maybe the question should be frased -- how the algorithm doesn't work ;-) )

Re:IMDb sure has evil administrators

[AaronStJ]

IMDB des, in fact, use a completely automated recommendations system. A few details are available on each recommendations page.

With over 456,000 titles on the IMDb it isn't feasible to handpick Recommendations for every film. That's why we came up with a complex formula to suggest titles that fit along with the selected film and, most importantly, let our trusted user base steer those selections. The formula uses factors such as user votes, genre, title, keywords, and, most importantly, user recommendations themselves to generate an automatic response.

We're proud of our system for, if you disagree with a Recommendation for a given title and know of a better one, we encourage you to help us improve the results. Look for the "Update" button or the "Add a Recommendation" link at the bottom of the page and add more relevant (or just plain more) Keywords, or add the titles that you think should be surfacing, and help make Recommends more useful, more appropriate, and more fun.

Re:IMDb sure has evil administrators

[joNDoty]

HA! That's funny...

frased!

Re:IMDb sure has evil administrators

[Anonymous Coward]

Probably the same automated system that CDNow used that told me that since I was buying Slayer albums that I'd probably like Puff Daddy. WTF?

no, the problem is inane dialog

[SuperBanana]

The problem with the show as I (and I assume, you) originally viewed it was that Fox showed the series out of order - the episode we saw had no context. We didn't know anything about the characters, universe, or meta-story.

No. The problem is that most of Whedon's characters all sound, talk and behave the same way across every series he's touched. He writes dialog full of cutesy banter to cover for characters which couldn't possibly be more one dimensional if they tried, and plots which are so predictable, by the ten minute mark you have a fairly good idea on where the episode is going.

I'd basically sum Firefly up as "Buffy in Space, minus the vampires and teenage drama."

Re:no, the problem is inane dialog

[Serenity.Flan]

It is NOT Buffy in space. Not even close. If you'd give it a chance (by watch at least the first DVD) then you would see that. Just sayin' :)

Re:no, the problem is inane dialog

[honestmonkey]

You might actually not like Firefly, but it wasn't Buffy or Angel. I never really got into those shows much. Firefly was much different. One of the reasons I liked it was that most of the time you really couldn't predict where things were going.
When it first came out, they did a lousy job promoting it, and I only saw a few minutes of one episode that didn't make much sense, so I blew it off. The reason everyone gushes about the show is that it is that good, and different than most of the crap out there. And in many ways it much more "realistic" than say, Star Trek.

Trailer requires fan of Firefly goggles

[Anonymous Coward]

I agree with your point that the trailer in and of itself is not impressive unless you have seen the Firefly show via DVDs. I was out with friends to Batman and the original trailer came up. They all said "that's NOT one we're going to see". My reaction, having seen Firefly, was far more excited, but disappointed that the trailer doesn't really pull in a new audience.

I like the same stuff you do. I don't like anime, etc. I would strongly suggest renting/buying Firefly on DVD and seeing the really great quality writing/effects* within. Then, you'll be excited about the movie too...

But the trailer is best for the fans.

corrupt .mov file?

[jafac]

I reproduced this twice -
WinXP SP2, QT 6.5.2, about 9/10 of the way through the movie, firefox hangs up, and I had to kill it with Task Manager.

Recommend a separate download, and play outside of the browser.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Master of Transhuman]

Sorry, pal, I tried that.

Hoses Windows XP big time no matter what.

Windows is total shit.

Use Linux only to play this trailer - and I'm not sure that will work.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Anonymous Coward]

The .mov is fine -
Ubuntu Linux, gmplayer. A OK.

Go with the download but maybe try a different media player.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Anonymous Coward]

Also hung firefox on a Mac running 10.3.9

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[tabacco]

Also kills Firefox on Tiger with QT7.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[RiffRafff]

Dunno. Worked for me (Mandrake 10.0, Firefox 1.0.5, Mplayer 1.0pre5-3.3.2, Mplayerplug-in 2.80).

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[NeuralClone]

Yup, I had the same problem. I tried it without Firefox and the problem was even worse. It completely locked out my mouse, keyboard, and the reset button on my PC. I've been able to reproduce this almost everytime I play it.

Windows XP SP2, Quicktime 6.5.2, Firefox 1.0.5

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[NeuralClone]

I don't think the operating system has anything to do with it. It also crashes on me in Linux and other people have reported problems with it in MacOS as well. It's either a corrupt movie file or Quicktime is complete shit. Or both.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[demon]

Strange, I played in in Xine on my dual-head Debian Athlon box. Nary a flaw. Well, other than the fact that the video looks like it's a TV cap. Where's my HDTV?

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[SamSim]

I played it with Quicktime Alternative in Windows Media Player Classic and the same thing happened. The problem is with the file. Recommend finding an alternate source...

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[jafac]

Also hung firefox on a Mac running 10.3.9

Egad!

Anyone try Safari?
(though Safari's been absolute ass as far as stability goes since 10.4).

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[mr.mighty]

Worked perfectly for me on Linux. Fedora Core 4 with or without Firefox 1.04 using the mplayer 1.0pre7-4.0.0.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Anonymous Coward]

Same thing with Safari and QT7 on OS X 10.4.2. The file, or some cache of it along the way, has a problem. Downloading the file doesn''t help.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Master of Transhuman]

Well, I was so pissed off at Windows I booted into Mandrake 10.1.

Since my default install only has Kaffeine and it (or XINE) doesn't play MOV files, I went hunting for MPlayer.

Unfortunately my repositories were apparently out of whack - installing mplayer, urpmi told me there were no signatures on several of the dependencies - so I had to spend an hour rebuilding urpmi's database. I then installed mplayer and the KMplayer GUI.

I opened the file. It played perfectly through to the end.

No locking up - and damn sure no ten minutes trying to recover the fucking operating system.

Now, I CAN complain how fucking complicated it is to rebuild your repositories on Mandrake using urpmi. This should be a one-click operation that goes to the Mandrake Web site, downloads a list of repositories, shows them to you, you select the ones you want, it rebuilds the freaking database and go from there.

Thanks to the Easy URPMI Web site, it's not quite that easy. Easy URPMI gives you the repository selection, but then only gives you the command lines to enter into URPMI. Lame, very lame. OTOH, it would be nightmare for a naive user if Easy URPMI didn't exist. OTOH, if you don't know about that Web site, it's still a nightmare.

Geeks, stop releasing software until it works with one click.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Anonymous Coward]

It's not the browser. The problem is with the file and QuickTime (7). VLC and mplayer 23-01-05 play smoothly passed the problem point.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Werelock]

Reproduced 3 times for me:
Work laptop, WinXP Pro SP1 using Opera 8 - locked up and spent 5 minutes clicking End Now, and trying to bring up the taskmgr. Finally had to kill the machine to get out of it. Lost an important IM with a coworker across the country too. :@

At home, desktop WinXp Pro SP2 on an Athlon 64 using both Netscape 7.2 and IE 6.02 - a few minutes of fighting for each and I was thankfully able to kill each without rebooting.

Oh, and tried all of the movie links I've seen listed here so far, they all do it, including the original post.

Downloaded to desktop and viewed there - np.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[ilyaaohell]

Just adding my own confirmation that this does happen.

On a related note, the fact that Windows didn't actually have to be rebooted is kind of a testament to how far Microsoft have gone in stability control. I'm actually really impressed with this. All I had to do was kill Firefox and I'm back to normal.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Anonymous Coward]

happens to me too. using the G5 optimised 1.0.5 build on an iMac 2GHz. when it happens *something* is definitely eating up cycles, though, because the system fan kicks in full blast after a while, and stays running until I quit firefox.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[Snaller]

fox doesn't like firefly - well known problem!

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[darkest_light]

I had this problem with Safari and Quicktime, but MPlayer was able to play it without a glitch.

Re:corrupt .mov file?

[steve_bryan]

Apple did make available a 141 MB HD encoded version of the first Serenity trailer using H.264. I don't see it in the HD Gallery currently but there are probably a lot of copies of it out there. You do need a lot of processing power to play it. My Athlon XP2400 can't handle it and my poor 350 MHz G4 doesn't have a chance. But eventually any $200 PC should be able to play it without breaking a sweat. Just not yet.

They killed it.

[Beardo the Bearded]

Go watch the first three seconds of the first trailer.

Did you hear that?

They put engine noises in space.

The series was very careful to NEVER put ANY noises in space. That's one of the reasons the show was awesome - they didn't feed us fake physics. Hell, they killed a guy by making him lose his grip on the ship!

So what? There's going to be some lame-ass scifi movie that dumbs down everything we know. Oh yeah, I'll line up for that.

Re:They killed it.

[Serenity.Flan]

"They put engine noises in space." That's just the trailer. The film has no sound in the blackness of space.

Re:They killed it.

[Anonymous Coward]

Those who saw the screenings claimed that there was no sound in space.. I really hope this is true..

Re:They killed it.

[Anonymous Coward]

1. The opening shot is Serenity going into the atmosphere of a planet.

2. It's the trailer, they add their own sound.

3. Joss was asked about sound in space in San Diego. Paraphrasing, a. In space there is no sound, b. Edge of space there is sound, c. Out of space there is much talking.

Re:They killed it.

[Darth23]

You know, there's no backgound music in real life either so 99.99% of all movies have fake physics. There are also no jump cuts, unless you're on a serious amount of drugs.

Re:They killed it.

[NeuralClone]

So the movie itself doesn't have sound in space? If that's the case then that's good to know. Even if they did add sound to the space scenes again it certainly wouldn't ruin my enjoyment of the movie.

Re:They killed it.

[Anonymous Coward]

I assume you're talking about the first trailer.

I saw one of the preshowings. That scene is entering a planets atmosphere. It's excusable.

I don't recall hearing it in any of the actual space scenes.

Irony

[brokeninside]

There is a disconnect between:

``Space ships, people shooting guns, "mercs," a hot chick doing kung fu ... this is exactly the kind of crap I expect to see on any given Tuesday on the Sci-Fi Channel.

and

I like the new Battlestar Galactica

The new battlestar Galactica is full of space ships, people shooting guns and hot chicks doing kung-fu. And it's even on the Sci Fi channel.

Re:Irony

[joNDoty]

"The new battlestar Galactica is full of space ships, people shooting guns and hot chicks doing kung-fu."

There is NO kung-fu in Battlestar Galactica. In fact, it's pretty rare that a woman fights hand-to-hand at all in any of the episodes. I'll give you space ships and guns, but it's hardly action for the sake of action like you get in a lot of other Sci Fi channel shows.

Re:Irony

[batkiwi]

Did you not see the big fight between starbuck and that hot hot crazy cylon bitch?

Re:Irony

[joNDoty]

Did you not see the big fight between starbuck and that hot hot crazy cylon bitch?

Yes, I saw that fight in that one episode. I've seen every other episode, too. Like I said, there is NO Kung-Fu and chicks fighting hand-to-hand at all is rare in Battlestar Galactica.

THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Master of Transhuman]

What has this got to do with "Serenity"?

I downloaded the trailer which is in Quicktime MOV format. Knowing Firefox would probably fuck it up, I downloaded it, then double-clicked it to run it.

It ran. At least I got to see most of it. Toward the end it locked up Windows XP totally. I finally managed to get the Task Manager to come up after a long time, and told it to kill the fucking QuickTime player. No effect.

After getting the Task Manager up a second or third time, I managed to tell Windows to restart.

It then proceeded to repeatedly tell me that Task Manager DLL initialization failed because Windows was shutting down - oh, fucking brilliant, Bill!

Then it proceeded to tell me every single program in the System Tray was being shut down and if I ended them, I'd "lose any data" - another brilliant fucking message, Bill!!

Now I have to click on a dozen messages to get the system to shut the hell down.

JUST END THE FUCKING PROGRAMS AND SHUT THE FUCKING SYSTEM DOWN, YOU MORON!

This is the SECOND fucking time in FOUR HOURS I've had Windows XP totally unable to handle a screwed up application!

JESUS BARON VON CHRIST! I HATE FUCKING WINDOWS!

I should have booted into Mandrake to run this trailer.

Windows as a multimedia player plays everything out there, someone said here the other day. Oh, yeah, right, moron.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Anonymous Coward]

Very strange... I had the same thing happen to me, except that I am on a powerbook.... Very weird... Anybody have any idea what this could be?

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[NeuralClone]

I take it you don't like Windows? Now you know how I felt during my attempted Slackware and Gentoo installations.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[cruachan]

Locked for me too, although did manage to end the quicktime process and get windows back (running at 99% machine resources).

This is at about 1'43'' into the movie? (blusih frame with 'Serenity' on it).

In my experience this is more probably Quicktime's fault than Windows. God I hate Quicktime - it never sits on Windows cleanly, and more to the point is always after you to upgrade. Only reason I ever install the damm thing is to play the occassional movie trailer.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Master of Transhuman]

Which is why I use Mandrake - or any other easy to install distro. Slackware and Gentoo are not known for easy installs compared to Mandrake, SUSE and Fedora, let alone Lycoris, Linspire and Xandros.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Master of Transhuman]

Yup - that was the exact point on my system, too.

And I hate QuickTime, too. Although I'm actually running it with QuickTime Alternative using MPlayer on Windows.

I booted into Mandrake 10.1, managed to get MPlayer installed after a ton of work rebuilding my repositories which must have been out of whack, and the trailer plays fine using a slightly older version of MPlayer than the one someone else used.

And while QuickTime may have been the culprit on Windows, at least if it had happened on Linux, a nice quick "kill -9 " would have been a lot easier than wrestling with that POS Task Manager on XP.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Strider-BG]

I don't think it's QT - the file may be corrupted. When I tried the first link and it's mirror it hung Firefox and Safari on my Mac at the same place. But since it's Unix I could kill the process and try again :P

Then I used this link (you have to click through some BS to get to the file) it worked perfectly:
http://www.filecloud.com/files/file.php?file_id=19 08

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Master of Transhuman]

Nope - file plays perfectly fine on Mandrake 10.1 using MPlayer.

Of course, it could be some sort of glitch in the file that is not fatal under certain circumstances during playback and is fatal otherwise. Who knows?

I'm amazed at how many glitches show up in playback of video files. I don't know if it's the encoders people use to encode the video or the decoders used to play them back, but the quality of video playback frequently sucks. Of course, if the original video was recorded off a TV card or something, I guess I can't be too surprised that encoders have less than perfect resolution to deal with in the first place.

I don't think it's QuickTime per se anyway - I think it's QuickTime ON WINDOWS that was the problem. And I wasn't even using QuickTime itself - I was using QuickTime Alternative using MPlayer on Windows. In fact, I'd be more inclined to blame Windows or the video drivers than QuickTime.

But what really bugged me was how XP pathetically handled the lockup and shutdown. I mean, ten minutes to recover a locked up app and/or shutdown? Whatever happened to pre-emptive multitasking?

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[zakezuke]

Windows as a multimedia player plays everything out there, someone said here the other day. Oh, yeah, right, moron.

What's odd, what's really odd is this also happened to me using quicktime alternative.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[SiChemist]

If you want to install and get to use Linux right away, get SimplyMepis.

Absolutely the easiest install that I have ever experienced. Boot up the liveCD, open the installer app, click through a few screens, and reboot. Dead simple.

It will use the proprietary Nvidia or ATI video drivers, installs the Flash plugin, and lots of other goodies that make it easy to just start using it.

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Master of Transhuman]

That's actually what I was using.

Plays fine with MPlayer on Linux, though. So it has to be some interaction between the file, the QuickTime codecs, MPlayer and, who knows, maybe the video drivers. But only on Windows.

What pissed me off was the way Windows handled the locked up app. When I tell Windows to kill a process, I want that process DEAD AND BURIED immediately - just like on Linux. I don't want to sit there for five or ten minutes while it rummages around trying to figure out what to do next, and issuing stupid messages that are meaningless under the circumstances.

I think the problem is that "Task Manager" is way more than a task manager - it has all those freakin' tabs with performance animations, and God knows what else. This is Microsoft's problem - too many damn features loaded onto a system utility that should only do ONE THING: manage processes. If somebody wants to monitor system performance, they can get a Sysinternals utility. And the process manager should not sit there and second-guess me when I click on "Kill process!" I can imagine how wonderful this is on a server.

Sorry for the rant - I hate Windows...:-)

Re:THIS Is Why I Hate Windows!!

[Brandybuck]

One click on the link and everything just worked. FreeBSD, KDE, Konqueror KMplayer. It's the simplest thing in the world. Sometimes I'm amazed Windows even has a marketshare big enough to measure...

Re:test

[Serenity.Flan]

Ummm. Just wondering. Have you even seen Firefly or Serenity? Didn't think so.

I also.

[fbartho]

I also reproduced it... Twice.
This was on Win 2K patched up, newest quicktime, but 400mhz cpu (can't actually tell what is x86 Family 6 Model 7 Stepping 3?) and 512 ram

I gave up and thought it was the computer.
+running firefox.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

.wvm files require a license?

[BigBuckHunter]

I noticed that the wvm files want to connect to a download server for a license on the origional trailer. Is this still true for the international version?

BBH

Gotta pop my cherry sometime!

[ChickenBone]

I've been lurking on /. for about 5 years now. This is my first post. I had to for this one. I freekin loved this TV show. From day 1. I'm stoked about the movie, (hope they did'nt dumb it down too much) and i'm really hoping it comes back to TV on the sci-fi channel. I'm not a Josh Whedon Fanboy at all. I never watch one episode of Buffy or The other one...(can't think of the name right now), but Firefly I liked alot. Nothing more important else to add....on second thought, maybe I wasted my first post ever? Dammit! CB....

Re:Gotta pop my cherry sometime!

[TheoMurpse]

I'm curious: if this is your first post, why did you register such a long time ago?

Re:Gotta pop my cherry sometime!

[dtfarmer]

I'm curious: if this is your first post, why did you register such a long time ago?

Not trying to speak for the gp post, but I originally registered simply to be able to control what I saw on the front page, both sections and slashboxes, as well as to change the preferences for viewing the comments. Of course, I don't think I waited too long before I was sucked in after that - maybe 3-6 months or so.

BitTorrent version

[ceejayoz]

http://hwcommunity.com/tracker/torrents/Serenity_I nternational_Trailer_2.torrent

From the Whedon-hater-camp

[ChozSun]

I love SciFi. I love comics books. That noted, I hate everything else Whedon has done. His two other shows are spikes through the head at best and his comic writing is meh at best.

That said, Firefly freakin' rocks. Stop basing opinions off of what you saw on Fox. Fox kept jacking the order of the shows, content of the shows and towards the end, didn't even show it in place of sports. Even if you did see it in the first run, you really didn't see it at all.

Fox has jacked up other shows in the past, this is true. But either plenty of people have lost their jobs or they learned a stern lesson when they are going to bring back Arrested Development and brought back Family Guy.

Firefly was one of the balls they dropped. Unfortunately, since they have sold the rights to Universal, they cannot bring back Firefly. Thus, we have Serenity and reruns on SciFi.

Life is good again.

Pwned the DVDs. If you still don't believe us, check the reviews. If 1409 reviews with an average of 5/5 stars is still not good enough for you, rent the DVDs.

I, for one, envy newcomers. They can see "Objects in Space" and think, "oh cool and Serenity will be here soon." Imagine getting the DVDs way back when and no talks of any sort of movie. It was the only time I screamed at my TV.

Re:From the Whedon-hater-camp

[robbkidd]

Unfortunately, since they have sold the rights to Universal, they cannot bring back Firefly.

Is this right? I recall hearing that Fox still owns the rights and that SciFi and Universal have paid for licenses for rebroadcast and movie-making respectively. I think I got this information from Finding Serenity.

Re:From the Whedon-hater-camp

[TheoMurpse]

I will have to agree with this. My interest has finally been piqued enough -- to see what the fuss is about, I found a torrent of the Firefly series. I downloaded the first four episodes, watched them, and loved it.

I will now be ordering the DVDs. Thanks, Bit Torrent and /.!

Seeking to convert the unconvinced.

[Stroman Rebar]

It goes like this. Every single person in my "geek circle" of friends really enjoyed the DVDs despite only two of us actually watching the show when it was on air. To get these 20 or so people to agree on ANYTHING is a herculean task. I really think there is something special about the show that goes beyond hype/ peer-pressure/herd mentality that the fan-boy community often operates with.

The fact that you took the time to post about it indicates to me that you have some (if minor) curiosity about the pheomenon. Just plop down the four bucks at blockbuster and check out the first disk. Then you can pass judgement guilt-free, knowing that you have made an informed decision. :)

What Joss Whedon has to offer...

[KingSkippus]

In 2007, Wonder Woman. Why do I get the feeling that it will be a lot different—and a lot better—than the '70's Lynda Carter series? (Not that there's anything particularly wrong with the '70's Lynda Carter series...)

They don't need to.

[KingSkippus]

Hopefully, this answer is a little less facetious than the others...

The overwhelming majority of people who would watch the movie because it's a Firefly movie already know that it's coming out. The people who don't know about Firefly don't really care what it's called.

And IMHO, Serenity is a much cooler name than Firefly. It will probably draw a bigger crowd from the latter group, which is composed of a lot more people.

But I'm just guessing.

Drinking the sand.

[Grendel Drago]

Because really good SF on film is so bad, we're about ready to drink the sand, so to speak. In a culture that considers "Star Wars" to be science fiction, Firefly is way, way ahead of the rest.

If we don't encourage them to get it right, how will they ever learn?

--grendel drago

Re:Drinking the sand.

[BewireNomali]

I agree with you. I'm not a fan of Star Wars either.

And I do agree with you about encouraging them. That was my point about finding the properties you want to see and advocating them on sites like this. Once the audience hits critical mass, someone will make it. It's just the way the busienss works.

Best scene!

[Grendel Drago]

That was one of the best scenes, you insensitive clod!

--grendel drago

Sorry Buddy....

[Stroman Rebar]

SCI-Fi has only picked up the old episodes of Firefly, not contracted for new ones to be created. Probably the only reason they were able to pick up the old series cheap enough was so that "Serenity" could get some pre-release cross-promotion.

Sorry to burst your bubble there pal. I wish it were true, but alas, that is not the case. It would be just too expensive for SCI-Fi to bring back "Firefly" right now. SCI-Fi already has 3 high cost original series currently in production, as well as their schlock-tastic "creature feature" movies to pay for. Maybe it would make financial sense if "Serenity" makes huge bank at the box office, but probably not.

Re:Sorry Buddy....

[ilyaaohell]

SCI-Fi already has 3 high cost original series currently in production, as well as their schlock-tastic "creature feature" movies to pay for.

How is this a reason for not funding another series? They spend money to make those things because they're PROFITABLE.

Of course I'm personally not a Firefly fan. I never saw the show. But I do dig that Battlestar Galactica, and looking at the clips from the Firefly show, it doesn't look anywhere as good. Now that they're gonna show it on TV again, I might actually check it out out of curiosity.

On a completely unrelated note, I think it's pretty obvious that unless you watched the TV show, none of these Serenity trailers look at all interesting. They actually seem to have the same sort of aura around them that the Chronicles of Riddick trailers did (though I didn't see that movie either), minus any sense of galactic scope or general excitement. Which is pretty damn pathetic for a trailer that is trying to advertise a sci-fi space opera. Oh well. If it works for you Firefly fans and you guys buy your movie tickets to enjoy your movie, more power to ya. It just offers absolutely NOTHING for outsiders.

Well, if you can't respond to the message...

[Anonymous Coward]

... I suppose you can always shoot the messenger. Good going!

Re:Well, if you can't respond to the message...

[BewireNomali]

no shooting. merely observing. carry on. lol.

new episode name?

[Anonymous Coward]

Does anyone know the name of the new episode(s) so I can get them off of piratebay??

Re:test

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow, you created that account just to post in this thread.

You sir, need to seek help.

lol what

[CunningNickName]

So it's more important about how the trailer plays with fans rather than the movie or series having a wide appeal across all possible audiences?

I saw the Serenity trailer and it was atrocious. Came across as being some Joss Whedon Mary Sue fanfic that presumes the viewers already know the characters and are wise to the story and events. All I came away with is that spaceships are surrounding some earthlike planet and there's some ninja girl who everyone is supposed to accept as being really cool.

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[Anonymous Brave Guy]

FWIW, it's been used in the UK for quite a while.

I think the first time I heard it may have been in a computer game: "Oooooh, shiny!"

Blows up in Camino and Safari

[Anonymous Coward]

Yep, right when it says "Serenity" about 90% of the way through, it totally hangs. Most recent versions of both Safari and Camino on Mac OS 10.4.2

simple solution

[NOLAChief]

Go here.

I've Seen Serenity

[Error629]

FYI, there are no spoilers in the post about the movie.

I saw the Serenity test screening in Atlanta on June 29th. The theater was full of fan boys and girls. Joss Whedon gave a speech of how the movie wouldn't have been made if it weren't for the fans (alot of Firefly fans are hoping that speech is ont he DVD). He mentioned how the movie was not completely finished, but was close.

The curtains fell, the movie started and it was like we were back in the Firefly universe. The movie had the same feel and within minutes we were reacquainted with Serenity and her crew. The back story was laid out within minutes.

As for how I'd rate the movie as a fan, I'd say it was awesome. I brought three non-fan's and they all loved it and stole my DVD's. We absolutely loved it. This movie has everything from action, sci-fi, drama, horror, romance, and something the new Star Wars trilogy doesn't have - dialogue that is worth listening to that isn't just leading you along woodenly.

I'm a fan of Star Wars as well and am not bashing it, but where the new Star Wars trilogy was written more as closure, Serenity has fully developed characters which can grow in a new franchise.

The only other movie that had me glued to the screen this year like Serenity was Sin City. Totally different appeal, but nothing out there this year has compared.

It is worth a movie ticket and more.

(Don't flame me too bad.)

Re:I've Seen Serenity

[Brandybuck]

Neither of the previews showed Book. Is he in the movie? He's my second favorite character in the series, after my hearthrob Kaylee.

Other formats

[Udo Schmitz]

Here is the trailer in Windows Media, Real Player and QuickTime in various sizes, so that people with slow machines can enjoy it too:

http://www.cantstopthesignal.co.uk/trailer/

Re:Is "shiny" a common adjective among the fanboys

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, because us fanboys all have ADD. It's not so bad really, because ... ooh, spoon!

Don't you worry

[kaosrain]

They did dumb down a few minor things, but the movie is great.