Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly (Smart Pop Series) [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

For a brief period of time at the end of 2002, Joss Whedon, the man responsible for "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," had a science fiction series on FOX television called "Firefly." Only eleven episodes aired before the show was unceremoniously cancelled, but the show lived on for its fans when all eleven episodes, plus three unaired shows, were released as a box set. In this way, the show kept its original fans and gained many more. The boxed set sold so well that Universal Studios acquired the rights to make a film based on "Firefly."

Jane Espenson, the "Firefly" writer who announced news of the film in 2003, has now edited Finding Serenity, a collection of essays about the television show, its universe, and characters. These essays run the gamut from larks, such as Glenn Yeffeth's attack on the FOX executives who cancelled the show to Keith R.A. DeCandido's well reasoned explanation for why the pilot-as-aired did not manage to attract an audience, to Lyle Zynda's complex look at the existential philosophy found in the series.

Many of the essays tend to focus on the same topics, although from different points of view. One of those topics is the strength and abilities of the women of the cast and crew. However, even as Tanya Huff describes the abilities of the second-in-command, Zoe Warren, or Robert Taylor lauds the women as the stronger portion of the crew, Nancy Holder sees them as weak and stereotypical.

One of the strengths of "Firefly" is that in just over a dozen shows (including the un-aired episodes), Whedon was able to create enough hooks and mysteries that the twenty authors represented in Finding Serenity are able to tackle a wide variety of topics, from the aforementioned question of the strength of characters to the existence of the Reavers, a bogeyman who the crew of the spaceship Serenity meet up with. Nevertheless, there are numerous other questions which are only touched upon in the essays, such as the mysterious history of Shepherd Book (played by Ron Glass) or the agenda of the equally mysterious Blue Sun corporation.

Several articles compare "Firefly" to other television shows, most notably Star Trek and its sequels, but also Don DeBrandt's comparison to the cult show "The Tick." These articles rely, to some extent on familiarity with not only "Firefly" but also the other show. "Mirror/Mirror: A Parody" requires the reader to have some idea about the characters and situations of "Enterprise," as well as share Roxanne Longstreet Conrad's opinions of the two shows.

One of the high points of the anthology is the inclusion of an article by Jewel Staite, who portrayed the Serenity's mechanic Kaywinnet Lee Frye. Staite's essay looks at her five favorite moments from each of the episodes of "Firefly" and provides an adjunct actor's commentary to the various commentaries available on the DVD sets. It also serves to demonstrate that the actors, or at least one of them, is as big a fan of the show as the people who watched it.

While the essays in Finding Serenity can't provide a replacement for new episodes of the series or the upcoming film (scheduled for release in September, 2005), the book can help fans of the series scratch the itch to discuss the show and perhaps get a little more feeling for the various characters, secrets and subtexts, or at least the ideas of other fans of the show.

Firefly is, in my opinion, the greatest show to last less than a season. Usually when people think of shows that have been cancelled, especially shows that have been axed that quickly, they think of something with terrible writing, bad acting, and low production value. However, there have been short-lived shows that were killed way too quickly. Wonderfalls and Greg the Bunny each barely got one season while shows like Andy Richter Controls the Universe, Tru Calling and Titus didn't get much more (Family Guy would have fit into this category last year, but it has come back to the airwaves). All of the shows that I have just mentioned have either been edgy or quoirky, and that has led to their early, yet unwarranted demise. Each of those shows had a quality to them that many long-running shows could never dream of achieving (such as the Simple Life). But Firefly blew them all away.

This compilation of essays has some very interesting contributions. One essay investigates the question of just who killed the show (besides the network brass at FOX). Another looks at the role of Inarra (Morena Baccarin) on the show, and compares her to women of similar positions throughout history. Some of the episodes are just hilarious, such as the one with the supposed network notes from FOX exec Early Jubal (a take-off on one of the villains from the show), or the Firefly vs. Star Trek: Enterprise adventure. Some of them are strangely contradictory; one author writes that the women of the show are the smartest, ablest, and best characters, and that the men of the show would be nowhere without them (think about it; the most dangerous person on the ship is a 100-pound teenage girl). However, another writer claims that, because this enters into the western genre, the women are subdued and secondary to the male cast members. Also, at the end is a glossary of all the Chinese phrases used on the show, and some of them are pretty funny (although, probably unintentionally so). Finally, there is the essay from Jewel Staite, who plays Kaylee Frye on the show. Basically, it lists her top 5 favorite moments from each episode. I'm not sure if its my favorite (that honor may be reserved for the Firefly vs. Enterprise one), but I do see it somewhat differently than most of the others. Maybe it's because it came from an actual cast member, or maybe because I'm in love with Kaylee (but that's a different story all together).

This is certainly a fun little addition to the Firefly universe. While some of the essays won't be completely accurate come September (some stuff in the film contradicts some of the theories and ideas a few of the authors had), it will always be a good read.

I am a die hard fan of Firefly and, as such, I grabbed this book as soon as I heard about it. The cancellation of the show left me wanting more. Essays dissecting the show? What the heck. Could be fun.

But, by and large, it isn't.

The book starts off promising enough. There is an essay that talks about the look and feel of the show from a filmmaking point of view, and that's pretty cool. Also interesting is the examination of the episode "Objects in Space" (my personal favorite) as an exercise in existentialism.

Unfortunately, the handful of insightful essays/articles do not offset the rest of the book. Most of the book reads like a fanzine (a fan-produced, fan-edited, usually low-quality collection of articles that are insightful and witty to only the most diehard fans). Chief among these were the silly "The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly," and the dreadfully un-funny and irrelevent "Firefly vs. The Tick." Many of the essays are guilty of simply overanalyzing the show to death. Yes, you can pick at the parts fo Firefly (the western part, the sci-fi part...) and find lots of flaws--but what none of the essays seem to point out is that it's the sum of the parts that makes this show such a wonderful thing.

Perhaps the worst of the bunch is "I Want Your Sex..." a seemingly endless man-hating rant by an irate Buffy fan that berates Joss Whedon for not taking the initiative to make the Firefly universe a matriarchal society where women wield all of the power and men are simply window dressing. The characters of Firefly--ALL of them--are strong characters, stronger than those on most shows on television today. To say that the women of this show were marginalized and weak is just plain silly. Everyone who's ever watched the show KNOWS Zoe could kick everyone's [back] on that ship and take command. The fact that she choses NOT to do so (as my wife points out) shows STRENGTH not weakness. The fact that she is devoted to and dotes on her husband is not a weakness (as the writer of the essay would have you believe) but a personal choice. The fact River is not interested in relationships with men on the ship (or off the ship) doesn't maker her character sexless--it doesn't make her ANYTHING. It just is. The girl has other priorities. She's a fugitive, after all...

I'll stop ranting now.

Anyway, if you're looking to supplement your Serenity movie experience, buy the Firefly DVDs, the novel, and the making-of book. (Skip the first step if you already own the DVDs.) As for this book--the few bright spots are hardly worth the price of admission.