If I hadn’t been in this class, I don’t know if I would have ever seen Firefly or Serenity, which is a shame because I think Firefly is one of the most interesting shows I’ve seen. The only episodes of Firefly I saw before watching Serenity are the ones we watched in class. (I used the better part of the weekend to watch the entire series.) Even with only that little bit of knowledge about the show, I was able to understand Serenity. Even the parts I did not totally comprehend, like the Alliance stuff, I was still entertained by it. I feel like the movie could stand on its own and be enjoyed by people who have not seen Firefly just fine, however I think Serenity is greatly more appreciated by Firefly fans, mostly because of the emotional attachment that forms between the viewers and characters. To viewers who don’t understand the trouble that the crew has gone through to protect River, Serenity may seem a bit dramatic. I know if I hadn’t seen any episodes of Firefly I probably would have been egging on the characters to hand River over and move on. Thinking about this made me wonder if movies I have seen and really disliked would have been better if there was a TV series attached to it. Sure, it doesn’t work in all cases. I don’t know how many of you have seen the Growing Pains movie, but it definitely doesn’t work. I know I’m not making any solid points I just think it’s very interesting to think about the idea of making a movie out of a TV show. I think Whedon knocked it out of the park with Serenity.
4 comments:
I still found the way the crew treated River was a bit ridiculous. It was "Objects in Space" all over again, with Mal trying to oust River. It also reminded me of "Safe," where Mal tells Simon to take River out and then gets mad and leaves them when she freaks out, runs off, and gets them captured. Or "Ariel," was Jayne really going to betray them again? It just felt like a lot of retread ground to me, is all.
I agree with you, Corinne. I know I never would have watched Firefly any time soon, and I was a bit apprehensive because I knew nothing about it. But I really have become interested in the characters and their stories. And you're right, typically making a movie out of a show doesn't work, but Whedon did a fantastic job with this!
I agree as well, movies based on a television series can be pretty flighty, but I think Serenity was well executed. The only minor scruple I had (like Corinne's) with the movie was that it may have been hard for anyone who hasn't watched the series to understand why the crew is willing to keep River and Simon on the ship and see such a dangerous undertaking out to its conclusion. The series provides a justification for this by allowing character development, whereas the movie makes it seem like the crew is taking an unnecessary and illogical gamble. That being said, I really enjoyed this movie, which is more than I can say for other movies based off of television shows.
Yeah, the _Growing Pains_ movies were BAD. (How's that for a profound comment?)
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