Everyone is the 'hero' of their own story; including The Operative. He sees himself as the 'anti-hero', a martyr; he is sacrificing his future and 'goodness' so that others can have a pure life.
The moment the Operative identified himself as a Monster, Narcissistic assumptions are LITERALLY thrown out the air lock as BPD logic holds more sway. (Similar to Narcissism in every way except the ones that really matter....) I've personally dealt with Narcissism in both professional and personal relationships and this is quite literally not the case. (see above comments involving self-sacrifice, something a Narcissist would never do because its quite literally below them to do.....) I've literally spent the last decade determining the difference between BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and Narcissism, and the effort has resulted in a strange dichotomy of the two. Aka the results look similar but the reasoning on how to get there is VASTLY different.
I wouldn’t say narcissism. Because that would mean he only did it for himself. No he did these monstrous things in order to make that perfect civilization a reality... So from my understanding he is not a narcissist. He is an extremist and a fanatic psychopath.
"Was that the primary buffer panel that just flew off?" "I believe it was, that's going to make this landing interesting" "Interesting how?" "As in 'Oh God, Oh God We're All Gonna Die'"
As a testament to how good Serenity is, I watched it without having ever seeing a single episode of Firefly. I was never bored or confused or felt lost, and I felt like I knew the characters, or at least understood them.
"I aim to misbehave..." There is so much of Firefly/Serenity just left on the table. The potential destinations of this story are right there! At least Firefly got a movie, Space: 1999 never even got that. What could have been...
Glad I’m not the only one who thought the film was executed so well. Believe it or not, that was actually the my first Firefly property that I saw. I later watched the rest of the show as more content from the universe was so appropriated! That said, the storytelling in the film Serenity, was so tight that I couldn’t tell that there was any lead up to the events of the film. It works very effectively as a stand alone story. Amazingly so!
@nakos1212 While the cancellation of Enterprise was bad as well, I really liked it. Enterprise still got 4 seasons. Firefly on the other hand just got the minimum scraps and thus IMHO is still the king of series which should have gotten more seasons. Later.
@@grast5150 Firefly didn't even get a complete season. Not to mention it's pilot episode wasn't even shown first. Fox didn't want Firefly to succeed, that's very clear. _Objects in Space_ is one of the best episodes of TV, period. P.S. And the scene of Serenity engaging her reaction drive engines and blasting off the planet at the end of the pilot episode is my favorite "space flight" scene, period.
The Operative was, in my opinion, one of the greatest villains I've seen anywhere. He was so cold, calculating, unswerving, and brilliant. Ejiofor is an amazing actor, and after seeing this (the first role I'd seen of his), I'm always on the lookout for other things he's doing. The reflection of the two characters is something I hadn't consciously picked up on before, and certainly explains why his character worked so well: a great villain is a challenge to something personal for the protagonist. Great video, thank you.
I just rewatched the whole series and the film less than a month ago. It is amazing how it didn't age at all and how actually bloody damn good it is. This will stand the test of time into the far future and will be rewatched more than once again with kids.
Firefly series is still my favorite series to date, which makes it all the more depressing when considering what happended to it. Edit: I'm not saying the movie was bad, I'm referring to the way to early cancellation of the series.
Aired out of order, by a network that put it on a bad night of the week and failed to advertise it. It was doomed to fail by Fox, thankfully it got a conclusion movie. If it had been a Netflix or Amazon show (now not then) we'd possibly have got a fair number of seasons.
True. Imagine if Whedon had a chance to spread the content around a couple of more seasons at least and he had time to work on it. Oh well, at least we got a movie. Most canceled shows don't even get that.
I have yet to (and likely never will) forgive Fox for canceling Firefly. I rarely get truly attached to television shows but Firefly had me hooked early. BIG middle finger to Fox.
20th century Fox got what they deserved. They failed consecutively and got bought out. Whatever you think of Disney, whatever they do with Fox will be better than what they were when they killed Firefly.
I'm still not sure which was the greater example of a show cancelled before its time: 'Firefly' or 'Space: Above and Beyond'. Two phenomenal shows which never got their just due.
Shiny!!! This is a major reason why Serenity is my favorite film of all time!!! ❤️❤️❤️🎥🎥🎥🎬🎬🎬🎞️🎞️🎞️📽️📽️📽️❤️❤️❤️ THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!! FIREFLY IS MY GORRAM RINGTONE!!!
Mal's characterization was also put through the lens of Inara for this film, where as she meets him in the start of the show, he's no better than a mercenary with moments of integrity sparsed few and far between. He's lost his belief after the battle of serenity and how upbeat he was. He used to rally his platoon by keeping spirits high. But she never saw this side of him because he didn't have anything to believe in. When she thinks he's spiting the alliance, he tells her that she'll see something new. She of course initially thinks this means that he's even more ruthless and vicious if he's fighting against his sworn enemy. But in reality, after his I aim to misbehave speech, she realizes that his true character is that of a hero and a leader.
I love this movie. I think I saw it 12 times in the theatre in a desperate effort to help incentivize a sequel. I actually think it may have done better with a different title, though. "Serenity" is great and appropriate if you're already a Browncoat, but it really doesn't communicate anything about its premise to a casual viewer. It's a shame.
It was a better movie for appealing to fans of Firefly. If they had aimed to mass-market the movie to a wide audience from the beginning, they would've had to compromise too much.
Well, I for one would be a fellow Browncoat just like Capt. Mal in Firefly/Serenity.. Really loved this short but very enjoyable "space-western" series and think it should have had at least another season or two... I Aim to Misbehave...
Loved this episode! Right at the start, I'd remembered that the core arcs in Serenity were all about belief, in one way or another, but I'd never taken the time to break it down so thoroughly. I also love that I'd never realized that the operator was a subverted trope; excellent breakdown! If I might share a possibly controversial idea... While Firefly might have been cancelled too early for peoples' liking, it DID actually prevent something else: it stopped the show from going on long enough to get stale. Most shows that go on for more than, say, three seasons (and some that even go on for just two) start to have tropes of their own, which can detract from immersion in the universe. Just as one example: do you ever wonder why anybody in the Star Trek universe remains on board a ship once they're given a red shirt and a phaser in their locker, or why anybody works on any of the exploding decks? John Scalzi's "Red Shirts" is a book that takes the tropes of the Star Trek universe and turns them inside-out for comedy... A book I'd highly recommend!
I would have love for more of the ships to have been fleshed out so that you could do breakdowns of them. Some of them seemed well thought out for the groups that used them. Example the ship that looked like a city was believable, imo, for the Alliance. It doesn't need to land anywhere, it's a space city to impose it's rules on others.
Well said Spacedock. This was an extremely good analysis of Serenity and its characters. I loved Firefly, and Serenity is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've even gotten several people that are not normally fans of sci-fi to watch the movie and I have yet to show it to someone that didn't love it.
There is a cannon answer to that question. Anyone who doesn't know: There's a comic called "The Shepherd's Tale" by Dark Horse comics which covers Shepherd Books' life through a series of flashbacks. It's written by Zack Whedon from an outline provided by Joss based on his notes for Firefly.
Better than the comic is the essay "Not Very Christian Of Me" that explores the Sheppard's character. It's a fascinating read if you can find it. Essentially it says: It doesn't matter who he *was*. The Sheppard is a man in search of certainty. He's done things he thought were right but were wrong, and he's trying to find a way to know for sure that he's doing right, but life, Serenity, and in particular Mal, keep challenging his certainties and forcing him to understand that life can't be certain, can't be simple. That's why he takes it so hard in the first episode when he says "I watched the captain kill the man I swore to protect.... the worst part is, I'm not even sure he was wrong."
I LOVED 'Firefly' and 'Serenity'! 'Firefly' was cancelled far too early, in my opinion. It could have really developed into a multi-year series without too much effort. Studio heads really need to stop playing god with shows and give the viewing public what it wants and supports. 'Farscape' was another series that could have gone on for several more seasons. Fortunately, it also had a movie type ending that was demanded by the fan base to close the storyline.
Well part of the problem with Firefly as that they aired the episodes out of order for only half a season so very few people saw it on TV, understood much of anything about what the show was about or what was happening in the story, so it really did take the release of the DVDs for people to be able to watch enough of it to really get it and know that they really did want more of.
I wish I could give this more than one thumbs up. Joss has said that he has other things he wants to say in this universe, so, conceivably we could see another story set in the "Verse", but this story being told with these characters is a dead issue. All because somebody got a promotion.
Before the DVD box set of Firefly released I watched every episode that aired and feel in love with the series. I was saddened when it was cancelled and was extremely happy I saw Serenity on the big screen
I watched Serenity before I even knew Firefly existed & I was sad to usually see negative comments about the film (perhaps by Flyfly lovers annoyed at the sacrifices that had to be made to make a standalone film?). Glad to see a complementary video on it
It's a shame that Firefly was cancelled so soon, but at the same time I think people wouldn't appreciate it nearly so much if it had lived a full life on network TV. It's simply not possible to sustain such fantastic storywriting for a decade. They probably could've gotten 2-3 excellent seasons at most. Still, I would've liked to have seen all of it. I never did get to find out what happened to the assassin who snuck onto Serenity and got spaced at the end of the episode.
One of the questions from the series was, who was Shepard Book? I believe that they also answered that question in 'Serenity'. I believe that Book himself was a former Operative that had his eyes opened concerning the Alliance. That's why Book told Mal how to defeat the Operative in this film.
I wish someone would make a spin-of with the Operative after Serenity. Not a violent or adventurous story (apart from maybe flashbacks), but one where he has to come to terms with what he has done and how to move forward. And he'd likely be a a fugitive.
I imagine a scene set years later in which the Operative boards an old transport in much the same way Shepard Book boarded Serenity and takes on much the same roll.
The fact that Firefly was cancelled is a true tragedy to TV viewers looking for a great show to watch. And though I am grateful for the movie, I am still absolutely irate that Firefly was not allowed to continue. The cast were spectacular in their portrayals of the absolutely lovable quirky misfits, and the stories were both engrossing and enjoyable. This show should have had at least 10 seasons in any universe where good TV is valued in the slightest.
That tracks. It's also very American as various revelations about out conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan show as well as our historic conduct in the Civil War. I hope you've been following the comics and to see your take on them.
Malcolm and The Operative are two sides of the same coin and they both were showcased to excellent levels and it is sad that Firefly was cancelled just like so many other shows in the past like Altered Carbon.
This has always been Joss Whedon's strength - the ability to naturally tie themes together believably - it's why he was hired as a script doctor so many times.
Don't disrespect Firefly that way, Outer Worlds is overrated, boring, and borrows HEAVILY from games that have done it 1000% better, it brought nothing new to the table.
Idk if you've read the Firefly novels, but the first one, "Big Damn Hero", retcons the idea of Mal losing his religion. Instead, he was never religious, and the cross he wears in the war is a sort of tracker-thing that will help him get back together with his ex. It was bad.
The other series Daniel showed scenes from is *_Caprica,_* a prequel to Battlestar Galactica. Here is a link to the epilogue that was to tease the next season that got cancelled. ruclips.net/video/f1ofHYhObso/видео.html. Timecodes 1:54 and 3:03 show the best parts, but watch the whole thing through to appreciate what potential was snuffed out by FOX programming directors. Still, besides _Firefly_ they also cancelled _Angel_ (which even the executives admitted afterwards was a mistake), _Dollhouse_ (it had a 5 year plot which they rushed to portray in a half season they had left, Eliza Dushku learnt Russian for a whole plot where she is programmed as a Russian girl and ended up using it for one elevator scene of a few lines), _Tru Calling_ (meh, and it stopped Eliza doing the _Faith_ Buffy spin off) and many more sci fi/Fantasy series. But FOX aren't the only offenders, just the worst. Another good series that was cut off is _Enterprise,_ which was going slow in its final season because they were laying the groundwork for a big Romulan/Section 31 plot in the next season (that awful Riker Holodeck simulation was a red herring showing the official fake history) where the lies and hypocrisy hidden in the heart of the Federation is demonstrated - as they sin to create a paradise without sin… sound familiar? Then there's _Continuum_ (Daniel, I recommend you do this, and Caprica), which had to compress a whole new antagonist and alternative future enemies, and the origins of the far future travelers into a half season. For those that haven't seen it, the first season is okay, but it *really* picks up later on and becomes a searing indictment of corporate dominance of society and the ease at which consumers can be seduced into giving away their freedoms (and it was written before the revelations of privacy concerns of social media). It turns antagonist on their head, who are the bad guys? is terrorism justified in some cases? and some wonderful lines [corporate board meeting, discuss repurposing military R & D to police equipment, "These days, the law enforcement practically are the military"]. It was originally planned to run 7 - 10 seasons, but at the end of season 3 it got cancelled and they were allowed a half season to tie up loose ends. That should be the rule for all plot driven series, they get a chance to resolve the storylines… for those series that get cancelled on a cliffhanger.. Will Sydney ever get out of _VR5?_ What is the Secret of Hanna C and who made the clones, and what is the connection to _Todd and the Book of Evil? What is going to happen to the _Outcast_ human settlement, now that Earth is gone and a last survivors ship is landing to take them over, while the intelligent planet itself is deciding whether to exterminate them or not? There's the flooded landscape of _Surface_ with its giant reptiles revealed. What is the secret of the aliens in _Space: Above and beyond? Are the invaders really trying to change humanity to save it from supernova radiation in _Threshold?_ What is going to happen with the immortals and their plans for population control through biological warfare in _Helix?_ What happens after Stanton Parish's photonic stimulator goes off in grand Central, killing all the norms and enhancing all the _Alphas?_ except for Gary, who's wandering in his own world. And in the past in _Terra Nova_ what have they discovered? Honorable mentions. Earth 2 Crusade Stargate universe Almost Human The Event Invasion The 4400 Flashforward John Doe The reboot of V And many more. Any sci fi/fantasy series you've watched that got cancelled with unresolved plotlines?
Shows that deserved more seasons: Terminator TSC chronicles, Firefly, Wayne, Deadly Class, All Netflix Marvel shows, Golden Boy and a crap ton of Anime.
It's videos like these which make me realize exactly how terrible I am at writing compared to professionals like these, but hey, I'm a teenager, I got at least a bit of time to practice. :)
I can’t help but feel like the Operative is in part inspired by Cheradenine Zekalwe from Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks, granted over the course of the novel Zekalwe gets much more fleshed out. I feel like they compliment each other so well that I used them and Takashi Kovacs as the inspiration for my Scifi larp character.
![EST Gee - NEVER NEED (Feat. Selfpaid Savage) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/f2cRtr52HXI/mqdefault.jpg)
Everyone is the 'hero' of their own story; including The Operative.
He sees himself as the 'anti-hero', a martyr; he is sacrificing his future and 'goodness' so that others can have a pure life.
The moment the Operative identified himself as a Monster, Narcissistic assumptions are LITERALLY thrown out the air lock as BPD logic holds more sway. (Similar to Narcissism in every way except the ones that really matter....) I've personally dealt with Narcissism in both professional and personal relationships and this is quite literally not the case.
(see above comments involving self-sacrifice, something a Narcissist would never do because its quite literally below them to do.....) I've literally spent the last decade determining the difference between BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) and Narcissism, and the effort has resulted in a strange dichotomy of the two. Aka the results look similar but the reasoning on how to get there is VASTLY different.
I wouldn’t say narcissism. Because that would mean he only did it for himself. No he did these monstrous things in order to make that perfect civilization a reality... So from my understanding he is not a narcissist. He is an extremist and a fanatic psychopath.
Like me thinking about being a commando when I was a kid
"Was that the primary buffer panel that just flew off?"
"I believe it was, that's going to make this landing interesting"
"Interesting how?"
"As in 'Oh God, Oh God We're All Gonna Die'"
Great stuff. Now it's time to cry.
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soar."
Our household quotes the "interesting"/"oh god oh god, we're all gonna die" frequently. :)
"Just get us on the ground."
"That part will happen pretty definitely."
@@brandonclark435 "We're gonna explode? I don't wanna explode!"
Man, the operative is one of the most compelling villains in scifi.
God I miss this show.
it is an epic show.
❤️
Emmanuel Morris me too mate
I miss this show as if it were a dead loved one.
As a testament to how good Serenity is, I watched it without having ever seeing a single episode of Firefly. I was never bored or confused or felt lost, and I felt like I knew the characters, or at least understood them.
"I aim to misbehave..."
There is so much of Firefly/Serenity just left on the table.
The potential destinations of this story are right there!
At least Firefly got a movie, Space: 1999 never even got that.
What could have been...
There is a tabletop game for Firefly/Serenity though... It is something
The Dark Horse comics are canon, so it did sort of get a continuation.
I really hope the people working who are working on eisenhorn are big serenity fans. The operative was an amazing inquisitor
Glad I’m not the only one who thought the film was executed so well.
Believe it or not, that was actually the my first Firefly property that I saw. I later watched the rest of the show as more content from the universe was so appropriated!
That said, the storytelling in the film Serenity, was so tight that I couldn’t tell that there was any lead up to the events of the film. It works very effectively as a stand alone story. Amazingly so!
First thing I saw too, in theaters even. Still my favorite part of the story.
The greatest crime ever inflicted upon the TV audience was the cancellation of FireFly. I make it a duty to re-watch the series every year.
@nakos1212 While the cancellation of Enterprise was bad as well, I really liked it. Enterprise still got 4 seasons. Firefly on the other hand just got the minimum scraps and thus IMHO is still the king of series which should have gotten more seasons. Later.
@@grast5150 Firefly didn't even get a complete season. Not to mention it's pilot episode wasn't even shown first. Fox didn't want Firefly to succeed, that's very clear.
_Objects in Space_ is one of the best episodes of TV, period.
P.S. And the scene of Serenity engaging her reaction drive engines and blasting off the planet at the end of the pilot episode is my favorite "space flight" scene, period.
second greatest crime, Star Trek Picard is the greatest.
The Operative was, in my opinion, one of the greatest villains I've seen anywhere. He was so cold, calculating, unswerving, and brilliant. Ejiofor is an amazing actor, and after seeing this (the first role I'd seen of his), I'm always on the lookout for other things he's doing. The reflection of the two characters is something I hadn't consciously picked up on before, and certainly explains why his character worked so well: a great villain is a challenge to something personal for the protagonist. Great video, thank you.
I just rewatched the whole series and the film less than a month ago. It is amazing how it didn't age at all and how actually bloody damn good it is. This will stand the test of time into the far future and will be rewatched more than once again with kids.
Firefly series is still my favorite series to date, which makes it all the more depressing when considering what happended to it.
Edit: I'm not saying the movie was bad, I'm referring to the way to early cancellation of the series.
Aired out of order, by a network that put it on a bad night of the week and failed to advertise it. It was doomed to fail by Fox, thankfully it got a conclusion movie. If it had been a Netflix or Amazon show (now not then) we'd possibly have got a fair number of seasons.
True. Imagine if Whedon had a chance to spread the content around a couple of more seasons at least and he had time to work on it. Oh well, at least we got a movie. Most canceled shows don't even get that.
I'm still not sure that the early cancelation was a bad thing. It never had a chance to get ruined
Better than decades long franchises
...
Ejiofor's character made this movie, IMO. Excellent insight.
I wish I could have been that well spoken in my evangelization of Serenity and Firefly. Well done.
I have yet to (and likely never will) forgive Fox for canceling Firefly. I rarely get truly attached to television shows but Firefly had me hooked early. BIG middle finger to Fox.
20th century Fox got what they deserved. They failed consecutively and got bought out. Whatever you think of Disney, whatever they do with Fox will be better than what they were when they killed Firefly.
them and SYFY, I'll never forgive them all the shows they canceled. Plus they think reality shows and WWE are "Scifi" yuck.
I'm still not sure which was the greater example of a show cancelled before its time: 'Firefly' or 'Space: Above and Beyond'.
Two phenomenal shows which never got their just due.
I like them both.
rumour has it, that they are having a hard time making the new firefly, and so they moved on to seeing if they can reboot Space: above and beyond.
Shiny!!! This is a major reason why Serenity is my favorite film of all time!!! ❤️❤️❤️🎥🎥🎥🎬🎬🎬🎞️🎞️🎞️📽️📽️📽️❤️❤️❤️ THANK YOU FOR THIS VIDEO!!! FIREFLY IS MY GORRAM RINGTONE!!!
Mal's characterization was also put through the lens of Inara for this film, where as she meets him in the start of the show, he's no better than a mercenary with moments of integrity sparsed few and far between. He's lost his belief after the battle of serenity and how upbeat he was. He used to rally his platoon by keeping spirits high. But she never saw this side of him because he didn't have anything to believe in.
When she thinks he's spiting the alliance, he tells her that she'll see something new. She of course initially thinks this means that he's even more ruthless and vicious if he's fighting against his sworn enemy. But in reality, after his I aim to misbehave speech, she realizes that his true character is that of a hero and a leader.
I love this movie. I think I saw it 12 times in the theatre in a desperate effort to help incentivize a sequel. I actually think it may have done better with a different title, though. "Serenity" is great and appropriate if you're already a Browncoat, but it really doesn't communicate anything about its premise to a casual viewer. It's a shame.
It was a better movie for appealing to fans of Firefly. If they had aimed to mass-market the movie to a wide audience from the beginning, they would've had to compromise too much.
Great choice for the final shot. "What was that?"
Well, I for one would be a fellow Browncoat just like Capt. Mal in Firefly/Serenity..
Really loved this short but very enjoyable "space-western" series and think it should have had at least another season or two...
I Aim to Misbehave...
"...I'm thinkin' we'll rise again."
And so you did, captain. So you did.
Daniel, I'm proud of you! Thematic and literary analysis is one of my hobbies and I'm glad you do it so succintly and skillfully here. More please!
Loved this episode! Right at the start, I'd remembered that the core arcs in Serenity were all about belief, in one way or another, but I'd never taken the time to break it down so thoroughly. I also love that I'd never realized that the operator was a subverted trope; excellent breakdown!
If I might share a possibly controversial idea... While Firefly might have been cancelled too early for peoples' liking, it DID actually prevent something else: it stopped the show from going on long enough to get stale. Most shows that go on for more than, say, three seasons (and some that even go on for just two) start to have tropes of their own, which can detract from immersion in the universe. Just as one example: do you ever wonder why anybody in the Star Trek universe remains on board a ship once they're given a red shirt and a phaser in their locker, or why anybody works on any of the exploding decks? John Scalzi's "Red Shirts" is a book that takes the tropes of the Star Trek universe and turns them inside-out for comedy... A book I'd highly recommend!
I would have love for more of the ships to have been fleshed out so that you could do breakdowns of them. Some of them seemed well thought out for the groups that used them. Example the ship that looked like a city was believable, imo, for the Alliance. It doesn't need to land anywhere, it's a space city to impose it's rules on others.
I love that a piece just falls off the fucking ship as it takes off.
Absolutely awesome effort 1 of my favorite sci-shows !!!!
This made me remember how much I love freedom. Great analysis.
I thought firefly and bsg would walk hand in hand, filling after star trek...ah, the optimism of youth
Well said Spacedock. This was an extremely good analysis of Serenity and its characters. I loved Firefly, and Serenity is one of my favorite movies of all time. I've even gotten several people that are not normally fans of sci-fi to watch the movie and I have yet to show it to someone that didn't love it.
I wonder what spacedock thinks of the show "Space: above and beyond" and the ships and fighters of the show.
I'd love to see Kaylee's reaction to the newest version of the Firefly. The really expensive one.
To be fair. The guy Malcolm left to the reavers was Dennis Reynolds.
And he did at least make the guy's death quick, so... yay?
The movie would have been perfect if it only answered one remaining question: What is Sheperd Books' past with the Alliance?
There is a cannon answer to that question.
Anyone who doesn't know: There's a comic called "The Shepherd's Tale" by Dark Horse comics which covers Shepherd Books' life through a series of flashbacks. It's written by Zack Whedon from an outline provided by Joss based on his notes for Firefly.
@@gnaskar Now I have to find that. I always presumed that Shepard Book had been an Operative.
I believe there is a comic that stated Book was a former operative or some such
Or a spy posing as an operative
Something like that
Better than the comic is the essay "Not Very Christian Of Me" that explores the Sheppard's character. It's a fascinating read if you can find it.
Essentially it says: It doesn't matter who he *was*. The Sheppard is a man in search of certainty. He's done things he thought were right but were wrong, and he's trying to find a way to know for sure that he's doing right, but life, Serenity, and in particular Mal, keep challenging his certainties and forcing him to understand that life can't be certain, can't be simple. That's why he takes it so hard in the first episode when he says "I watched the captain kill the man I swore to protect.... the worst part is, I'm not even sure he was wrong."
I LOVED 'Firefly' and 'Serenity'! 'Firefly' was cancelled far too early, in my opinion. It could have really developed into a multi-year series without too much effort. Studio heads really need to stop playing god with shows and give the viewing public what it wants and supports.
'Farscape' was another series that could have gone on for several more seasons. Fortunately, it also had a movie type ending that was demanded by the fan base to close the storyline.
Well part of the problem with Firefly as that they aired the episodes out of order for only half a season so very few people saw it on TV, understood much of anything about what the show was about or what was happening in the story, so it really did take the release of the DVDs for people to be able to watch enough of it to really get it and know that they really did want more of.
Farewell to Space Above and Beyond next?
And Space Rangers!
Have you ever covered Space: Above and Beyond? It was another science fiction show that was on Fox.
He was perfect in this movie and in Doctor Strage as a devotee who eventually becomes disillusioned.
Wait both characters are by the same actor?
That was quite the love letter. Well said.
Firefly is an example of creative writers being stifled by the unimaginative suits and it is very much not alone.
You truly are a POWERHOUSE of content my young friend!! ALWAYS surprising me and enticing me till your next segment... !!! :)
Awesome video. What a great movie that did so well to wrap up an amazing (albeit short-lived) series.
Shiny 😊
That was a fantastic video, thank you!
I wish I could give this more than one thumbs up. Joss has said that he has other things he wants to say
in this universe, so, conceivably we could see another story set in the "Verse", but this story being told with
these characters is a dead issue. All because somebody got a promotion.
That was beautiful man.
Damn, that really sounds interesting. Guess I´ll have to watch it this holiday :D
Watch the show first, all the episodes, then watch the movie.
... keep flying.
The opening scene is done brilliantly.
Before the DVD box set of Firefly released I watched every episode that aired and feel in love with the series. I was saddened when it was cancelled and was extremely happy I saw Serenity on the big screen
This was an amazing video. Thanks, pal. I miss this show so darn much!
You can't take the sky from me.
Fox Executives: Hold my beer!
the best, still wants more
Great analysis as always
A brilliant analysis, Daniel. Schmoth, you might say...
Target the Reavers!... Target the Reavers!... Target EVERYONE! *SOMEBODY FIRE!*
Definitely one of my favorite sci-fi movies. It works as both a stand-alone movie and a wrap up to a great character driven series.
Serenity video! Shiny!
I love the tv show and the movie. To bad the movie killed any chance of a reboot. But it did put closer on a lot of things.
it was an amazing story and it had a powerful message about freedom... its a shame Whedon seems to have forgotten it
Fantastic analysis.
I watched Serenity before I even knew Firefly existed & I was sad to usually see negative comments about the film (perhaps by Flyfly lovers annoyed at the sacrifices that had to be made to make a standalone film?). Glad to see a complementary video on it
It's a shame that Firefly was cancelled so soon, but at the same time I think people wouldn't appreciate it nearly so much if it had lived a full life on network TV. It's simply not possible to sustain such fantastic storywriting for a decade. They probably could've gotten 2-3 excellent seasons at most. Still, I would've liked to have seen all of it. I never did get to find out what happened to the assassin who snuck onto Serenity and got spaced at the end of the episode.
great essey! Simple, on point. Beutiful
Nicely done!
Unexpected, but very welcome!
Well said!
One of the questions from the series was, who was Shepard Book? I believe that they also answered that question in 'Serenity'. I believe that Book himself was a former Operative that had his eyes opened concerning the Alliance. That's why Book told Mal how to defeat the Operative in this film.
I wish someone would make a spin-of with the Operative after Serenity. Not a violent or adventurous story (apart from maybe flashbacks), but one where he has to come to terms with what he has done and how to move forward. And he'd likely be a a fugitive.
While The Operative is new, he felt like a very natural addition to the mythos.
A very well thought out piece, sir. I'm not sure I agree with the killing of Wash, but, the movie is a great ending to a great SF show.
How do Reavers clean their spears?
They put them through a wash 😉
*They run them through the Wash.
There, fixed it for you.
@@blshouse I'm a leaf on the wind... 😉
@@Sh_rib I'm a bug on a pin.
@@emilemc things that may shine lol
And now I'm sad for the fate of FireFly again, damn you.
hmmmm I feel a binge coming on!
A series killed before its time. Which may of been a good thing. This IS Joss Whedon we are talking about.
I imagine a scene set years later in which the Operative boards an old transport in much the same way Shepard Book boarded Serenity and takes on much the same roll.
The fact that Firefly was cancelled is a true tragedy to TV viewers looking for a great show to watch. And though I am grateful for the movie, I am still absolutely irate that Firefly was not allowed to continue.
The cast were spectacular in their portrayals of the absolutely lovable quirky misfits, and the stories were both engrossing and enjoyable. This show should have had at least 10 seasons in any universe where good TV is valued in the slightest.
I have heard that a true masterpiece often drives the creator insane.
That tracks. It's also very American as various revelations about out conduct in Iraq and Afghanistan show as well as our historic conduct in the Civil War.
I hope you've been following the comics and to see your take on them.
My favorite line: I AIM TO MISBEHAVE.
Malcolm and The Operative are two sides of the same coin and they both were showcased to excellent levels and it is sad that Firefly was cancelled just like so many other shows in the past like Altered Carbon.
The Operative as "The Doctor".
I couldn't agree more Daniel
You can’t take the sky from me
This has always been Joss Whedon's strength - the ability to naturally tie themes together believably - it's why he was hired as a script doctor so many times.
Just imagine if Disney had hired Joss Whedon to work on the Star Wars franchise instead of Jar Jar Abrams...
Can you do the adamant frigate or arachne cruiser from battlestar galactica deadlock please?
I'D expect that the Operative would have a redemption arc and become the new Shepard Book.
Damn this video hit me in the feels.
They made a live-action Outer Worlds?!😉
More like "They made a game heavily inspired by Firefly?" :)
Don't disrespect Firefly that way, Outer Worlds is overrated, boring, and borrows HEAVILY from games that have done it 1000% better, it brought nothing new to the table.
@@neondemon5137 Not that he didn't get the joke, simply that it wasn't funny. Or insightful. Or even interesting. Just lame.
Idk if you've read the Firefly novels, but the first one, "Big Damn Hero", retcons the idea of Mal losing his religion. Instead, he was never religious, and the cross he wears in the war is a sort of tracker-thing that will help him get back together with his ex.
It was bad.
The other series Daniel showed scenes from is *_Caprica,_* a prequel to Battlestar Galactica. Here is a link to the epilogue that was to tease the next season that got cancelled.
ruclips.net/video/f1ofHYhObso/видео.html.
Timecodes 1:54 and 3:03 show the best parts, but watch the whole thing through to appreciate what potential was snuffed out by FOX programming directors.
Still, besides _Firefly_ they also cancelled _Angel_ (which even the executives admitted afterwards was a mistake), _Dollhouse_ (it had a 5 year plot which they rushed to portray in a half season they had left, Eliza Dushku learnt Russian for a whole plot where she is programmed as a Russian girl and ended up using it for one elevator scene of a few lines), _Tru Calling_ (meh, and it stopped Eliza doing the _Faith_ Buffy spin off) and many more sci fi/Fantasy series.
But FOX aren't the only offenders, just the worst. Another good series that was cut off is _Enterprise,_ which was going slow in its final season because they were laying the groundwork for a big Romulan/Section 31 plot in the next season (that awful Riker Holodeck simulation was a red herring showing the official fake history) where the lies and hypocrisy hidden in the heart of the Federation is demonstrated - as they sin to create a paradise without sin… sound familiar?
Then there's _Continuum_ (Daniel, I recommend you do this, and Caprica), which had to compress a whole new antagonist and alternative future enemies, and the origins of the far future travelers into a half season.
For those that haven't seen it, the first season is okay, but it *really* picks up later on and becomes a searing indictment of corporate dominance of society and the ease at which consumers can be seduced into giving away their freedoms (and it was written before the revelations of privacy concerns of social media).
It turns antagonist on their head, who are the bad guys? is terrorism justified in some cases? and some wonderful lines [corporate board meeting, discuss repurposing military R & D to police equipment, "These days, the law enforcement practically are the military"].
It was originally planned to run 7 - 10 seasons, but at the end of season 3 it got cancelled and they were allowed a half season to tie up loose ends.
That should be the rule for all plot driven series, they get a chance to resolve the storylines… for those series that get cancelled on a cliffhanger..
Will Sydney ever get out of _VR5?_
What is the Secret of Hanna C and who made the clones, and what is the connection to _Todd and the Book of Evil?
What is going to happen to the _Outcast_ human settlement, now that Earth is gone and a last survivors ship is landing to take them over, while the intelligent planet itself is deciding whether to exterminate them or not?
There's the flooded landscape of _Surface_ with its giant reptiles revealed.
What is the secret of the aliens in _Space: Above and beyond?
Are the invaders really trying to change humanity to save it from supernova radiation in _Threshold?_
What is going to happen with the immortals and their plans for population control through biological warfare in _Helix?_
What happens after Stanton Parish's photonic stimulator goes off in grand Central, killing all the norms and enhancing all the _Alphas?_ except for Gary, who's wandering in his own world.
And in the past in _Terra Nova_ what have they discovered?
Honorable mentions.
Earth 2
Crusade
Stargate universe
Almost Human
The Event
Invasion
The 4400
Flashforward
John Doe
The reboot of V
And many more.
Any sci fi/fantasy series you've watched that got cancelled with unresolved plotlines?
Shows that deserved more seasons: Terminator TSC chronicles, Firefly, Wayne, Deadly Class, All Netflix Marvel shows, Golden Boy and a crap ton of Anime.
You can't take the sky from me!
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch me soa-AAGGHHHCH".
If you think about it. The Operative gives us an answer to the Shepard Book question.
It's videos like these which make me realize exactly how terrible I am at writing compared to professionals like these, but hey, I'm a teenager, I got at least a bit of time to practice. :)
Missed the mark a bit. The Operative is who Shepard Book used to be
I can’t help but feel like the Operative is in part inspired by Cheradenine Zekalwe from Use of Weapons by Iain M. Banks, granted over the course of the novel Zekalwe gets much more fleshed out. I feel like they compliment each other so well that I used them and Takashi Kovacs as the inspiration for my Scifi larp character.
Perfect ending, it wouldn't have ended this well if not for cancellation and movie