Favorite Episode of Firefly...

If you have never seen Firefly, you cannot know what your are missing.  What a series, even though it was short-lived.  Firefly is a sci-fi show that is set in the future, about 500 years distant, and depicts events that might take place once the people of the Earth begin to populate the known galaxy, or as the characters in the show put it, "the 'verse," Short for universe.  As humans move into the frontier of space, Firefly's people begin to take up cowboy types of personalities in many cases. 

The series aired in 2002 and it was a huge disappointment to fans when the Fox network decided to cancel it.

My favorite episode was entitled, "Out of Gas," the eighth episode of the series.  Now notice I said 'my favorite' and not the best.  Actually, in my humble opinion, there were no bad episodes of Firefly, all fourteen episodes are great and a testament to the show's creator, Joss Whedon.

Nathan Fillion as Mal

Firefly Class ship Serenity

"Out of Gas" opens with Serenty's captain, Malcom (Mal) Reynolds lying on the deck, bleeding from a stomach wound.  The ship has been abandoned by the rest of the crew because of a failed engine part that was important to the production of air on board.  The episode flashes back and forth between the past, showing how Mal acquired the ship, and how he chose his crew, and forward to show the circumstances leading to Mal's predicament.  When the show gets to the point where Mal is lying injured on the deck, it progresses forward showing his attempt to repair his ship so he can call his crew back.

The reason that this episode is my favorite is because of the back story that is revealed.  As with all episodes of Firefly, there are some very intense moments, and some very humorous ones.  If you have never seen this series and you are a sci-fi fan, or a fan of westerns, or both, this is a must see.  You can get the entire series on DVD or BluRay DVD for a very reasonable price and is widely available.

   Serenity crew: Front Zoe (first officer), Mal, and Kaylee (engineer),  Back: Shepherd Book, River, "Wash," Jayne, Simon, and Inara.  Book, River and Simon joined the crew in the first episode.

It is too bad that this show was cancelled by Fox before it had a chance to really get going, as with so many quality shows on Fox, it seems that if the profits from the show are not immediate, the show Peter is dropped prematurely.  This especially seems to happen with shows in the sci-fi genre.

My other favorite was an episode called "Jaynestown."  I'll save that one for another time.

Other Sci-Fi Activity I have been engaged in...

Along with my re-watch of Firefly, I have also been continuing to watch Fringe.  I am currently in the second season of Fringe and am loving it more than ever.  The second season seems to be revolving around Peter and his back-story.  There are some really great episodes that give a lot of insight to Walter, Peter, and Olivia, and the circumstances of how they came to be who they are.  Great series.

I have also gotten caught up in Continuum on Syfy.  This is a great high-tech look into the old theme of cops and robbers with some very interesting plot twists and turns.  So far, this show is proving to be quite unpredictable which is helping to keep my interest.  I was forced to miss the 5th episode doe to circumstances involving family obligations, but will be streaming it from Amazon as soon as I finish writing this blogpost.

The circumstances of which I speak afforded me the time to listen to several podcasts about Continuum, and I was also able to listen to several audiobooks during the long drive to Green Bay, Wisconsin, about twelve hours from here.  The audiobooks I listened to were all by Peter David, were also abridged, and not bad listening on the drive.  I will add these titles to my audiobook list on the right side of the page in a day or two.

I was also able to read a lot.  There was quite a bit of downtime for me so I finished reading Star Trek: New Frontier - Treason and Blind man's Bluff (read this in two days), both by Peter David.  This completes my reading of the New Frontier series until a new story is released.  Well worth the time.  I also read ST: DS9: Wrath of the Prophets (which I will blog about later) and am now in the middle of ST: Mirror Universe: Obsidian Alliances.  That last one is turning out to be one hell of a story that I have a hard time putting down (pardon the cliche) by Keith R.A. DiCandido, Peter David, and Sarah Shaw.  I will also blog about the latter at some future date.

I would also direct you to listen to the Scifi Diner Conversations episode 74.  Listen for my comments on a few subjects there, as well as some stimulating conversation between the hosts and other comments from listeners.

That about catches you up on what I have been up to lately.

So, there it is...

I remain,

Kahless

Q'aplaH!