Thoughts on "Firefly"

It's 11:00 pm


   Thank you for reading my last entry and also for both commenting on it and sharing it. I was sort of expecting some sort of blowback to this entry but I really didn't...I got a lot of positive feedback actually and I am grateful. I would have been understanding if I had indeed been accused of being a tad too sensitive.
But what made me feel good were a couple of comments who said they were not aware of going to a training hospital for treatment,hey,if one person can be helped then I am happy with that.

   So lately I have been watching DVD sets when I come home at night. Oh I still do Dollar Tree Theater but lately its been all about watching TV series.  The prices are very good for older series and older seasons of current shows. I actually had started getting a few of these years ago and had intended to collect whole series like "Monk" and "Lost" and then watch them so I didn't miss anything.

  While getting individual seasons is a bit a of crap shoot because the lack of shelf space at your local Target and Wal-Mart,I don't just look for those. I keep my eye out for short run series as well...which is how I found "Daybreak" at Dollar Tree. Also found the first season of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" which starred Steve McQueen and during one Dollar Tree run,I found a season of "The Greatest American Hero" and also a specially selected 10 episode discs of "Friends" and "Thirtysomething" which I got for Lori.

   I had heard and read many things about a very short lived series called "Firefly" that had debuted on Fox. I never got a chance to see it as Fox canceled it after only 11 episodes had aired. I only remember reading the Joss Whedon,the producer of Buffy and Angel had created it and at first glance seemed to be a hit. But the ratings sharply fell and as per the Fox way (which is still true today),gave it the hook.
  But a funny thing happened....Firefly did not go quietly in the night,it slowly became a cult favorite among fanboys with conventions being held around a show that last a mere 14 shows (11 were shown,3 were unaired).

  The cast of course scattered to do different projects and have attained various degrees of fame...but they almost always did the cons. I still hadn't seen any of the episodes,because its run was too short,most TV channels wouldn't buy the series to run and so I read glimpses of it in various mags like Starlog.
   Then somewhere in Hollywood someone had a bright idea,what if we packaged these short series as sets,add some new content like a gag reel or fresh interviews and priced them smartly to encourage a steady sales stream?

  Because until recently the only series sold on DVDs were established series with a few seasons under the belt. Of course you paid a hefty price as well,new seasons cost anywhere between 50 to 70 bucks. And for a long,long time that was the rule. But again someone got wise and noticed that sales cooled off rapidly after the initial release. People just couldn't afford to buy every new release at that price point and every year a TV series got older,the previous seasons sales dragged.
   They kept hearing from fans about releasing older series from the 50's,60's and 70's but when the studios rolled out the DVDs at the same price as the current TV series,fans balked again. The studios started lowering the prices,slowly at first but when they saw how quickly the sets became to move,lowered them even more...
  I only know from watching the shelves at Target,Best Buy and Costco that this was happening,there were a lot of shows Lori and I would want to see but just couldn't afford nor would we want to pay such high prices. So we waited and watched...

  Maybe about 2.5 years ago while in Target,I spotted the Firefly DVD set,it surprised me because it was the first time I had seen a set from a show so quickly canceled and secondly,it was only sale for only 12.99. That was by far the best price I had seen for a set and so Firefly because my first buy...
But a funny thing happened on the way to the Forum,I never opened it...this was a weird habit I picked up from my music days. I would get CDs from labels and from local bands which I never got to listen to. I know folks who came over would look at my CD rack and 40-50 brand new CDs would be looking back at them.
  This translated to DVDs, starting with Firefly. I bought and put it downstairs until last week. So while I have tons of Dollar Tree Theater movies to watch,I keep my eye out for cheap sets at Wal-Mart and Target.
As I went down to my basement,I caught the Firefly set and brought it up. I put it on and sat back to watch it.

  I can completely understand why this show is so loved...Joss just is gifted beyond belief when it comes to casting a show (except for casting Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy). Angel was the first show I saw of his and I thought it just rocked. I challenge any fanboy to tell me that they didn't cry when Fred died and then Wesley do the same on the series's last episode!!

  It wasn't surprising to see Adam Baldwin on Firefly,if Joss likes you as a actor,he will cast you in most anything he does. Its why you see so many familiar faces in his shows,a modern day Jack Webb if you really look at it. Webb did the same kind of casting in his shows,he used the same troupe over and over.
Same as Joss does. Adam played the heavy in last season of Angel and quite honestly,I am not quite sure he still wasn't in Firefly as he played the mercenary Jayne. Between questioning Malcolm's every move to almost betraying Simon and River,you just know you could never trust him...

  Seeing Ron Glass in this was a surprise as I really hadn't seen him since his old show Barney Miller but seeing on screen as the Shepherd Book was a delight...even though there were a couple of episodes where he never appeared (hard to do on such a small ship!!) I thought he did a fine job...

     Gina Torres.....I have been a fan of Gina's for a while....she did a stint on Angel and starred with Victoria Pratt in "Cleopatra 2525" which was a hoot to watch. Now that is a series I wonder if its been released as of yet. She played Zoe on Firefly and had fought with Malcolm in the civil war. As his second in command,she had the respect of the entire crew. She was married to...


     Alan Tudyk,who played Wash,Serenity's pilot. You might remember him as Steve the Pirate in the movie "Dodgeball". He loved his wife more then anything else in the world and collected dinosaur figurines. His piloting skills saved the crew's bacon more then once....but every ship needs a ace mechanic and that would be Kaylee,played by the ultra adorable Jewel Staite.

    She not only could fix the any engine but never forgot that she was a lady as well. Sometimes the men on Serenity forgot that and took Kaylee for granted. Which is a shame because while Kaylee made no bones about her feelings for.....

   Simon,the ship's doctor and River's older brother,his attention was pretty much on helping his sister recover from the damage the government did to her. He also at one time or another pretty much patched up everyone at least one during show's run,including himself!  Simon was played by Sean Maher,who later starred as a closeted gay man in another short lived series called "The Playboy Club". Sean used the role as platform to come out in real life. This is where I first saw Laura Benanti but that is another entry for another day....

  The center of Firefly's plot was the mystery surrounding Simon's sister,River,played by Summer Glau.
The government aka The Alliance,operated on River in trying to create a perfect assassin. She could read minds and emotions but just was barely making progress when the series ended. But the operation must have worked because Summer starred as a Terminator in the "Terminator:The Sarah Connor Chronicles" for two years. She remains a huge fanboy favorite as she starred in two superhero series, "The Cape" (yet another short lived series) and "Arrow" as well as many other sci-fi/action roles.

  Morena Baccarin played Inara who was a Companion. In the world of Firefly,a Companion was a highly sought after,affluent profession. Being seen with one elevated one's social status but others just considered them whores. Malcolm rented shuttle space to Inara which helped them gain access to places the crew wouldn't be able to..Malcolm and Inara seemed to be moving towards a relationship but when he sleeps with a old friend of Inara's,she plans to leave the Serenity.
 I saw Morena for the first time on the remake of "V" a few years ago. Only saw parts of a couple of shows and read that the producers had invited the original Diana,Jane Badler,back in a different role. Morena's Inara  is whip smart with a soft heart and often acted as Malcolm's moral center which he fought against at times.

  I have to comment on one guest star who was just amazing her role as a ruthless con artist and that was Christina Hendricks,most people know her from Mad Men but her turn on Firefly is very,very good.
   I may catch some heat here but I am still going to say this....I have watched Nathan Fillion in "Castle" four or five times. It's a cute show and I also watched him in James Gunn's "Slither" which also was a fun movie.
 But after watching Firefly,I can say that Nathan Fillion is incredibly underused and unchallenged in comparison to his role as Malcolm Reynolds. His portrayal was so well rounded,harsh,kind,loyal,crass and deadly when needed to be.

  The rest of cast...Summer Glau,Sean Maher,Gina Torres,Alan Tudyk,Ron Glass,Morena Baccarin and my favorite,the incredible sweet Jewel Staite was such a perfect blend. Making a Sci-Fi western was also pretty inspired and well thought out.
  I thought every episode was extremely strong and watching the bonds among the crew develop each episode,while connections were made quick,the one key element,what exactly was River Tam (played by Summer Glau) fully capable of was never answered in the series but was explored in the fan driven follow up film "Serenity" which for some reason came up short at the box-office and most likely will end any further adventures of the Serenity crew. One can hope that with clout that Joss now has with the Avengers movie and soon the new Star Wars film,that he'll get another chance for one more voyage.
  I am currently looking for a copy of the movie Serenity which I am having zero luck finding at my usual places....

How about you? Ever watch Firefly or any of the series I mentioned? What short lived TV series would you like to see on DVD??


If you are on Twitter,follow me @Jinzo_2400



Shout outs

Joss and the Firefly crew - Thanks for some amazing stories and unforgettable characters!
Michelle C- Happy birthday!!
Val - Glad you had a awesome night out!
Mike White - I have Twin Peaks season two,unopened....after hearing your podcast,it may never be opened!
Twilight - I am still alive and kicking!
Amy - Wow,a jump with the Golden Knights!! How cool is that????
Summer,you are not allowed to leave yet,I haven't had a chance to enjoy you!
Robin Williams - Thank you for your talent but sad your demons got the last laugh. You will be missed.

Ride Along with The Pink Hat.

Its 7:44 pm

dedicated to Gary from my job. Thank you.
 
     Another ice cold night here in SE Michigan. While the snow has stopped,the slight warm-up we have had this week has left our roads and driveways a nightmare to travel on. I have never seen so many local roads completely torn by our winter. The main surface roads are bad enough but the side roads are just awful and dangerous as well.
  Now I know some of you may be asking "Why don't they just plug up the potholes"? Its a fair question but a very easy answer,its too cold! The patch won't work because its too cold and instead of being poured in and expanding to plug the hole,the asphalt would instead cool off very rapidly and just become a rock in the pothole. In fact depending on how it froze,it itself could become a hazard by sticking up and causing flat tires if cars ran over its surface. So we have to wait until the weather warms up in order for repairs to work. But the flip side (isn't there always a flip side) is while we wait,the roads are being eroded more and more each day.
  The traffic on the main roads is very heavy because no one really wants to drive on a torn up road that has huge craters or are just caked with thick ice. My sub's roads are okay but the ice is pretty thick. And because of the heavy snows nationwide,rock salt is extremely scarce. No one has any and when it does hit the stores,its gone the second its unloaded.
  But Tidy Cat should send me a years worth of cat litter as I have been sharing the fact that cat litter is most effective to help your car get traction if you don't have salt to lay down. I have told hundreds of folks about this and given directions to the three pet stores that within 2 miles of my job.

  We got our weather forecast,no more snow in the new week but the temp will be screaming south again to single digit lows. The weirdest thing is about this is despite this being a record setting winter for Michigan,that a third of the country at one time had snow on the ground.
   It was because of the nasty weather and even nastier roads that I wasn't able to complete my Suspended Day until today.

   Just a brief recap....in my informal support group on Facebook I decided to take the 20th of Feb and use it as a day of doing a random act of kindness for someone. I created a event in the group and 11 others signed up to join me. Based on the reactions,I think its much harder to do when its planned or when the shop you are going to do your act of kindness in doesn't support it. Some folks were ill during the weekend and I don't know what happened to the rest. I had hoped to include a brief story and a picture of everyone's act.
Instead its just me....but that is okay because people do have lives and life gets in the way. I mean it took me until today to finally get my butt in gear.
   I was going to do it on Sunday but my Cheryl said the Salvation Army was closed on Sundays. I worked on cleaning my house before I went to my job,it was getting a little dirty. But today was free and clear...after running some errands I came home and got ready. The iPad was charged up and I had the Pink Hat in the car. I admit,I was nervous...I was going to a store intending to approach someone,explain why and who I was doing it for and get a picture of the Hat in action. When you do this on impulse,you just DO,you have no time to think or plan. You help that person out and move on. Planning this was so much different. As noted above,I didn't even know if the Salvation Army would even allow me to take a picture. I just said a prayer and headed on out.

   I got to the store,took a deep breath and went in. I had no plan other then try not to come across as a weirdo. The store wasn't very busy and I browsed the books and music area. I tried to think of what to do and say as I stood there. I found a CD that was only 2 bucks(!!) and slowly made my way to the check out lane.
  It was then I saw a young mother with her two small children shopping. She had a young son and a daughter who were shopping in the grab bag area. The grab area is for kids and it contains small paper bags full of loose toys that they can't sell because they are too small. She had a basket of children's clothes and was waiting for her kids. I took a deep breath and walked over and introduced myself. I explained what I was doing and why I was doing it. She got tears in her eyes and said she had just gone through a divorce and money was very tight. Her kids came over with a grab bag and then the mother started unloaded her basket. I told cashier,who was ringing up my CD,to please include the young lady's items.
  I then asked the cashier if she wouldn't mind taking a picture of me with the Pink Hat. As she was starting to take the picture,the kids also got into the picture as the mother. That was unexpected and soon we had our picture. The young lady was Katie,her son was A.J. and her daughter was Izzy. They all said thank you again and then it was done. I walked out and got into the Rodger Young and headed home.



I don't know what March will bring as far as a volunteer event but I know The Pink Hat will be "out and about" more as the weather warms up.

 What else has been going on? Baseball season started today with squads playing their first games against college teams or within themselves. Maybe the sound of a ball hitting a bat will usher in spring a little more quickly.  I don't know that it will but one can hope.
   Still making my way through Dollar Tree Theater. I finished my latest "instant classic" called "Hyper Sonic".
Wow,where do I even begin with this mess? The script,the cheesy effects so bad even the SyFy Channel would be ashamed to show this on a Saturday night? The gaping plot holes? I posted on my FB about how bad a movie has to be if even Adam Baldwin can't save it. Adam is one of my favorite character actors and he elevates any project he is in with his acting. But even he was in the soup with this bomb. The plot has something do with a world wide air race. Antonio Sabato,Jr.,who once seemed to have a once promising career,plays a jet pilot whose mistake cost several lives in a race years before. Five years later he gets a chance to redeem himself despite the obstacles thrown in way by a shady promoter (Baldwin). The plot is leaky and the CGI looks straight from a Atari 2600 console.


This is the beauty of lucking into a bundle of films like this at the Dollar Tree. I can't imagine how pissed someone would get if they actually bought this mess at the full regular price. But with spending only a buck,its a cheesy enough movie to invite some friends over,pop up some popcorn and start cracking jokes.

 I read that actor Alec Baldwin (yes,he and Adam are related) is going to retire back into private life. Alec,who was accused of making anti-gay comments when he was being assaulted by an over aggressive stalkerazzi which cost him his new show on MSNBC (trust me Alec,you aren't losing anything there other then a paycheck). Continuing a theme from guest blogger Dax Shepard about the incredible loss of privacy and the sense of entitlement we as a society feel about knowing anything and everything about a well known person,I can see why Baldwin is feeling so bitter and defensive. In a column he wrote,he says that he has worked with many wonderful folks in Hollywood who are gay and has had no issues with them. I believe that..its a well known there is a heavy gay population working in Hollywood and if Alec had any real homophobic tendencies,do you think he would have had a long term career in that town? I just feel he was provoked and prodded...and if he did use a slur,it would be no different then anyone using a word or a term in the heat of the moment. Not defending it but put anyone in his shoes and see what happens. I doubt very many of us would stay cool and calm.
  Maybe he just needs to take that step out of the spotlight and into the shadows and raise his new family is peace and quiet.




 As I am close to ending this,I am talking with Don Neilson. Don and I have bonded over the fact we are still madly in love with our wives. Don's wife Amy helped me tremendously when Lori's cancer came despite fighting her own advanced breast cancer. Don posted some lovely pictures of Amy on his FB page and has graciously allowed me to share a picture with you. We both talk about about not wanting to forget our girls.
 Now I am doing my small part because I talk about Amy quite a bit...her courage helped us in the first days of our struggle and I mourn her very much. I will never forget Don reaching out to me last 6 May only two weeks before Lori left. He talked with me for three hours....what makes it so meaningful is the fact Amy died on the 6th May one year before. Its gestures like this,like all the kindness that I still receive today that inspires me to do my random acts of kindness because that is who Lori and I were and am. Amy and Don are the same kind of folks.

 


With tears in my eyes,I will end this for now.

If you are on Twitter,follow me @Jinzo_2400


Shout outs

Don - thank you for the picture.
Cheryl - Thank you for your friendship.
Amy Lange - Thank you for your compassion. Sometimes I think we don't that enough to each other.
Lex and Kelly - Sending warm healing thoughts your way.
Dom and Jerome - Old team all the way.
My political Inner Circle- Now this is getting to be fun but beware the Troll button!
Katie,AJ and Izzy - Thank you for helping me on my Pink Hat mission. I hope things get better.
Gary G. - Thank you for the idea!
Denise,Ivy and Joan - just because you are all wonderful.
Debbie Rochon - Motor City Nightmares? I think that is doable.