Juno: The Intro

One of my friends described Juno as Knocked Up from the woman's perspective in an effort to get someone else to see the film with us. It was an amusing summary, but ultimately incorrect. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed Knocked Up very much, but while it does have a heartwarming story, it lacks the depth of Juno.

Juno tells the story of 16-year-old Juno MacGuff, a snarky teenager who gets pregnant after a one-nighter with her best friend, Paulie. The movie takes place over the course of a year, chronicling Juno's search for a family to adopt her baby as well as her now awkward dealings with Paulie. Early on, she finds Mark and Vanessa, a couple who cannot have a child of their own, and are very willing to adopt Juno's baby. Things seem perfect, and it would seem that now all the movie has to do is focus on her school troubles. Obviously, the seemingly perfect couple isn't, but in a strange move, the school storyline takes a back seat to Juno's dealings with Mark and Vanessa. From their first scene, there is an air about Vanessa that is unsettling, while Mark is shown as a kindred spirit to Juno. They are both fans of punk rock, bad horror films, and wish that they could be rock stars. Vanessa is much more grounded in reality, seeing Mark's loves as boyish fantasies, which may be harsh, but are probably correct.

Juno and Paulie's story is sadly too short in the 90-minute film, but the scenes they do have together are great (plus, I always love seeing Arrested Development's Michael Cera). Ellen Page and Cera had a great chemistry, and played their roles in a way that was both smart and accurate. Juno especially speaks in a way that may be too smart for teenagers, but both actors portray the emotions their characters feel in ways that actual teenagers would: immaturely. At first, neither of them can really appreciate the gravity of the pregnancy, and when the hormones take over, neither one can appropriately address Juno's concerns (this will be more fully addressed in an upcoming post). Of course, everyone in the film does a great job in their roles (J.K. Simmons does not get nearly enough screen time), but I had to give special recognition to Page and Cera.

Juno sounds like a very by-the-numbers film, and in some ways, it is. The ending is in no way a surprise, and of course, the "twists" (if we can call them that) are to be expected. Juno's preferred adoptive parent changes by the end of the film, and Mark's decision can be seen coming a mile away. But while these things often detract from films, I think that these actually help Juno succeed. The wit of the film is worth seeing it alone, but watching the character interactions is what the film is about. Yes, Juno's preferred person changes, but it does so because Mark and Vanessa's behavior warrant the change. And Juno's relationship with Paul evolves in a way that makes what would be a trite ending into exactly what we want to see.

But my favorite aspect of the character interactions is the fact that the film bucks the idea of "good" guys and "bad" guys. Where most movies would shine a negative light on the people we are supposed to dislike, Juno the film does not force us to dislike the characters that Juno the character dislikes.

Up next: beyond black and white...

From Firefly To Juno

Ok, so that ends my discussion of Firefly and Serenity for now. There is so much more that I could say about that world, but I want to offer something else for anyone who either (1) knows as much about Firefly as me (I'm looking at you, Ben) or (2) doesn't want to read about it anymore. Up next is the new film Juno. After that, I will probably try to tackle the His Dark Materials trilogy of books and the film adaptation of the first book, The Golden Compass. However, nothing is set in stone, and HDM may get pushed back.

Oh, and it should go without saying that there may be some spoilers here and there throughout the posts. I will try to keep them to a minimum, since the point of these is to get people interested in the stories I am describing, but I also am doing this for people who have experienced these worlds and may want to see them from a new perspective.

Serenity: Phoenix Fire(fly)

After all, the series was canceled. Nothing else could happen. Except for the DVD release, of course, but what would that do besides make a few dollars for FOX DVD?

Turns out, it did everything, including making a few dollars for Universal Studios...

I remember first putting in the DVDs myself, when I bought them solely because I have faith in Joss Whedon. I don't really remember what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't Firefly, because the only thing I do remember about my expectations was that the show exceeded every single expectation I held. And I was certainly not the only one, since the DVD sales caused Universal to take notice and commission Whedon to write and direct Serenity, a continuation of the show that would (1) wrap up River's plotline and (2) serve as Whedon's motion picture directorial debut.

The film deals with themes of freedom of choice, human nature, and love. Love is certainly a central part of the Firefly mythos, since the love Mal feels for Serenity and the love between River and Simon (PLATONIC love people; let's not have crazy incest theories flying around here; that's what fanfiction is for) were two of the most important parts of the show, since they helped to drive the plot. If Simon didn't love River, he would have never sacrificed everything he had to help her. And if Mal didn't love Serenity, he would have sold what most other people would see as a junker long before the show started and would probably become an Alliance postal worker. In that case, the show would be about him going postal.

However, the aspect of love applies not only to the events within the movie, but the events surrounding the movie. If you want evidence, just watch this:


The movie was made because a small network of devoted fans forced the network to grow by getting more and more people to watch (and let me tell you, it wasn't always easy to get Firefly virgins to take the plunge; one of my friends resisted for a long time, but is now one of the biggest Browncoats I know). Firefly was something that we cared about so passionately that we felt that it was something that we needed to share with other people. How many other examples can you think of that did this? Yes, Family Guy and Futurama were both resurrected as well (only one deserves to still be around, but I won't say which; let's just say that it starts with an "F"), but they weren't the unknown cult hits that Firefly was. Even if you didn't watch Family Guy or Futurama, you knew that they existed due to the amount of marketing they each got, and in Futurama's case, its pedigree (it came from the creators of The Simpsons, how could you not market that?!).

So many fans loved the show and its characters that when Universal set up pre-screenings in multiple cities on three different dates, every screening sold out in a matter of SECONDS! On the first date, in May of 2005, there were 10 cities (one of which was Chicago, so I had friends of friends who went), there were 20 on the second, and 35 on the third. I was lucky enough to get in on the second and third screenings. I've never been (nor never plan) to a convention, so this was one of the only times I've been to an event with numerous people dressing up as characters from the film. There were a couple Mals, some Kaylees, a few people wearing Jayne hats, lots of Blue Sun t-shirts, and even a printed-out head of Nathan Fillion on a stick. Oh, and Summer Glau was there!

Sadly, the movie didn't do as well as expected, despite great reviews from critics (notice a pattern here?). However, my fellow Browncoats and myself aren't done yet. The sales of the Serenity DVD were really good, and they led to the Special Edition DVD (if there's anything we Browncoats can do, it's buy DVDs).



















Furthermore, every year, Browncoats get together for the "Can't Stop the Serenity" event, wherein the film is screened at numerous theaters across the country, with all proceeds going to charity! Finally, United States astronaut Steven Swanson is a fan of the series, and brought copies of the DVDs of the series and film to be a permanent part of the media library on the international space station. Yeah! We actually made it to space! Can you say that, Star Trek?! Can you? I don't know. If someone knows, please let me know.

Who knows; maybe we will get another movie after all, or even a second series (not bloody likely, since FOX still owns the television rights). Whedon planned out seven seasons, so he still has tons of stories to tell...

Up next: looking at the movie Juno through the idea of the way we typically view characters as either "good" guys or "bad" guys.

Firefly: The Crash of Serenity

So if this show is as good as I'm saying, and if I am a reputable source (am I?), then how come the show was canceled after only 11 episodes (12 hours) aired? After all, it was well written, with great characters and stories, received fairly strong reviews, and had a good pedigree (Whedon had already been lauded for years due to Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Sadly, there were numerous factors that led to Firefly's demise.

To start, one must not look much further that the above picture. Look at the time it was airing. How often are people rushing home to watch a television show on Friday nights (mind you this was before TiVo, the greatest invention ever, had become popular). Furthermore, how many people are going to come home on Friday to watch a NEW show that they are not familiar with. If CSI were to move to Fridays, it would probably still get some good ratings, but no doubt they would drop significantly. Why FOX would choose to air a brand new show on which they were spending millions of dollars on Friday night is beyond me. But may have been FOX's least offense against Firefly.

The advertising for the show was minimal at best. I still remember seeing the commercials for Firefly because it looked like a terrible show. I could not comprehend the draw of the the show, since none the clips shown in the ads were enticing. But even worse, most of the ads didn't even show clips, they were just brief mentions attached to ads for Firefly's lead-in show, which I thought also looked pretty crappy. I think that I saw about 6 mentions and 2 ads with actual footage.

Worst of all was the airdate order. The pilot episode, "Serenity", which set up the entire show, as a pilot should, was passed over by the FOX executives, who deemed it too dull and long. Joss Whedon and his fellow producer, Tim Minear, were forced to write a new opening episode over the course of a weekend. They came up with "The Train Job", which was written to set up the series, but kept "Serenity" in canon. Therefore, they were forced to get the audience caught up, as if everyone had simply missed "Serenity". Characters spoke of events in the pilot in passing, so that the audience would know why the Tams were on Serenity, but it was a rushed explanation that did absolutely no justice to the gravity of the events that brought them there. If that weren't enough, the following episodes were then shown out of order, if the were aired at all. I think the order went like this: 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 1. 11, 12, and 13 were never aired as part of the original run.

With circumstances like those described above, the show quickly died. And that was that.

Next: Why that WASN'T that, or: Pride comes after the fall...

Firefly: One Big Happy Family

So yeah, I can go on and on about how much I want to be Malcolm Reynolds. But while he was the lead, he didn't carry the show alone. The other eight members of the crew each brought something unique to the show.

Let's start with Zoe, since I have already brought her up. Zoe fought with Mal in the war for independence, and has followed him onto Serenity. Although she is a hardened soldier who knows to follow the chain of command, that doesn't rob her of free will or remove her personality, as it is very present. It is rare for an order to escape Mal's lips that is not met with at least some form of criticism by Zoe. At the least, she'll make a dry quip about it, and when Mal seems to completely forget logic (which happens more often that you'd think), Zoe is right there to point out the stupidity of the plan.

Furthermore, being the soldier/warrior woman/first mate doesn't consume Zoe's character. She definitely was not pigeon-holed into only two roles, but her other significant role was that of loving wife of Wash, the ship's pilot.

Wash was pretty much everything Zoe was not: he had a sense of humor, was not a warrior, and loved to stick it to authority... then slink away when authority tried to fight back. Many of my friends have selected Wash as their favorite character, and while I stand by my love of Mal, it is not hard to see why. He is nearly the only character on the ship who actually tries to be funny. While someone like Mal or Zoe will make us laugh because their comments are inappropriate to the situation, or Jayne will say something ridiculous that sounds logical to himself, Wash will say things to get a rise out of his shipmates.


Though many characters new to Serenity don't immediately understand the attraction between Wash and Zoe (and it's never because of the race issue), it doesn't take long to see that they are nearly perfect compliments for each other. One is at home on the battlefield, while the other is at home behind the controls of a ship and can fly through the most intense of conditions.

At first glance, it would appear that Kaylee is a better match for Wash, since they often work together on ship repairs. Kaylee is Serenity's mechanic, but whereas many writers who want to appear cool and have a woman doing a "traditionally male" job tend to make the woman a bit of a tomboy, Kaylee is the girliest girl on the ship. She has school-girl crushes, loves pretty objects, and would love nothing more than peace on earth(s). Kaylee is the bright spot in a dark universe. Most other characters on the ship, including Wash the joker, find it hard to see the bright sides of their lives, which is not surprising, since they are criminals struggling to get by. However, Kaylee can see the good in any person or situation. She once, after being shot in the stomach, asked the doctor she was crushing on if the question "Can you move your feet?" meant that he was asking her to dance (though it may have been equal parts cheer and shock at being shot).

Kaylee is the only character who can get along with all eight of the other characters on a regular basis. There are times when she gets upset with her crewmates, but she is quick to forgive, and her seemingly annoying cheery disposition causes the rest of the crew to feel very protective of her.

Kaylee is the kind of person who is always honest and sincere, which is why she is pretty much the only person that Jayne trusts on the ship. Jayne is a mercenary who joined the crew in the midst of robbing the ship. Basically, he's the kind of guy you really want on your side of a fight... unless the other side realizes that they can pay him more. He definitely worships the almighty dollar (or credit) with a nearly unwavering loyalty, though he would make an exception for Kaylee. Jayne is in his element with a gun in his hand, but his best scenes definitely were the ones he shared with Wash. They are almost never in a fight together (I think there was one exception), their scenes involved Jayne making an ignorant or uninformed comment followed by a snarky comment from Wash.

Once again, while Jayne may initially come off as nothing more than the dumb hired muscle (that is the impression my brother got of him from the trailer for Serenity), he is so much more. He develops an interesting relationship with Sheppard Book, and usually shows respect toward Mal. His relationships with most of the rest crew are interesting at best, but he seems to understand why (most) everyone else is there.

Inara is probably the exact opposite of Jayne. She is the only representative of high class on Serenity prior to the arrival of the Tams; although we are initially meant to think that she is nothing more than a lowly hooker, nothing could be further from the truth. It's rather funny realizing that Mal's comment about her making a legitimate living is made in earnest, as opposed a sarcastic remark. Inara is cultured, intelligent, and well-learned in methods of seduction and etiquette. Basically she is the opposite of the stereotypical prostitute of today, which is a rather interesting departure from the rest of the show. The story Whedon wanted to tell was about how the only thing that will change in the future will be technology; we will still have the same problems, such as social stratification. However, Inara is more than a "prostitute". In the future, apparently, sex workers will become a highly respected profession that requires years of training.

Strangely, Inara doesn't fully interact with the entire crew; her relationship with Mal is one of the ongoing stories that will never be truly fulfilled due to the early cancellation, and her first interaction with the Sheppard goes the way one would expect in a meeting between a priest and a whore. But her actions toward most of the rest of the crew were minimal. I can really only think of how she acted toward Kaylee and Jayne (those scenes were also funny). I cannot remember ever saying more than two words to Zoe or Wash, and while she was affected by the arrival of the Tams (just like the rest of the crew), she had minimal contact with them. Sadly, we will never see these interactions happen, which hurts the most, since the relationships were possibly the show's best aspect.

And that brings us to Sheppard Book, the first person discussed here to join the crew of Serenity in the first episode (as opposed to already being a part of it). Sadly, he was probably the most under-developed crew member, and the biggest casualty of the early cancellation. There were numerous references to a shadowy past, but now we will probably never know what the good sheppard was hiding (unless the rumors of a comic book series about him are true...).

But enough about the unknown past, let's talk about the Book we knew. Book came to Serenity when Kaylee noticed that he was looking for ships, not destinations (though her interpretation about him liking ships may be wrong; for all we know, he was looking not at ships but at crews...). Though he initially planned to use Serenity as mere transport, it became home for him. And what a strange home it was for a man of God to be, as it was run by pirates and smugglers. Though I (and probably many other Firefly fans) thought upon first seeing him that he was going to be the lamest character EVER, I quickly learned that looks can be deceiving. Yes, Book tried to bring the good book to Mal and co., but he was also a total badass, as adept as Mal in any fight. And there's that whole thing about having some sort of trump card on his ID badge. As I said earlier, his relationship with Jayne was pretty interesting, and watching his exchanges with Mal was perhaps the most intriguing aspect of his character, since they were able to forge a bond out of a rather hostile first meeting.

Speaking of looks being deceiving, we now come to the siblings Tam. Simon is filmed and has his scenes scored in a way to make us believe that he will be the show's villain when he boards Serenity. He, like Inara, represents high society, which is the very institution that Mal loves to buck (he puts up with Inara because he needs her onboard). Yet it turns out that this isn't the case. I don't want to say too much about him, or his sister, since the overarching storyline concerns them; their ties to the Alliance drive the plot. Although this is Mal's story, the Tams are the catalysts for his changes.

Simon's sister River is the other focal point. If the Tams are what drive the plot, River is the spark that started their story. A gifted young woman, River's story of her change is just as important as Mal's. Watching her start out as a broken girl (sound kinda familiar?) and gradually become feared by those she loves, and then see where she finally ends up is a pleasure to watch, and is a testament to the story-telling power of Joss Whedon.

Sadly, I don't want to say too much more about the Tams, but suffice it to say that the love they feel for each other transcends the feelings of everyone on Serenity, and makes for some amazing storytelling. I think that the fact that I chose to express my love and tell the story of Firefly through its characters speaks volumes about how well-written it is, and I hope that this has inspired you to check it out if you still have yet to see this wonderful show.

But I'm not done with my story. Up next: The fall...

Firefly: A Character Study

It's hard to determine what exactly made Firefly, a show that lasted less than 18 episodes, such an incredible entry into the science fiction pantheon. The dialogue certainly comes to mind, as Whedon's incredible wit is properly infused in each character. Or it could be the aesthetics of the show; the costume design, music, and sets were beautifully integrated, mixing Asian vibrancy with rustic Western tones. But for me, it was the characters. They were what I was looking forward to most when I first saw an unfinished print of the follow-up film Serenity; I remember the first shot of the ship and the long single shot reintroducing the crew. It gave me goosebumps.

There were nine main characters on Firefly, and each of them had a place on the ship and was more than adequately developed. I remember talking with a group about our favorite Buffy characters, and one person stated that no one's favorite character in a show is ever the lead. I disagree, and must only point to Captain Malcolm Reynolds as evidence. Played by Nathan Fillion, Reynolds was a broken man. When the series began, he was an idealistic soldier and a devout Christian. Our first glimpse of him was in a battle scene in which he wasn't going to take loss as an answer. The Battle of Serenity Valley was supposed to be a quick victory for the opposing side, but the fact that Reynolds and his fellow soldiers were holding their own showed how Reynolds and the Independent Army were able to do the impossible, which made them mighty. But only for those brief moments we saw, because it wasn't long the Independents' inevitable loss was to occur.

Six years later, he is the captain of a ship that constantly needs maintenance, and he and his crew are forced to hire themselves out as smugglers to make a living. He lost his faith and his ideals. The only thing he seems to truly care about is his ship, Serenity. Over the course of the series, we see him as a man with conflicted morals; he is willing to lie, cheat, and steal from those he believes are deserving of such treatment, but will put himself and his crew at risk if it means doing what is right for a group of people who truly need the help. For example, he stole medicine from a government hospital because the facility would be restocked before the drugs would ever be missed, but risked incurring the wrath of a crime lord with a penchant for torture when he returned a shipment of drugs that he had stolen for said crime lord to the needy people he stole them from.

But in order to truly understand Mal Reynolds, one must understand what he was fighting for. He and Zoe, who served as his first mate on the ship, both fought in the war on the side of the Independents. The other side was the Union of Allied Planets, or the Alliance for short. The Alliance was an interplanetary government that was trying to extend its reach to every planet in the solar system (before I go on, I must explain that the show takes place 500 years from now after Earth is dead and gone; after using up all of its resources, the human race found a new solar system and subjected the planets and moons to a process called terraforming, making them suitable for human life). The Alliance had been founded on the more developed planets in the center of the system, and they wanted to govern the relatively uncivilized (read: representative of the American Old West) planets on the edge of the solar system. With their rule came their laws, which were not always as practical on developing planets as they were on the civilized ones. Mal and Zoe felt so strongly that, despite the best intentions of the Alliance, the outer planets were better off governing themselves, that they volunteered to fight the bloody and destructive civil war.

The loss made Mal feel like he had lost nearly everything he held precious, and whatever he had left was always in danger of being taken next by the Alliance. This is why he felt so strongly for his crew and his ship; they were the last things that were his, and he would be damned before the Alliance took them away from him.

Up next: the rest of the crew...

Firefly: The Intro

So, Firefly. Where do I start? Do I begin with its origins? Or do I talk about how I came to like it? I think that I'll start at the end, which is actually the middle.

Firefly was canceled after 11 episodes aired (though it was 12 hours, since the final episode aired was a two hour entry). Ratings were low, production was expensive, and it wasn't easy to describe the show to newcomers, so FOX shut down production. And that should have been the end. Keep in mind that all of this happened before I ever saw a single episode of the show. The most I had seen were about 4 thirty-second commercials that made the series look absolutely awful (keep that in mind for later). The show was over, and that should have been that.
But this happened around the time when releasing television shows on DVD started to become popular. I think the first time I ever saw a television season released on DVD was the first season of The Simpsons way back in 2001. By 2003 (one year after Firefly was canceled), studios started to realize that there was a huge market for seasons on DVD, and they could release shows that got short runs if they are marketed correctly. For Firefly, it wasn't hard, since the reviews had been positive overall, and it was created by a man whose name will show up a lot on this blog: Joss Whedon.

Whedon created the critically acclaimed Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and its equally awesome, equally acclaimed, but criminally less watched spin-off Angel), and all the people at FOX DVD had to do was slap a sticker on Firefly's box stating that it was from the creator of Buffy, and Whedon fans would stop at nothing to get their hands on a set. Worked for me.


I had discovered Buffy and Angel in the summer of 2003, right before my senior year of high school. I think that my discovery of Whedon's shows set me on my path to truly enjoying the serialized format of television. I already liked 24, but that was pretty much the only other series that I was watching that had a running story line (before Buffy, my favorite shows consisted of things like Frasier and Seinfeld, which are great shows, but don't have the power of something like Arrested Development or Scrubs, which have a grander story to tell than just what is happening in a given week). Anyway, in December of 2003, the complete series of Firefly was released on DVD, and I was intrigued that (1) FOX would release a show that had done so poorly on the air and that (2) a show by Joss Whedon could do poorly (see the picture of the shirt to know what I'm talking about). So I decided to check it out. The rest is future history.

Up next: Why Firefly is so great...

Welcome To The Other Worlds...

Other Worlds being the worlds of fictional stories. Movies, television, and books have had an influence over me ever since I was old enough to follow plot. There are few things that have as much power over me as a good story, and when I find something truly amazing, I want to share it with everyone, especially if it is relatively unknown. This blog will be about films, television series, and books that I enjoy. Some of them will be well-known, others will not be. My hope is that these stories will open up new worlds to readers that they never before imagined. I guess the best place to start will be with Firefly...