The Nerd and I had just started dating when he decided to take me to Best Buy in search of a new television. He had worked all summer as an intern and had a significant nest egg, which he decided to blow on a big screen TV.
But I digress.
As we were walking down the aisle of Television Series DVDs, he suddenly stopped. And I wondered what he was doing. (The Nerd doesn’t usually deviate from his intended purchase once we enter the store — he goes right for it and then we leave. No browsing allowed.)
His hand reached out and lovingly caressed a DVD on the shelf: Firefly. He then grabbed a whole stack of them and started putting each copy in front of the other DVDs on display. There were only a few copies, so it didn’t take long.
“There,” he said. “Now people will see the Most Awesome Show ever.”
And he is right — Firefly *is* the most awesome show ever.
It premiered in 2002 on Fox, and only lasted one season, to the chagrin of Nerds around the world. The show takes place, you guessed it, in a faraway galaxy. It chronicles the adventures of the crew of a Firefly-class cargo ship named “Serenity.”
The planets of this universe, though populated by spaceships and laser-gun-carrying agents of the law, are mostly frontier and people still ride horses and shoot with guns you might see in a John Wayne movie.
This juxtaposition of the American Wild West and futuristic technology is extremely interesting and unique.
I think the theme song sums it up:
Take my love,
Take my land,
Take me where I cannot stand.
I don’t care,
I’m still free,
You can’t take the sky from me.
There’s no place
I can be
Since I found Serenity.
You can’t take the sky from me.
And the characters are *real.*
Captain Malcolm Reynolds (who I secretly pine for) leads the crew. There’s Zoe, his right-hand warrior woman; Wash, the pilot who serves and the show’s comic relief and Zoe’s husband; Jayne, the hired gun; Sheperd Book, a preacher who seems to have more to his past; Kaylee (yes, she’s the namesake for our pup!), the ship’s engineer who keeps the ol’ gal runnin’; Inara, a “Companion” who tags along for the ride; Simon, a doctor trying to rescue his sister from the Alliance; and River, Simon’s psycic sister who is a super-genius.
No, our puppy isn’t the only family member named after a Firefly character. You remember River, my niece?
Seriously, if you haven’t seen this show, please go out and get it (or put it in your Netflix cue). I’m sure the DVD set now only costs about $20. It’s well worth it.
Here are some of my favorite Firefly quotes. Can you name the character(s)?
“If you take sexual advantage of her, you’re going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater.”
“And what does that make us?” “Big damn heroes, sir!”
“My food is problematic.”
“Mercy is the mark of a great man.” (stab)
“Guess I’m just a good man.” (stab)
“Well, I’m alright.”
On a final note, I’d like to thank all of you who commented on my Facebook status with suggestions for Nerdy Things Thursday topics. I took them all to heart and I promise to cover each of them in due time. If you have anything you’d like to see covered in Nerdy Things Thursday, just leave a comment and let me know.
Thanks for looking!
I was hoping you would choose to post about Firefly!
1. Shepherd Book
2. Malcolm Reynolds and Zoe
3. River
4. Malcolm Reynolds
Do I get a better prize for naming which episode they're in?
One of my favorite shows! Have you seen Castle? See the Halloween episode.
Oh my gosh! I *love* Castle! Nathan Fillion is a dream.
And the Halloween episode was hilarious:
"What are you supposed to be?"
"Space cowboy."
"There are no cows in space." 🙂