"I aim to misbehave." - Malcolm Reynolds

Firefly was a sci-fi western that aired for only one abridged season in 2002 on Fox. It was set 500 years in the future, in a universe in which the United States and China merged to create the Alliance, and Earth as we know it was no more. When the show was created, sci-fi and western didn't seem like the most likely pairing, but it makes a lot of sense and has caught on in the years since Firefly was on the air. People branched out from Earth onto many newly terra-formed planets and had to start over with nothing, much like those who moved out to the western US in the 1800's. Instead of taking the future route of aliens and super technology, Firefly instead followed a more humanistic approach. It focused on a rag-tag group of people trying to make their way through the universe with nothing but a ship named Serenity. Their lives weren't perfect, they didn't have much money, and they had to do illegal things just to get by, but they became a family and would do anything to protect what they had. Though it didn't strike a chord with the general public during its original broadcast, Firefly has amassed an extremely loyal fanbase and was allowed a proper send off in the form of a full length feature film in 2005 as well as some follow-on comic books.

The best part about the show was the characters and the writing. Because the show runners knew that the life of Firefly was limited, they worked their hardest to make sure that every story they put together was the best they could possibly create. The world building for this show was top notch, so everything felt very real and natural, even within the futuristic setting. This is not a show about a utopian or even a dystopian future - the writers really put a lot of thought into painting a realistic view of what form space exploration and planetary habitation might actually take. And because the writing was so great, the actors were able to give their all to each and every script and make something special happen in every scene. You could tell how much everyone enjoyed and loved the show, and it's a shame that a show of such caliber was cancelled. It is rare in a show that I like pretty much every character, but the cast of Firefly were all incredible together and everyone fit their parts perfectly. All of the characters on the show worked so well together and had great chemistry, so you really believed them to be the close-knit oddball family they were supposed to be. I also really loved that the most important relationships of the show were between Wash and Zoe, a married couple, and siblings Simon and River.

I didn't watch Firefly until years after it was cancelled, but I could see right away why people have held it up in such high regard for so many years. It was such a unique and special show that wasn't given its fair shot, and I can't help but think that if it had been created just a few years later, it would have had more of an opportunity to live past its cancellation. Nowadays, nothing stays cancelled if it has the fans to rally behind it. I could see the show going in some directions I wouldn't have liked had it continued on, but as it stands, Firefly can join all of those other awesome short-lived shows that ended before they had a chance to go wrong.

Favorites

	Jen	Liz
Character	Simon, Mal, River	Simon, Wash
Episode	Ariel, Jaynestown, Objects in Space	Pilot, Jaynestown
Relationship	Simon/Mal, Simon and River, Wash/Zoe	Simon/Mal, Simon and River, Wash/Zoe

Sims Medieval