Take me out to the Black

What can I say about the series Firefly that hasn’t been said already? As I watch the series in its entirety in anticipation for the Sept 30TH release of the motion picture “Serenity”, I realize that I have a great deal to say.

The two hour pilot (which is first on the DVD, the correct order… as opposed to the order that the episode was aired on Fox network) is perfection in itself. Like any pilot episode it introduces all the main characters. We meet Mal and Zoe at the battle of Serenity and see the moment that changes Mal’s life forever. We meet Wash the pilot and Kaylee the mechanic and get a chance to see each of them in action doing what they do best. We meet Inara and learn a little about the future of prostitution, the oldest profession, and how it changed with time. And then there is Jayne… Simon asks Mal what it is that Jayne does and by the end of the episode, that question is still up in the air, along with the question of his loyalty.

Then there are the new characters, Book, Simon and River. There will be plenty of time (or so Josh Whedon thought) to get to know them, but Simon gets a chance to prove his worth as a medic when Kaylee is shot.

In the pilot we get to learn about the universe (‘verse) we are in, and we see that it isn’t too much different from our own world. Space travel and the resultant technology aren’t as important as a box full of strawberries. Even the great treasure that Mal procures (slyly looking like bricks of gold) is revealed nearly three-quarters of the way through to be just concentrated “food stuffs.” This unappealing chewy brown matter is more important than gold to people on the outer planets.

But technology is still important; it’s the very thing that keeps them flying. Serenity isn’t just a ship, or a disastrous battle, or the title of the pilot and the movie… Serenity is another character all together. Whedon shows his mastery of direction in a sequence that starts with Wash on the bridge, he tells Zoë in the hallway that he’s ready, she tells Mal in the hold, and he tells Kaylee outside of the ship. This flow from the center of the ship to the outside shows us all the important parts of Serenity and introduces the audience to the most important character of all. Whedon creates a “real” space for all the action to occur.

Serenity is their home and their salvation. As Mal tells Simon at the end, it’s always a good day when they can keep flying.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.

Dune

Dune is proving to be more interesting than I thought. There is something lyrical about the book, a dreamlike quality that gives the reader the feeling that they are witnessing something magical. At the top of each chapter there is an except from books about the Muadib (sp?). This proves that we are witnessing the beginning of a legend. But even legend is created in a mundane way, and personal flaws are often forgotten in time.

In this way, this book is very much like the Lord of the rings books by Tolkien. We were witnessing something that was to be spoken of with great awe in the future. But at the time, the great adventure was fraught with tragedy and struggle.

When I finish reading Dune I am going to watch both movie versions. As a big fan of David Lynch, I will watch his first, then I’ll see if the longer mini-series from the Sci-Fi channel is available.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.

TV and Books

I started watching the Scottish Television show, “Monarch of the Glen” on DVD. The first season is so different from the way the show eventually evolved. Most of the characters are different, so its like watching a whole new show. It’s weird watching it, but I’m enjoying it somewhat. I really can’t stand the character of Lexie who eventually marries the Laird. I feel so sorry for Duncan.

Still reading the Cadfael books but I also started to read “Dune”. It’s one of those books that I keep meaning to read because so many people found it fascinating, especially when I was in high school. The last time I read a book like that was with the “Lord of the Rings” books and they were fantastic! I am looking forward to Dune, but so far I don’t know if I’m that interested in reading all of the books that eventually were spun off of the original.

In anime, I gave up on “Steel Angel Kurumi” because it was too much of a 14-year old boy fantasy – too many super strong androids with skimpy costumes and big boobs for my tastes. My next anime series is “Samurai Deeper Kyo.” I hope this one is better.

<*<*<*<>*>*>* >
www.netflix.com provides me with all the DVD’s I can handle.
As for books, my thanks go out to www.amazon.com, Borders (a chai latte, please!) and all the used book sales I can get to.
For anything I can’t find in any of these places, I go to my local library. (Interlibrary Loans are SHINY!)

LIBRARIANS: the GPS locators in a wilderness of information.