Firefly S01E01 - Serenity FULL REACTION

If you think Crowley looks young here.... I will always know the actor from an early episode of X-Files which is about ten years earlier.

chris bullers

Right. I got my creators switched with another show.

Michele

What???? The creator of this show is James Cameron??? You DIDN'T just really say that without a wink to show us that you're joking, right?? You DO know that, maybe even more than "Buffy", great & incredible as that is, this is Joss Whedon's greatest masterwork, RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT?????

Timotey Kuhn

Notice the odd word or phrase that doesn't make sense. It's Chinese. In this futuristic dystopian universe, the two main superpowers when people started leaving Earth were the United States and China. The two nations joined together to make inter-galactic travel a reality.

Ron Fehr

Yes definitely. Losing the war cost his faith in God.

Ron Fehr

You noticed he was religious at the beginning before the Battle of Serenity Valley and then how he treated the Shepherd and having grace before dinner.

Aes86

Joss has a habit of just throwing you into the story without a lot of explaining in advance :) Fun ain't it?

Chris (darkwater)

I've been told I should watch this, so I'll be watching along with you. You seem to like Summer Glau. She's also in the Terminator TV series - The Sarah Connor Chronicles - which I can recommend. It's really good. It's a very underrated series. It's two relatively short seasons, but it would mean watching the first two Terminator films first if you haven't seen them before.

ThatGuy11200

I agree with you, I have no problem with sexual workers. The problems about it in the real world is about pimp abuse, human traffic and underage prostitution. All this trough miss regulation, and lack of protection because everything work in the shadows, a more open and regulated approach would be much safer for those in a vulnerable position... Well, this is a very complicated matter, i´m glad this show bring it up.

Amarantax

I really like Firefly, but is easier to enjoy in rewatches, I didn ´t understand the first episode much either. What I LOOOOVE about this series is the Intro song, (Is in my everyday playlist). I think is the best intro song with "Cowboy Beboop" (both being space cowboy Odysseys). The ballad of Serenity was written by Josh Whedon himself, and it encapsulates all the theme of the show being Serenity a ship, but also the peace of mind of knowing you are doing what you think is right, you are choosing.

Amarantax

Oh my. So many comments! It's been a long time since I've seen this show. It gets better, but it can also be confusing to follow sometimes. It's basically a Space Cowboy type of show. The language is interesting, but you'll learn about that. Anyway, hope you enjoy the show.

Michele

You’re not alone! I've met a lot of Buffy fans who don't like Firefly [I'm one of them!!] and I have seen the whole thing. I've also met a lot of Firefly fans who hate Buffy. Despite Joss Whedon creating both they are very different, and they try to do different things. I also wouldn't be surprised if Shan doesn’t like Firefly too much but who knows…..I guess we’ll see.

Shashank

Here's some information that you may or may not know. A couple of the characters in this episode appeared on Buffy, Angel, and Firefly. Andy Umburger played the captain of the Alliance cruiser. Carlos Jacott played the bounty hunter chasing Simon and River.

Ron Fehr

Minor detail but (as a former aerospace engineer) a big deal to me: This is the only sci-fi show ever made ever that gets the fact that there is no sound in space. Explosions are silent and spaceships do not make a stupid whooshing noise as they go by. Just one of the many reasons I love this show.

Kelly Parks

THANK YOU for doing this reaction!! Yeah there's a lot to digest in the pilot for sure but you will enjoy the ride! And FYI, when I adopted my cat back in '06 I named her River in honor of River from this show :)

Patrick Lyke

Well, this is a first. I love hearing your thoughts on episodes. Sometimes I agree with you and sometimes I disagree but it's always fun and enjoyable seeing your reactions. However, this was the first time I've actually felt offended by your reaction. Your reaction to Inara, and by extension sex workers in general, really threw me for a loop. I guess I'm just disappointed.

Miah

One of my favorite comic strips (credited to 4hcomic.com and NOT spoilery) about Firefly is just two panels. The first is a guy sitting at his laptop at 5:00pm watching Firefly Episode 1. He’s saying, “I dunno. This isn’t as great as everyone’s told me.” The next panel is at 4:45am Episode 14. He’s sitting there crying while singing the theme song out loud. Every time I see a new person watching Firefly for the first time, I think of that comic. I would link it but I don’t want you to also potentially see spoilers from anything else....and I don’t think I can post a pic here. Anyway, I look forward to your inevitable arrival at your own version of panel #2. 😜

Katherine Thoreson

i'm probably one of the few hardcore buffy fans that doesn't like firefly. i tried to get into it a few years back and could not make it past episode 4. i'm going to try to re-watch it through your reaction vids. maybe i'll have a different take on it this time around. but i honestly would not be surprised if you didn't like it either. it's nothing like buffy or angel. or even dollhouse for that matter.

cil

That would have ruined it a bit, I think. The whole thing with the bilingual was that we didn't get a translation, but every time it could be gathered what was said by context, at least generally.

Dennis Bryant

I really enjoyed this show the first time around, but honestly it is so much better on a rewatch. A lot more of the earlier episodes make more sense the second time around. I still enjoy watching this show every so often.

Dennis Bryant

It's really interesting rewatching this with someone who isn't instantly blown away by everything ... the dry humor, the mix of sci-fi and western, with Chinese mixed in, the lack of explanations, the dark, dirty atmosphere, etc. It appeals very strongly to a very specific sensibility, and while others may come to appreciate it, they might not instantly love it as some people did. Also, there are a bunch of ideas in this show that were really fresh and novel when it first aired, but are now either just a tiny bit out of date, or else more common now and so a little less interesting. For instance, Inara being a "companion," and the whole idea of prostitution being a semi-respectable profession where women are in charge was kind of new for a mainstream TV show. It's still somewhat controversial now, but in other ways people are a bit more familiar with the idea now, and in some ways we've circled back to viewing prostitution as a bad thing because of how women are treated in the real-life (not fantasy) version. These people being rebel outlaws also has a slightly different feel in 2018 than it did 15 or so years ago ... not necessarily bad, just different. Anyway, I'm looking forward to Shan's reactions going forward as more of the background stories are revealed.

Andrew Pulrang

I'm always interested in Firefly reactions. Liam did Firefly before Buffy (or maybe early on during Buffy), so at the beginning he was much more excited about Firefly than Buffy. I don't think the details early in the pilot are all that important. For me, this show is really about the characters and relationships. I enjoyed this show much more on rewatch when I had gotten to know all the characters.

UTU49

I think this show depicts prostitution the way it should be. It should be legal. No one should be able to tell a woman (or man) who they can sleep with and why. Inara is a valuable member of the team. She brings respectability to a shady vessel and she, along with Kaylee, provides the heart of the show. I'm glad Shan is reacting to this, it takes some of the sting out of going to 2 Buffyverse episodes a week, which I think is a good idea. She's a pro. This is why she's the best reactor there is.

Shaman615

I love this show, and I hate how FOX screwed with it. This show had the potential to become every bit as iconic as Buffy. The only thing that annoyed me about this series is that they never gave subtitles to the Mandarin slang.

Yeah, I often think she would be less confused about things if she weren't doing whatever she does on the other screen to her right. Kinda hard to react to stuff you're not watching.

J.D.

You were looking to your right when Zoe explained that they were to surrender but the enemy bombed them instead and they lost the battle.

Cheyne Johnson

Thank you for doing Firefly. It can be a bit hard to follow, but it is absolutely worth the ride. Mal is one of my favorite characters of all time - I named my car Malcolm in his honor. I hope you will enjoy reacting to this one.

Nicole Garver

Woohoo! I've been looking forward to this. :) Although, unfortunately, I have to download every episode. Each of which takes between 3-6 hours. Then I have to transfer the files to a USB drive to plug into my TV, which takes another 10-15 minutes. I seriously need a new computer, lol.

Ian Victor

Wow, a little surprised how harshly you went after Inara. I know it can be hard to keep track with a pilot but they do mention a few times that Inara is the only one of them with a legal job, and that helps them to land on certain planets. So in that way she is a legitimate business woman - she does a job that doesn't break the law. And Deadpool's pretty sex positive I think he'd be fine with it! :) Nice reaction though, looking forward to seeing you react to more

Abbie Sharp

We must know the same guy.

Ryan

Does anyone ever wonder if there'll ever be a Firefly reunion?

Ron Fehr

You know you have something when you get a so-called grown up man in his 40s shedding a tear at the opening credits. Not me, of course, but some guy I know...

Khanach

I saw the movie before the show, so I already had foreknowledge going into the pilot. Seeing people watch the pilot without any other background information, I can see how things would be confusing. I hope future episodes clear things up for her...

RevanTheRebel

Personally I don't like either term.

Ron Fehr

You do not recall correctly. This was intended to be the pilot episode, but instead of airing it, Fox changed the schedule to show a Lakers game. So the second episode (The Train Job) was the first episode that appeared on TV. This one appeared later, which takes a lot of the drama out of Kaylee getting shot.

J.D.

Such a great amazing show, so excited to revisit it again and how fantastic is that theme song!

Juan Torres

really excited that your reaction to this, can't wait for more. Thank you. One show that didn't get enough credit.

Emma goldsbrough

aww that is sweet of her! and so true!

Adrian G

Calling Inara a whore?!? It’s a good thing I like you Shan. She is a Registered Companion.

Ryan

If I recall correctly, the second episode that aired was originally intended to be the pilot episode. So some things are better explained. If I recall correctly.

Ron Fehr

RIP Ron Glass. Still a little sad watching scenes with him. :( I remember him from Barney Miller. Loved that show when I was a kid.

Jarrod Wild

Worldbuilding can be tough. But I like Joss' approach of minimizing the exposition and just showing us how his universe works. Show, don't tell. :)

Jarrod Wild

Great reaction. I'll let someone else explain the science behind the "Crazy Ivan". And all the other basic sci-fi tropes. Mal does shoot people (and horses) before they shoot him. It's Joss' commentary on Star Wars Special Edition.

CaptainNice

Names: Captain - Mal (Nathan Filion) First mate - Zoe (Gina Torres) Pilot - Wash (Alan Tudyk) Priest - Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) Companion - Inara (Morena Baccarin) Muscle - Jayne (Adam Baldwin) Doctor - Simon (Sean Maher) Sister - River (Summer Glau) Mechanic - Kaylee (Jewel Staite) Ship - Serenity

J.D.

I accidentally watched the movie first not knowing there was a tv show that came before it so i knew the characters and the general story, i can so see how the pilot can be confusing just dropping right into it. Still one of my top 5 shows.

Amanda Logsdon

One of the best single seasons of tv ever made.

WB

You scoff, but prostitution is just about one of the most respectable professions in this universe 😄 which I think is great, because it's so unexpected. Btw, my 10yo daughter was watching your reaction with me and wanted me to tell you that you do not look 23. you look 19 ❤ 😂 bless her..

Signe (Seena) Stewart

So they say it in passing relatively early on, but Inara is important because without a companion, most of the docks on the planets have no reason to allow their ship to land. That's why they call her an ambassador as a joke.

Second_Strike

Inara is a legitimate business woman.

homoerotic 80s volleyball scene personified

!

Yay!! Very excited for this! Another top 5 show for me.

Signe (Seena) Stewart