6 March 2015

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday!

Firefly (2002)

I can't even begin to explain how much I love this show! In our house, it's a tradition to watch the entire Firefly series every Christmas holidays, which we've been doing since we saw it for the first time twelve years ago.

Firefly is a space western sci-fi drama created by the famous writer and director Joss Whedon. Set in the year 2517, it follows a crew of 9 outlaws on Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship. 

The ship's captain, Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, and his second-in-command, Zoe Alleyne Washburne are war veterans, who had been on the losing side of a war against the Alliance; the central federal government. Now, they spend their days taking any jobs they can get, legal or illegal, as they fly around the outskirts of space. Along with them, they have Zoe's husband, pilot Hoban "Wash" Washburne; mercenary Jayne Cobb; mechanic Kaylee Frye; Shepherd (pastor) Derrial Book; courtesan Inara Serra; former Alliance medical officer Simon Tam and his mentally unstable teenage sister, River.

This show is honestly so much fun to watch. It's original and keeps you interested the whole way through, so if you're looking for a good sci-fi or western - this is it. There's a reason this show has a cult following, and got its own movie, despite only having 14 episodes in the series.

Just remember that it is generally rated PG-13 because there is a lot of gore, violence, sex and nudity in it, though nothing too explicit is shown on screen. 

The main cast:

Malcolm Reynolds
played by Nathan Fillion


Zoe Washburne
played by Gina Torres


Hoban "Wash" Washburne
played by Alan Tudyk


Jayne Cobb
played by Adam Baldwin



Kaylee Frye
played by Jewel Staite




Shepherd Book
played by Ron Glass


Inara Serra
played by Morena Baccarin


Dr. Simon Tam
played by Sean Maher


River Tam
played by Summer Glau


You may recognize them from other things, considering practically the entire cast has become phenominally famous over the years. All of them have been in a plethora of roles since Firefly, both popular and obscure, so I have no doubt you've probably seen all of them in something at least once. 

Nathan Fillion is currently playing as Richard Castle on the crime-comedy-drama Castle, though he has also been in plenty of other TV shows such as Desperate Housewives and the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl. He has also been in many movies, both live-action and animated, as well as being a voice actor in some video games, among many other projects.

Gina Torres is currently acting as Jessica Pearson on the legal drama Suits, but she has played significant roles in many other TV shows such as the sci-fi Cleopatara 2525, the drama Standoff, and the comedy-drama The Catch. Much like Fillion, she has also played in both live-action and animated movies, as well as voiced characters in video games, though it seems that she has focused on her television career.

Alan Tudyk can be recognized for his work along side Heath Ledger in A Knight's Tale, as well as his voice roles in both Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, as King Candy and Duke of Weselton, respectively. Aside from his very successful film career, he has also played a number of roles on the small screen, including; Dr. Noah Gerner on Suburgatory and Reagan Biscayne on Newsreaders. Just like the others, he has also voiced several video game characters, among other things.

Many of you may recognize Adam Baldwin from his role as John Casey on the action-comedy/spy-drama Chuck, though he has played several other television roles on shows such as the action drama The Cape, or the crime drama The Inside, or on the action drama Day Break, or most recently, the sci-fi/action-drama The Last Ship. Outside of his extensive film and television career, Baldwin has also voiced several video game characters.

Jewel Staite has mostly focused on her television career, appearing in 44 TV films or series's. This includes her main role as Catalina on Space Cases, her lead role as Becca Fisher on Flash Forward, her recurring role as Gabriella Da Vinci in Da Vinci's Inquest, her main role as Daisy Lipenowski on Higher Ground, her role as Dr. Jennifer Keller on Stargate Atlantis, her main role as Raquel Westbrook on The L.A. Complex, and her recurring role as Caroline Swift on The Killing. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Ron Glass has played in an extraordinary amount of television shows, as well as quite a few films and voicing some video game characters. You may recognize him from his regular role as Detective Ron Harris on the American sitcom Barney Miller (where he featured in a whopping 164 episodes), or perhaps from his role as Felix Unger on The New Odd Couple, or as Jason Lockwood on Amen, or as Ronald Fletcher on Mr. Rhodes. If none of those are destinctive enough to remember, maybe you'll remember him as the voice of Randy Carmichael on the Rugrats and All Grown Up! He has also very recently been in a couple of episodes of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Morena Baccarin is currently playing Dr. Leslie Tompkins on Gotham, though she has played many roles on television, such as the role of Nurse Jessica Kivala on Heartland, Anna on the sci-fi V, and as Jessica Brody on Homeland, among other things. She has also voiced the Artificial Intelligence, Gideon, on The Flash television series, and has reportedly been cast as Vanessa Carlysle (A.K.A. Copycat) in the superhero film Deadpool.

Before his stint on Firefly, Sean Maher played several roles in both films and television, including the role of Chris McConnell on The $treet, and the voice of Dick Grayson (A.K.A. Nightwing) in the animated films Son of Batman and Batman vs. Robin. Afterwards, he has played Sean Beasley on The Playboy Club, as well as Marcus on Make It or Break It. More recently, he has also played the role of Mark Scheffer (A.K.A. Shrapnel) in the superhero TV series Arrow.

Summer Glau has been in a multitude of films and televsion shows, though most will either remember her for her time on Firefly, or as Cameron/Allison Young in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Outside of these two incredibly popular TV series's, she has also played characters such as Tess Doerner on The 4400, Jamie Fleming/Orwell on The Cape, and more recently as the villain Isabel Rochev (A.K.A. Ravager) on Arrow, as well as Anna Brandt on Sequestered. She has also played brief roles on shows such as Dollhouse, Hawaii Five-0 and Chuck.

All of these amazing actors have played on dozens of other TV shows, as well as many movies you may have seen. I personally think they are all brilliantly talented, and if you haven't seen them in anything, I would certainly recommend watching some of their work. I have no doubt that, among all the many things they have had a role in, you will find something to your liking.

In any case, back to the topic of Firefly. With a cast this good, there should be absolutely no doubt that a sci-fi Western set over 500 years into the future is worth every minute you spend watching it. It's witty, interesting and brings up interesting moral dilemmas throughout the series. 

Oh, and did I mention that MARK SHEPPARD (who currently plays Crowley, the King of Hell, on Supernatural) is in two episodes? Check it out! It's amazing, I swear.

~The Elf

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