CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF FIREFLY

Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres in Firefly.

Star Trek and Star Wars fans may fight to the death over which is the Number One science fiction franchise of all time, but there is surprisingly little disagreement over which television show is Number Two. Joss Whedon’s Firefly takes that honor, a show about a ragtag crew of spacers, forever running just ahead of galactic authorities, bloodthirsty criminal adversaries and their own personal demons. Firefly lasted only a single season on the Fox Network in 2002, but it has had an outsize impact on the imaginations of SF writers and producers, and here we are, 20 years later, still comparing new work to Whedon’s conceptual universe.

Most of us who are Firefly fans still remember the sense of betrayal we felt at the way Fox treated the show. The network executives never understood Whedon’s vision, and pressed him to do two mutually exclusive things with his work: lighten up a show they felt was “too dark,” and have Captain Mal Reynolds (played by Nathan Fillion) shoot more people. They also didn’t like the inclusion of a married couple on the show (helmsman “Wash” Washbourne, played by Alan Tudyk, and First Officer Zoe Washbourne, played by Gina Torres); this precluded any romance between Mal and Zoe. When Whedon held firm on his principles, studio execs sabotaged the show by airing episodes out of order and with frequent pre-emptions. This after they had already diminished the show’s chances by advertising it as a comedy, not as a science fiction show or even a space western. No wonder it couldn’t find a wider audience and was canceled quickly despite a write-in campaign by Firefly’s dedicated fans to save it.

It is Firefly’s essential “darkness” that makes it stand out from the science fiction television that had gone before it and captures our attention. Captain Mal is a tortured soul, carrying the burdens of the loss of a civil war against the Alliance that now rules the galaxy. He’s testy, quick to anger, and not inclined to listen to advice from his crew. From the first episode, we’re clear this is not Star Trek and Mal is no Kirk, Picard or even Sisko. But this captain does have a code of ethics that he lives by, which is why we can see him as a hero despite his flaws.

He and his crew must scrape and scrabble to get by, taking any job they can find—legal or illegal—to make ends meet. Every episode brings new challenges to add to the ones they have just overcome (or are already trying to find a way out of). And those challenges are not just external; each member of the crew has his or her own obstacles to work through. A crisis of faith, PTSD, mental illness, terminal illness, insecurity, or just plain lack of empathy—all are subjects for Whedon’s pen, which explains why the show has been inspiration for so many other writers.

The show was a launching pad for actors, too. Fillion, of course, went on to star in the wildly successful Castle and currently stars in The Rookie on ABC. Gina Torres has starred in Suits, Westworld and now in Fox’s 911-Lone Star, Alan Tudyk has made a splash in Syfy’s Resident Alien and bad guy Mark Sheppard (Badger) was a regular as the King of Hell Crowley on Supernatural. Summer Glau, who played the tormented River in Firefly, went on to serve admirably in Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles television series, but has been mostly doing smaller parts since.

One thing I must give Firefly full credit for: spaceship Serenity’s engine thrusts in space are silent, as they should be in a vacuum that can carry no sound waves. Huzzah! Virtually every other screen space depiction has those engines blasting at full decibels. It’s almost enough to make me forgive the fact that the Serenity’s captain and crew carry projectile weapons—on a pressurized spaceship. One bullet piercing the hull and everyone is in deep trouble. There was a reason Kirk and company carried phasers.

So, okay, the show isn’t perfect. But it’s pretty close. I’m enjoying watching that precious single season all over again on Hulu. Those of you who own the series on DVD might want to dig it out again or you can check it out on the streaming service to remind yourself just how good SF TV can be.

Cheers, Donna

The Tees Have It: Wearable Statements of Sci-Fi Fandom

Good Monday Morning, all!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday, even if you OD'd a bit on turkey, stuffing and all the trimmings. Hey, 'tis the season! We had our dinner at a local restaurant this year, which is great for not having to clean up but not-so-great for being deprived of a plethora of yummy leftovers. So I'm cooking a turkey breast today just so we aren't cheated out of those lingering goodies. Plus, there's nothing like the aroma of a turkey cooking to fill the house...Mmmmm.

As a SF/R fan -- not to mention author -- anything Sci-Fi usually catches my interest. I thought it might be fun to show off part of my Sci-Fi t-shirt collection. Since it includes dozens of tees, I'll start with just a few of the generic ones today and save the "t-shirts on a theme" for future posts.

I enlisted my Stormtrooper buddy to help me model them, but discovered his head was too big for him to properly display the shirts (without horribly stretching the necks...nooo, my precious!), so I had to improvise. Fortunately, his ample shoulder made a nice place to hang the hangers. :)

This first one is one of my favorites and it seems to compliment my SFR series theme of Escape to the Stars, to boot.

"I'm Running Away to See the Universe" set in a block of starry, starry sky. It's a simple design that doesn't use color, just white on black (I think it was also available in blue, etc. but black is usually my go-to color, as you'll see), but it certainly works for me to convey the message.

As a reader, it also speaks volumes. SF/R has always been my brand of escapism, so what better way to announce it to the world galaxy!

As a writer, it also reflects where I spend a good chunk of my mental time...off among those distant stars.

I love this second t-shirt for its spirit. I think many of my fellow SFR authors, writers and readers will might agree with the sentiments.

I never dreamed of being a princess when I was young--in my head I always dreamed of hyperjumping off to distant worlds and engaging in galactic adventures I read about in books from the Science Fiction Book Club.

After all, who wants to be a pampered princess when you can command a swashbuckling starship!

To my way of thinking, "Starship Captain" was always much more glamorous and exciting than being something as mundane as a princess.

One of the things I especially like about this design is the use of the pink and the script font to "pop" the "Princess?" with the decidedly Trek-esque block lettering for "I'd rather be a Starship Captain!"

Nicely done!

T-shirt number three is probably one of the most loved phrases I've ever swiped from a popular sci-fi series. It is, of course, a phrase from the famous theme song of the icon of television sci-fi, Firefly.

In case you're not an afficianado of the short-lived but much loved series, here's a link to the 53-second YouTube video of the main theme. (And why yes, that's a starship spooking wild horses, which so encapsulates the space western feel of this fabulous show.) Firefly Main Theme

As an author, no matter how hard the going gets, and how difficult the industry becomes, for me, this phrase portrays a core truth: No matter what happens, no one can take away my imagination.

As a reader, it makes a statement about what sort of books and media really interests me.

But as a person in general, it takes on a deeper meaning. For most of my life (yes, right up to the present), other people have asked me why I'm interested in sci-fi and space exploration and astronomy, rather than the things that society says most females should find important--like the latest fashions or makeup or designer purses (*yawn*). Why am I so different? Well, I've always embraced my "differentness" even long before the "This Is Me" movement came along and instilled itself as a part of our pop culture. This is Me isn't just about having an appearance that's unusual, it's also about having a mindset that's not the norm for my particular peg hole. You Can't Take the Sky from Me, indeed.

And finally, I wanted to show off Donna's excellent creation--a t-shirt for her Interstellar Rescue series. I think she did a phenomenal job with the design, which looks every bit as professional as the "store bought" tees, which is why I love to include it as part of my collection. I love how Donna framed the theme of her series in a subtle but very effective way.

This design is also responsible for Sharon and I meeting Donna at the 2009 RWA Nationals in Washington, DC. We noticed this decidedly spacey design that Donna had imprinted on her tote bag and commented on it, discovering that she, too, wrote SFR.

Donna's Interstellar Rescue series tee is one of the few I have that carries the theme to the back of shirt, where her series log line is printed. (Donna also had a t-shirt done for the first novel in her series, Unchained Memory, with a similar design and the book's individual log line on the back.)

So there are a few of the more random examples in my collection. I'll be back with later blogs featuring my Star Trek and (more extensive) Star Wars tees.

Do you have any favorite science fiction themed t-shirts? Tell me about them in comments.

Have a great week.