"but then who would watch my tv?"

[falulatonks]

OK, guys, you know how much I love to talk about TV.

I was only keeping from doing this for as long as I've kept from doing this because I wanted to make pretty accompanying graphics, but a) I really don't have time for that, and b) I have all of my responses to this written, so. I think I'll post a couple of related things along with my rambling instead. (Maybe one day I'll post the few graphics I've already done.)

30 Day TV Meme - Day #1: A show that should have never been canceled

Firefly
"Well, look at this! Appears we got here just in the nick of time. Whaddya suppose that makes us?"
"Big damn heroes, sir."
"Ain't we just!"

I only watched Firefly for the first time last year, but it blew me away. The best, most wonderful thing about it was how much it seemed like Joss Whedon was putting everything into place to tell some great stories - there was construction surrounding everything; every plotline felt deliberate (but not in a clunky way) and every revelation or character moment felt like he was creating or reasserting this universe. It felt like he was wrapping his head around the things he could do as a writer, as a show-creator, and it felt like he was going to take full advantage of it all. That thrills me.



Plus - the characters were fantastic (although I'm still not crazy about Simon or Inara), the actors were brilliant (and I will always feel bitter that nothing else Nathan Fillion has done allows him to show off how good amazing he is at everything here - dry, witty, and a bit of a softie, but fierce, terrifying, and not always a good person), the ensemble was wonderful together, and every episode (save the network-commissioned The Train Job, which I still haven’t watched fully) gave me a good time.

Maybe I should be glad this show didn't get a chance to reach a high point and then fail, but I'm just disappointed we didn’t even get a full season. I think this show could've been brilliant. Episodes like Out of Gas, Objects in Space, War Stories, and Ariel prove that it was mostly already there.

And I mean it about Ariel - I don't see this episode get a lot of love, but this episode proves more than anything else in the series how well this could've done great episodes, week to week. It isn’t character-heavy or plot-heavy, but it’s a fantastic episode of TV: well-crafted and thrilling and with an interesting conflicts; basically a heist movie shortened to fit a TV slot. It even has a character betrayal leading to one of my favourite scenes of any TV show (definitely a contender for Day #9) - only two characters and fascinating, nails-cutting-into-your-palm tension:

I promise this day has the longest write-up. :P Around two lines into this I realised that this show is maybe one of my favourite shows ever, so I had to go on for this long.

-- rachu

Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death

Comments

[la-petite-singe.livejournal.com]

Yaaaay, I love this meme! Looking forward to your answers. ;)

[i-sometimes.livejournal.com]

When I read the question, before I went to the full entry, I though of Firefly. Such an amazing show!

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

THIS IS WHY WE'RE FRIENDS :D :D :D

I mean, we're friends for other reasons but god I love this show. And that clip. My favorite Firefly episodes are Out of Gas, Objects in Space, and the original two-part pilot but honestly? I like them all for different reasons, and Ariel was one of my favorites the first time around. And Captain Malcolm Reynolds may very well be my favorite character of all time. That speaks volumes of both Joss Whedon and Nathan Fillion. I do recommend watching Whedon's other stuff, like Dollhouse. Buffy and Angel are also well constructed though they have a very different feel to them. I love most of the cast though I like Saffron more than Inara most of the time. I think she gets too little appreciation ;)

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

Oh, so much love. You know, part of me is glad that the show didn't have a chance to falter down the line, because the series is pretty much perfection as it is (I don't care much for "Heart of Gold", but that's mostly because I don't care for Inara or Mal/Inara and it's still pretty solid). But judging from the quality of the one season, I think they could have sustained that quality for at least two seasons or more. It's a shame we didn't get to follow these characters for longer.

Look at you! Listing my favourite episodes. "Ariel" doesn't get enough love, but I think it's fantastic (it might be James' favourite episode, I can't remember).