Poor review of DVD by tvdir

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Poor review of DVD

POSTED BY: TVDIR
UPDATED: Monday, December 15, 2003 03:57
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Sunday, December 14, 2003 4:57 PM

I found this article on Firefy's DVD. It isn't a good review, but I thought some of you might want to read it.

Few viewers to glow over Fox's Firefly

By Phoebe Flowers
Film Writer The Associated Press
Posted December 14 2003

In one of the features on the DVD of his short-lived series Firefly, creator Joss Whedon calls the show "the source of more joy and pain than anything I've done." Whedon, rightfully beloved for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff, Angel, may well have felt such passion about the occasionally amusing but forgettable sci-fi/western hybrid. But little of it comes through on the 14 episodes presented in the four-disc set -- three of which never aired.

It's not that Firefly is a bad show, by any means; it's just largely unremarkable. A few of the episodes -- not coincidentally, the ones that Whedon himself wrote and directed -- showcase enough spark beneath the rote plot lines to give you hope that the series could have matured into something more compelling. At the very least, more shows would presumably have better developed the nine (nine!) lead characters.

As it is, none of the talented cast ever gets much of a chance to shine. Nathan Fillion, who had a crucial role in the last season of Buffy, plays Malcolm Reynolds, the captain of a spaceship 500 years in the future struggling to fly below the radar of a totalitarian regime. He and his crew flit around doing jobs of varying legality and, in the pilot, taking in a young doctor, his psychologically wounded sister, and an older preacher who would be more mysterious if you really cared what the mystery was. Because this modern world has reverted to a wild-west aesthetic, the characters distractingly and unconvincingly say "ain't" and "shucks" a lot. Bad English, it seems, is timeless.

Better than the episodes themselves are Whedon's commentaries on several of them, as well as a handful of behind-the-scenes features, all of which showcase what a bright, funny, talented guy he is. But Firefly is a disappointing addition to his often excellent body of work.

Firefly -- The Complete Series, not rated, 135 minutes, $49.98.

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Sunday, December 14, 2003 5:02 PM

SUCCATASH

Aw, what a sad bunch of crap that is.

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Sunday, December 14, 2003 5:03 PM

FAHQ

I have heard critics defined in this way: Completely devoid of any creative talent whatsoever, they somehow feel qualified to judge the creative works of others.

I would really like to see your point of view, but I cant get my head up my butt.

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Sunday, December 14, 2003 6:34 PM

NADJA

People with no imagination need not apply to Firefly fandom. It just sucks that she writes for the AP.

But we can all rejoice in the fact that her name sounds like that of a bad porn star.

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Sunday, December 14, 2003 7:39 PM

SERGEANTX

It's so hard to understand, being so in love with this show, but I guess some people just don't get it. Maybe the show just calls on certain archetypes that don't resonate with everyone. Clearly the reaction of Fox's decision makers indicates some people just don't find inspiration in these stories. In the back of my mind though I can't help but think they just aren't really paying attention.

I suppose for someone responsible for reviewing hundreds of movies and television shows each year it must be easy to grow numb to some degree and get into a been-there-done-that frame of mind.

SergeantX

"..and here's to all the dreamers, may our open hearts find rest." -- Nanci Griffith

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Sunday, December 14, 2003 8:48 PM

MAKEROFPATHS

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
It's so hard to understand, being so in love with this show, but I guess some people just don't get it. Maybe the show just calls on certain archetypes that don't resonate with everyone. Clearly the reaction of Fox's decision makers indicates some people just don't find inspiration in these stories. In the back of my mind though I can't help but think they just aren't really paying attention.

Research Mode On! I have just read more of her reviews -- Phoebe Flowers who, BTW, writes for the Florida Sun-Sentinel, not AP -- and found she actually has a very keen eye and a good sense of balance in her reviews. Also she's quite funny and cutting some times.
Research Mode Off!

So, Sarge, I think you may be bang on. I don't think she gets the the whole thing or any of its parts. And may even have a certain blindness for things "western," although I couldn't scare up any her reviews of old-style western films.

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Monday, December 15, 2003 2:47 AM

FREMDFIRMA

Tell her to go back to watching "reality" TV.

I've found there's a very deep split between THAT crowd and this one, which is where the stupidity factor of network execs come in.

The folks who watch reality TV hate stuff like firefly, but if there's nothing else on...
(what FAHQ called the cheeto-factor)

We on the other hand, generally won't watch reality TV even if it's the only thing on.

By playing to both audiences, they'd have a bigger market share than either one alone, but they don't 'get' that we cannot be force-fed an awful show... thing called taste, yanno.

This reviewer smacks of the "sex it up, dumb it down" crowd that stuck us with the reeking sludge of the crap programming dominating the dial now-a-days, and thus earns no respect from me.

-frem
diefuxdie

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Monday, December 15, 2003 3:51 AM

BUGBOY

I've found reviewers of any type are typically NOT sci-fi fans. Not that Matrix: Revolutions was any stellar production, the week before it was released it was panned, only to break all 4-day weekend box office records. Funny thing how the reviews changed after that.

"If wishes were horses, we'd all be eating steak!" - Jayne

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Monday, December 15, 2003 3:57 AM

CULTTVGIRL

Quote:
Originally posted by SergeantX:
It's so hard to understand, being so in love with this show, but I guess some people just don't get it.

I know there are probably tons of people out there who don't 'get' Firefly. Just as there are tons of people out there who didn't get Buffy. But I just don't understand them.

I really believe they must be of lower intelligence than us Firefly fans. They probably all sit down on a Friday night and watch "Wheel of Fortune." Or "Big Brother."

And their idea of a quality sci-fi show is likely "Mutant X."

*prepares to be yelled at by Mutant X fans*

Book: “A duel?”
Wash: “With swords?”
Simon: “The Captain's a good fighter, he must know how to handle a sword?”
Zoe: “I think he knows which end to hold.”

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