Investigating Firefly and Serenity: Science Fiction on the Frontier

by Rhonda V. Wilcox, Tanya R. Cochran

Joss Whedon's Firefly is one of the most popular TV shows ever. Serenity was the wildly successful follow-up to the series. Here is a definitive guide to the series and the movie, offering an in-depth and comprehensive look at the TV phenomenon kept alive by the fans.

The brain child of Joss Whedon--of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel fame--Firefly ran for twelve hour-long episodes before being cancelled by the network. But this premature burial had a remarkable outcome: resurrection. The fans--self-named Browncoats--kept multiplying, the DVDs kept selling and the show forged a new life on the internet, sustained by blogs, fan-fics and podcasts. Films, meetings and conferences ensured their numbers increased, as did the release of the major Firefly motion picture Serenity.   

From detailed chapters on scenes and themes, through to explorations of the characters, actors, music, and, of course, the fans, Investigating Firefly and Serenity tells readers everything they need to know about the show and more. With contributions from over twenty of the best international Whedon scholars, TV & film critics, and writers, it will become the must-have book for followers of the series/film, for fans of Joss Whedon and his work, and anyone with an interest in the modern phenomenon of cult TV and the remarkable power of the internet.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Film, Unfinished

290 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2008

About the author

Dr. Rhonda V. Wilcox is a Professor of English at Gordon State College in Barnesville, Georgia.

Reviews

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I read this as the e-book version that was available through my workplace databases, so I only read it while I was at work, and generally only when I did not have another physical book with me to read. To that end, you'll see it took me over a year to finish it and for that reason I don't quite remember how the first chapters of the book were. As with any set of essays on differing topics by different authors, some are better than others. The whole religion section, for one, was a little over my head since I am in no way a religious scholar. I also feel that I recall disagreeing with one of the chapters that focused on Inara, probably in the Gender section, but upon trying to skim to find the passage again I couldn't quickly find it. But overall, I found it delightful! It was great to read in depth interpretations of a show (and movie!) that I love so much.

[Margaret Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been cherry picking this book, but the chapters I've read are very helpful to my academic work and also entertaining for me to read as a "Browncoat." In particular, I enjoyed Chapter 4 "The threat of the 'Good Wife': Feminism, Postfeminism, and Third-Wave Feminism in Firefly" by Laura L. Beading, Chapter 7's discussion of the Dystopia genre, and Tanya Cochran's Chapter (19) about fan culture. If you're interested in feminism, speculative fiction, and fan culture as applied to Joss Whedon's work, check it out.

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the essays were better than others, but other things came up and I'm just not going to get around to reading all of them. Of the essays that I did read, I didn't run across anything that I terribly disagreed with. It just didn't blow me away.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Firefly & Serenity. And I want to support them in all ways. Including ordering this book for the library. But....I'm not interested in actually reading it, it turns out. Loved the intro and then my attention span hit the wall.

[kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

While many of the essays were interesting, I would have been more intrigued by some not-so-complimentary arguments. Some negative aspects of the show were brought up--lack of Asian representation in an "Anglo-Sino fused future culture", for example--and then dismissed or hand-waved away.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nice collection of essays on the series.

[William Herbst · Rating 2 out of 5]

A decent collection of essays for browncoats. I prefer the Benbella smart pop essay collections on these shows.

[Brandon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book of essays about Firefly and Serenity just didn't do it for me.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In truth, I only recommend this to people who have watched Firefly and Serenity. But I recommend that everyone watch Firefly and Serenity. So inadvertently I recommend this to everyone.