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Finding Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly
Firefly’s early demise left fans with a deep sense of loss and plenty of unanswered questions. From what was wrong with the pilot to what was right with the Reavers, from the use of Chinese to how correspondence between Joss and network executives might have gone, from a philosopher’s perspective on “Objects in Space” to a sex therapist’s analysis of Inara, Finding Serenity is filled with writing as exciting, funny and enthralling as the show itself.
Contents:
• Introduction / Jane Espenson
• The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due / Larry Dixon
• The Heirs of Sawney Beane / Lawrence Watt-Evans
• Asian Objects in Space / Leigh Adams Wright
• The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly / Glenn Yeffeth
• Who Killed Firefly? / Ginjer Buchanan
• The Train Job Didn't Do the Job / Keith R.A. DeCandido
• Serenity and Bobby McGee / Mercedes Lackey
• Firefly vs. the Tick / Don DeBrandt
• We're All Just Floating in Space / Lyle Zynda
• More Than a Marriage of Convenience / Michelle Sagara West
• "Thanks for the re-enactment, sir." / Tanya Huff
• Whores and Goddesses / Joy Davidson
• The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, But It's the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar / Robert B. Taylor
• I Want Your Sex / Nancy Holder
• Just Shove Him in the Engine, or The Role of Chivalry in Joss Whedon's Firefly / John C. Wright
• Mirror/Mirror: A Parody / Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
• Star Truck / David Gerrold
• Chinese Words in the 'Verse / Kevin M. Sullivan
• Listening to Firefly / Jennifer Goltz
• Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite on Firefly / Jewel Staite
• Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese / Kevin M. Sullivan
Contents:
• Introduction / Jane Espenson
• The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due / Larry Dixon
• The Heirs of Sawney Beane / Lawrence Watt-Evans
• Asian Objects in Space / Leigh Adams Wright
• The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly / Glenn Yeffeth
• Who Killed Firefly? / Ginjer Buchanan
• The Train Job Didn't Do the Job / Keith R.A. DeCandido
• Serenity and Bobby McGee / Mercedes Lackey
• Firefly vs. the Tick / Don DeBrandt
• We're All Just Floating in Space / Lyle Zynda
• More Than a Marriage of Convenience / Michelle Sagara West
• "Thanks for the re-enactment, sir." / Tanya Huff
• Whores and Goddesses / Joy Davidson
• The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, But It's the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar / Robert B. Taylor
• I Want Your Sex / Nancy Holder
• Just Shove Him in the Engine, or The Role of Chivalry in Joss Whedon's Firefly / John C. Wright
• Mirror/Mirror: A Parody / Roxanne Longstreet Conrad
• Star Truck / David Gerrold
• Chinese Words in the 'Verse / Kevin M. Sullivan
• Listening to Firefly / Jennifer Goltz
• Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite on Firefly / Jewel Staite
• Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese / Kevin M. Sullivan
238 pages, Paperback
First published March 11, 2005
24 people are currently reading
2537 people want to read
About the author
Jane Espenson
61 books123 followersJane Espenson is an American television writer and producer who has worked on both situation comedies and serial dramas. She had a five-year stint as a writer and producer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and shared a Hugo Award for her writing on Conversations with Dead People. Between 2009-2010 she served on Caprica, as co-executive and executive producer for the series. In 2010 she wrote an episode of HBO's A Game of Thrones, and joined the writing staff for Series 4 of Torchwood, which will air on Starz in the US and the BBC in the UK in 2011. She will be co-writing the pilot episode for the US remake of Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews
June 22, 2025
One of the only books I've read that can convincingly compare Firefly and the cartoon "The Tick".
May 25, 2011
The Book Report: Twenty-one essays on Firefly and its underlying assumptions, pre-Serenity-the-movie, by a motley crew of writers, philosophers, actors, and bon vivants, edited by Whedonesque Goddess Jane Espenson, creatrix of the fine, fine episode "Shindig."
My Review: Unless you're already familiar with "Firefly," none of this will make one whit of sense. If you've drunk the Kool-Aid, it's a balm in this age to re-immerse yourself in the 'verse. So much richness and challenging freshness were lost when the series was amputated after 14 episodes! A wild-assed solar system, per Joss's insistence, with a zillion and seven terraformable planets and moons. A society made up of solely human inhabitants that still manages to feel alien as all hell and still contains people...oh dear, oh dear, I *meant* characters!...that I know, some well, some not well, some I'd cross the street to avoid. Just like my block. A crew of thieves and whores, plus one bona-fide Companion/geisha/hetaeara as a nod to respectability(!).
Essays treat all, well most, facets of this fascinating and deeply textured fictional reality, from deep philosophical musings that, frankly, I found impenetrably dull and in spite of four separate runs at it have never finished, to Jewel Staite (Kaylee!) musing on her top-five moments of joy making or watching or both each of the 14 episodes. Mercedes Lackey, a favorite author of mine some of the time and a keen observer of humanity all of the time, wrote an excellent meditation on the libertarian overtones of the series, whether that was her stated aim I know not. David Gerrold (he wrote "The Trouble with Tribbles" for ST:TOS, and if any part of that sentence doesn't scan for you, I can't help you) meditates elegantly, since he can't write any other way, on subtext and its many traps and rewards.
But no one takes on some of the cringe-inducing tech flubs, like the universally-accessible Cortex, "waves" that allow real-time conversation, and the explicit **lack** of relativity-bending FTL drives still allowing us to go from place to place in a reasonable facsimile of a blink! EEEUUU But well, what a geeky fan-boy am I, over in fan-fiction-land, I wrote stories treating these very subjects: This is indeed a system, just part of a system in a star cluster (Google it) that's held together by dark matter, which is what the gravity drives on space ships use to get to near-relativistic speeds so get from planet to planet in less than the months it'd take otherwise...wait, this isn't *my* essay in the book! It's a review!
*sigh*
Anyway, I turned to this essay collection because I miss with a starved passion the fixes of the 'verse that I've come to need like I need single-malt Scotch whisky. I truly, passionately, deeply love this vision of humanity's probable future, and wish that I could win one of those super-ultra-mega-big lottery jackpots. I'd put some of it, like Nathan Fillion said, to use buying "Firefly" back from the gorram Reavers at FOX and make as many more episodes as I could afford, netcasting them to my fellow Browncoats. A fine bunch, may I add. I chould know. They helped me get through the lowest ebb of my independent adult life, generously and without making a fuss about it.
But I can't recommend it to any and all comers. It truly is just for the initiates, so I can't rate it higher than I have here. For Browncoats, though, I give it full star marks! If you don't have it already, get it.
My Review: Unless you're already familiar with "Firefly," none of this will make one whit of sense. If you've drunk the Kool-Aid, it's a balm in this age to re-immerse yourself in the 'verse. So much richness and challenging freshness were lost when the series was amputated after 14 episodes! A wild-assed solar system, per Joss's insistence, with a zillion and seven terraformable planets and moons. A society made up of solely human inhabitants that still manages to feel alien as all hell and still contains people...oh dear, oh dear, I *meant* characters!...that I know, some well, some not well, some I'd cross the street to avoid. Just like my block. A crew of thieves and whores, plus one bona-fide Companion/geisha/hetaeara as a nod to respectability(!).
Essays treat all, well most, facets of this fascinating and deeply textured fictional reality, from deep philosophical musings that, frankly, I found impenetrably dull and in spite of four separate runs at it have never finished, to Jewel Staite (Kaylee!) musing on her top-five moments of joy making or watching or both each of the 14 episodes. Mercedes Lackey, a favorite author of mine some of the time and a keen observer of humanity all of the time, wrote an excellent meditation on the libertarian overtones of the series, whether that was her stated aim I know not. David Gerrold (he wrote "The Trouble with Tribbles" for ST:TOS, and if any part of that sentence doesn't scan for you, I can't help you) meditates elegantly, since he can't write any other way, on subtext and its many traps and rewards.
But no one takes on some of the cringe-inducing tech flubs, like the universally-accessible Cortex, "waves" that allow real-time conversation, and the explicit **lack** of relativity-bending FTL drives still allowing us to go from place to place in a reasonable facsimile of a blink! EEEUUU But well, what a geeky fan-boy am I, over in fan-fiction-land, I wrote stories treating these very subjects: This is indeed a system, just part of a system in a star cluster (Google it) that's held together by dark matter, which is what the gravity drives on space ships use to get to near-relativistic speeds so get from planet to planet in less than the months it'd take otherwise...wait, this isn't *my* essay in the book! It's a review!
*sigh*
Anyway, I turned to this essay collection because I miss with a starved passion the fixes of the 'verse that I've come to need like I need single-malt Scotch whisky. I truly, passionately, deeply love this vision of humanity's probable future, and wish that I could win one of those super-ultra-mega-big lottery jackpots. I'd put some of it, like Nathan Fillion said, to use buying "Firefly" back from the gorram Reavers at FOX and make as many more episodes as I could afford, netcasting them to my fellow Browncoats. A fine bunch, may I add. I chould know. They helped me get through the lowest ebb of my independent adult life, generously and without making a fuss about it.
But I can't recommend it to any and all comers. It truly is just for the initiates, so I can't rate it higher than I have here. For Browncoats, though, I give it full star marks! If you don't have it already, get it.
September 21, 2017
The essays in this book cover a wide variety of approaches, some thoughtful, some silly, and even some that are contentious.
This "something for everyone" approach is likely intentional, but I did wonder at the inclusion of a few of the essays, especially at one that even Jane Espenson (the editor) admitted made her angry.
While it is interesting to read different viewpoints, as a fan of the show, I found it frustrating to read the more critical essays. Not because they dared to criticize a Joss Whedon creation, but because I found myself wondering if the authors had really watched the same show I had watched.
I have no more insight into the 'verse than anyone else, but I can't help but feel that anyone who couldn't recognize the mature love portrayed in Zoe and Wash's marriage or see the strength in Firefly's female characters just didn't "get it".
That being said, the book was entertaining overall, with strong essays that explore topics such as Fox's mismanagement of the show, the strength of the characters, the attention to detail, and the Chinese influence in the 'verse.
My favorite essay by far was Lyle Zynda's "We're All Just Floating in Space", which takes a look at the existential philosophies behind one of my favorite episodes, "Objects in Space".
This "something for everyone" approach is likely intentional, but I did wonder at the inclusion of a few of the essays, especially at one that even Jane Espenson (the editor) admitted made her angry.
While it is interesting to read different viewpoints, as a fan of the show, I found it frustrating to read the more critical essays. Not because they dared to criticize a Joss Whedon creation, but because I found myself wondering if the authors had really watched the same show I had watched.
I have no more insight into the 'verse than anyone else, but I can't help but feel that anyone who couldn't recognize the mature love portrayed in Zoe and Wash's marriage or see the strength in Firefly's female characters just didn't "get it".
That being said, the book was entertaining overall, with strong essays that explore topics such as Fox's mismanagement of the show, the strength of the characters, the attention to detail, and the Chinese influence in the 'verse.
My favorite essay by far was Lyle Zynda's "We're All Just Floating in Space", which takes a look at the existential philosophies behind one of my favorite episodes, "Objects in Space".
June 11, 2007
Well, this was eclectic.
I have learned not to expect too much from these sorts of books, they are increasingly common and it seems that as they become so, the quality lowers. Some of the essays in this book were truly brilliant, like Mercedes Lackey's, or very interesting, the one on the Chinese languages, while others were entirely pointless attempts at humor. Also, most struck me as slightly unprofessional, intersperse with personal commentary or off-the-point jokes. Still, a good fun read.
I have learned not to expect too much from these sorts of books, they are increasingly common and it seems that as they become so, the quality lowers. Some of the essays in this book were truly brilliant, like Mercedes Lackey's, or very interesting, the one on the Chinese languages, while others were entirely pointless attempts at humor. Also, most struck me as slightly unprofessional, intersperse with personal commentary or off-the-point jokes. Still, a good fun read.
July 10, 2019
As a die hard browncoat, I can't get enough of Firefly. What's not to love about a book of essays about this greatest of shows? So I thoroughly enjoyed this book. That being said, it's a mixture. There are essays I loved and some that made me frustrated. A lot of the analyse is coming from liberal academia. Yet even when I disagreed with the premise or conclusions of some essays, it was neat to see other people's take of the show. Every author is a fan. And there are some unequivically great parts to this book too. Jewel Staite's essay is really just a gushing about 5 neat things she remembers about each episode. The book is worth it for this alone. Oh, and there's a translation of all the Chinese lines. Shiny.
June 6, 2023
A fascinating time capsule of the cult impact of Firefly in the year before Serenity came out. These folks give incredibly insightful analyses for many different aspects of the show, with some masterful understandings of the relationships between characters and the power of the female in this world, to name a couple.
What’s so interesting is the deifying of Joss Whedon throughout that is so shocking to view today when he has fallen so far from grace. Whedon was once seen as a feminist nerd icon, and today he is viewed far, far less favorably.
I found the essayists in this book to be thoughtful, insightful, eloquent, and entertaining. Great essays for fans of the series.
What’s so interesting is the deifying of Joss Whedon throughout that is so shocking to view today when he has fallen so far from grace. Whedon was once seen as a feminist nerd icon, and today he is viewed far, far less favorably.
I found the essayists in this book to be thoughtful, insightful, eloquent, and entertaining. Great essays for fans of the series.
July 7, 2018
Some of these essays were pretty good, I particularly liked the essay concerning subtext and colours within the Firefly Universe and the final essay written by Jewel Staite on her favourite memories of the show. Others were deeply philosophical and were only vaguely relevant.
January 26, 2014
A mixed bag. Kudos for the editor being brave enough to include criticism as well as praise, and it's one of the critical essays that I found most interesting (a very sensible commentary on the relative lack of Asian characters in what is essentially a well-constructed Asia-themed 'verse). It was great to read Jewel Staite's memories of the show and Jane Espenson's comments. The epistolary 'story' of how Firefly got cancelled was hilarious. However, some articles belong on personal blogs and not books (not even Tumblr). I don't mind gushing over a TV show (fangirling is, as we all know, very important, and I am a huge fan of Firefly), but it's just boring to read a completely unoriginal analysis of how strong the female characters are. Yes, they're great, but where is the analysis? Maybe I'm a bit too much of an academic toff to appreciate this kind of writing. I also don't understand the constant need to compare Firefly to other sci-fi series, especially those built on a completely different premise. It's an easy way to alienate Star Trek/Star Wars/BSG fans, and I only really liked the piece in which the author suggested that the low ratings of the original run of Firefly were mostly due to the fact that the audience's sci-fi tastes were in many ways shaped by shows like Trek, and that an admittedly strange mix of western and sci-fi may have not gone down well with everyone. I especially found the Firefly/Star Trek: Enterprise mashup unnecessary and unfunny (calling one of the female characters on Enterprise 'kinda not hot' is not, well, hot, it's just mean). Also, too many Buffy references all over the place, I've never watched the show - I'm not a Whedon freak, I'm a sci-fi freak. I would have also loved an analysis of the fandom and the Browncoat phenomenon. Overall, there are a few gems, a few good reads, and many misses, but I suppose sometimes it is a matter of taste. I'd say borrow the book, don't buy it.
June 13, 2017
This helps fill the void in your heart after you're finished with FIREFLY on DVD for the 10th time....REALLY great, insightful essays by people who care as much about the show/movie/Whedonverse as YOU do! WORTH IT if you are a Browncoat! --Jen from Quebec :0)
July 20, 2008
I obviously have a thing for canceled tv shows.
July 30, 2009
"You take people, you put them on a journey, you give them peril, you find out who they realy are. If there´s any kind of fiction better than that, I don't know what it is."
Joss Whedon
The book is made for Firefly fans, who'll love it. It discusses topics within the Firefly universe, everything from the relationships of characters to feminism to why it was cancelled.
Introduction
Jane Espenson
A good introduction from the editor and an interesting inside point-of-view for the show.
The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due
Larry Dixon
Dixon writtes about diffrent subjects surrounding Firefly, making it an excellent first essay. He focuses somewhat on the design and I learned new things reading this.
The Heirs of Sawney Beane
Lawrence Watt-Evans
Knowing what we all now know about the reavers from Serenity, this speculations about their origin loss some of it's greatness. It becomes more nostalgic for the days when the Firefly universe was wide open for speculation. It can also be noted that these speculations, false as they have been made, are good.
Asian Objects in Space
Leigh Adams Wright
This brings up an intersting issue about the Firefly universe, that for being a mix of US as Chine the Asian aspects are not equal. It's interseting that a tv show can give cause to such political debates.
The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly
Glenn Yeffeth
"This is a joke. FOX executives, to the best of my knowledge, take onlu legal pharmaceuticals, make love (gently) to only their spouses and make all their programming decisions based on thoughtful analysis and intelligen consideration. Okey?"
Funny, and a great outlet for all your cancellation anger.
Who Killed Firefly?
Ginjrer Buchanan
A question about what when wrong (a so many of us have theories about). This essay theorieses that the cowboy/sci-fi genre was an to unpolular mixture. It takes a tour through the history of both cowboy and sci-fi on television, and explains why these are two difficult genres to cross. Gene Roddenberry gets his blame, as well.
"The Train Job" Didn't Do the Job
Keith R.A. DeCandido
Another theory of what went wrong. This one theorises that the pilot "The Train Job" just wasn't good enough, not attracting viewers and making the numbers bad enough to cancell the show before all these people that now love it had a chance to discovere it.
Serenity and Bobby McGee
Mercedes Lackey
An essay about freedom. It freedom seen through politics, personal freedom, illusions of freedom, what is truly freedom. One of my absolute favorites in this book.
Firefly vs. The Tick
Don Debrandt
Simply for the fun of it. A comparison of the tv shows Firefly and The Tick, it contains bad guys, translationdifficulties, the style of dialog, facial hair, "giant prehistoric lizards", Santa, defiance of the status quo and in conclusion, they're both bugs. I laugh at the jokes, but it's all about the jokes and nothing else, and it's not doing all that much for me.
We're All Just Floating in Space
Lyle Zynda
The episode "Objects In Space" series creator Joss Whedon takes from his philosophical wonderings, or to be more exact, existentialism. The author has a PhD in philosophy, and here he explains some of the history of exenstialism and the theories. Difficult as this is to crasp for me, but it just makes me want to read it again to give it another try. So diffrent from the usual fangirl musings, but excellent for a book like this.
More Than a Marriage of Convenience
Michelle Sagara West
Yay Zoe and Walsh. An insight into their marriage, theories about what Whedon was trying to show and the difficulties with this breaking the mold of the concentional tv marriage. But it's also an interisting insight into the two characters and a fond rememberance of some great moments between them. It gives though about marriage and defends Zoe and Walsh's marriage to the pessimists.
"Thanks for the reebactment, sir"
Tanya Huff
Whores and Goddesses
Joy Davidson
The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, but it's the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar
Robert B. Taylor
I Want Your Sex
Nancy Holder
Just Shove Him in the Engine, or The Role of Chivalry in Joss Whedon's Firefly
John C. Wright
This essay pissed of Jane Espenson. Me too! It's wrong wrong wrong! It's amazing how wrong it is.
Mirror/Mirror: A Parody
Roxanne Logstret Conrad
Lighthearted, funny and trashes Star Trek. Excellent!
Star Truck
David Gerrold
It's about subtext and demonstration, scientific impossibilities and accepting them, backstories, exisentialism and questions about probabilities. Essentially everything that makes for an in-depth world.building, a believable world. It's good writting, but takes on so many different aspects that grabs my attention that the essay as a whole don't.
Chinese Words in the 'Verse
Kevin M. Sullivan
Translation of dialog, but the essay focuses mostly on all the diffrent languages that pop up in the show, spoken or written, its meaning, origin and theories of what it means to the show. It gives a diverse introduction to Chinese. It also explains all the ways it got mess up, without ever siming less than loving about it.
Listening to Firefly
Jennifer Goltz
I unfortunatly don't have a music mind, but reading this essay I wished I had. Never have I read music described like this before, makin it so alive. The soundtrack is brought forth as an extra dimension to the storytelling, and is very interesting. It makes me want to pay more attention to the soundtrack, like any good essay should do.
Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite on Firefly
Jewel Staite
So fun to hear from one of the actresses and behind the scene.
Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chines
Kevin M. Sullivan
Not so fun to read, but next time I watch my boxset I will have the book open to this chapter.
October 13, 2018
I've had this book for a very long time and have used the Chinese-to-English translations every time I watch Firefly, but I never actually read this book cover-to-cover. And that's too bad, because it's a great book!
It's an interesting read largely because it's in that in between world after the cancellation of Firefly but before any solid news about the movie Serenity. Thus there is a fair amount of speculation as to what a movie would be like, what direction certain characters should go, and so on, that firmly fits into the land of never-was and never-will-be. And there is a non-significant amount of Fox-bashing and real bitterness regarding the cancellation of Firefly, which, all these years later, has lessened in me somewhat (but not enough to not feel the old wounds opening up while reading these essays). There are reflections on the relatively shallow inclusion of Asian culture in the Firefly universe (Asian Objects in Space). There are hilarious essays imagining the correspondence between Fox executives and Joss, a thought experiment in which the crews of Serenity and the crew of the Enterprise (John Archer's crew) swapped places, and a very funny essay comparing Firefly to The Tick. There is also a touch essay claiming that claims that Firefly was doomed to fail because it's a Space-Western, and while it got the space part right, it did not get the Western part right. Specifically, none of the men are chivalrous ("Chivalry is a concept unpopular with delicate modern sensibilities...").
It's an interesting read largely because it's in that in between world after the cancellation of Firefly but before any solid news about the movie Serenity. Thus there is a fair amount of speculation as to what a movie would be like, what direction certain characters should go, and so on, that firmly fits into the land of never-was and never-will-be. And there is a non-significant amount of Fox-bashing and real bitterness regarding the cancellation of Firefly, which, all these years later, has lessened in me somewhat (but not enough to not feel the old wounds opening up while reading these essays). There are reflections on the relatively shallow inclusion of Asian culture in the Firefly universe (Asian Objects in Space). There are hilarious essays imagining the correspondence between Fox executives and Joss, a thought experiment in which the crews of Serenity and the crew of the Enterprise (John Archer's crew) swapped places, and a very funny essay comparing Firefly to The Tick. There is also a touch essay claiming that claims that Firefly was doomed to fail because it's a Space-Western, and while it got the space part right, it did not get the Western part right. Specifically, none of the men are chivalrous ("Chivalry is a concept unpopular with delicate modern sensibilities...").
December 28, 2023
I think I liked Found Serenity, the second volume of these Firefly essays (but the first I read out of them) a bit better. This book is definitely great for Firefly fans though. I like how they included essays that focused on each individual character. And Jewel Staite's recollection of Firefly behind the scenes moments for each episode was great. The glossary of Chinese phrases found in the show could probably have been found on a fansite out there somewhere though. I also kind of disliked how they included essays that were about Firefly and another show (kind of like a crossover, I suppose). One was about The Tick and the other was about Star Trek, but I'm not versed (no pun intended) in either of those shows enough to get much from those essays. And some of the essays brought some weird spins to the show or where written in doctoral thesis philosophical terms that the general reader would just get lost in. It was also a bit strange to see Joss Whedon praised so much, man I kinda miss the days when he wasn't completely cancelled, but what did we know back in the mid-2000s anyway? However, all in all, this book is about people coming together to discuss their love and views on a show we all loved (except for one essay that was written by someone who seemed to not love the show and I'm not sure why that one was included, but I digress...). Take my love, take my land, take me to a world where I can delve into specific aspects of fandom discussions until I'm satisfied. This book seems to do that, even if it makes some minor missteps.
July 6, 2017
very enjoyable read. loved the insight to characters , cast anecdotes and the explaining of the Chinese mandarin language use for swear words.
smirked in places as I closed my eyes and visualised certain scenes in my imagination.
smirked in places as I closed my eyes and visualised certain scenes in my imagination.
September 5, 2017
I enjoyed reading the opinion pieces included in this book. There were a variety of opinions expressed about subjects ranging from the premise of the show to femininity. I did not agree with all of the authors but found their arguments well thought out and worthy of consideration.
May 7, 2019
Good collection of essays about all aspects of Firefly. The characters, sets, history etc.
For those Firefly fans out there Nancy Holder & James Lovegrove have written some Firefly fiction novels.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
For those Firefly fans out there Nancy Holder & James Lovegrove have written some Firefly fiction novels.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
July 9, 2021
There were some very thoughtful essays in here, and there were also some not so great ones. The biggest issue I had was everyone praising Joss which, especially after what we now know, is hard to stomach.
July 9, 2017
Essays on Firefly. Unfortunately, there wasn't really enough Firefly, so these get kind of repetitive.
May 8, 2020
Shiny.
May 13, 2020
Great collection! Lots of variety.
April 22, 2021
5 STARS. Reminds me that I need to read critical essays more often. Really enjoyed this. Have to find and read the 2nd book
April 23, 2021
Interesting insights to the show plus some interesting assumptions proved wrong when the movie came out.
May 3, 2025
I miss this series… this bookd has some good and some not so good essays. I recommend the following essays listed by page number that the essay begins - 63, 97, 105, 131, 183 and 217
May 2, 2012
Like my partner, I think I was hoping for a little more from this. A great deal of time and space was spent rehashing plots, or railing against FOX. Neither was especially neccesary, or even particularly useful in the end; but I guess that may result from each author having no idea of what the others were writing. I would suggest that many SF shows get cancelled before their time, and that Firefly is in good company. Caprica is another example that springs to mind, and yet other shows will roll on season after lacklustre season. Very much a case of the best suffering from a lack of conviction (on the part of the sponsoring companies at least) and the worst being full of passionate fury. Or perhaps sound and fury... signifying pretty much what one would expect.
Of all of this collection of essays, the one discussing different responses to existential angst (and I know it's a cliche, but in this case I mean it and use it accurately and deliberately) demonstrated by two of the kookier characters in the show was the one that impressed me the most. I discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that I've been contemplating existential issues since since I was somewhere between 5 and 10, and never really been troubled greatly by them. Sartre's assertion that "existence preceeds essence" strikes me as a bit of a no-brainer, but then it gets fun to wonder if need preceeds existence, or is it exactly as evolutionary theory says and something pops into being which then fills a niche and gives the illusion that a need may have been there in the first place. I always liked Jubal Early the bounty-hunter and his philosophical meanderings while promising violence. He was a great character and departed sadly... early. Luckily River, while a bit more wispy much of the time, combined the two equally nicely on occasion. It's this essay that elevates the book to three stars for me.
Other ones that I enjoyed included a comparison of Firefly and The Tick, which deserved to get a chuckle out of anyone who's familiar with both; an essay on canabalism and barbarism, and how they may not be exactly easy to maintain as states of being; and an analysis of the themes, or leitmotifs, at work in the scoring of the show. This last one was, sadly, a bit too much of an exercise in "Oh look, that theme appeared at that point, in that episode" but did have the odd interesting thing to say about combinations underscoring particular emotional or conceptual conflicts. I wish the author had done more of that, or taken the analysis into some slightly more abstract places.
The remainder? A mildly startling amount of discussion on what L and I thought was largely obvious. I certainly wouldn't have expected so much to be written about Wash and Zoe's marriage, but I guess others thought the idea was new and shiny in an SF television series. I also wouldn't have described it as troubled. There was a modest amount on Mal, and Innara, but sadly little on one of my favourite characters: the enigmatic Book. Maybe he was just too hard. Or too unknown. And the stuff on Inara, was again, pretty obvious.
The surprisingly bad ones for me were an essay on Westerns and chivalry, and one on the struggle for political and social freedom and the suppresion thereof. The former just seemed to descend into rambling about relations and power and obligation between the sexes that I think only Jim Butcher or Robert Heinlein might be able to deal with without raising an eyebrow every so often. The latter also had Heinlein-esque moments, and surprised me a little coming from Mercedes Lackey. Not a topic or an approach I would have picked as coming from her, based on the books of hers that I've read. It struck me as standardly and boringly US-centric, assumed that everyone's idea of freedom must be the same, and preferably watered with the blood of martyrs on a fairly regular basis. The compare and contrast exercise between that and Lyle Zynda's existential analysis was one of the most interesting experiences I had while reading the book.
Jane Espenson's introductions to each essay were the last interesting thing of note for me. Not a huge amount of detail in any of the intro's, but enough to keep me curious about both her take on it all and the writing that followed. Which is pretty much what was needed to keep reasders moving thought it all, I guess.
Glad I found it at the library, but like a lot of panels at SF conventions that I've been too, I kept finding myself hoping for more. More insight. More elegantly explained but bizarre connections I wouldn't have thought of myself. More exegesis that brought in a thousand different wonders and parallels, rather than the repetitions of "'Out of Gas' was pretty cool."
Meh. Guess I'll have to write those myself.
Of all of this collection of essays, the one discussing different responses to existential angst (and I know it's a cliche, but in this case I mean it and use it accurately and deliberately) demonstrated by two of the kookier characters in the show was the one that impressed me the most. I discovered (or perhaps rediscovered) that I've been contemplating existential issues since since I was somewhere between 5 and 10, and never really been troubled greatly by them. Sartre's assertion that "existence preceeds essence" strikes me as a bit of a no-brainer, but then it gets fun to wonder if need preceeds existence, or is it exactly as evolutionary theory says and something pops into being which then fills a niche and gives the illusion that a need may have been there in the first place. I always liked Jubal Early the bounty-hunter and his philosophical meanderings while promising violence. He was a great character and departed sadly... early. Luckily River, while a bit more wispy much of the time, combined the two equally nicely on occasion. It's this essay that elevates the book to three stars for me.
Other ones that I enjoyed included a comparison of Firefly and The Tick, which deserved to get a chuckle out of anyone who's familiar with both; an essay on canabalism and barbarism, and how they may not be exactly easy to maintain as states of being; and an analysis of the themes, or leitmotifs, at work in the scoring of the show. This last one was, sadly, a bit too much of an exercise in "Oh look, that theme appeared at that point, in that episode" but did have the odd interesting thing to say about combinations underscoring particular emotional or conceptual conflicts. I wish the author had done more of that, or taken the analysis into some slightly more abstract places.
The remainder? A mildly startling amount of discussion on what L and I thought was largely obvious. I certainly wouldn't have expected so much to be written about Wash and Zoe's marriage, but I guess others thought the idea was new and shiny in an SF television series. I also wouldn't have described it as troubled. There was a modest amount on Mal, and Innara, but sadly little on one of my favourite characters: the enigmatic Book. Maybe he was just too hard. Or too unknown. And the stuff on Inara, was again, pretty obvious.
The surprisingly bad ones for me were an essay on Westerns and chivalry, and one on the struggle for political and social freedom and the suppresion thereof. The former just seemed to descend into rambling about relations and power and obligation between the sexes that I think only Jim Butcher or Robert Heinlein might be able to deal with without raising an eyebrow every so often. The latter also had Heinlein-esque moments, and surprised me a little coming from Mercedes Lackey. Not a topic or an approach I would have picked as coming from her, based on the books of hers that I've read. It struck me as standardly and boringly US-centric, assumed that everyone's idea of freedom must be the same, and preferably watered with the blood of martyrs on a fairly regular basis. The compare and contrast exercise between that and Lyle Zynda's existential analysis was one of the most interesting experiences I had while reading the book.
Jane Espenson's introductions to each essay were the last interesting thing of note for me. Not a huge amount of detail in any of the intro's, but enough to keep me curious about both her take on it all and the writing that followed. Which is pretty much what was needed to keep reasders moving thought it all, I guess.
Glad I found it at the library, but like a lot of panels at SF conventions that I've been too, I kept finding myself hoping for more. More insight. More elegantly explained but bizarre connections I wouldn't have thought of myself. More exegesis that brought in a thousand different wonders and parallels, rather than the repetitions of "'Out of Gas' was pretty cool."
Meh. Guess I'll have to write those myself.
October 6, 2014
I am such a damn nerd.
I adored this. Seriously. So many of the essays were brilliant and thought-provoking and brought my attention to something that I had completely missed.
A couple favorites: the essay on the use of music in the show is beautiful. The essay about the use of setting and staging was fascinating. Discussion of the origins and nature of Reavers was haunting, the essay about the missing half of the U.S.-Asia mash-up was extremely insightful, the essay detailing the Chinese phrases in the show is fabulous. The essay on the nature of freedom and the one on existentialism and Early v. River appealed mightily to the philosophy minor in me. There are two hilarious essays, one comparing firefly to the tick, one comparing it to star trek. There are three phenomenal essays about gender dynamics on the show, one about the women in general, one about Zoe, and one about Zoe and Wash's relationship (and how it was AWESOME). There is also a fabulous essay from Jewel Staite (KAYLEE!!!) where she goes over her favorite moments from each episode. Be still, my heart.
There are two essays I hated. I mean, clearly they were thought-provoking because I was angry about them for about two days and I just wanted to immediately find the authors and argue with them. One is about how the women are actually weak yes-women...because Zoe goes home to Wash at night, so clearly she is subservient to him (what?). And because Mal is the main character and he's a dude. And because people look out for Kaylee. And because it's a western. Seriously, I have no idea how she came to the conclusions she did. It's like we weren't watching the same show (and, for the record, I am very much a feminist. I just could not disagree more with her). The other awful essay was totally sexist whining about how all these strong women and all this political correctness is murdering chivalry somehow. Ok.
Despite two essays I hated, this book was fabulous. If you like Firefly, read it. If you think you don't like Firefly, read it and hopefully you will give it another shot.
You can't take the sky from me...
I adored this. Seriously. So many of the essays were brilliant and thought-provoking and brought my attention to something that I had completely missed.
A couple favorites: the essay on the use of music in the show is beautiful. The essay about the use of setting and staging was fascinating. Discussion of the origins and nature of Reavers was haunting, the essay about the missing half of the U.S.-Asia mash-up was extremely insightful, the essay detailing the Chinese phrases in the show is fabulous. The essay on the nature of freedom and the one on existentialism and Early v. River appealed mightily to the philosophy minor in me. There are two hilarious essays, one comparing firefly to the tick, one comparing it to star trek. There are three phenomenal essays about gender dynamics on the show, one about the women in general, one about Zoe, and one about Zoe and Wash's relationship (and how it was AWESOME). There is also a fabulous essay from Jewel Staite (KAYLEE!!!) where she goes over her favorite moments from each episode. Be still, my heart.
There are two essays I hated. I mean, clearly they were thought-provoking because I was angry about them for about two days and I just wanted to immediately find the authors and argue with them. One is about how the women are actually weak yes-women...because Zoe goes home to Wash at night, so clearly she is subservient to him (what?). And because Mal is the main character and he's a dude. And because people look out for Kaylee. And because it's a western. Seriously, I have no idea how she came to the conclusions she did. It's like we weren't watching the same show (and, for the record, I am very much a feminist. I just could not disagree more with her). The other awful essay was totally sexist whining about how all these strong women and all this political correctness is murdering chivalry somehow. Ok.
Despite two essays I hated, this book was fabulous. If you like Firefly, read it. If you think you don't like Firefly, read it and hopefully you will give it another shot.
You can't take the sky from me...
January 23, 2011
As a deep, deep fan of the short-lived but much beloved sci-fi western TV series, Firefly...I had been avidly seeking this book for some time. Any extra insight, extras and essays into the characters I love from a DVD collection I've already almost worn out in just a few months is appreciated. Especially so when it's sci-fi or fantasy writers whose works I like otherwise.
I'm not going to give a play-by-play on each chapter and topic, but I especially enjoyed the background ideas on the reavers and actually received inspiration to study ancient goddesses based on the observations and information provided by Joy Davison when she wrote about the role of Inara Serra.
Things I did not like at all? I've never watched one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, never having found it of interest. A number of writers seemed to spend more time talking about Buffy than they did Firefly and it's characters. I found this particularly annoying and unnecessary. Go write about Buffy in another book please. Well, they had, having written some of the novelizations of the episodes. It rather seemed they were showcasing what they knew of that show. I can appreciate some comparisons, but it didn't work for me.
Only one chapter/essay did I not like in the slightest, as it's a pet peeve of mine regarding reviews and reviewers. I don't mind if someone says they don't like a piece of writing and give a long, thorough list of why. I don't mind if someone suggests a story could have been written another way to be more effective. Yet when someone says a story SHOULD have been written another way, that's where I draw the line. Nancy Holder chose to do so in her essay. Even if I didn't agree with her assessment at all (and I actually disagreed with some other writers in their essays yet they were objective), that aspect of her "opinion" I felt was unwarranted. It is the writer's choice to create a world and characters how they see fit. If you don't like it, watch something else or create a "fanfic" to your liking. Don't tell them they are wrong. It's their world.
I'm not going to give a play-by-play on each chapter and topic, but I especially enjoyed the background ideas on the reavers and actually received inspiration to study ancient goddesses based on the observations and information provided by Joy Davison when she wrote about the role of Inara Serra.
Things I did not like at all? I've never watched one episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, never having found it of interest. A number of writers seemed to spend more time talking about Buffy than they did Firefly and it's characters. I found this particularly annoying and unnecessary. Go write about Buffy in another book please. Well, they had, having written some of the novelizations of the episodes. It rather seemed they were showcasing what they knew of that show. I can appreciate some comparisons, but it didn't work for me.
Only one chapter/essay did I not like in the slightest, as it's a pet peeve of mine regarding reviews and reviewers. I don't mind if someone says they don't like a piece of writing and give a long, thorough list of why. I don't mind if someone suggests a story could have been written another way to be more effective. Yet when someone says a story SHOULD have been written another way, that's where I draw the line. Nancy Holder chose to do so in her essay. Even if I didn't agree with her assessment at all (and I actually disagreed with some other writers in their essays yet they were objective), that aspect of her "opinion" I felt was unwarranted. It is the writer's choice to create a world and characters how they see fit. If you don't like it, watch something else or create a "fanfic" to your liking. Don't tell them they are wrong. It's their world.
May 5, 2011
Firefly, the cowboys-in-space TV show that was cancelled before it could find its feet, has become a cult favorite among fans of science fiction on television. The series was followed up with a movie that tied up a few loose ends left by the show's cancellation, but ultimately, there's a feeling of what-might-have-been that surrounds the show (see Nathan "Captain Malcolm Reynolds" Fillion's recent much-hyped online comments about how he'd buy the rights and restart the show if he ever won the lottery).
I enjoyed the show very much - when I saw it later on DVD. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a volume of criticism about the show in our library system. The essays in Finding Serenity were, for the most part, good, although there were a few too many about gender and the female characters - those essays began to feel a little repetitive. I enjoyed the two essays about Asian culture and Chinese language as they appear on the show. The insights into the way the network treated the show (airing episodes out of order, using a completely different episode to start the show instead of the original pilot, sticking the show in the Friday night "death slot," and the list goes on) were very interesting, and it's not surprising that the show got the ax - it didn't really get a chance to shine. Two essays really stood out: Jewel "Kaylee" Staite's piece listing her recollections of being in the show, and John C. Wright's piece on chivalry, which asks how the concept of chivalry (a foundational piece in westerns, but almost always out of place in sci-fi)could possibly work in a hybrid show like Firefly. These two pieces give a great behind-the-scenes glimpse of the show and made me think about how the characters interact with each other in a way I hadn't considered before.
Overall, Firefly is a detailed and layered piece of television art, and hopefully future audiences will enjoy the show as much as I have. Now, I think I'll go watch "Out of Gas" again...
I enjoyed the show very much - when I saw it later on DVD. So I was pleasantly surprised to find a volume of criticism about the show in our library system. The essays in Finding Serenity were, for the most part, good, although there were a few too many about gender and the female characters - those essays began to feel a little repetitive. I enjoyed the two essays about Asian culture and Chinese language as they appear on the show. The insights into the way the network treated the show (airing episodes out of order, using a completely different episode to start the show instead of the original pilot, sticking the show in the Friday night "death slot," and the list goes on) were very interesting, and it's not surprising that the show got the ax - it didn't really get a chance to shine. Two essays really stood out: Jewel "Kaylee" Staite's piece listing her recollections of being in the show, and John C. Wright's piece on chivalry, which asks how the concept of chivalry (a foundational piece in westerns, but almost always out of place in sci-fi)could possibly work in a hybrid show like Firefly. These two pieces give a great behind-the-scenes glimpse of the show and made me think about how the characters interact with each other in a way I hadn't considered before.
Overall, Firefly is a detailed and layered piece of television art, and hopefully future audiences will enjoy the show as much as I have. Now, I think I'll go watch "Out of Gas" again...
April 5, 2020
2018.07.27–2018.07.29
Contents
Espenson J (ed.) (2005) (07:59) Finding Serenity - Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly
Introduction :: Jane Espenson
01. The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due :: Larry Dixon
02. The Heirs of Sawney Beane :: Lawrence Watt-Evans
03. Asian in Space :: Leigh Adams Wright
04. The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly :: Glenn Yeffeth
05. Who Killed Firefly? :: Ginjer Buchanan
06. “The Train Job” Didn’t Do the Job: Poor Opening Contributed to Firefly’s Doom :: Keith R.A. DeCandido
07. Serenity and Bobby McGee: Freedom and the Illusion of Freedom in Joss Whedon’s Firefly :: Mercedes Lackey
08. Firefly vs. The Tick :: Don Debrandt
09. We’re All Just Floating in Space :: Lyle Zynda
10. More Than a Marriage of Convenience :: Michelle Sagara West
11. “Thanks for the reenactment, sir.” Zoe: Updating the Woman Warrior :: Tanya Huff
12. Whores and Goddesses: The Archetypal Domain of Inara Serra :: Joy Davidson
13. The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, but It’s the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar :: Robert B. Taylor
14. I Want Your Sex: Gender and Power in Joss Whedon’s Dystopian Future World :: Nancy Holder
15. Just Shove Him in the Engine, or The Role of Chivalry in Joss Whedon’s Firefly :: John C. Wright
16. Mirror/Mirror: A Parody :: Roxanne Logstreet Conrad
17. Star Truck :: David Gerrold
18. Chinese Words in the Verse :: Kevin M. Sullivan
19. Listening to Firefly :: Jennifer Goltz
20. Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite on Firefly :: Jewel Staite
21. Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese :: Kevin M. Sullivan
Contents
Espenson J (ed.) (2005) (07:59) Finding Serenity - Anti-heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's Firefly
Introduction :: Jane Espenson
01. The Reward, the Details, the Devils, the Due :: Larry Dixon
02. The Heirs of Sawney Beane :: Lawrence Watt-Evans
03. Asian in Space :: Leigh Adams Wright
04. The Rise and Fall (and Rise) of Firefly :: Glenn Yeffeth
05. Who Killed Firefly? :: Ginjer Buchanan
06. “The Train Job” Didn’t Do the Job: Poor Opening Contributed to Firefly’s Doom :: Keith R.A. DeCandido
07. Serenity and Bobby McGee: Freedom and the Illusion of Freedom in Joss Whedon’s Firefly :: Mercedes Lackey
08. Firefly vs. The Tick :: Don Debrandt
09. We’re All Just Floating in Space :: Lyle Zynda
10. More Than a Marriage of Convenience :: Michelle Sagara West
11. “Thanks for the reenactment, sir.” Zoe: Updating the Woman Warrior :: Tanya Huff
12. Whores and Goddesses: The Archetypal Domain of Inara Serra :: Joy Davidson
13. The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, but It’s the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar :: Robert B. Taylor
14. I Want Your Sex: Gender and Power in Joss Whedon’s Dystopian Future World :: Nancy Holder
15. Just Shove Him in the Engine, or The Role of Chivalry in Joss Whedon’s Firefly :: John C. Wright
16. Mirror/Mirror: A Parody :: Roxanne Logstreet Conrad
17. Star Truck :: David Gerrold
18. Chinese Words in the Verse :: Kevin M. Sullivan
19. Listening to Firefly :: Jennifer Goltz
20. Kaylee Speaks: Jewel Staite on Firefly :: Jewel Staite
21. Unofficial Glossary of Firefly Chinese :: Kevin M. Sullivan
May 3, 2012
One of the things about punk rock that I like the best is the general belief that being "fans" isn't enough, or even the antithesis of how one should be punk (or live in the world). Beyond just DIY, the anti-fan ideology tells us we are participants. Given this background, I refuse to let people call my zine a "fanzine" or to reduce myself to a punk rock "fan" as so many columnists for the big punk mags seem to wind up as.
I am a fan, however, of Firefly, probably the best TV show ever created. I know, you may think that isn't saying much, but it was really good story telling--and that is what I care about the most, regardless of format. At any rate, I can't get enough, so I actually read this fan essay collection.
Some cover philosophies on the show, ideas about freedom, the lack of identifiable people of Asian descent though supposedly the future was an amalgamation of the U.S. and China, and more. So, they aren't all fawning, and it was surprising to see how people viewed the stories and characters--in two instances at least, different authors viewed characters completely opposite from each other.
The only reason to get this, however--because it isn't really worth reading unless you are obsessed with the show--is for the essay where the author juxtaposes Star Trek Enterprise with Firefly and for the fictional letters sent from a Fox executive to show creator Joss Whedon. Those are gold.
I am a fan, however, of Firefly, probably the best TV show ever created. I know, you may think that isn't saying much, but it was really good story telling--and that is what I care about the most, regardless of format. At any rate, I can't get enough, so I actually read this fan essay collection.
Some cover philosophies on the show, ideas about freedom, the lack of identifiable people of Asian descent though supposedly the future was an amalgamation of the U.S. and China, and more. So, they aren't all fawning, and it was surprising to see how people viewed the stories and characters--in two instances at least, different authors viewed characters completely opposite from each other.
The only reason to get this, however--because it isn't really worth reading unless you are obsessed with the show--is for the essay where the author juxtaposes Star Trek Enterprise with Firefly and for the fictional letters sent from a Fox executive to show creator Joss Whedon. Those are gold.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 123 reviews