Firefly: Still Flying, A Celebration of Joss Whedon’s Acclaimed TV Series

by Joss Whedon

NEW STORIES. UNSEEN PHOTOS. SHINY.

“We have done the impossible, and that makes us mighty.”

Since its short-lived appearance on TV in 2002, Joss Whedon’s Firefly has indeed done the impossible. It’s sold over a half a million copies on DVD, spawned the hit movie Serenity, and most remarkably, inspired a loyal fan following — the Browncoats — whose numbers are still growing to this day.

Still Flying is a brand new celebration of all aspects of the show, featuring a wealth of rare and previously unpublished images — including storyboards, production design art and candid behind the scenes photos — memories from the cast and crew, a tribute to the Browncoats, and, as a special bonus:

EXCLUSIVE NEW FIREFLY FICTION BY WRITERS OF THE ORIGINAL TV EPISODES

FUN WITH DICK AND JAYNE written and drawn by Ben Edlund

WHAT HOLDS US DOWN by Jane Espenson

CRYSTAL by Brett Matthews

TAKE THE SKY by Jose Molina

Genres: Nonfiction, Tv, Anthologies, Reference, Media Tie In, Art, Space Opera

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Joss Whedon (born Joseph Hill Whedon) is an American screenwriter, executive producer, film and television director, comic book writer, occasional composer, and actor, and the founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures.

He is best known as the creator and showrunner of the television series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)', 'Angel (1999–2004)', 'Firefly (2002)' and its film follow-up 'Serenity (2005)', and 'Dollhouse (2009–2010)', as well as the web-series' 'Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (2008)'. Whedon co-wrote and produced the horror film 'The Cabin in the Woods (2012)', and wrote and directed the film adaptation of Marvel's 'The Avengers (2012)', the third highest-grossing film of all time.

Many of Whedon's projects have cult status and his work is notable for portraying strong female characters and a belief in equality.

credit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_Whedon

Reviews

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firefly: Still Flying: A Celebration of Joss Whedon's Acclaimed TV Series by Joss Whedon is catnip for all Firefly addicts. I don't know why they took off such a wonderful show but it is my favorite and always has been. This book goes behind the scenes and tells more for all us crazy fans that want that little extra. Great photos, info, bits about the props, places, people, characters, and more. I occasionally still binge watch the whole series when I am missing it... Awesome book to go with that awesome series.

[Arie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This almost makes up for all the heartbreak. (Almost)

[Nightstar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really fun behind-the-scenes read into the making of Firefly and Serenity :) It was great hearing from not only the actors, but those who worked on various aspects of the show (writing, costume design, set building, etc.) about their experiences, and what a joy it was to work with such amazing people on such a ground-breaking show!

The majority of anecdotes from the cast are compiled from various interviews they gave over the years, and while it would have been nice to have more in-depth interviews with them, I still got a pretty good sense of how they felt about the show and working with each other. It really gives you a sense of just how important it was to a lot of people :) And, as someone who was watching Angel and Buffy while reading this, it was fun reading about how much cross-over there was in regard to the people working on these shows. Many of the crew were writers or stand-ins or did SFX on one or both shows, and I loved hearing about how excited they were to work on a completely different type of show from Whedon's other works.

One of my favorites parts of the book was hearing about the amazing community that sprung up around Firefly. Not only have they been keeping love for the show alive all these years, but they were far more involved in the conventions and merchandizing than I expected, and it was surprising to hear just how much existed solely because of these people who were dedicated to this little short-lived show!

Overall, this was a fun little read that gave me great insight into the making of Firefly and Serenity, and made me want to watch the show all over again :D

[Lolly's Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiny! What else can one say about a book devoted to even more trivia and behind-the-scenes info revolving around a show which has carved a permanent niche into the hearts of many, myself included. Besides the wealth of new photos and interviews, there are also four new pieces of fiction by Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, Brett Matthews, and Jose Molina. For fans of Firefly and the follow-up movie Serenity, the book is a welcome addition to the oeuvre, allowing us to live vicariously through the memories contained within its pages. For everyone else, it's probably a book which causes them to scratch their heads in confusion and wonder how anyone can continue to stretch out a cancelled t.v. show and less-than-stellar-performer-at-the-box-office movie into yet another book. But us Browncoats pay no nevermind to those folks because we all know no power in the 'verse can stop us.

[Ben Stoutenburgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mostly previously published information and quotes but some good stories and behind the scenes details.

[Tara Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of fun. Pictures from the show, interviews with the actors, talk about how weapons or ships were designed. There were 2 or 3 short stories in here, which were my favorite parts. Worth looking at if you're a fan of the show.

[Eric Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a book for the superfan of "Firefly" and "Serenity". It fills in some gaps not developed in the TV series and film, plus contains (most importantly), three short stories (and a comic) that are considered canon for the franchise as they were written by four of the TV episode writers.

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So great to get a behind the scenes look at the show, a deep-dive into the fan base, and some bonus stories! Lots of details, interview segments, and graphics are included in this book. It’s a wonderful exploration of the ‘verse and all that’s gone into it.

[Dennis Lynch · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant read - many pictures, short interviews and a few short stories.

[John Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fine. It's more of a coffee table book than anything else. The three short stories are kind of nice. Most of the photos were gorgeous.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun collection of recollections, behind-the-scenes photos, and original stories

[Carri Carey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful inside look at one of my favorite shows every. Artwork and photos are gorgeous.

[James F · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was hoping for even more fiction that what was included, but still an enjoyable book

[Zelda of Lothlórien + Hyrule · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Firefly!!!

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this for the new fiction and was a little disappointed that there were only three stories and a Young Jayne beginning reader spread by Ben Edlund. However the stories are good (and poignant), if brief.

WHAT HOLDS US DOWN by Jane Espenson
is the best of the lot, featuring Wash and Kaylee doing what they do best.

CRYSTAL by Brett Matthews
focuses on River Tam and her connection to the crew.

TAKE THE SKY by Jose Molina
shows us Mal at 70.

Between the stories are cast interviews, articles on props (Wash's dinosaurs! Shepherd Book's Book!), details on the writing process, ship design, world-building and more -- including highlighting work done by the fan community and fan films -- making this a must read for Browncoats.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some interesting tidbits and anecdotes in this roundup of Firefly pieces. Most of the content from actors is cribbed from other places -- quotes from cons and web interviews and the like. Some good quotes, sure, but mostly recycled info.

The best bits are those you can't get from other places. A look at how all of the various ships were made. Stunts were done. Costumes and props were created. Some legit universe fiction from former script writers (including a tale of Mal at 70+ that just made me sad). Gorgeous photos and sketches.

A worthy add to the growing collection.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

For fans of the cult classic and gone-too-soon television show. Gorgeous book created by people who clearly love the material, this book is bittersweet, and sort of feels like an "odds and sods" compilation, like there's nothing left now. Which, honestly, it's amazing they scraped enough material for this, the third such companion to a series that had only 14 episodes and has thrived on DVD more than on the air. I also bought this book for the new fiction, especially Jane Espenson's story, which was cool. All the fiction was too short, though. Let's get some full length novels!

[Deirdre · Rating 4 out of 5]

At first glance this is a rather cool book with a lot of details, and there are a few short stories that appear to be original, but much of the material is speculative - "apparently made from bashed model kit parts" (p 30) is a typical part of an overview of some of the props - and the interviews are collected portions of interviews from several sources, notably conventions and magazine interviews, so while I enjoyed it, it's not going to be added to my collection, it felt like a website that had been made into a book.

Still, this browncoat enjoyed it

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A shiny collection of pictures, stories from the set (like Fillion's infamous stuffed monkey prank), interview tidbits, convention appearances, and four brand new stories from Jane Espenson, Jose Molina, Brett Matthews, and a two page illustrated story by Ben Edlund. The book is put together beautifully with glossy pages and a loving hand, but it made me sad about Firefly all over again, gorramit.

(Just goes to show that when you really love something, you never get over losing it.)

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I won this book at Charlotte, NC's Can't Stop The Serenity event!

As I am a Browncoat, I loved this book. I thought it was really shiny how this book was laid out. I enjoyed reading the quotes from the actors on their characters, along with all the extra information about parts of the show.

The 3 new stories were really good too, though the last one was really sad.

All in all, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of 'Firefly' and 'Serenity'!

[Kylara Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a super-cute, fun nostalgic book. It's full of beautiful pictures and tidbits of interviews and little factoids.

It just made me really want to rewatch Firefly and reminded me how much I love that show.

There were also a few new works of fiction- little stories from the writers of the show. Those were awesome.

Overall I loved this cute little book and wouldn't mind owning a copy of it myself.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this for the short stories, which are pretty good, but they probably only comprise 1/20 of the book. Most of it is interviews with people who worked on the show, articles about props and locations, etc., which is also interesting, but not really what I was hoping for. Still, it was fun to revisit the show again and remember why it was so good. :-)

[C.O. Bonham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shiny! Literally be careful where you read this the glare off the glossy pages can blind you.
But seriously this book is an exciting behind the scenes look into one of the best TV shows ever.

I would talk more about it but if you are a fan of Firefly then you already know you want it and if you are not a fan of Firefly you just wouldn't get it.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've become obsessed with all things Firefly, and this book does not disappoint. The diagrams of the ships are cool, but would have loved to have better pictures of Inara's gorgeous wardrobe. More original stories should have been included. The book is from the library, and some pages are falling out.

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like most Firefly/Serenity content, I read this in high school shortly after devouring the short lived show and theatrical spin-off. Some cool behind the scene material but the real draw is the 4 short stories written by the show writers. Not sure if their canon status was ever established but all are enjoyable to Browncoats in withdrawal.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The new original stories were interesting, but I must admit I wasn't fond of the last one. It made me sad. Anyway, the other pages are a treasure of information and beautiful pictures. I love the interviews with cast and crew, as well. Definitely worth owning for any Firefly fan.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some good stuff in here, fair amount of interesting behind-the-scenes stuff, plus some new stories that aren't half-bad. Slightly disappointed that the cast quotes mostly were old interviews but that's to be expected. Inclusion of Browncoats: Redemption has me a bit more interested in that though.

[Malia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firefly has been my fave show for years but this book doesn't compare to the Firefly Official Companion. It's got nice photos and some funny quotes and interesting facts on costume and sets but I wouldn't recommend it over the Official Visual Companions.

[Schnaucl · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some great behind the scenes tidbits. The fic was well written but also very depressing. It's interesting to think about the consequences for being the person to reveal the truth behind the Reavers.

[Jacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book of firefly trivia, nicely produced with excellent illustrations and the added advantage of four new pieces of short fiction by Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, Brett Matthews, and Jose Molina. It's for fans, but that's OK. Shiny, in fact.