Being a lover of cult films means that you tend to watch the same movies several times. I have movies that I watch for certain parts of the year and under certain conditions. There are movies I like to watch during storms, and movies I like to watch on summer days. It’s not the same as a record album, but it has a similar feel. To love the film is to love the adventure it takes you on.

How entertainment is changing has been an ongoing discussion for some time now. It’s obviously changing but in what direction it’s going to go I’m not certain. The one thing I am certain of is that this is the era of television series. Some of the best stuff I’ve seen on TV over the past 10 years has been a series. This is exactly what we’re going to talk about today. I know it’s been discussed over and over again, but the show Firefly is really good!

Firefly is a 2002 science fiction TV series with the central premise of a space adventure with a band of lovable misfits. It only ran for one season before it was unceremoniously canceled, which caused a fan uprising. The uprising was so successful that it generated a theatrical release (Serenity).

This revolt must’ve made somebody angry, because out of spite they killed one of the main characters. One of the nicer characters too, I like to add.

At almost 25 years old now, it would be understandable if you haven’t seen this show. The best way to describe it is that it is a space western. Whatever planet they land on tends to be some backwoods rural area probably filmed about 30 miles from Hollywood.

I was okay with that because the location didn’t really matter. This was a character driven series from the pilot on. The casting was not exceptional, yet it totally worked. They relied on pre-existing memes for characters (the handsome captain, the loyal lieutenant, the gung-ho ready thug), although I don’t think it really harmed the overall production. The nature of the series is that it was put together by bits and pieces, castoffs from the dumpster of other failed TV series. That’s a joke though, because it totally worked.

The series is episodic with 14 entries plus the movie, which itself feels like an extended episode. The beauty is you can start anywhere, pick any episode, and you get the general idea of what the show is about. This is actually rare. Watch the first couple episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation (especially if you’re familiar with it) and you’ll see some awkward character development. In fact, I would say Star Trek didn’t really get its sea legs till about the third season. You could say the same with a lot of other shows.

So why am I writing about Firefly? I’ve been writing for this site now for a couple of years, and I am always looking for that movie or show that pulls me in. I suppose I’m looking for entertainment, although I find it more meditative than that. I always have something playing on my TV screen, even though for the most part I just listen to music. It’s actually pretty rare that I sit down and watch a movie, which is why I try to pick them with such deliberate intent.

Firefly and Serenity seems like one of those periods in time where people were so starved for originality and creativity that they actually got mad when it was denied to them. It seems like this disappointment is quite common today. It doesn’t matter if you’re watching a theatrical movie, a TV show, web series what have you, it is almost always something that lets you down. I personally call it “Hollywood Disease.”

I think whoever is making whatever it is they’re making wants to sell it to as many people as possible. In order to do this, they tend to water it down and add in ideas that don’t really belong. The end product is something bland. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge proponent of creativity. If you and your buddies want to take five dollars, a case of beer, and a camera into the desert to make a movie, I will support you until the end of time. Creativity in any of its forms is awesome. It’s why we hang our kid’s art on the refrigerator. We love that they were creative and are proud of them. I’m just as proud of any group who attempts to make something new. Studios take that creativity and they corrupted it. There’s nothing wrong with making money, however there is something wrong with damaging creativity.

Firefly was a TV show and had the constraints of being on network TV. They couldn’t show nudity, extreme violence, extreme drug use, and so on. The show was more about the characters, so I doubt it would’ve benefited from any of those attributes, although I am curious as to what an unrestrained writer could’ve produced.

I would say look around, many of the streaming services have wonderful creative series that they have let off the leash. This year alone: Fallout, Murderbot, and Pluribus are wonderful examples of what’s possible. It’s really a gift to the writer if you think about it. Instead of having 90 minutes to do a story and character development, they now have 10 hours. The opportunity this gives the writer and the actors to explore an idea is nothing short of fertile ground.

My most recent viewing of Firefly and Serenity felt like an old album that you put on, fall into the couch, and lose yourself. My copy of Firefly is on the same server as Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon (1973). If you get that then you’re probably getting up there in years and more of a geek than you’d like to admit.

To be fair, Firefly is a pretty low production effort. It’s really not too many notches above the original Doctor Who in overall quality. I actually didn’t watch it that first year. The sheer outrage over it being taken off was enough to get me interested.

My love of B-movies though propels me ultimately to find the gems that I missed. That is the true nature of this site. We’re sharing movies that we think are worth your time. And I feel proud to be part of that. Love of cult films doesn’t struggle with the distinction between high art and low art. It just doesn’t care, we love what we love.