That's what I liked, too. My problems were that we were supposed to sympathize with states-rights Confederates (which is ambivalent at best and downright noxious at worst), accept that everyone curses in Chinese but never speak any other Chinese words, despite the fact that no Asian people ever appeared on the show, and deal with Mal's unfailing moral sense. I mean, I love moral struggle, but would prefer the guy with the shades of grey to be wrong occasionally and less in the thrall of his heart of gold. These problems were more major when the show was running, though. In retrospect, it was a B+ kinda show, which is heads and tails above the C- dreck TV usually serves up.
You always think harder is better. Maybe next time I patrol, I should carry bricks and use a stake made out of butter.
Buffy ,'The Killer In Me'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Hayden - Feb 12, 2007 8:05:50 am PST #7451 of 10001
aka "The artist formerly known as Corwood Industries."
Strega - Feb 12, 2007 8:13:10 am PST #7452 of 10001
My problems with Firefly didn't have anything to do with the genre-play, but with some of the very strange choices they made in creating that universe.
It seemed to me that Firefly had the surface trappings of the genre but no actual understanding of What Makes Something A Western. Which is one of the things about it that pissed me off.
The "very strange choices" thing didn't help, either.
§ ita § - Feb 12, 2007 8:17:53 am PST #7453 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Or else there would be dispossessed natives on all those planets the crew keeps visiting.
That's what makes the Indians Indian? Dispossessed is a required characteristic? Do you see this as true in the typical Westerns with Native Americans as bad guys?
Nutty - Feb 12, 2007 8:40:16 am PST #7454 of 10001
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
Bullitt's biggest accomplishment was a car chase that went on for app. 32 hours (at least that's the way it was in my memory).
I was reading up on pony cars last week, and ran across a discussion somewhere about how truly sucky the brakes were on most models of that era. Not just not anti-lock, but truly mushy, and when the whole thing is a gigantic steel tank, and powered with a bitchin' engine, and there is no power steering, you need some damn fine brakes so as not to die horribly. So, it makes that chase kind of funny, in my head.
Dispossessed is a required characteristic?
It's part of the story, even in stories where the Injuns are villains. "They're not USING the land. They don't DESERVE the land. Push them westward -- there's always more room!" The point is, cowboys arrive in an empty land and realize it's not actually empty, often in violent ways. Fireflyans arrive in an empty land and it is literally devoid of human life. (Possibly all life.)
§ ita § - Feb 12, 2007 8:41:52 am PST #7455 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
It's part of the story, even in stories where the Injuns are villains. "They're not USING the land. They don't DESERVE the land. Push them westward -- there's always more room!"
I disagree, but sadly I'm terrible with film names so I can't back it up with cites.
§ ita § - Feb 12, 2007 9:55:02 am PST #7456 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Whee! Looks like we're in for a lot of fake hair.
Sean K - Feb 12, 2007 1:24:50 pm PST #7457 of 10001
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
I still haven't seen O12 (which I must correct soon), but that trailer gave me a HUGE happy. Thanks, ita.
juliana - Feb 12, 2007 1:27:08 pm PST #7458 of 10001
I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I miss them all tonight…
that trailer gave me a HUGE happy.
The eyeroll! I love the eyeroll!!
§ ita § - Feb 12, 2007 1:42:06 pm PST #7459 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
Don't bother with O12. It's exceedingly pretty and slash-inspiring, but that's about it.
Jessica - Feb 12, 2007 1:43:55 pm PST #7460 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I vaguely remember hearing about an interview in which Soderbergh and/or Clooney said that they knew they screwed up with O12 and were making O13 as a remedy for that.
So yeah, skip O12.