Serenity (2005) - Movies with Mikey 

Hey, Mikey, I just wanted to say thank you for this loving examination of one of the best shows ever. I was fortunate enough to be on the visual effects team from the pilot through the run of the show, and with some hard lobbying, we got to form the core team for the feature film, too. In fact, I got to design and supervise the opening explanatory sequence you praised so much, based on Joss's script, so... yeah, chest is feeling pretty pumped up right now. What you said about people who cared about the show is spot on. The VFX crew in particular, we had mostly all come over from Star Trek where we had no creative freedom, to a show where Joss almost didn't care what we did, so long as it was awesome. So we made the shots we wanted to see, did all the things that would have given the Star Trek producers seizures. We created the shaky-cam in space look and Joss loved it, so we got to run with it. (Incidentally, most of that crew would go on to do the Battlestar Galactica reboot after Firefly was canned, and we brought shakycam with us). We worked our asses off on that show because we BELIEVED in it, we loved it, we were Tribe. And then we watched the ratings every weekend to see if we'd have a job next week. Which we did... until we didn't. And then we won an Emmy for the VFX... the only TV award the show won. And Joss was there that night... attending the Emmys with us bunch of scruffy-ass desk jockey nerds in rented tuxes. The show will hold up for the next 200 years or more because it was all on the screen. The chemistry between the cast members was real... I mean, you've seen them all work together afterwards. They loved each other. They, and we, were all so pumped to get a chance to make the movie... we gave it everything we had. During the film, we were putting in 15 hour days, seven days a week for months to live up to our own expectations, because we were the audience, too. A scrappy team of underdogs. Thanks again for all the fun and the feels. Makes me remember the good old days. Because Firefly will always be the best show I ever worked on.

This video was emotional enough on it's own. Then that "Because... You can't take the sky from me" came in at the end and I just... Died.

I still cry thinking about "When you can't run you walk, when you can't walk you crawl, and when you can't do that... when you can't do that..."

I went into Serenity by accident. I was drunk, my gf was in the process of breaking up with me, and I went into the wrong movie (I think I actually had a ticket for Sin City.) Ended up buying the Firefly DVD box and watching it like 10 million times.

My dad watched Serenity first and got so jazzed when I told him there was a related tv show. So I had him watch my copy of Firefly. We marathoned it and after the last episode he says, all hyped 'man that was great! I got to order the next season' and I just looked at him sadly and broke the news to him. I've never seen him go from jubilant to irate so quickly. He had a lot of choice words for Fox over the Firefly cancellation, I can tell you that. :P

I was keeping it together until he said “you can’t take the sky from me” and I lost it.

"Breakdance fighting laser stickboys". This sentence is everything to me.

Serenity was in fact my introduction to the world of Firefly. I and a friend of mine wanted to see a movie that weekend and Serenity was the only thing in the vein of the sorts of stuff we liked to see. I remembered watching trailers for it and thinking 'something about it seems familiar' (I later realized that this was because I was very vaguely recalling trailers for the series on Fox) and when the film was over I was stoked. I'd not seen a film with so many characters make me love and care about them all enough in the space of 2 hours that when I thought they were all going to die at the end I was genuinely affected. That doesn't happen to me a lot in movies, hell I've seen whole movies that by the end I don't even remember everybodies names. 2 Hours just isn't a lot of time to fall in love. So naturally as soon as I learned there was a series....... it was like heaven to me. Food for thought. To me, Firefly isn't this short lived series that died to soon and then was revived a decade later for a to brief 2 hour film... To me, Firefly was the six extra films worth of narrative material I was gifted after falling in love with a sci-fi universe I hadn't known existed before. To this day I doubt there's a cast of characters that spoke to me in the same way as Mal and his crew.

"Hey Sarah Paulson is in this movi-OHMYGOD!!!" - very funny.

Mal is just broken in this movie from start to the end it's clear he is depressed and desperate and doesn't care anymore about anything but his crew but can't tell them and they can't see it. When he switches off his emotions that's just the loss of Book being the final straw he can't grieve he can't feel all that's left is anger and pain. Ask people who have experienced a lot of trauma and loss this is what happens to us some recover and some dont. Most of Mals adult life has see everyone who was close to him die or leave except Zoe no way he doesn't have PTSD or severe mental issues and this move captures the hopelessness with Mals character.

That went from a review at the beginning to a love letter written to a dead friend at the end.

God, this franchise, I remember my girlfriend's rage when she found out there was only the one season, my buddy's face after watching the whole series through, and then the tears when book and wash died, and my own love for it. I aim to misbehave

"Brown coats are fueled entirely by hopes and dreams..." How does this guy, just time after time keep drilling down to the heart of the audience and laying bare truth out for all to see?!;)

Hearing about the woman behind you in the theatre had me in tears. I feel so sad for her because she clearly had grown attached to Serenity's family and felt the loss deeply. I heard rumours that Firefly might get a reboot with different actors and the idea was horrifying to me - it wouldn't be the same without the unique dynamics Nathan, Morena, Jewel, Adam, Alan, Gina, Ron, Summer and Sean brought to the series. Different actors would not portray the characters the same, would not have the same unique chemistry. Let's just treasure what we got - the ultimate underdogs.

I was at a civil war reenactment. They had a period band playing that evening. I was occasionally glacing up to see if any transports were landing.

You broke my heart with this review, but you also fixed it by the ends. Firefly burned bright, and that's better than fading away. Thanks

This is my favorite movie of all time. I am a Browncoat to a near diehard degree. Which is why my situation is kind of odd: Serenity was my introduction to this universe. I had heard about Firefly, but never did see it while it was airing (because fox, may they burn forever in hell, kept changing the time slot). Joss has said that this show and film were River's story, told through Mal's eyes. And from moment one, I fell in love with both of those characters, because I saw myself in both of them--my own kind of duality reflected in the two primary characters of this unparalleled story. River's brokenness and alone-ness and strength trapped behind walls in her own brain that confuse and ruin her and deprive her of said strength. That is me. And Mal's misanthropy and cynicism and desire to be broken off from the rest of the world, to be with "me and mine" and just go. His. Own. Way. That is the other half of me. I, like you, could say many many things about this world and only just scratch the surface. About how it has affected me as a person, in equal amounts. I must have typed and erased three different essays in this comment before giving up trying coalesce all the things floating around in my brainpan. I love this film. So much. I've seen it no less than thirty times (probably closer to fifty), and I still weep every time I see the scene with Mal and River in the cockpit. I don't want there to be more, because the story never had a chance to suck. But these characters mean so much, that I don't want them to be essentially dead to me; I want the story to go on. I'm really emotional right now. I don't even know what I'm trying to say. I've read the comics, and its just not the same. It doesn't capture the magic. I don't even really remember the stories. This story is perfect. And being gone before its time, I think is a part of that. And that is where I think I'll stop my insane, incoherent ramble.

"Like leaves... in the wind..." YOU SON OF A *starts cursing in Mandarin*!

STOP MAKING ME CRY YOU PILLOCK.

Fascinating, I did see Serenity before the rest of the series, and Mal's dickish broodiness got me interested in who he was in the series. I loved it :D

I have no small amount of trouble getting over what an amazing job you do with these videos. As someone who more or less lives in the world of self-important, academic criticism, it is really, truly inspiring to see deconstruction of a work of art that seeks to ADD to the enjoyment of that same work (while in turn producing art on its own) while also adding substantive contributions to the discourse surrounding its subject. The degree to which you succeed with this blows my mind a little, and I sincerely wish there was more in the way of criticism that dealt with not just what a work does, but why it should be appreciated on its own terms, as the two are generally so distantly, thoroughly separated. So my hat is TRULY off to you, sir. Just...astounding work with these videos. As a longtime fan of Firefly, I think one of the takeaways that I always had from this film was that Whedon was, for want of a better term, breaking his world - something that hurt the fans more than anyone else, as the studio certainly wasn't shedding much in the way of tears over the lost sequel potential and the closed-off story beats in consequence of the character deaths that, from a strictly narrative standpoint, might not have been wholly necessary as a call to action. That having been said, I think that takeaway came more from a sense of loss in the theater - that moment of realization you mention where it becomes clear that there will be NO MORE Firefly. That stung, especially in the wake of the collective optimism that the fact the movie was even made in the first place instilled in all of the fans. Your interpretation, I think, is more convincing. Whedon is a hell of a director, and the nuances of this film were lost on me because I was, well, younger and dumber 11 years ago, and I don't know that I've seen the film all the way through since, and I was certainly sad, or even a touch angry in the wake of beloved characters dying as they did. Part of me still wonders what really motivated the killing of characters that may not have needed to die, but the point you make about the Serenity crew being the loses of every conflict in which they are a part is well-taken, and almost certainly has a lot to do with the affection that audiences feel toward them. So, in that respect, it does make sense, I think. I shy away from saying you've "explained the film" here and settled, entirely, the niggling doubts I had about it, but you've gone a long way toward laying some frustrations that, I and, from my discussions with others about the film, a number of other fans had. And from a standpoint of someone who just appreciates film as art more now than I did 11 years ago, it's hard not to admire the craftsmanship that went into this film, something you are particularly fantastic at illuminating. It's easy to forget that it's pretty awesome to see a television director make such a tremendous film debut, even if it wasn't particularly well-received. So, as with a couple of other movies, you've shed a good bit of light on what I personally thought about the film, and nudged me from lukewarm appreciation to genuinely believing that I need to give them another watch. I said this at the outset, but it really is impressive the way you're able to pick apart a film and shed some light on the nuts and bolts of what makes it great, as well as the actual content itself and why it should be appreciated. This isn't generally what criticism I read does, and in fact much of it looks down on enjoying art, because in the critic's mind, art exists to be examined, not enjoyed. I hope you keep making a great deal more of these videos, because quite honestly I'd love to see a new wave of criticism centered more around fostering an enjoyment for the medium IN STEP with a greater understanding of it, and that those two things needn't be mutually exclusive, and can even feed INTO each other. But, enough of my fawning over the combination of artistry, intellect, and constructive discourse on display here (kept going, stopping here now, for real). My vote, such as it is, will have to be for Dark Knight and Grand Budapest Hotel. Two great films, and I'd love to see what you can do with them.

Them: "so how big of a firefly fan are you." Me: I've never not sang along to the intro after the first time hearing it and to this day I've never finished the song because I always get choked up by the end.

Another person that watched Serenity on accident when I rented the DVD from RedBox in college, was promptly very confused and angry, then watched the series, re-watched the movie and cried. Much jumbled emotions and then I loved the movie more. One of the few series I still re-watch to this day.

I watched Serenity on DVD, in my home. When Wash died, I shouted, "NO!!" and cried for the rest of the movie. More quietly than the woman in your theater; I wouldn't have been ejected. But I never stopped crying.

R.I.P. Ron Glass (Shepherd Book)

You can't take this guy from me.

When you see people die in a Joss Whedon script, remember his mantra: "jeopardy must be real". Ever since I heard that I have never been able to like any script where all the good guys pull through. Because they didn't earn it.

literally said "ooh" out loud at that closing statement. A+

I like to tell you a story also (nowhere as good as yours but anyway). My friend and I are Tim Burton fans and we saw that Corpse Bride was coming out so we decided to go and see it in the theater and watch it. As we are in line ready to get tickets for Corpse Bride, a man approached us from the back and asked us what we were seeing we told him Corpse Bride he said, “I have two tickets for Serenity would you like them?” My friend and I looked at each other a I asked, “what’s Serenity?” He man looked at us and told us, “It’s based off a cancelled TV show called Firefly.” And I responded with, “Oh yeah, I remember that show it came out a couple of years ago, I wanted to see it but I could never see to find it.” So my friend and I took the tickets and he said “enjoy” and I walked away from us. Hey we’re thinking ‘free tickets are free tickets’ “we can always watch Corpse Bride later y’know. So we went and watched and we’re blown away about the story, the characters, the atmosphere of everything it was amazing. So we get done with the movie and we head out of the theater and head to Best Buy to find the box set of the ‘first season’. We go back to our apartment and binge it in a day, it’s like 3am I’m the morning as we finish band we’re still pumped up and we start searching the web for the second season, and we can’t find anything. So I pick up the box set and realize it say Completed Series on it and we’re devastated about it. We head to bed at 5am and as soon as we get up we watch the series again straight through then after work we watched it again and again. For approximately 2 weeks straight weeks we watched the show straight. I’ve been a diehard Browncoat since then. it’s the best show ever,hands down nothing is close. Some come close in my head but nothing will ever replace it. Thank you doing this video. It’s touching and I’m glad you’ve made it. The signal never stops

I just spent the last two days binge watching your work. I feel like words literally fail me in finding a way to express how I feel, so I just wanted to say thank you (and thank everyone else who helps or is a part of your vids), as you have moved me to tears multiple times (iron giant), and have blown my mind, while also opening my mind to so many things that I miss (Rei giving into darkside) when I watch a movie. For realsies. Ty

Couldn't agree more. It's a bitter blessing that Firefly was cancelled. I've watched so many shows that went on way too long that by the time they finally ended (or were finally put out of their misery) I was either tired of watching it or had given up entirely. Firefly was taken from us while it was the best thing on TV (even if no one knew it at the time). It's status is legendary and we're still talking about it nearly 20 years later. I don't think that would be the case had it not been cancelled. I look at it this way, we have almost 15 hours of nearly perfect storytelling (and world building) that may never be rivaled. I call that a win...

Not a criticism because this was brilliant, but I have to say the show wasn't so much about loss, it was about perseverance. Most importantly it was perseverance together. Each brought something to the table in terms of being able to get them out of (and into) various situations. Even though the Doctor was brilliant and compassionate, Wash was an incredible pilot, Zoe was fierce, calculating yet level headed and so on, each on their own wouldn't be enough to survive forever. Even River, who was a burden because of the attention she brought from the Alliance, was a wild card that Whedon could draw when he needed to. The point of it is "From many, one". Yes they lost a lot of the time, and if you'll allow a metaphor here, they could salvage what they could from that loss and continue on together. Whedon used separation to really terrify us at times. For instance in "Out of Gas", things looked the most bleak as each shuttlecraft went in opposite directions away from Serenity. And we, as an audience, realized that when they are separated they're at their most vulnerable. This is kind of a trope but still its used to great effect. Like Kirk, Spock and Bones in Star Trek V when Kirk said "I've always known I'll die alone." That was full on acknowledging that he was "incomplete" when the trio was separated. Even though someone was there (Picard) when Kirk died he was still "alone" because Kirk was separated from the rest of his "Ka-tet". So you're right it was somewhat about loss, but more importantly it was about losing together and being able to carry on. The biggest dread was when Book died and the Ka-tet was broken and then Wash died. Everyone was being wounded grievously and we're all sitting there in horror thinking "How are we all supposed to get through this?" And Zoe provides the answer by shutting down her feelings "He ain't coming" (referring to Wash). So we're supposed to do the same, but our minds are already in the future and the question is "How are we supposed to carry on after?" And that is the dread the woman in the theater was trying to cope with. The answer to that is, it never heals, but you learn to live with that missing piece of yourself. Even though Book and Wash can't be replaced, there might still be more in the Ka-tet. Also Serenity herself was part of their Ka-tet. So it may be that Firefly might not be remade and probably shouldn't be. But that doesn't mean that universe is dead to us. There may yet be a show in that universe. And perhaps we could get a glimpse of what happens to the Serenity Ka-tet also. To make it work it would have to be one heluva creative writing group. For reference "Ka-tet" is from Stephen Kings Dark Tower series. It means "One made from many" or a group of people summoned together by Ka. Which is sort of like fate with a plan, or the force perhaps.

river's "how dare you question me" look to zoe during the intro might be the best thing ever put on film.

That story about the lady losing her mind in the theater really got to me, I guess because that's how I felt on the inside while I sat there watching all these characters I loved so dearly suddenly vanish from existence (whether from them dying, thinking they were dying, or because at that point I knew this was the last time they'd play those characters ever again)

You seriously made me cry with this one. I thought I was crazy but I showed it to my wife and she cried too. You did it, man, you made me love this show even more. I can't get over it

I'm not even a browncoat and this had me tearing up. Damn you're good.

“Because, you can’t take the sky from me” brb crying in the corner

I think you are right about Firefly being better for being cancelled. It could have ended up as space Community.

Happy Unification Day. (Sept 20th). You made me cry. I was one of the 11 Browncoats who got to be an extra in Serenity. I thought at first you were talking about me in the theater, except I didn't get escorted out...but I was very vocal! I'd made a decision against watching it when it was finished, but Adam Baldwin talked me into seeing it again. So, I went to the premiere, walked the red carpet, and saw it in the same theater as the stars. Went to the after party, literally had a fangirl bucket list night. Seems like a lifetime ago. Yes you opened old wounds, but you also stirred up some cherished memories. We did do the impossible (Check out Done The Impossible if you haven't seen it), and that makes us mighty.

Because I apparently lived under a rock for several years, I had never even heard of Firefly when I saw Serenity. I was under the impression that it was a stand-alone movie. And, I have to say, as a standalone movie... It really worked. I loved everything about it; the story, the cast, the ship, the music, the general look and feel of the world it took place in, EVERYTHING. So Firefly, for me, was more like a series of bonus prequels to a movie that I loved. I didn't have to learn who the characters were over time, I knew who they were from the beginning which, in a way, made it seem like my first time watching the series was more like a second viewing that allowed me to appreciate it even more. To this day, it's still one of my favourite movies.

"You can't take the sky from me" ~ RIP Ron Glass

The after this loving tribute is put online, Book's actor Ron Glass passes away. Goddamn it 2016.

Everytime I watch one of your videos I feel like I watched a 6 hour filmschool masterclass in some crazy high octane less than 30 minute postmodern rollercoaster. Also firefly was great!

Also Gina Torres as Zoë Washburn is insanely hot.

Always outnumbered, never outgunned.

The Black Friday deal that no one is talking about....Mikey Covering Serenity. Price - 23 minutes of cold-hearted yearning.

"You can't take the sky from me." I'm crying

Firefly came out during my last year of high school which was busy and afterwards straight into the military. I love scifi it's my favorite genre. But I missed out on Firefly. Never even hearing about it until I seen an old American news paper in Iraq with an ad for a new upcoming scifi movie called Serenity. I was hooked just with the ad. The first move I purchased when I got back to the states was Serenity. I watched it literally 50 times (it was the only thing I had to watch). I loved it. Didn't even know it was based off of a TV show. When I did find out about Firefly I binged the series in Netflix years later many times. All around great show. Definitely one of my favorite universes.

Think Police Squad started as a TV series which got cancelled only to be made into 3 movies!

grand budapest, please. also a coincidence, just today i saw pushing daisies again after years and i dont remember ever watching something that made me feel so happy, so warm, and so hopeful in such a consistent way. i see what you mean in fear of revivals and remakes, but in a certain way, even if something is lost in the continuation of the story that created such strong emotions, isnt there an understandably very strong desire to have that feeling renewed? doesnt that desire sort of trump the fear of a new disappointment? happiness, or at least catharsis, in some way, truly is like a slice of pie in an unknown restaurant one cant go back to again. snicket really was onto something.

Now I feel like crying Inconsolably. Beautiful! I completely agree that this should not be rebooted. On the one hand, adding more episodes can never really destroy what we already had. However, Firefly is deeply rooted in our hearts. And I think it's that constant longing that has and will keep it burning for many many years to come. And whenever I want to see where the show might have gone, I read fan fiction. I know fan fiction can be a bit controversial, but I can either take or leave any of it. There are great stories out there, written by die hard fans and I have head cannoned several of them. (You can't stop the signal)

I come back to this video every once in a while

I'm still not a big fan of the voting, id like to hear your thoughts on all of those movies, why you gotta make us play Sophie's choice with them

I rank what I would like to see as- 1. The Dark Knight. 2: Gone Girl. 3: The Grand Budapest Hotel. 4: The Hurt Locker. 5: The Departed. Though seriously, anything you post I will watch

I come back and rewatch this video every few months. It's part of Firefly.

Still to this day quite an awesome and we'll put together video on one true underdog that made the best of what it had and still stands tall to this day. Still remember watching this series when it aired; regardless of the out of order airing still fell in love with all that firefly is!!! Still remember when the movie was announced and the excitement that rose from within. This video has brought back many fond memories, thank you for the fantastic work you put into this video! Thank you to all the hands that put their time, effort, blood sweat and tears into the creation of firefly and serenity. Can't ever see there being anything else like it again!

We've got to treasure what we've got, 'cause you can't take the sky from me.

We are in the middle of watching this and we just heard that Ron Glass died. #shepherdbooklives

It’s been 5 years and I just noticed that this video was released *the day* Ron Glass aka Shepard Book passed away.

I saw Serenity before I had seen a single episode of Firefly. The world building and backstory is presented so deftly that I was drawn in immediately. I was in tears by the end; I really thought all these characters I had come to love were about to die. Thanks for your words about one of my favorite movies.

When I went to see Serenity it was the Pittsburgh advanced showing. At the scene where Mal and the agent are fighting, when one of them stabs the other and you are not sure what happened yet... the film tore in the projector and melted. After about a half an hour the were able to sort of fix it.

Brilliant and exactly right. Also Capaldi's first season smash cut to your face saying come at me made me laugh more than it should. I adore you.

The second you said "Can't take the sky from me". I got goosebumps all over and a form of a tear in my eye. Thank you for vocalizing the love that I and so many others have for this show, crew... all of it. Thank you.

Just binged on all you eps. WOW! Please make more, these are awesome!

Jubal Early is named after my roommate's great great great grandfather.

OK, it's like, noon. Crying wasn't on my agenda today... Also, did I manage to be the first view? Also, also, 1. The Dark Knight. 2: Gone Girl.

Thanks so much, mikey, you made me love the show and want to rewatch serenity even more than I already did, which I didn't think was possible. And make me cry and laugh at the same time, which is probably actually Whedon more than you. But this video is beautiful and absolutely perfect, I can't thank you enough.

The characters in Firefly are literally every Traveller campaign I've ever played in. A bunch of misfits, getting their teeth kicked in by an uncaring universe. Gotta love it.

Budapest & Dark Knight? I think you nailed what always vaguely unsettled me about Serenity: it was the end, and everything about the film said so.

Dark Knight & Grand Budapest! Great episode.

I wasn't that lady in the theatre, but I was, to my great surprise, the guy yelling out "no, no, no!" in the theatre that I saw it in!! I simply refused to accept it for a long while. Thank you for helping me sort through why I was so affected by this scene!! You are the best Mikey!!!!!

I love Firefly! One of the best tv series and characters of all time. So much heart, smart writing, humor... Pure awesomness!

You forgot another TV show that was great and then it got revived and wasn't all that great: Arrested Development

I NEED you to break down the Departed, Mikey. I NEED IT. Like, if you don't end up making the Departed episode, I'll fly to Texas and buy you a beer so we can talk about it. And, uh...Dark Knight, I guess?

I've never been so upset a tv series was canceled.... ever. What a lost jewel. Great video brother browncoat.

I've never loved a show as much as this one. I used to think that was completely irrational, but now I know it was the most logical decision my heart ever made. "Because you can't take the sky from me."

damnit mikey, you made me cry again. Dark knight and Grand Budapest.

Dude. I watched Firefly on broadcast TV.

Thank you... The way you unrolled and explain your take on the movie and show... Really is fitting and rock solid... My 50yr old parents were huge fans and the ones that got me into seeing it all... And it truly is... The story about the underdogs, making it day to day the only way they knew how and only as they would except themselves as being... Which isn't easy... Isn't pretty... And isn't fake - for those who's hearts and minds are still fighting there own fight! Again, thank you for giving this the human touch...

This discussion of firefly and serenity really touched me and made me have a much deeper appreciation of this amazing show. I was not one of those people who fought for it as it was the die before I knew it existed. Now I want to share this with my friends who don't understand why I love a show that didn't even get a full season, but I feel that if I showed them this it would spoil the show know the end of it all. Keep flying.

[m] IF YOU LIKE CAUSIN' TROUBLE UP IN HOTEL ROOMS!

Would you consider doing a "Movies with Mikey" episode that covers both the 26 episode running and movie of Cowboy Bebop?

I NEVER subscribe to youtube channels, but your talent and sincerity about this topic won me over, brilliant video.

As much as I'd love to have more Firefly, it would be like Da Vinci painting a second Mona Lisa. It might work out, but it won't be the Mona Lisa. Firefly is perfect because it didn't live long enough to let us down. Another series might just do that. It's the same reason I won't read the final two novels by Terry Pratchett. His illness started to show in his writing, either he lost the unique voice he told us his stories with or someone else took his notes and tried to be Pratchett. Either way, I'm sad that I've sacrificed two more chances to visit Discworld, but happy that Discworld will remain perfect and unsullied. Firefly as it is or was, is practically perfect. Adding to it now risks destroying that perfection. Excellent video Mikey. Thank you.

Mal is my favorite character of any show or movie. Great show, great movie. I aim to misbehave.

Gorram it! You made me cry... You can't take the sky from me and you can't stop the signal...

I saw literally one random episode of Firefly & was hooked; it has such a unique tone. I love that the interior of the ship itself was one massive set so they could do the walking-through-the-ship takes. And you get the impression by the directing, writing quality & performances that everyone enjoyed crafting that universe. You're right though, Firefly/Serenity will always be outstanding because there will never be gaps in a series that is filled in with continuity-breaking episodes written the night before filming started or schedule clashes or arguments. It will always be a shining beacon of awesome. Great work yourself as well by the way.

I found your channel because of this critique. I have since this gone through several of your criticisms and enoy your work. But this moved me... truly. I am one of the throngs who found firefly on dvd and became a newly minted browncoat only a few years ago and my love for this universe has only expounded since. Thank you for this. Keep flyin

why am i always in tears at the end of mwm? how do you do it goddamnit mikey aaanyway, The Departed and Hurt Locker, like, tots obvs

Gone girl and The Departed And now that I've voted, just... Gorram, man, just too too too too good. I love hearing your take on movies I actually know and love, because either you put your thumb on the heartbeat of WHY I love them, or you take a completely different tack on them, and give me something new to think about.And no matter which way it goes, I am typically just wrecked afterwards. So thank you/ouch?

I always thought Mal's character change in Serenity was just a natural extension of what we were already seeing in the show - every day it was harder to get the supplies they needed, to find a job, to avoid the Alliance, and to find buyers for the things they stole. As protective as he was of his crew, it was becoming impossible to protect them and provide for them the way he wanted to. So by the time we see him in Serenity, he's on the verge of giving up, and he doesn't revert to his natural state until he has a way to protect them again, even if it means putting them in danger in the short term.

Fantastic, Mikey. Just got a chance to sit down and watch this. So good and a great unpacking of what makes Firefly/Serenity what it is. The Terriers reference was much appreciated. Hope you have a great day, buddy!

I really enjoy your videos because of how detailed and seriously you look at movies. You don't have to throw on the "laugh" sign or make a dick joke every time you start to get into serious points. Still a great video though! Oh, and Dark Knight and Grand Budapest for me, please.

It's gotta be The Dark Knight and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

I've been through Every Frame of Painting and much of Nerdwriter1. I've watched and re-watched RedLetterMedia's reviews on Star Wars and Star Trek. I've seen much of Ryan Hollinger's work, devoured all of Lessons from the Screenplay, consumed Mr. Nerdista's work, and poked around Now You See It, The Royal Ocean Film Society, The Discarded Image, Digibro, and Cinematography Database (back when he was analyzing full movies). And this is the most powerful video essay I've seen. I stood up and applauded. You've taught me something and I'll forever be impressed, grateful, and a subscriber.

This is a super accurate summation of what I feel about the series. I really appreciate the effort of the video. Also, using the leftovers score made me nearly breakdown at my desk. Well done.

I absolutely love your videos, Mikey. Putting my votes in for Nolan and Scorsese. Keep up the awesome work.

Dan sent me. BTW, your channel is awesome.

Daaamn what have you done? *sobs* Way to beat my heart with the feels stuck over and over and over again. Good job.

This has got to be the best breakdown of Serenity / Firefly that I've ever seen. I given them so many chances, because I'm surrounded by people who love them, but have never been able to get into it. The fact of this meta-fandom, liking the show because of its circumstance, makes way more sense than most of the Firefly-evangelism I've ever heard. Watching the show considering both the aired and intended order, it basically makes no difference. You can tell that Whedon took his crew from Aliens 4,* dropped em into space-Gettysburg, and told the writers the structure of seasons. The subplots of each episode are mostly irrelevant, and even in the correct order the character development is a ridiculous mess. You can tell each episode's writer wasn't familiar with where the development should fit in Whedon's vision, as moments of growth are undone at the start of the very next episode. The aired order tried to fix that, but failed. *- Gender swapping the pilot and first mate didn't fool anybody. The thing that always got me was that on Whedon's episodes, it's so obvious that Mal is the bad guy. He gets these glimmers of Robin Hoodedness as he won't screw over the people who are even more screwed over than he is, but his name is *Mal* (bad) and he's this universe's Elgyn (a villain in A4). That's why it's such a gut punch to see the REAL Mal in Serenity. He was haphazardly written as a flip flopping Han Solo in the show, when it's clear from Whedon's perspective he was an anti-hero at best, and a villain most likely. The show for me then became more about who you root for when there's no good guy. THAT's interesting to me. That's why I get this meta-fandom stuff. Nothing within the show or movie ever struck me as particularly good. Recycled plots with recycled characters using contrived slang and constant sarcasm... nah. Whedon taking the British-Japanese corporation terraforming the universe in Alien and making it an American-Chinese corporation isn't clever. It's derivative. But the conversation around the show, some lost themes, and how fans reacted... there's something to all that.