It has been a most interesting 2005 and has seen fun excitement and joy in addition to boredom and stress. Anyway, it is 1st January and I have spent a good part of the preceeding days doing, well nothing really. I have watched the entire episode of Battlestar Galatica and Firefly. Both are superb and I am glad that I spent the time on them.
BSG was a christmas present and I was a bit skeptical if it would work but damn it, not only those it work but it made me go out and get the movie pilot after watching the first two episodes. Good call for whoever purchased the DVD set for me. Why did I like it? It isn't Star Wars for one thing. It is also a bit more adult and there is no shining federation of man, it isn't optimistic and most of the time the humans are as busy hurting each other as the Cylons are. Basically, Star Trek it aint. And thats why I like it. Some purists might balk at the changes: Boomer is now a cigar chomping woman, boomer is also a woman (or cylon?) and Apollo is a lot more flawed. Good changes in my view.
Firefly....well, this is a gem. If it wasn't for this, BSG would be my favourite but it has rocketed to the top of my list. On the surface the film borrows from a number of genres: classic underdog characters and westerns. Amazingly it works so well and for me there are a number of reasons and to name a handful: it has a wonderful dialogue to it, enough 'real-world' slang to keep it relevant to the viewers, it has humour but it is also sharp. Like BSG, the technology isn't like Star Trek that is, so advanced one has trouble figuring it out. In the universe of Firefly, they use guns, sluggers and shot guns for crying out loud. I like that. Of course, lasers and photon bombs and the like exist but the technology doesn't dominate the universe. It isn't techy rich like some other shows.
What else? The show is brilliant, emotive, funny, well-written and not pretentious like some other TV series. Why oh why was it cancelled? Idiot TV executives.
The show does get some use to: you are thrown into a world that you think you know, but subtle different. Yes it is science fiction but there is enough real world stuff that forces you NOT to suspend your own sense of reality or common sense. The crew eat with chopsticks and strawberries are around. The dialgue also is a gem too: the interaction between the crew is brilliant and funny too. I was a little taken aback when they threw in bits of Mandarin. I wasn't sure as I speak cantoneses but as I watched the shows, yes - it was Mandarin. A subtle hint of (our future?). A nice touch by Joss Wheeldon.
Check out more information on Firefly / Serenity: here.
Pity I missed the film, 'Serentity' but I will go out and find the DVD for it and buy it. The website resources are excellent and well informative too. Am very impressed that after the show was canned - the fans and Joss and the actors all continued championing the film. There was enough excitment that i led to the film. My god, that is amazing. Am sure that the DVD TV set would be flying off the shelves now but a second TV series will not be done. Any more action of the motley crew from Serenity will be on the big screen.
What else, I missed out on the last two episodes of Revelations, an end-of-the-world-made-for-tv-movie that is actually quite good. Shouldn't have been watching Firefly should I?
Right now, I am relaxing listening to an amazing album: 'Symbol' by Susumu Yokota. This album is a mix, a magical, enthralling mix of classical music and other 'stuff'. It is relaxing, chilling and I am in love with it.
Also, am contemplating the year of 2006 - what does it hold for me? 2005 was a good year, as was 2004 and before. Each year has been good so am excited about what 2006 might bring. All I can say is: bring it on.
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