THE PREMISE: Set 500 years into the future, Earth as we know it is no more. A large population travelled to space and started living on different planets and moons which were fitted to somewhat resemble Earth. There was a war for Unification and it succeeded. Unfortunately, we're on the losing side. Mal Reynolds struggles as a captain of a small space freighter called Serenity, taking whatever jobs that come his way - legal or otherwise. Mal's (Nathan Fillion) crew includes former war buddy Zoe (Gina Torres) and her husband and the ship's pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk), mechanic Kaley (Jewel Staite) and hired-gun Jayne (Adam Baldwin). Along for the ride is a respectable member of the Companion's Guild named Inara (Morena Baccarin). Later, the crew are joined by a Shepard named Book (Ron Glass) and siblings Simon (Sean Maher) and River (Summer Glau).Honestly, I've never been a fan of "space" shows. I might've watched a couple of movies and some episodes of Star Trek here and there but I wasn't really looking forward to it. It was just there. Much more westerns. Frankly, when I heard about Firefly's premise as a space-western, I wasn't really interested. But it's a Joss Whedon show so I must at least take a look. Man, was I surprised. This is not you're usual space show with aliens, ambassadors and a righteous crew. First off, the show has no aliens. All characters are human, some more than others. Second, the Firefly crew are not on a mission from the ruling government/federation/alliance. These are just normal people finding whatever jobs to survive. But it's much more. The dialogue and storytelling are great as one would expect from Mutant Enemy. The characters are all witty and entertaining. Hell, there are really some hilarious moments involving Simon and the crew.
Even though the show has been cancelled by those insert curse words here execs from FOX, the show has already developed a loyal fan base which have not only held campaigns to keep the show alive for another run (possibly on a different network) but have also raised money for charity in the name of Firefly. Oh and now there's a movie.