Firefly

Even if you're not a Whedonite yourself, you've got to give it up for the fans of Joss Whedon. The Buffy, Angel and Firefly fanatics have created a community that has held multiple nationwide fundraisers for Whedon's favorite charitable organization Equality Now and single-handedly acted as the grassroots marketing engine behind Whedon's directorial film debut Serenity. Let's just say, they're a nice bunch.

A group of those fans has now turned its attention to honoring Whedon with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Their collective reasoning is sorta sweet. "It's a tangible way to show respect by giving him something else to add to his legacy and to show how much he means to us...It's not all about Joss...It's about family, not the one we are born into by blood, but the one that Joss created out of his work...We cannot give him the prestigious awards; most of us are not on any academy boards, nor people that have a choice of nominations." Sorta makes you tear up a bit, doesn't it? Pop culture making the connection. The people's star.

Firefly's Captain Mal and future Lostie Nathan Fillion will be making his first podcast appearance in J.C. Hutchins "podiobook" thriller 7th Son, the story of seven strangers brought together not by MTV, but by the assassination of a U.S. president.

Fillion will make a cameo appearance as a guest reader for the serialized novel's second book entitled Deceit, set to be released on Nov. 14th.

Jeph Loeb, co-executive producer and writer for NBC's Heroes, has already made his 7th Son podcast appearance.

You can check out the goodness at Podiobooks, but don't get too excited. Fillion's cameo is limited to a segment recap of the novel's previous doings, but personally, I'll follow the Captain wherever he may lead.

I've been reading these rumors for a while but now it appears to be true- Nathan Fillion has a guest starring role coming up on Lost. According to Sci Fi Wire, he'll play a character named 'Kevin' in an episode called "I Do" which airs on November 8th. It's the last episode before Lost goes on a 13-week break. The story doesn't say what his role is but I'm guessing that he's in a flashback. The episode is written by executive producers Damon Lindeloff and Carlton Cuse.

Why should you care? Fillion is a hero to many Firefly worshippers. He played Capt. Mal Reynolds in the short-lived series and the movie, Serenity.

[Via Pop Candy]

(S01E10) While there were several great episodes of Firefly that never made it to air, at least we were treated with the season (well, series) finale, albeit not in its rightful order. With this episode the series goes out on a high note, making it a bittersweet ending that, when seeing it subsequent times, makes one long for the series to be back.

Are you one of the few that still haven't discovered Joss Whedon's Firefly? Maybe you have, but you didn't get around to picking up that DVD set yet. Or maybe you just prefer your sci-fi western space-opera with commercials. Whatever the case, if you want to see a whole bucketload of Firefly eps, Sci-Fi has you covered. On September 18th you can catch 11 hours of Firefly in a row. From "Serenity Pt.1" all the way to "War Stories" beginning at 8AM EST. Set your VCR's, PVR's, and DVR's, or start prepping your excuse to call in sick.

[ via Whedonesque ]

(Unaired) Everytime I see the title of this episode (and the name of the town, I believe), I can't help but think of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. I can only imagine that those responsible for naming this episode meant it as a tribute to the Douglas Adams books. Then again, maybe someone's just a big Neil Young fan.

In this episode we get an even closer look at the non-relationship between Mal and Inara. It's interesting how Mal, who has always been looking down on Inara's profession, so easily gives in to Nandi. I think it shows most definitely that it's not Inara's profession that bothers him, it's that Inara's in that profession. Anyway, it makes sense to me.

(Unaired) I'm sure some diehard Firefly fan will know the answer to this (if there is a known answer), but I wonder if Joss was at all influenced by Blade Runner when he came up with the idea for this show. The future-Asian feel was present in the opening scenes of this episode, much as we see in Blade Runner, complete with a multitude of TV screens of all shapes and sizes, most of which are displaying some kind of commercial.

(Unaired) This episode was depressing to watch. Why? Because it never made it to air. This, my friends, is a fine example of what Firefly is all about. It's when you get a good mix of science fiction and good ol' Western-like heists and gunplay that this show shines. But I have a confession to make -- this was the first time I saw this episode.

There probably isn't a Browncoat in the 'verse who doesn't already know this, but Adam Baldwin, who played Jayne on Firefly, is auctioning off autographed copies of all 14 Firefly shooting scripts. The auction is on eBay and it closes in six hours (sorry!). Right now, bids for the two-hour pilot (Serenity) are up to $2,075. It is signed by Baldwin, Morena Baccarin, Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Tim Minear, Jewel Staite, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk and Joss Whedon (oh, if only I had a trust fund!!). The money will benefit the Marine Corps - Law Enforcement Foundation and the auction is being run by the California Browncoats.

If that's a little too rich for your blood, there's a lot of other Firefly stuff up for sale on eBay.

[Via Whedonesque]

(S01E09) I said in one of my previous reviews that I thought it'd be neat to see how Mal and Zoe met and what it was like to be a Browncoat in the war. While we didn't see any of that in this episode, We did get a good feel for their relationship together.

For the first time, I believe, we see the return of a character from Mal's relatively recent past, the old boss man from 'The Train Job.' Almost Khan-like, isn't it?

For those fans who don't already know, you can download a feature-length documentary about the rise and fall of Firefly and the making of Serenity. It's called Done the Impossible, and it features interviews with die-hard fans (aka 'Browncoats') who attended Shindigs and worked to spread the word about Firefly to back-up Joss Whedon's efforts to make the movie, Serenity. It also features some interviews with cast members. Kinda sounds like Trekkies, except this time I'll totally identify with the fans.

The movie is for sale on this website or you can download it here (legally and for free!) but you need to have the torrent software to do so. I don't have the software on my computer yet so I can't tell you much more about it. But, TV Squad reader Tucker did notify us that Jenna Fischer (Pam on The Office) makes an appearance with her husband, who directed Nathan Fillion (Mal) in Slither.

(S01E08) I know many fans of Firefly will disagree with me fiercely here, but I'll say it anyway. If I had to pick an episode where I thought Firefly really hit its stride, this would be the one. This episode kept me glued to the set. It had amazing effects, drama, many tense moments and a few splashes of humor thrown in for good measure. The only thing missing, really, was something for Book and Inara to do.

(S01E05) I'm glad the creators of Firefly were able to get this episode created and aired before the end of the series. Many times these "how they all met" episodes are saved for later seasons, though thankfully we got to see it early.

I'd have a hard time deciding which one of the crew had the most surprising introduction to the ship. Wash looks like a reject from the 70's, complete with gnarly 'stache and floral pattern shirt. Kaylee takes the engineer job from the man she was bedding in the engine room, Bester (who knew she was so ... promiscuous?) Jayne gets a job on the ship by holding up Mal and Zoe. And Inara ... well, her story's not all that surprising.

(S01E04) This is an episode that's a bit difficult to place. It's got a very funny premise at its core, but when the episode's finished, you can't help but feel like there should have been more. At least that's the feeling I got while watching it.

The best part of 'Jaynestown' is the reaction of the crew to Jayne's sudden fame. Simon and Inara find it highly disturbing, Mal and Kaylee find it mildly amusing, and Wash and Zoe find it hysterical. Book and River seem to be indifferent.

(S01E03) Now we're talking. This, to me, is hands down the best episode of the series so far. It's got action, humor and so many good lines that I wouldn't know where to begin in choosing my favorite. Once the episode was over, I knew, without having paid attention earlier, that this episode had to have been written by Joss himself. And I was right.