Andy's Blog

Why hasn't "Serenity" made like, a jillion dollars?

I have seen "Serenity" twice now in the theatre, and plan to go at least one more time. Since watching "Serenity" the second time, I have re-watched the original TV series that spawned it, "Firefly".

All 14 episodes (only 11 of which saw the light of day on TV).

And the conclusion that I have come to is that "Firefly", the show, was brilliant. I like the camera work -- how not all of the shots are perfectly lined up. How the effects shots have zooms, blurs, and lens flares. The dialog is amazing -- not just for the "parlor trick" of the use of Chinese. But instead, for the entirely new slang that the writers created. Slang that when you hear it, you think "people don't talk like this". Yet, you understand exactly what the characters mean. And it makes perfect sense that they talk that way -- because they live in their world (and they are inviting you in for a peek).

Yet, as good as the show is (and it is very good), "Serenity", the movie is even better. The visuals leap off of the screen. It is even funnier than the show. There is even more drama, and more peril.

In short, Joss Whedon has made a movie that I am going to be worshipping for a long time to come.

Which is why I am so perplexed at its seemingly dismal box office performance. The reviews from the critics were far and way on the good side of positive. The movie had mad internet buzz.

But it also had several things going against it. The first is that this is an unabashedly Sci-Fi film, and that apparently just turns people off. Even worse, Joss had to try and please two different types of viewers -- those who had seen the show, and those who hadn't. I think that he did a pretty good job of this, but my guess is that people who saw the show liked the movie a whole lot more than those who hadn't.

Which brings me to what I think is really going on. The Firefly/Serenity universe takes a little bit of time to get into it. As I recall, Sara and I weren't transformed into devoted Firefly fans after watching "The Train Job". It took about three or four episodes before the series began to fully reveal itself. It was at this point that the show "clicked" in my brain, and I became enraptured by it.

So, that is what I think happened. It takes time and energy to really appreciate "Serenity", and that is something that most people don't want to devote to their entertainment these days. And it is a crying shame, because it is from that space that some of the best entertainment comes from.

-Andy.

Posted by andyr at October 21, 2005 12:24 AM