"Firefly" (2002) TV series 2002-2003

User Rating:

9.5/10   

Creator:

Joss Whedon
(more)

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small, mobile, spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

Plot Keywords:

Alliance | Captain | Pilot | Doctor | Space

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 3 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Nathan Fillion	...	Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Gina Torres	...	Zoë Washburne (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Alan Tudyk	...	Hoban 'Wash' Washburne (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Morena Baccarin	...	Inara Serra (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Adam Baldwin	...	Jayne Cobb (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jewel Staite	...	Kaylee Frye (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Sean Maher	...	Dr. Simon Tam (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Summer Glau	...	River Tam (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Ron Glass	...	Shepherd Book (14 episodes, 2002-2003)

(more)

Series Directed by
Joss Whedon		(3 episodes, 2002)
Vern Gillum		(2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tim Minear		(2 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Writing credits
Joss Whedon		(14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tim Minear		(4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Ben Edlund		(2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jose Molina		(2 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Produced by
Gareth Davies	....	producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Ben Edlund	....	producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lisa Lassek	....	associate producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tim Minear	....	executive producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Brian Wankum	....	associate producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Joss Whedon	....	executive producer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Original Music by
Greg Edmonson		(14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Cinematography by
David Boyd		(14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Film Editing by
Sunny Hodge		(5 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lisa Lassek		(5 episodes, 2002)
John Peter Bernardo		(4 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Production Design by
Carey Meyer		(14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Art Direction by
Colin De Rouin		(13 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Set Decoration by
David A. Koneff		(13 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Costume Design by
Shawna Trpcic		(12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jill M. Ohanneson		(2 episodes, 2002)

Series Makeup Department
Diana Acrey	....	key hair stylist / hair department head (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Camille Calvet	....	key make-up artist / make-up artist (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Allan B. Holt	....	makeup effects lab technician (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kerry Mendenhall	....	key hair stylist (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Robert Hall	....	special makeup effects: Almost Human (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mary Kay Witt	....	key make-up artist / key makeup artist (2 episodes, 2002)
Christopher Burdett	....	special makeup designer (unknown episodes)
Leo Corey Castellano	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Jason Collins	....	supervisor: Almost Human, Inc. (unknown episodes)
Jake Garber	....	makeup artist / special makeup effects artist (unknown episodes)
Roxane Griffin	....	hair stylist (unknown episodes)
Margie Latinopoulos	....	makeup artist (unknown episodes)
Debbie Mezera	....	office manager: Almost Human Inc (unknown episodes)
James Ojala	....	special makeup effects technician (unknown episodes)

Series Production Management
Michael Cedar	....	unit production manager (14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Athena Alexander	....	second assistant director (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jana Ludwigova	....	second second assistant director (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Ellen Marie Blum	....	first assistant director (6 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tony Schwartz	....	first assistant director (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Brenda Kalosh	....	first assistant director (4 episodes, 2002)
John P. Aguirre	....	second second assistant director (unknown episodes)
Lisa Chu	....	dga trainee (unknown episodes)
Ellen Rosentreter	....	dga trainee (unknown episodes)

Series Art Department
Steven Fidler	....	construction coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Dylan J. Hay Chapman	....	graphic artist (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Keith A. Cuba	....	lead person (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
David Goldstein	....	paint foreman (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Randy Eriksen	....	property master (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jeffrey Moore	....	property master (2 episodes, 2003)
Banner Agundez	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes)
Will Batts	....	set designer (unknown episodes)
Ron Cobb	....	conceptual artist (unknown episodes)
Skip Crank	....	property master (unknown episodes)
Rick Heyer	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes)
Happy Nakamura	....	property assistant (unknown episodes)
David Saltzman	....	assistant property master (unknown episodes)
Stella Starlight	....	art department coordinator / graphic designer (unknown episodes)
Val Wilt	....	general foreman (unknown episodes)

Series Sound Department
Mark Cleary	....	sound effects editor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Mike Marchain	....	supervising adr editor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Cindy Rabideau	....	supervising sound editor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
David Yaffe	....	production sound mixer / production sound designer (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Deb Adair	....	re-recording mixer (11 episodes, 2002-2003)
Bill Jackson	....	re-recording mixer (11 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tom Perry	....	re-recording mixer (11 episodes, 2002-2003)
Devendra Damon Cleary	....	boom operator (11 episodes, 2002)
Kevin McCullough	....	sound effects editor (10 episodes, 2002-2003)
Joe Barnett	....	re-recording mixer (2 episodes, 2002)
Fred Tator	....	re-recording mixer (2 episodes, 2002)
Mathew Waters	....	re-recording mixer (2 episodes, 2002)
Susan Cahill	....	assistant sound editor (unknown episodes)
Robert Guastini	....	sound editor (unknown episodes)
Kevin Hyde	....	boom operator (unknown episodes)
Brian D. Lucas	....	sound recordist (unknown episodes)
Michael Miller	....	adr mixer (unknown episodes)
Steven Morrow	....	sound mixer: second unit (unknown episodes)

Series Special Effects by
Bruce Minkus	....	special effects coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Visual Effects by
Loni Peristere	....	visual effects supervisor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Emile Edwin Smith	....	visual/digital effects supervisor / digital effects supervisor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Justin Ball	....	senior systems engineer: Zoic Studios (10 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kyle Toucher	....	visual effects artist / animator / ... (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
David R. Morton	....	digital artist (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Raoul Bolognini	....	visual effects coordinator (unknown episodes)
Brent Burpee	....	systems engineer (unknown episodes)
Aram Granger	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Jon-Marc Kortsch	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Errol Lanier	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Michael D. Leone	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Mark Lipsmeyer	....	digital artist: Zoic Studios (unknown episodes)
John McGinley	....	visual effects modeler (unknown episodes)
Jose Perez	....	visual effects (unknown episodes)
Kevin Quattro	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)
Bryan Whitaker	....	digital artist (unknown episodes)

Series Stunts
Nick Brandon	....	stunt coordinator (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Todd Warren	....	stunts (4 episodes, 2002-2003)
Scott Workman	....	stunts (3 episodes, 2002-2003)
Andy Dylan	....	stunts (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lin Oeding	....	stunts (2 episodes, 2002-2003)
Craig Appel	....	equestrian / utility stunts (2 episodes, 2002)
Chris Daniels	....	utility stunts (2 episodes, 2002)
Cheryl Bermeo	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Charlie Brewer	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Ken Clark	....	utility stunts (unknown episodes)
John Dixon	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Brian Duffy	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Roel Failma	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)
Bryan Friday	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
James Giaquinto	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Mike Gunther	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Jes Hellwege	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Nicola C. Hindshaw	....	stunt double: Jewel Staite / utility stunts (unknown episodes)
Mark Kubr	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Cheryl Lawson	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Larry A. Lee	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Will Leong	....	utility stunts (unknown episodes)
Christopher Leps	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Michael Li	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Sam Maloof	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)
Mike Massa	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)
Brandon Molale	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Caryn Mower	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gloria O'Brien	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
J.J. Perry	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Marcus Salgado	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Christie Sanders	....	utility stunts (unknown episodes)
Felipe Savahge	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Paul Anthony Scott	....	stunt double: Nathan Fillion / stunts (unknown episodes)
Paul E. Short	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Tim Sitarz	....	stunt double (unknown episodes)
Clark Tucker	....	utility stunts (unknown episodes)
Jim Vickers	....	stunts (unknown episodes)
Gary J. Wayton	....	stunt performer (unknown episodes)
Lee Whittaker	....	stunts (unknown episodes)

Series Camera and Electrical Department
Dennis L. Peterson	....	chief lighting technician (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Bubba Sheffield	....	key grip / key rigger (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Allen D. Easton	....	camera operator (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Josh Stancil	....	rigging grip (7 episodes, 2002)
Gregory Beard	....	best boy grip (unknown episodes)
Brian Cantrell	....	best boy electric (unknown episodes)
Keith Davis	....	electrician (unknown episodes)
Ron Eisenberg	....	still photographer (unknown episodes)
Samuel Fischer	....	best boy electric (unknown episodes)
Tom Hutchinson	....	second assistant camera (unknown episodes)
Chris Lewis	....	rigging gaffer (unknown episodes)
Dan Ming	....	additional first assistant camera (unknown episodes)
George Santo Pietro	....	dolly grip (unknown episodes)
Jonas Steadman	....	assistant camera (unknown episodes)
James Stiritz	....	best boy grip (unknown episodes)
Troy White	....	best boy electric (unknown episodes)

Series Casting Department
Anya Colloff	....	casting by (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jennifer Fishman	....	casting by (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lonnie Hamerman	....	casting associate (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Amy McIntyre Britt	....	casting by (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Michael V. Nicolo	....	casting assistant (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Lee A. Miles	....	extras casting (unknown episodes)

Series Costume and Wardrobe Department
Karen Hare	....	costumer (1 episode, 2002)
Lori Rozzi	....	specialty costumes (1 episode, 2002)
Jayme Bohn	....	assistant costume designer (unknown episodes)
Susi Campos	....	set costumer (unknown episodes)
Philip Maldonado	....	costumer (unknown episodes)
Lawrence Quon	....	costumer (unknown episodes)

Series Editorial Department
Aaron Miller	....	post production coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Sam B. Bollinger	....	assistant editor (8 episodes, 2002-2003)
Marilyn Moore	....	assistant editor (6 episodes, 2002-2003)

Series Music Department
Tim Isle	....	music editor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
David Klotz	....	music editor (unknown episodes)

Series Transportation Department
Bob Ellis	....	transportation coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
John Magoo McGivern	....	transportation captain (unknown episodes)
Beau Reed	....	transportation co-captain (unknown episodes)

Series Other crew
John J. Gray	....	assistant: Tim Minear (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Neil Levin	....	script coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Stacey Levin	....	head publicist (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Elyse Allyn Ramsdell	....	production coordinator (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jain Sekuler	....	script supervisor (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Kelly Wheeler	....	assistant: Gareth Davies (14 episodes, 2002-2003)
Michael Boretz	....	assistant: Joss Whedon (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Cheryl Cain	....	story editor (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jenny Lynn	....	translator: Chinese (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Jose Molina	....	executive story editor (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
James E. Williams	....	production auditor (13 episodes, 2002-2003)
Peter M. Robarts	....	location manager (12 episodes, 2002-2003)
Tony Rudenko	....	programming: computer graphics / computer graphics programmer (11 episodes, 2002-2003)
Anne Fletcher	....	choreography / choreography by (3 episodes, 2002)
Robert Earl Craft	....	location manager (2 episodes, 2003)
Ted Bayard	....	assistant location manager (unknown episodes)
Tami Fernholz	....	payroll accountant (unknown episodes)
Ryan Ford	....	assistant accountant (unknown episodes)
Sam Greenmun	....	spacesuit technician (unknown episodes)
Steve Karnes	....	weapons armorer (unknown episodes)
Shaun McNally	....	production assistant (unknown episodes)
Jim Roberts	....	medic (unknown episodes)
Caroline Vandenberg	....	assistant production coordinator (unknown episodes)

Production Companies

• 20th Century Fox Television
• Fox Television Network

Distributors

• Fox Film Corporation
• Viasat3 (2007) (Hungary) (TV) (original airing)
• TV6 (2008) (Hungary) (TV) (re-release)
• CanWest Global Communications
• Fox Movies SF Horror (2008) (Japan) (TV)
• Fox Network
• Sci-Fi Channel, The (2003) (UK) (TV)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD) (Blu-Ray Disc) (complete series)

Special Effects

• Almost Human
• Radium (visual effects) (2002)
• Zoic Studios (visual effects) (2002-)

Other Companies

• Almost Human  special makeup effects
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  cranes and dollies
• DeLuxe Laboratories  processing
• Meat and Potatoes  title design: main titles
• R!ot  post-production services
• Todd-AO Studios (West)  sound post-production

Also Known As:

"Firefly: The Series" (USA) (long title)
"Joss Whedon's Firefly" (Australia)

Runtime:

42 min (15 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:12 (12 episodes) | UK:PG (2 episodes) | Australia:M

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Trivia:

The DVDs of Firefly were flown up to the International Space Station by astronaut Steven Swanson on board the shuttle Atlantis during its June 2007 STS-117 mission.

Goofs:

Continuity: The Chinese characters for "Blue Sun" change from episode to episode. On Jayne's T-shirt, "Blue Sun" is "qing ri", but in logo signs, it's "lan ri". "Qing" and "lan" refer to different hues of blue (sky blue vs. indigo).

Quotes:

Jubel Early: You know, with the exception of one deadly and unpredictable midget, this girl is the smallest cargo I've ever had to transport, yet by far the most troublesome. Does that seem right to you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Big Bang Theory: The Terminator Decoupling (#2.17)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

The Ballad of Serenity

You will either love it, or hate it - read why...

There is one big premise that you have to swallow in order to like this show. If you can't cope with it, you won't like it, because it will smack you in the face in every episode.

It is like the James Bond movies, if you don't accept, as a premise, that Bond, James Bond, can do everything, fly, drive, shoot, use *every* piece of machinery on the planet, that he can shoot better than all his adversaries (who all miss, all the time) and gets *all* the babes, if you don't accept this, you have to hate James Bond movies, because they are ridiculous. We talk about suspense of disbelief.

The one thing you have to swallow, without thinking about it, is, that in this particular science fiction universe, the future looks like this:

You have core planets, which are like one would imagine future worlds: Big, beautiful buildings, hight tech gadgets, spaceships and shuttles, modern weapons (some that don't kill by using some kind of sonic boom), flat displays, a modern, digital credit system instead of localised currency, a totally diverse people influenced by every imaginable culture, heavily influenced by the chinese society, the only remaining superpower besides the USA and so forth.

But, and this is a capitalized BUT: There are also the outer rim planets. They don't have a developed infrastructure and such. Settlers are dumped on planets with next to nothing, exploited to recover raw materials, used as cheap labor, trying to survive. Still sounds reasonable, no? The catch is: all these outer rim worlds look like you have been thrown into a cheap spaghetti WESTERN movie.

They trade cows, they use old revolvers, drive horses and dress in western-style garments. You have little, old, dirty small villages with a saloon and stuff. These outer rim planets, out of reach of the civilised Alliance, are a no-mans-land, with superstitious, uneducated fools, where the strong fist rules - if you have the most men and guns behind you, you are the law. The poor grunt is like the cowboy in a typical western movie.

Hard to accept? Partially yes, of course. But there is logic in almost everything: there are future references everywhere! Real food (as opposed to synthesized proteins) is a rare commodity, the RICH guys have laser guns or state of the art display devices.

And - they stay true to this premise throughout the show, which is a rare thing in today's entertainment.

But apart from this (for some) hard to accept premise, this show is the most entertaining, clever, realistic(!), funny, imaginative, creative, thrilling piece of entertainment I had the pleasure of viewing (by downloading it from the internet) in years (don't get me wrong: I downloaded it because I live in Germany and the show was never aired here, and I asked my brother, who lives in the USA, to get me the DVD as a christmas present - and he did)

As for realism: Why do they still use guns to kill people, why not lasers like in Star Trek (which i am avid fan of)? I say: guns kill people, bullets are cheap. Guns get the killing done. (And there are modern (bullet) guns and lasers in the show, they exist, they are simply not widespread and only available to the rich.

No sound in space - a little thing with big impact. Not only is it realistic, but it adds to the atmosphere. Instead of ridiculous sound effects the scenes in space are underlaid with vivid music, only emphasising the vastness and nothingness of space.

The basics of the universe comply with our world. In the outer rim, where modern civilization hasn't gotten a foothold yet, things - which are to us - common, are valuable merchandise! Just imagine the third world... How much worth are medicine, guns, food there? There are (to us) barbaric customs in uncivilised areas of the world and all this is being portrayed in the show.

The Plots are great, not like in Enterprise where you seem to have seen everything somewhere before, these plots are unique, thrilling and exciting. I have seen episodes where I thought "ok, I get it" and then *wham* the story turns into a totally different direction. Surprises at every corner.

The show is so refreshingly politically incorrect, I don't want to give away plot details, but there are situations you know from your movie/series experience and think OMG there we go again (Hostage situations someone?) and then*boom* - the protagonist does EXACTLY what WE would wish to do but which every movie/series is afraid of doing because it is not PC.

The characters are three dimensional and so well laid out. This "family" on board a little spaceship, a confined space(!), with all their motivations, quirks and problems, trying to get along and achieve their goals, are so believable and make for a hell of a ride.

The creators of this show have, in the first 14 episodes, established plots, characters and atmosphere that other science fiction series have only managed to achieve - if ever - in the last seasons of their time on air.

Such a pity that most American viewers couldn't see behind a bold, unique, hilarious - if difficult to accept at first glance - premise... and see the beautiful gem of a show behind it.