Firefly was Joss Whedon’s first non-Buffy universe show and was an interesting failure. For a show that debuted to poor ratings, had episodes shown out of order and only had 11 of the 14 episodes actually air, it has quite a following. When the axe finally fell on the show, I don’t think anyone would have expected a movie showing up a few years later. And while the show did ultimately fail, it was ultimately a wonderful show that deserves a wider audience.

Malcolm Reynolds was a survivor of the losing side in a civil war across the solar system. After the war he stayed out on the outer planets where the government has less influence and bought a ship that would allow him to do some smuggling and other semi-legal activities. Mal brought with him his right hand (wo)man Zoe and hired a mechanic (Kaylee) and a pilot (Wash) to round out the crew. Along the way he picked up various people. Jayne was brought on as a hired gun who isn’t always the smartest bulb in the lamp. One of the shuttles was rented out to Inara, a companion (prostitute but legal and respected) who is a unacknowledged love interest for Mal. Joining the crew at the beginning of the series is a Shepard (Reverend) Book who wasn’t always a religious man and a Doctor Simon who smuggled on his sister (River) who he kidnapped back from the government, who broke her mentally.

The series owes a lot to both Star Trek and Star Wars. The week to week missions are similar to Star Trek’s Wagon Train in Space concept. But the series and the characters are similar to Star Wars. The ships are dirty and old and barely running. Mal is descended directly from Han Solo as the scruffy, unassuming hero who keeps the ship running on hope and no budget. The engineer Kaylee, on the other hand, is a female Scotty. She knows the ship backwards and forwards and can MacGyver a solution to a broken engine out of anything. The Old West motif is carried out a lot on the outer planets, while the inner planets is an Alliance of English and Chinese cultures.

The series follows our scruffy band of smugglers as they run away from the Alliance due to the not-exactly-legal activities and the need to hide River and Simon. As we get to know our characters, we find out exactly what they’re made of. Kaylee is the engineer who is fragile outside her engine room. Simon is looking out for his sister above anything. Wash loves his wife and can pilot better than anyone else. Book is either looking for a flock or running from a past. Jayne is learning that he shouldn’t always just look out for himself. Zoe is dedicated to two men, her husband and her Captain and will not let anything get in their way. Mal is the loyal leader. If you are on his ship, then you are under his protection and he will willingly lay down his life to protect you.

The show was jerked around on the schedule, the episodes were run out of order and never gained an audience. It was canceled a few months after it started. But it was never forgotten. The DVDs sold well and people who hadn’t seen the show when it was on started renting and buying the shows. The people who had seen the shows started conventions and fan groups. Whedon was able to turn the DVD sales and conventions into financing for a movie and Serenity came out a few years later. And while loyal fans went to see the movie, few others did. The stories have continued in comics and the conventions and fandom are still there, but the chances of any new TV or movies are very slim (and probably non-existent).

If you are a Whedon fan or even a science-fiction fan, you owe it to yourself to see the 14 episodes and the movie and share with the rest of us the dream of what could have been. If you are interested in an episode by episode recap, then Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing it all summer. His reviews are almost essential to watch the shows with. Highly recommended.