Firefly

Dear Joss,

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

I didn't watch Firefly the first time around. I didn't want to like it.

You had Buffy; and then you had Angel; and I thought, that should be enough for you. With Firefly, you'll spread yourself too thin; you'll neglect the children you already have.

So I didn't want to know your new baby. Oh, I tuned in to the pilot -- but since that wasn't the real pilot, I was confused and not impressed. Since I am in full disclosure mode, I also had just fallen in love with Farscape (late to the party, I know) and felt that all the promos (ala Joss reinvents science fiction!) were an insult to Farscape. I wondered why there are still hookers in space. This last confession is the hardest: I was even a bit happy when Firefly got cancelled.

But time goes by.

Buffy was gone; Angel was gone. And there was all the talk of a movie sequel, Serenity. A movie sequel to a show that lasted less than a season? I was intrigued.... so I sighed and got off my high horse; and this past July, I began watching Firefly.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

Firefly is a great show. Make that an amazing show. It's almost perfect television; with all the elements coming together just right.

The Good: the cast, the dialogue, the plotting. It's a great mix of fun and scary and adventure. And the underlying premise: when you've had a dream, and its lost -- how do you go on? How do you reinvent yourself? If you cared deeply about something, and that is over, what happens when you wake up the next morning? And the way that a whole future is imagined -- and not only imagined, but how that world is shared with the audience. Firefly expects much from the audience; it doesn't hold your hand. It's science fiction just the way I like it. It's story just the way I like it. And I was foolish enough to turn away when it first aired.

Seeing Firefly as it was meant to be, with the original pilot, helped immensely. I sped through the first episodes, and now have stopped with only three episodes left because I don't want it to be over. I'm trying to plan it so that I watch them just before the Serenity comes out on September 30.

If you're a Buffy fan like I am and, like me, you didn't watch Firefly, for whatever reason -- please, give it a chance.

So to Joss, the cast and crew: I am truly, deeply sorry that I prejudged and misjudged Firefly. Even though my library owns this on DVD, I bought my own set. I will be going to the theatre to watch Serenity. I've made my public apology. And all I can say is-- mea culpa. The fault was mine.

Yours truly,

Liz

P.S. I love that you love Veronica Mars. (Which by the way just had a change in season two start date, now it's September 28th).