8.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.3 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Five hundred years in the future there's a whole new frontier, and the crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity is eager to stake a claim on the action. They'll take any job, legal or illegal, to keep fuel in the tanks and food on the table. But things get a bit more complicated after they take on a passenger wanted by the new totalitarian Alliance regime. Now they find themselves on the run, desperate to steer clear of Alliance ships and the flesh-eating Reavers who live on the fringes of space.
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam BaldwinSci-Fi | 100% |
Adventure | 97% |
Western | 15% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
German: DTS 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, Spanish, Dutch
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Region A, B (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
For fans of science fiction, today's television landscape is graced by a number of groundbreaking series. "Lost," "Battlestar Galactica" and "Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles" all consistently deliver sci-fi greatness, critical acclaim and a high level of popularity on a weekly basis. However, back in 2002, when "Firefly" premiered on the Fox Network, science fiction had been suffering a protracted dry spell on network television. As is all to frequently the case, "Firefly" laid the groundwork for sci-fi's reentry into the popular consciousness, but struggled to find an audience of its own. Despite only airing 11 episodes, "Firefly" attracted a legion of devoted fans, many of whom didn't discover the show until it appeared on DVD some time later. It's a testament to the show's exceptional characters, story and writing that, six years later, it is still considered a fan favorite that has the ability to inspire intense debate, fandom and passion. "Firefly" is the "Star Trek" of this current generation of science fiction. It's a series that begs to be reinvestigated and, hopefully, continued.
Mal and Kaylee can't believe that their show performed so poorly in the ratings.
"Firefly" makes its Blu-ray debut with a fine 1080p AVC Mpeg-4 transfer in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The show was originally shot on film and features a purposefully dirty and grainy look that helps to solidify its western look. "Firefly" has a weathered and almost brown-hued look to the majority of the show, while scenes set in space show a much more robust image with deeper blacks and more vivid colors. This picture quality variation helps to visually differentiate between the show's rapidly evolving settings. The show isn't what many viewers would call "pretty," but this Blu-ray version deserves praise for reproducing the desired look of the show. Marcoblocking, edge enhancement, noise and other picture artifacts are never a distraction, fortunately. In comparing the Blu-ray version to "Firefly" on DVD, this set offers a clear upgrade over the blurred and displeasing standard definition image. Sharpness, detail and color reproduction are vastly surperior while helping to preserve the film-like look that the show aspired to. "Firefly" on Blu-ray is clearly the best that this show will ever look. Recommended.
The audio side of the "Firefly" question is a little more complicated. While the disc's 5.1 DTS HD-Master Audio soundtrack delivers impressive fidelity, the show's original sound design hampers the overall enjoyment of the track. Of course, this isn't surprising given the show's low budget television roots There is a minimal amount of surround activity present throughout the series. Panning effects are rarely used, although when they do occur the do so to great effect. There is a slight amount of low frequency data encoded on the disc, so don't expect your subwoofer to do much during the course of an episode. Dialogue is well recorded and presented, however. It's the one bright spot in this otherwise unremarkable track. I'm sure that "Firefly" could be much more dynamic and exciting if the show's soundtrack were given a thorough remixing. As it stands now, "Firefly" is a little lifeless.
"Firefly" arrives on Blu-ray with a ton of scene specific commentaries and a limited number of other special features. Here's what's included:
Disc 1:
* "Serenity (Part 1 & 2)" with commentary by executive producer Joss Whedon and actor Nathan Fillion
* "The Train Job" with commentary by executive producers Joss Whedon and Tim Minear
* "Shindig" with commentary by writer Jane Espenson, actress Morena Baccarin and costume designer Shawna Trpcic
* Here's How It Was: The Making of "Firefly" featurette
Disc 2
* "Our Mrs. Reynolds" with commentary by executive producer Joss Whedon and actors Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk and Ron Glass
* "Out of Gas" with commentary by executive producer Tim Minear and director David Solomon
* "Firefly" Reunion: Lunch with Joss, Nathan, Alan and Ron featurette
Disc 3
* "War Stories" with commentary by actors Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk
* "The Message" with commentary by actor Alan Tudyk and actress Jewel Staite
* "Objects in Space" with commentary by executive producer Joss Whedon
* "Serenity: The 10th Character"
* "Joss Sings the "Firefly" Theme"
* "Joss Tours the Set"
* Deleted Scenes
* Gag Reel
* Alan Tudyk's Audition
Clearly, the producers of the Blu-ray edition of "Firefly" had commentaries in mind when putting together the show's special features. Almost every episode has a commentary track devoted to it featuring various members of the cast as well as the production team. Fans of Joss Whedon will salivate at the various special features featuring him, above all else. While most of these features are in SD and were ported over from DVD, there are a few new items present. In reality, though, most viewers will purchase this set for its improved high definition picture and not a HD video of Joss Whedon singing the show's theme song.
"Firefly" is a rare show that has inspired legions of fans around the world, a major motion picture, Serenity, while helping to usher quality science fiction back to television screens. The series presents extraordinary characters, inspired writing and a detailed and lived-in universe that could have inspired viewers for years. As the show arrives on Blu-ray, fans have been presented with an excellent video transfer that does justice to the original photographic style of the show, while offering an appreciable upgrade over the previous DVD version. Audio is a bit on the uninspiring side, but does its very best considering the limited source material. Supplements will, no doubt, please Joss Whedon fans to no end, but casual viewers might not find much of interest. Regardless of any of the above, "Firefly" is as good as television gets. It deserves to find a new audience on Blu-ray. Viewing "Firefly" is an incomplete experience without also checking out the show's theatrical continuation, Serenity. As both are now available on Blu-ray, these two releases offer up some seriously amazing science fiction at a level of quality not before available to fans. Highly Recommended!
2002
2002
15th Anniversary Standard Edition
2002
15th Anniversary Edition
2002
2002
2002
2005
10th Anniversary Collector's Edition | Limited
2014
2009
Extended Edition
2015
2016
2007
Includes "Silent Space" version
2013
25th Anniversary Edition / Includes The Peacekeeper Wars Miniseries
1999-2004
2019
Budget Re-release
2001-2005
2009
The Director's Edition | Remastered
1979
45th Anniversary Edition
1978
2009
1966-1969
40th Anniversary Edition
1977
2009-2011
2018
2014
The Star Beast / Wild Blue Yonder / The Giggle
2023