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Joss Whedon Says STAR TREK is the Father of SERENITY

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By GustavoLeao / 14:49, 30 October 2005 / General Genre/SciFi

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The latest issue of Cinefantastique magazine features an exclusive interview with SERENITY director Joss Whedon. Here is excerpt of the interview.



Q : When FIREFLY was getting ready to debut,you had talked about this being the anti-STAR TREK. I just find it amusing that in a sense STAR TREK has faded away, yet the grittier, more realistic BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and FIREFLY are now living on.

Whedon : There's always the young punk rebelling against his father.I'm rebelling against Han Solo, but if you are going to tell me that Han Solo isn“t the father of Malcolm Reynolds, then I am going to laugh and laugh and laugh. A lot of people liked the first STAR TREK when they were really finding their way, and James Kirk was about taking the time to take his shirt off and getting it done. Kirk was also, I would say, Malcolm's weird uncle. And both of those franchises became more and more sterile, and less kind off down and dirt. I was rebelling against that kind of TV and science-fiction. At the same time, I owe both of those franchises a huge debt. They are both in my personal, how can they not be ?It's that classic thing : I'm rebelling against my father and doing everything he doesn't do, but I think I look like him.

To read the full article, get the latest issue of Cinefantastique magazine at your local newstand.



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When I read the subject line of this thread... | Report this post to moderator
By: sb2004 (Odo's file, contact) @ 08:42:36 on Nov 03, 2005

... I immediately thought of John Billingsley in drag shouting "J'accuse!" from the ENT season 4 bloopers!

Funnily enough "bastard child" is also what I'd term Firefly. In no way does it recall the fun of Kirk, in my opinion. It's just a collection of character cliches as far as I'm concerned.

Al


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poss spolier | Report this post to moderator
By: plasmaboy (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 06:29:33 on Nov 02, 2005

firefly and serenity gave me characters i cared for.

when has startrek done that recently??

i saw the movie a week ago and i am still saddened
by the loss of one of the characters ( i'm a leaf on the wind ).... and thats a character thats been in only 12 episodes and the film!!!!!

compared to the loss of those in seasons and seasons of trek and its ....oh...ok... there dead.

imo treks quality of writing and character development are nowhere close to the quality of Firefly/ Serenitys..and BSG , untill they get people who can do that for trek , i say let Trek lay dead.


i am sure it in violation of my European Convention on Human Rights that firefly was cancelled..and i cannot watch any new episodes. :(





--------

" laffa while you can ,,, monkey-boy!"


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Living life through the child... | Report this post to moderator
By: cooper2000 (Odo's file, contact) @ 15:12:01 on Nov 01, 2005

The Daddy should try and live his life through his child in this case.
Firefly like Farscape has kept the adventure that Trek used to do very well.


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RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
By: gorgon (Odo's file, contact) @ 13:53:29 on Oct 31, 2005

at least firefly had a film this year
when is the next star trek film
coming out ?


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RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
By: MikeJonas (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 09:35:44 on Oct 31, 2005

I was tempted to say that, but didn't want to insult anyone here who was developmentally-challenged. :)


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Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
By: MikeJonas (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 17:12:26 on Oct 30, 2005

I was watching a few episodes of Firefly just a little while ago with my mother and my little brother (neither of whom are sci-fi fans), and I was just looking for the right way to describe Firefly's relationship to Trek...Whedon hit it right on the head.

TOS was Trek in its own rebellious youth, TNG is its older, primmer grownup self, DS9 the overachieving but unsung older child, VOY the underachieving kid who finds his niche as the class clown, and ENT the bland lobotomized baby cut down just when its potential was finally starting to show. Firefly might be the rebellious punk that goes against the modern Trek era grain, but in doing so, it recalls the fun of Kirk's time.


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  • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
    By: Chronic Harlot (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 15:58:29 on Nov 03, 2005

    "TOS was Trek in its own rebellious youth, TNG is its older, primmer grownup self, DS9 the overachieving but unsung older child, VOY the underachieving kid who finds his niche as the class clown, and ENT the bland lobotomized baby cut down just when its potential was finally starting to show."

    That was a great bit of writing; you should make it your signature, Mike. ;)

    --------

    Image
    The autumn days swung soft around me, like cotton on
    my skin. But as the embers of the summer lost their
    breath and disappeared, my heart went cold, and
    only hollow rhythms resounded from within.


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  • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
    By: maginnis (Odo's file, contact) @ 07:28:42 on Oct 31, 2005

    I'd be more inclined to dub Vger the "developmentally-challenged" child, Star Trek: Down's Syndrome or maybe the weird child living in the attic that no one talks about. But, other than that, yeah I'd agree.

    - Mike


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  • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
    By: fx7 (Odo's file, contact) @ 17:25:51 on Oct 30, 2005

    "...more realistic BATTLESTAR GALACTICA and FIREFLY are now living on."


    Last time i checked Firefly died.....twice. ;)


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    • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
      By: steveleenow (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 19:44:23 on Oct 30, 2005

      FIREFLY was bounced around so much the first time FOX aired it that no one could follow it. The DVDs apparently have sold very well. The movie looks like it will break even and should do ok when it hits the shelves as a DVD (special edition or otherwise).

      Comparing Serenity to say the performance of Nemesis, it's probably safe to say that Serenity will do better. Even Insurrection broke even (barely) but at least it made a bit of change when you combined the domestic and international tallies, at least enough to warrant a sequel with the TNG crew involved.

      Others on this Board have said that the success of the DVD, and the fact that the movie will probably just barely make back its money is enough to say yeah, they should perhaps do a series of mini-series or even a few more seasons on tv and that seems realistic to say.

      Buffy has done very well for Whedon. So the guy has some credentials under his belt. He's done all right and should have the chance again to do more good stuff, whether it's on tv or in the cinema remains to be seen. But the analogy drawn in the question and answer above is apt.


      --------

      - Steve Lee
      http://www.steveleenow.net/


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      • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
        By: cooper2000 (Odo's file, contact) @ 15:19:06 on Nov 01, 2005

        Quote: FIREFLY was bounced around so much the first time FOX aired it that no one could follow it. The DVDs apparently have sold very well. The movie looks like it will break even and should do ok when it hits the shelves as a DVD (special edition or otherwise).
        Firefly has been in the top 20 for some time and is now, again, at Number 10. Funny, I didnt see the new Season of Enterprise (season 4) in the top 20 (It's number 36).
        Hmmm, what is that saying?


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        • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
          By: steveleenow (Odo's file, contact, web site) @ 15:34:38 on Nov 01, 2005

          they've been smart in putting it on sale too at key times throughout the year over the last two years to help keep interest in the set alive (at least here in Vancouver). The price for the set has ranged from as low as $19.99 CDN all the way up to its regular retail price of about $51.99 CDN (futureshop.ca has it listed at $51.99; amazon.ca has it listed currently for $45.99).

          --------

          - Steve Lee
          http://www.steveleenow.net/


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      • RE: Rebellious punk offspring | Report this post to moderator
        By: The Magrathean (Odo's file, contact) @ 09:03:46 on Oct 31, 2005 | Edit History (1)

        Quote:
        The movie looks like it will break even

        Not at the box office, as I mentioned in the other thread, since Universal only gets about half the domestic take. I don't mean to belabor the point, but I think the more we understand how Hollywood calculates what's profitable and unprofitable, the better we'll be able to understand their decision-making process when it comes to greenlighting sequels or new series. As for Serenity, I wouldn't worry too much about its theatrical performance -- many movies only become profitable on DVD these days.


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