by Marc Quaglia

Created on: February 16, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

There isn't a single "best" science fiction series for everyone... people who are idealistic in their views will prefer Star Trek: The Next Generation's glossy sheen over the dirty and battered update of Battlestar Galactica, "classic" science fiction fans will cling to their Doctor Who, and the straight-forward action fans may even enjoy Andromeda over a more thought-provoking series like Babylon 5.

But with all this stated, there are a few truly exceptional Sci-fi series that deserve mention for their ability to draw in people, almost regardless of specific preferences, and enthrall them with the brilliance of the show. And of this handful of truly outstanding series, Firefly stands above all others like a beacon of all that is good and proper with science fiction. From the moment the hauntingly beautiful opening theme song about freedom and loss starts, to the last credits roll on the final episode, this is a series which can capture almost any viewer with its surpassing intelligence, depth, and humour.

Written by the mind reasonible for the wildly popular Buffy the Vampire Slayer television series (and it's subsequent spin-off), Firefly is about as close to a science fiction that pleases everyone as you can get. It's a science fiction like what we used to day dream about as kids; a lone captain and his crew against the universe... and not a universe that's unreasonably hostile, but rather a completely believable place where people are too selfish, stupid, or scared to help anyone else. This isn't the gleaming ivory towers of the Star Trek future, nor the gritty post-apocolyptic Matrix... we're not watching a top-of-the-line starship or the last hope of mankind struggle against overwhelming odds. We're watching a simple battered transport ship, filled with simple, mostly-honest people. This is the sorta series that would result if people, ordinary people, were suddenly several hundred years in the future.

Captain Malcom Reynolds leads the crew, and while he steers with vision, it's never absolute... he is a man who prizes freedom above all else, and what he lacks in education he makes up for in hard work. The crew itself is just big enough that you can get to know everyone intimately... there are no faceless red-shirts, but at the same time the cast is extremely varied... for example, the money-driven mercenary Jayne has almost nothing in common with the benevolent and yet pragmatic preacher Book, and yet they co-exist on the ship extremely well.

The only true weakness of the show is it's brevity; at only 12 episodes long, it's cut short before it's potential has been fully realized. But that's really only a complaint because the series is so good... if it was so strong after 12 episodes, imagine how good it could have been after a few seasons!

Despite it's short run, or perhaps because of it, everyone who enjoys science fiction should give Firefly a chance.

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