Joss Whedon created "Firefly," and you have to appreciate his approach to "get" the series. He's a master of the use of long story arcs in television. He has a remarkable ability to keep them coherent and entertaining. If he had been at the helm of "The X Files," for example, the alien story thread would have actually made sense. He had set up a number of arcs in "Firefly," but then it was cancelled. Whedon is also very good at characterization and dialog. While the fifty show story arcs aren't going to be played out in a two hour movie, from the reviews I've read Whedon's focus on character and dialog *do* dominate "Serenity." If that's the case it will be the ONLY action-oriented science fiction movie to focus on dialog and character in the past thirty years.
I'm a sucker for the show because it draws so heavily on classic westerns. THe anime "Cowboy Bebop" used some similar plot elements but had far more to do with a Japanese vision of film noir than anything western. It owed more to "Bladerunner" than it ever did to "The Searchers." But in "Firefly" we've actually got characters who fought for a future version of the CSA, brown/butternut uniforms and all. Just as so many main characters in classic westerns were CSA vets, so are the main characters in the show. And the Alliance bears a striking resemblance to the Federals. So I have some sympathy for them.
Plus, there are such unique elements as horses and livestock in space. Whedon on the commentary track noted that teraformed planets don't come with roads or industry, so settlers would need to revert back to 19th century technology to survive. They appear to be relying much more on a Lehman's catalog than a Star Trek style replicator. This is why they rely so heavily on old iron. The settlers need firearms, but with only a limited infrastructure they're limited to making simple rollling block rifles and shotguns. Mercenaries are often shown with AK-style rifles and subguns, since they can afford a little better. But only the official military forces and the very wealthy can afford true laser weapons. It's a far more realistic evolution than 99% of science fiction shows that pretend all the firearms vanish the second a laser weapon appears on the scene.
I also appreciate that, like "Bebop," the series is restricted to a single (albeit large) solar system. This gets around the absurdities and paradoxes of FTL travel. It takes years to ply around the planets even with fast vessels. Silent combat in space is also a BIG plus. Nothing goes "BOOM" without an atmosphere. Apparently they get around this in the movie by staging a large fight in the upper atmo of a large planet, but I wish they'd stayed silent. The absolute silence of the exterior space shots gave the TV series a realism I hadn't seen since "2001."
There's also a wry humor in the show. Adam Baldwin actually turns out to be a fantastic comic.
"Do you know what the chain of command is here? It's the chain I go get and beat you with to show you who's in command."
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Mal: "Are you offering me a trade?"
Jayne: "A trade!? Hell, it's theft. This is the best damn gun made by man. It has extreme sentimental value. It's miles more worthy than what you got."
Mal: "What I got? She has a name."
Jayne: "So does this!" (caresses the gun lovingly) "I call it Vera."
Mal: "Well, my days of taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle."
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Zoe: "Preacher, don't the Bible have some pretty specific things to say about killing?
Book: "Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzier on the subject of kneecaps."
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