Blu-Ray Review:
Firefly
By Jason Gillard
*Screen shots are not from the Blu-Ray source.
Movie
There are a lot of television shows that get canceled before their time, but there are few that get canceled and have the following of the show like Firefly. Firefly was a scifi western that was created by Joss Whedon who is the creator of Buffy. Firefly was one of those shows that never really got the respect it deserved. From not airing the pilot first to changing time slots, it was never really given a chance to succeed. That didn't stop the fans from rallying around the show. DVD sales were so good that it made Universal take notice and green light a feature film about the series. Serenity was the movie and it's one of the best sci-fi films to come out in a long time. Will they ever make another one? I hope so. But back to the series, I will try to explain what the show is about. Mal Reynolds is a war veteran fighting against the Alliance. Once the war is over he buys a ship named Serenity. With his crew, they do legal and illegal jobs and try to stay out of the Alliance's way. Everything is fine until they decide to take on passengers. One of the passengers is a doctor with a physic sister named River. The alliance is after them and this means trouble for the crew of Serenity. This show may not be for everyone, but I really loved it. I love the way the dialogue is written and the characters are always interesting. If you didn't pick the set up on DVD, now is your chance to pick up Firefly and watch the episodes in order like they were supposed to be shown.
8 out of 10
Video
Let me start off by saying that the Firefly Blu-ray is probably the best the show has ever looked, but as far as high-def transfers go this is not going to wow you. The biggest problem that I had with the transfer is in the special effects shots. Shots of the ship did not look sharp, almost blurry at times. I am assuming this has something to do with a low budget at the time and a rushed production schedule. The closeups on the actors face are sharp and detailed though. Colours seem more vibrant than the DVD release. The picture also seems to be much cleaner than the DVD version. Fox could have done a better job with this transfer, but we have to remember that they were the ones that canceled the show and really it only lives on because of the fans. Overall, the picture quality is decent and is a moderate improvement over the DVD set.
7 out of 10
Audio
The audio is a different story from the transfer. Firefly sports a DTS HD Master Audio track that is really well done. Dialogue comes across nice and clear in most instances. The surrounds are active as well. In almost every scene you can hear sounds, like the gears in Serenity's engines. Gunshots and explosions also come across with bass that is worthy. Overall this is a track that is certainly well done. Firefly has never sounded better than this and probably never will.
8.5 out of 10
Extras
Here is what you get in the way of extras:
Audio Commentaries
How It Was: The Making of Firefly
Other Featurettes
Deleted Scenes
Gag Reel
Blu-ray Exclusives:
Commentary with Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillion, Rob Glass, and Alan Tudyk.
Firefly Reunion
Most of these extras are from the original DVD set. Out of those, my favorite would have to be "How it was: The Making of Firefly". It is interviews with the cast but it's done in a candid way which makes it enjoyable. There are a total of 7 commentaries as well and I find that listening to them is always a joy. These people obviously had a lot of fun making the show. In the Blu-ray exclusives the Firefly Reunion was interesting but could have been so much more if the entire cast were present.
7 out of 10
Overall
If you have never experienced Joss Whedon's Firefly, I suggest you go out and pick up this Blu-ray set today. It's a great show that was canceled way before it's time and I am sure you will enjoy this series just as much as I have.
8 out of 10
Highly Recommended.
Firefly Blu-ray is available now from Amazon.com