Firefly (TV series - 2002)

Dusty trails, tumbleweeds blowing in the wind, barroom brawls, corrupt sheriffs, a southern twang, heroes riding off into a blazing sunset, and... space ships? Laser pistols? One of the smartest shows ever put on television never even got to finish its first season. The mishandling and eventual cancellation of cult favorite auteur-writer Joss Whedon's third TV series is widely thought of as grievous sin. One good look and it's not hard to figure out why. It starts with the writing, which here is a slice of blinding brilliance at every turn. There's no predicting what will happen next or how it will play on the cast. Conversations are carried out in a cynical kind of double-speak that drips style and is home to a gloriously generous sense of humor. Plot lines build slowly, deepening your understanding of each of the ship's crew, creating a holistic and genuine attachment to the cast. And it's completely unafraid to toy with convention, causing things to happen, both good and bad, that have tremendous impact on the way events carry out. You never know if a seemingly disconnected episode might have some nugget of info into the greater conspiracies or maybe impact a character deeply and permanently in other ways. Then there's the cast of misfits themselves, led by the roguish and pragmatic-to-a-fault captain, his man-child pilot, the muscle, the engineer, the doctor, and so on, each flawlessly chosen. Not a one of the leads can be singled out because each simply does a perfect job. You'll be glad to laugh and cry with these people. The only season of the show, lasting a mere 14 episodes, is crammed full of more memorable moments than many multi-year runs of other programs. Perhaps not everything shines as brightly, but even the very few missteps are surrounded by so much good that you'll happily smile your way on through. It's a truly heartbreaking shame this show wasn't given the chance to flourish, though thankfully the plot was continued and left in an acceptable place by the movie Serenity (not to be confused with the show's first episode, also called 'Serenity'). In the end though, with or without the film sequel, what's here is so worthy that I don't think I have a number high enough to award it. I guess I'll just have to settle for the very best.

10 out of 10.