Serenity Sheep

SFX have been running a poll to find the 'greatest SF film ever', including such alumni as Blade Runner, Aliens and The Terminator and little known fan film Serenity.

The latter film for those that don't know is based on the series Firefly, created by Joss 'In Search of a Success' Whedon. It's about the criminal crew of a rundown spaceship (the Firefly) and their adventures throughout known space (apparently one system wide but with an amazing array of survivable habitats). It's not a bad series as such and some characters are better than others, Jayne being the male stand-out from the crowd. He has the best, funniest, lines and is lower on the IQ chart than a piece of crotch crust. River is at the opposite end of the likability scale. She's nutso when you first meet her and doesn't contribute to the show except to how how crazy she is. The only exception being Objects in Space, where it appears she is absorbed by the ship. This would have been one of the great SF twists. As it is she was just on another ship. Meh.

It had the potential to be one of the better show of recent years; not up there with Babylon 5 but certainly on a par with the 4400. It lasted thirteen episodes before being cancelled. 13. One and three. Joss Whedon's fans, and if you like one of his shows you're pretty much likely to obsess about them all for some unknown except to bum fluff reason, come up with plenty of reasons for it being cancelled, all of them irrelevant and fatuous. Quite how a film was ever made I'll never know.

As soon as the poll appeared on the main SFX site, threads appeared on the Buffy and Firefly websites enrolling people to vote for Serenity. They do this every time one of their number appears somewhere on the net or on a vote-me-up somewhere. I'm getting to the point now and the point is this: get a life. Not in a William Shatner tongue in cheek type way but really, get a life. The show was cancelled quite a long time ago now. OK you must find a way to fill your after school time but go ride your bike, buy some binoculars and perve on the old lady across the street (I do - she's lush) or even help your Gran in the garden (the grass gets right in her Petunia when Grandad wants to do some trimming of her hedge).

It's not even as if Joss Whedon has had a single successful project since Buffy and even that is considered to be shite after series 4 (I personally never saw the 'brilliance' in that show either). Off the top of my head (cuz that makes a) my pop culture knowledge seem wizzo and b) there's nothing better for Blog kudos credibility) let's have a rundown of Jw's work and chart his successeseseses:

Toy Story - according to modern myth he wrote, created, starred and directed. In fact he co-wrote a few lines.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer - seven series TV show that limped a bit after the fourth.

Angel - Below average BTVS spinoff that got cancelled after the third season.

Firefly - Thirteen episodes! Count them and come back in...less than 10!

Serenity - Film based on Firefly that is struggling two years later to recoup it's cost.

Wonder Woman - a new film he was developing. Until he got chucked off.

I await the next announcement in SFX of his 'latest exciting project'.