Does ‘Firefly’ Still Fly High 20 Years After It Ended?

The iconic science-fiction show Firefly aired its last episode in the summer of 2003. Yes, it has been 20 years since we saw new adventures of the Serenity crew. (Don’t worry, my bones turned to dust at that realization, too.) The show has become a science-fiction staple that people still celebrate at conventions and online. With only 14 episodes and being canceled after one season, it somehow earned its place in our hearts.

As a longtime lover of Firefly, I totally get it. I read the ongoing comic book series and still love those smuggling space cowboys aboard the ship Serenity. I know I’m not the only fan who still loves the actors from the show. Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk have become gods in the nerd world for their characters and their devotion to the fandom, but a lot has happened to our society in 20 years, and I wondered if Firefly would hold up to modern standards.

Where Firefly falls short

Set in the future, Firefly shows humans living in space on various planets. The idea is that the common culture is a mix of American and Chinese, with elements of both civilizations and languages combined. Characters speak American English and easily switch to Chinese (usually to say uncensored curse words). However, Firefly fell a particular the trap of the early 2000s: It was a time when Orientalism became a fashionable thing without actually celebrating or including people from cultures referenced. The Serenity crew speaks Chinese fluently, follows Chinese customs, and wears Asian-style clothing, but there is not one character, on the crew or otherwise, that is actually Chinese or Asian.

Another issue I had during this rewatch centered on a character that many people worship from the series, Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds. After the truth about creator Joss Whedon came out, it isn’t surprising that Mal hasn’t aged well. Much like Xander from another Whedon creation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Mal was the “nice guy” we were all supposed to love. And we did, mainly because Nathan Fillion, who played Mal, is extremely charming—though he didn’t do himself any favors in saying he would work with Whedon again “in a second.”

But Mal is verbally abusive and unnecessarily cruel to every woman he encounters. Inara Serra, the Companion (a high-society sex worker) who accompanies the ship, gets the worst of it. We are supposed to find their banter flirty, but he is just asserting his worldview onto her. Continually calling her a “whore” doesn’t play as romantic as the show intended. He gets into a duel over her “honor” because the other guy … acted almost exactly the same as Mal.

The Firefly that could have been

Overall, the storyline, characters, and space-western vibe are still good. Watching it this time, I kept thinking about the Firefly we got, versus what we deserved. There were so few episodes that we really didn’t get to fully dive into the characters or the universe. The Serenity film followup crammed a bunch of stuff in there that may have felt more organic if the show had more time. I would have loved to spend more time with (most of) the characters. I will ship Zoe (Gina Torres) and Wash (Alan Tudyk) for life, and we deserved more of them. Everyone wanted to know more about River (Summer Glau) and see her shine. I, for one, couldn’t get enough of Saffron (Christina Hendricks). I may or may not have a framed drawing of her in my house.

The comic book series that came after the show has given a glimpse into the Firefly that never was. In those pages, we finally learned more about Shepard Book’s (Ron Glass) mysterious backstory. We saw how the characters lived after the show ended. It also demonstrated how the show could have been if Whedon weren’t controlling every aspect of the series.

Having writers from different backgrounds helped fix some missteps. In the comic books, Mal may have made some bad choices, but his toxic masculinity wasn’t his core motivator. Rumors keep swirling that there will be a new season or a reboot. As a fan of Firefly, I’m always open to it but not certain it will ever work out. If it happens, I hope they treat the old girl right. Firefly deserves to soar like a leaf on the wind.

(featured image: 20th Century Studios)