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I've been putting this off for far too long!

Did the title mean anything to you? If not, then this post is for you.

Last year, a friend of mine mentioned a great tv series by Joss Whedon – creator of Buffy – that aired in the states in 2002 and was coming out on DVD at the time and described it as a Futuristic Space Western. My reaction was: o_O Are you kidding? No, she wasn't kidding and i decided to give it a chance. I watched the pilot episode and was immediately hooked.

I don't know how many of you remember a cartoon from the late 80s/early 90s called Bravestar – follow the link for a couple of pictures –, but speaking for myself, I was expecting something along the lines of the animated series from my childhood. Nevertheless, it surprised me. The series tells the story of a group of wanderers who live in a ship, called Serenity, and make a living out of delivering goods here and there – basically, smuggling, but shhh ;) – and get in lots of trouble in the way. The storyline is very rich, with very different episodes that give that series an awesome dynamic. It had everything to become a hit space series, running for a good deal of seasons, like Star Trek: TNG, only it didn't. It got chopped off after 14 episodes and they announced they were going to produce a movie based on the series.

The TV Series

First let me tell you a bit about those 14 episodes. The key elements are smart jokes, high-tech gadgets, pretty women, romance, betrayal, outlaws, fights, egos, etc. That's a lot of key elements, but it just goes to show how rich the stories are. If you're into this kind of stuff and you manage to get a hold of the DVD, don't hesitate for a second. It's worth it and you'll thank me later. The visual fx are superb; no sound in space (yay), great physics both in space and inside the atmosphere of a planet and great detail in each scene. They managed to put together a very plausible futuristic world.

The Movie

The movie is titled Serenity, named after the ship in the series. It features pretty much the same cast, with a couple of new faces, so they are already familiar with each other.

I can't say much about the movie right now, only because i haven't seen it, but if it's half as good as the tv episodes, this will be one of the best movies of 2005!
Mark my words.

Lately a couple of short clips have been hitting the airwaves tube cyberspace with Summer Glau – who plays River, a troubled girl who has had her brain investigated by the Federation – showcasing her talents in what appears to be video interviews for when River was being psychologically examined, before the whole adventure of the tv series took place.
You can watch these clips over at Portuguese Browncoats.

The fans of the tv series from all over the world have been expecting this for over a year and i just hope it's worth it. I can't tell you anything else besides, go watch them! Both the series and the movie. In Portugal, Sic Radical has already bought the episodes but won't air them until after the movie.

Serenity will premiere in Portugal on October 6 and premieres on September 30 in theatres all around the US.

Pre-screenings

I just heard there is going to be early screenings of the movie tonight (sept 27th) in Portugal.

Sessions will start at 9:30pm at the following venues:

• LISBOA (Vasco da Gama)
• PORTO (Dolce Vita)
• BRAGA (Braga Parque)
• COIMBRA (Dolce Vita)

Book your tickets at cinema.sapo.pt.

Related Links

• Official Site
• Serenity @ imdb
• Firefly (tv series) @ imdb
• Portuguese Browncoats
  fanclub
• Can't Take the Sky