Libertarian Sci Fi


BaalChatzaf

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The best science fiction series produced for T.V. was -Firefly- by the genius Joss Whedon (he of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame). Each of th eps was introduced by the Ballad of Serenity.

The hero and protagonist of the story line is Malcolm Reynolds, a rebel, a freedom fighter, a hero and an atheist. His passengers are welcome aboard his ship (Serenity) but God is not.

I propose this as the libertarian anthem:

Have a look and listen at:

Ba'al Chatzaf

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I just requested Season 1 Disk 1 from my library. (Short wait. I am finally 1 of 24 for Big Bang Theory Season 3 Disk 3.)

Based on this

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series)

The series seems interesting.

Tim Minear and Joss Whedon pointed out two scenes that, they believed, articulated the mood of the show exceptionally clearly.[8] One scene is in the original pilot "Serenity", when Mal is eating with chopsticks and a Western tin cup is by his plate; the other is in "The Train Job" pilot, when Mal is thrown out of a holographic bar window.[10] The DVD set's "making-of" documentary explains the series' distinctive frontispiece (wherein Serenity soars over a herd of unshod horses) as Whedon's attempt to capture "everything you need to understand about the series in five seconds."

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  • 1 month later...

We watched Disk 1 and now have Disk 2. I found it reviewed on Atlasphere here by Monica White. I agree with Bob's statement that the show is "libertarian" but I think that it is deeper than that. It is an example of Romantic fiction - not bootleg romanticism or smuggled values, but the real deal. Each the characters has a defined self-interest. Usually, those coincide, thus the crew can function. Often, however, their values are in conflict as their different goals required independent choices in each situation. The ship's hired gun, Jayne Cobb, was bought out from the men who hired him to kill the captain, Malcolm Reynolds. Cobb says, and Reynolds understands, that if the deal is ever good enough, he will turn Reynolds over the Alliance. Yet, Jayne Cobb is there, at the ready, when he is needed. The firefly ship Serenity is a smuggler's vessel. They achieve that by not getting caught, having the right papers, and squeaking by narrowly. They do not need the attention that comes from having The Doctor and His Sister on board. They are fleeing the Alliance because the Doctor broke his Sister out of a government lab that was picking her super-genius brain. But Captain Reynolds knows himself and his values and he protects them as his passengers, even as they endanger his mission. Reynolds and his first mate, Zoe Alleyne Washburne, were on the losing side of the Rebellion before she married the pilot, Hoban Washburne. Zoe and Mal are comrades, not lovers, partners who saved each others lives before this.

If you do not know about this show - and I did not until I read Baal's review - then you might want to try this Wikipedia article

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firefly_(TV_series)

and this fan website

http://www.fireflyfans.net/

The show ran on Fox in 2002. It still wins new loyal followers.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We finished the entire run of episodes, including three that were never aired. We also watched the movie, Serenity. As I wrote in the "Favorite Drama" topic thread, I keep to the standards for romantic fiction developed by Ayn Rand: action based on values, integrated with plot, in the context of a theme, projecting a positive sense of life.

Firefly delivers that.

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