“Those Left Behind Part 1 (of 3)”

Written by: Joss Whedon and Brett Mathews

Penciller: Will Conrad

Colorist: Laura Martin

It is very difficult to turn a tv show (or film) into a different medium (such as books or comic) and maintain the same feel. Much of the time, it feels like it’s a parallel universe because something is missing.

I’m happy to say that Those Left Behind does a great job of maintaining the feel. I only wish it had been longer. I would guess that by the end of #3 we’ll have enough for a full episode of the show or so, but that only makes me wish for an ongoing title rather than a limited series.

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“Litmus”

Paranoia and Loyalty. These are the two major themes of “Litmus”.

One of the chief strengths of being human is the very loyalty we show our friends. United we can accomplish much. Divided and mistrustful, we are easier targets for the Cylons.

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“Objects In Space”

“Objects in Space” is a phenomenal way to go out, considering there was no tying up of loose ends possible. It just happened to end here. Unfortunately, it probably gives much more questions than answers and definitely a few hints as to directions the series might have gone if continued. So with that in mind, you have to forgive that.

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“Heart of Gold”

Firefly is always at it’s best when it combines it’s action with its relationships. Then add a touch of morality, a dash of humor, and you got a good episode.

Inara gets a distress call from an old friend. A former Companion who left companioning to run a whorehouse on a distant planet. Mal agrees to help without hesitating…and without payment. Although Inara won’t let that happen. They have to keep this business.

Mal makes it specific that it’s not an ordered mission, it’s purely volunteer. Of course, Jayne isn’t going to do something charitable…until he finds out they’re whores of course.

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“The Message”

A day at the post office. When Jayne gets a hat with pom poms from his mom and Zoe and Mal get a dead buddy of an old war buddy…well Jayne gets the better of the deal.

The Message is a solid episode, with the normal Firefly humor (Jayne), entangling relationships (Simon-Kaylee), intriguing notions of undisclosed pasts (Book), and a ship chase.

Simon and Kaylee open the episode and their relationship is very intriguing. The high class, very polite, but ultimately very socially awkward doctor with the down to earth, very blunt, but always cheerful grease monkey. Par for the course, the doctor says something stupid, which insults Kaylee who storms off.

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21

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Laurence Fishburne, and Kevin Spacey

Written by: Ben Mezrich, Peter Steinfeld, and Allan Loeb

Directed by: Robert Luketic

21 is a movie that is much like the city most of its action takes place in, Vegas. A whole lot of style, not so much in the substance, but still a lot of fun.

There’s something about Jim Sturgiss, that is eminently likable, even as he blows off his best friends, and gets too far in. As the lead role, he’s great at engaging the audience. However, likability only gets you so far.  He’s a little too nondescript and boring to really center a movie around.  The editing too fails both him and Kate Bosworth at times.

The story is fairly simple: Genius boy needs money for Harvard Med School, Opportunistic Professor who moonlights as card counting ringleader gets him involved, Boy gets money, Boy gets in over his head and loses money, Teacher gets pissed and screws the boy over, Boy gets revenge.

That’s two hours.

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“Trash”

I once said that Firefly didn’t seem to have a filler episode due to the fact that the very nature of the show is too anthology based.

However “Trash” is one that seems to me to be an episode to declare filler. That doesn’t mean bad however, it just seems, par for the course.

The episode starts out alright (not eating for once!) with Mal meeting up with an old war buddy. Things heat up awful quick when he introduces his wife Bridget…

or should we say Saffron.

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“War Stories”

Building a fictional universe. It’s key to any long running saga. But even more importantly in a saga that has no overlying epic quality. After awhile, things have to be tied in together.

What’s great about “War Stories” is how things start to interrelate. Even if it’s with just a little mention here or there, the series has started to feel less like an analogy and more like a continuous tale. These aren’t just episodes anymore. It has gotten to the point where it seems like one big movie.

We start with the crew munching on some fresh fruit Jayne bought with his cut of the medical scam. Feeling a little guilty Jayne? But secondly…don’t we always open with the crew eating it seems?

What’s Firefly without a little humor though? Jayne delivers. Inara meets with a special client aboard the shuttle, a Counselor. Everyone wants a peek at this special man…and are surprised to learn it’s a woman…

Jayne’s response? “I’ll be in my bunk”

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“Ariel”

How do you follow up a masterpiece like “Out of Gas”? Firefly answers that question with another solid offering.

Not content after such a serious episode, “Ariel” challenges the concept of good, evil, loyalty, and the audience.

As always, it starts out innocently enough. Dinner with the crew. After Jayne jokingly insults the doctor, River suddenly slashes Jane across the chest with a knife and Jayne backhands her in retaliation.

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“Out of Gas”

While most of the episodes thus far have thrust us into the heart of a story, none do it with the efficiency and effectiveness of “Out of Gas”. Choosing to do a story in a non-linear fashion is a risky, if not unusual choice. If done poorly it can be annoying, but if done right, it serves the story well. This episode is definitely amongst the latter.

While a non-linear storyline is not unique by anymeans, Firefly does up the ante slightly. Instead of the usual, thrust into the action, and then show us the past that led up to it, or the other common trait of switching between the past and the present to show how they connect, “Out of Gas” chooses to show us three timelines simultaneously. They keep it clear what timeline is when, by use of coloring. The present, is shot in a bluish tinge, while the near past is shot normally, while the distant past is shot in a historical yellowish tinge.

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