Customer Reviews

Firefly: Still Flying: A Celebration of Joss Whedon's Acclaimed TV Series

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If I could have, I would've given "Still Flying" a 3.5 -- but I erred on the side of swinging higher, if only because it's, you know, "Firefly!"

The parts I liked about the book are the same things I liked about the first two books from Titan--great photographs of characters, sets, and props; intriguing behind-the-scenes interviews (this time with a costume designer and a double, among others); and some great collections of quotes from the actors, harvested from different interviews and appearances at conferences. That last is part of my "not so great" angle, though. Parts of this felt more like aggregation than original work.

As for the original work--the four new stories! First, I wouldn't count Edlund's "Fun with Dick and Jayne" as an "original story" -- it's two comic panes illustrating Jayne in childhood (with some dialogue), and that's it. So okay: Three new stories? My favorite was the first, by Jayne Espenson, set before the movie Serenity, throwing Kayli and Wash into an action adventure those two characters rarely got to experience on the show. Another, by Brett Matthews, shows River's point of view--also pre-"Serenity"--in which she has a premonition of what is to come, which I also enjoyed. The last, by Jose Molina, struck me as a particularly depressing spoiler alert for anything else ever to happen to these characters... unless it was just an alternative future, in which case I hope someone corrects me.

I would love to see Whedon okay (and perhaps edit, or at least approve) "Firefly" novels, like the popular novel series about "Star Wars" characters and the "Star Trek" series. I want to see these stories and characters continue--in adventures and romance and snappy dialogue--rather than simply dwelling on what they once were. "Still Flying" focuses, for me, a little too much on the latter.

For those of you who have Firefly: The Official Companion: Volumes One, or Two, or Serenity The Official Visual Companion, this book will seem very familiar. It, like the previous three mentioned, is from Titan Books and it's format is basically the same. Lots of pictures: studio shots, behind the scenes, prop close-ups, and stories to go with the pictures. There are also memories of the series and movie by the cast and crew. As for what is new, there are fresh stories in this book written by writers of the original TV episodes. I've only read one so far, "What Hold Us Down" by Jane Espenson, but it was fantastic. The way in which it was written, and the dialogue, was true Firefly. Another thing this book has going for it, is that it touches on areas of Firefly outside of the series and movie. There is a section on fan films in which projects like Done the Impossible ( a documentary, available here at Amazon), and the up incoming Browncoats: Redemption (a full length feature film premiering at Dragon*Con 2010), are showcased. And for those of you who like shiny merchandise, there is a section on Firefly merchandise in which they mention among other things, a lot of the shiny stuff put forth by Quantum Mechanix. Oh, and who could forget the section dedicated to us, the Browncoats? The ones who have kept Serenity flying, all these many years after she should have gone down. There's a lot more to this book, and if you are a fan of Firefly, I urge you to buy it. You will not be disappointed. If you have the other three, you'll understand why you need this one; if you don't, I'd recommend buying those too.
Stay Shiny --- BrowncoatKal (A.K.A. SurvivorSteve)

I'm sure you've had the experience of finding a box of mementos in your attic. While the items have little meaning to anybody else, the apparently-random collection is a "memory box" for you. A copy of the poem you wrote in 8th grade, a lost earring from a set you wore in high school, a dorky knick-knack that was once precious to you because it was a gift from a friend. Such boxes don't have much organization, but they can elicit complete sensory recall of an earlier time of your life.

Still Flying is such a collection for Firefly fans. It's more like a "high school yearbook" than it is a set of short stories (there are a few, and they're good). Each cast member shares stories from the TV show, from how they got the part to their appreciation of the Browncoats fans to tales from the set. It's not just the actors; there's also input from behind the scenes people such as the stunt guy. Lots of photos of memorabilia, like the head of Jayne's statue or the Lassiter gun (which, I learned, was named after the Lassiter guy who started Pixar, apparently a friend of Joss' -- see, good trivia too).

If you're a Firefly fan who is enthusiastic enough to identify the episodes by name (which I confess I am), you will enjoy this book. It's good bathroom reading, and I mean that in the nicest way; it's unlikely you'll want to read everything in one fell swoop. And like the memory box in your attic, sometimes it's more fun to contemplate and savor one item at a time.

You don't NEED this book. But I think you'll like it.

Shiny! What else can one say about a book devoted to even more trivia and behind-the-scenes info revolving around a show which has carved a permanent niche into the hearts of many, myself included. Besides the wealth of new photos and interviews, there are also four new pieces of fiction by Ben Edlund, Jane Espenson, Brett Matthews, and Jose Molina. For fans of Firefly and the follow-up movie Serenity, the book is a welcome addition to the oeuvre, allowing us to live vicariously through the memories contained within its pages. For everyone else, it's probably a book which causes them to scratch their heads in confusion and wonder how anyone can continue to stretch out a cancelled t.v. show and less-than-stellar-performer-at-the-box-office movie into yet another book. But us Browncoats pay no nevermind to those folks because we all know no power in the 'verse can stop us.

Well, reading this just serves to remind me of that Thomas Wolfe quote:

You can't go home again.

That is, all the Firefly-related stuff, whether it's new storylines in the comics, guest spots of the actors on other shows (or sly winks to the show like that Castle Halloween scene), or semi cash-in material like this book, always come up as inadequate because they remind me of the show and movie, and therefore pale in comparison.

Ah well.

This book is okay- some pretty pictures. Overall, it's a triumph of design over content.

Firefly: Still Flying celebrates Joss Whedon's TV series with a fine pictorial survey of the award-winning 'sci fi-western' TV show from a cult writer and director. The show appeared briefly on TV in 2002 - but has sold over half a million copies on DVD with the hit movie Serenity its offshoot. Fans will find FIREFLY: STILL FLYING a fine celebration of the shows' cast, crew, and episodes, and film libraries will welcome this!

I read the description to this product and the mere handful of reviews before I chose to purchase it.

Having now read it, I must say that I really do not find a single thing wrong with this book! It's original material, like Jane Esperson explaining the writing process on a Joss Whedon show, a large amount of pics that I have not seen in other "Firefly" books, and of course the 4 great original stories...well, ok, the 2-panel "Fun With Dick And Jayne" can hardly be called a story, though it was hilarious.

There is a page that shows 6 of the shirts Jayne wore on the show (with a screen cap of each) which I appreciated, since 2 of them were ones I'd forgottenabout or never recalled seeing.

There is also a storyboard of the "Battle at Serenity Valley" scene from the Pilot episode, which I enjoyed because it showed how well it matched what you see on screen.

Of course the interviews with each cast member is taken from collected interviews, yet each was presented very well, in my opinion.

There is even great coverage of the fan film "Done The Impossible" which I personally did not know about until I read it in this book, and will seek out as a result.

****POTENTIAL SPOILER****

It's a shame that in the book they state that there will be no sequel to "Serenity" however for me it wouldn't be worth it without Wash and Book anyway. For me, while I would love to finally learn answers to my lingering questions (What WAS Book's past? Was Inara actually quite a bit older and through some process remained youthful looking?) sometimes it's best to have an incomplete ending. With Firefly, I'm of the thought that we appreciate that we had it at all in the first place; we will always have Mal and the gang to revisit on DVD and Blu-Ray viewings.

*****End of Potential Spoilers*****

In a nutshell, I find this book to be a great addition to my Firefly/Serenity collection, and highly recommend it.

This book is great, except that in one interview with the cast, we're explicitly told that there will be no Serenity sequel. Ow....my hope.

I must confess that I purchased Firefly: Still Flying High thinking it contained more stories of the adventures of the crew of Firefly. It does actually contain four brief adventures, but mostly it contains interviews with cast, crew and fans, and many pictures of cast, crew, fans, sets and props. I found the cast interviews, if not priceless, at least golden. I particularly enjoyed what the cast members had to say about Joss Whedon and especially each other. Firefly: Still Flying High also discusses the impressive charitable activities of the cast and the Browncoats--the dedicated fans of the Firefly franchise. Unlike the three brief volumes of Serenity fiction that Joss Whedon has published since the film Serenity, Firefly: Still Flying High contains a solid 160 pages. If you love Firefly you're likely to laugh in many places, and perhaps cry in one or two, but you like as not won't feel disappointed. :-)

"Yes...yes. This is a fertile land, and we will thrive. We will rule over all this land, and we will call it...This Land." :-D

Firefly and Serenity are sweet!...The pictures are really good and they are printed on high quality paper. The writing is awesome!