Given how much I enjoyed Dr. Horrible, and the resounding praise I usually hear for Firefly, I decided to give it a shot. I remember seeing the previews for the show when it first came out, and was somewhat intrigued, but I never got around to watching it. I think I saw a few minutes of it once, but it just didn’t grab me. Something about the “sci-fi western” just didn’t click, and I missed out on the original airings.

Overall, I’ve had fairly limited experience with Joss Whedon’s work. I never got into Buffy, and while I enjoyed Angel, it wasn’t something I really took the time to watch regularly (if I had Tivo back then, maybe things would have been different). So Dr. Horrible is really my first, real entry into the world of Whedon. And considering how incredibly enamored I am of the little web show, I started to do some research on the creator. I learned, among other things, that he is a fellow atheist, which automatically makes me like him even more. His response to the Onion’s AV Club question, “Is There a God?” put a smile on my face:

The Onion: Is there a God?

Joss Whedon: No.

O: That’s it, end of story, no?

JW: Absolutely not. That’s a very important and necessary thing to learn.

So, given how much good will Whedon gained through Dr. Horrible and his atheism, I decided to give Firefly a shot. I noticed that Hulu hosted the Dr. Horrible series, so I had a sneaking suspicion that some of Whedon’s other work might be available there as well. Ran a search, and the entire series (all 14 episodes) are available for viewing online for free. This turned out to be a perfect test of both Hulu and Firefly.

The Hulu interface is pretty sweet, I must say. The “dim the lights” feature is really a nice touch. It basically puts a dark grey tint over the entire browser window, save for the video which stays bright and clear (well, as bright as the director intended anywho). Vidoes are shown at 360p by default, but you can bump that up to 480p with no visible loss in streaming stability. An ad, between 15 and 30 seconds long, shows up at the appropriate commercial breaks that you must sit through, but this is an incredibly fair trade off in my opinion. Everything moves very smoothly, and the picture and sound are quite good. Overall, I’m very impressed with the service, and will most definitely be using it again.

So far I’ve seen 9 episodes of Firefly, and I must say, I really enjoy it. The bits of humor are mixed in very well with the action and dramatic elements. Well drawn-out characters that are very enjoyable to watch. Some of them remind me of David Milch characters for some reason, but that’s a good thing (I’m still upset about John From Cincinnati being canceled, but that’s another story). I’ve never been a huge fan of either Sci-Fi or Westerns, but this mix really seems to work. It’s a different take on both genres that works well together. I have to give Joss Whedon some credit here, for scribing an enjoyable show.

I’m actually quite bummed that the series only lasted 14 episodes, especially as I get closer to that final episode (though I still have the movie to look forward to, which sadly isn’t available on Hulu). However I can see why Fox canceled the series. Given how horrendous most of the successful shows on TV are, it does not surprise me that a little gem like this didn’t reach the masses. Witty dialog, interesting characters, and a few subtle messages about consumerism just doesn’t resonate with the crowd that enjoys American Idol and CSI: Miami. Given what looks to be a large production budget with the amount of location shoots and special effects, I believe Fox needed this show to be a hit. A cult hit and critical darling, simply doesn’t bring in the ad revenue required to support a show these days. It needs to hit huge numbers right out of the gate, or the network will cancel. So, while I’m sad that it was canceled before it really had time to grow, I can absolutely see why Fox decided to cancel it.

If you have a spare 43 minutes or so, and have not seen Firefly before, I highly suggest you head over to Hulu and give it a chance. Even if you end up not liking Firefly, I’m certain that you will find something over there to tickle your fancy (that’s not a real phrase, is it?). I mean, they have full episodes of Doogie Howser, M.D. online. That’s simply… wait for it… awesome!