So my husband says, "I don't understand why anyone likes that show."
And I have to wonder why I liked it. Why do I like it still?
The music, fiddle/violin all jaunty one moment, sad and sweet the next.
Was it the cowboy guns with bullets, space guns with lasers, or was it the interaction in the crew? The crew that reminded me so much of Star Trek. Humor and danger and moral conflict. Every single person with a distinct character. Dangerous space captain, elegant women who think for themselves, a slightly idiotic/typical enforcer, a preacher who doesn't ever preach. A kid with "magical" powers of the mind.
These people were forever getting into trouble and scraping themselves off the floor with a spatula. But they kept coming back. Is that it? That they just didn't give up? No, I know what it was. The ship. That beautiful little rust bucket that was one step ahead of soaring into a black hole and never coming back. She must have been something back when she was new, all shiny and sparkly, like a real Firefly. Then she spent her latter years serenely soaring through the stars, a partner in crime. She had a personality, just like Enterprise. She turned into another realistic home for us.
Yes. That was it. The writing that allowed us to just sail off in a very realistic spaceship, almost as if it was us, ourselves. We could all see ourselves actually doing something stupid like hijacking alliance goods or doing some backyard smuggling deal. Using a ship to just jaunt through the galaxy.....I wanted to do that. Many people wanted to do that. Someday our descendants will actually get that opportunity.
What a glorious daydream.