Firefly: The Complete Series

Thirty-five years after Star Trek was dubbed "wagon train to the stars," Buffy, the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon finally brought a genuine frontier flavor and pragmatic hinterlands attitude to TV science fiction with his "space Western" Firefly, which crashed and burned on Fox in 2002 before it had a chance to find its audience. On the surface, it borrows what's become a standard conceit for weekly sci-fi: a bunch of guys and gals having adventures on a spaceship; but what lies beneath is a smart, sophisticated drama, morally complicated and dryly funny (it's absolutely criminal that it lasted only 14 episodes--including three that never aired, which are collected here). Against a politically tangled backdrop of failed civil war and ascendant totalitarianism 500 years in the future, Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion)--who fought on the losing side of the war and holds the ruling Alliance in contempt--hopes to keep his Firefly-class cargo/passenger ship Serenity from attracting trouble, in particular avoiding attacks from Reavers: mysterious, murderous aliens who haunt the interstellar outskirts. Of course, he usually fails. Like the show's premise, its characters are sci-fi stock in name only--the hotshot pilot, the genius mechanic--and their underplayed, prickly relationships, which unfold through interwoven, series-long storylines, are a treasure for fans of thoughtful science fiction. DVD extras on this boxed set include commentary tracks on more than half the episodes from cast and crew, deleted scenes, production featurettes, gag and audition reels, and Easter eggs. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)