Tuesday 31 December 2013

12 Days of Christmas - Best SFF Characters of 2013 - Day #6: The Crew of Serenity

I continue the 12 Days of Christmas theme looking at the Best SFF Characters of 2013 as we enter Day 6, looking at none other than the crew of the Serenity, who may not be from 2013 but as I discovered them in 2013 this makes them a strong addition to the list of favourites.

Hit the break to find out why the crew of Serenity make this list.





THE CREW OF THE SERENITY

Looking back on 2013 now as we enter the final countdown to 2014, given the amount of TV shows that I've watched since first fully watching loads of TV that it's almost hard to believe that at the beginning of 2013 I hadn't watched a single episode of Firefly. However, halfway through the year I'd had the boxset and watched all of the episodes, and it soon became apparent that this was just the first in a medium that was pretty much new to me before 2013, being limited to pretty much only Game of Thrones, Supernatural The Walking Dead Arrow and Doctor Who in the medium of Science Fiction and Fantasy TV shows, with Sherlock being a non-SFF show that I watched.

And what a great year it's been. In no particular order we've had Stargate Atlantis, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Heroes, Orphan Black, Peaky Blinders, House of Cards, The Blacklist, Sleepy Hollow, Breaking Bad, Almost Human, Peaky Blinders, The Escape Artist, and several other shows. Whilst they may not all be SFF it's been a great year for TV full stop, both with new 2013 shows and shows that haven't been native to this year. And the show that really started it all was Firefly, the one-season long space opera series featuring Nathan Fillion as Captain Malcolm Reynolds, leader of the Ship Serenity. Much like the clones of Orphan Black each one of these characters could take a spot on this list and unlike Buffy or Agents of SHIELD, it's the one Whedon-created show that lacks a lead character who we're supposed to root for that isn't annoying (Glares at Xander, and pretty much the entire cast of Agents of SHIELD). Brook, Jayne, Zoe, Wash, River, Simon, Inara, Kaylee, they all have their charms. They may be all stereotypes but they're all equally awesome - and by the end of the series you really care for each of the characters. Everybody involved in the show has also been equally awesome, and the movie Serenity was just a good even if it killed off a beloved character.

The actors have all been great. Fillion and Staite appear in Castle and Stargate: Atlantis and Summer Glau has made her presence known most recently in Arrow as billionaire Isabel Rochev and Ron Glass has popped up in the early episodes of Agents of SHIELD. The various cast have all cropped up in different shows since but for me at least Firefly is what I'll always remember them for the most. They all had excellent chemistry and enjoyed a series of fun and entertaining scripts that guaranteed a laugh per episode, leaving me with little choice but to not include them in this list. And how could I leave one out when they're all brilliant? And of course, I can't help but mention Serenity itself, who can also be considered a character, ranking up there with the TARDIS and the Millennium Falcon as my Top 3 favourite spaceships of all time. 




Day #4: Lara Croft
Day #1: Green Arrow



No comments:

Post a Comment