5/5 My favorite show, and I'm not part of a fan campaign
  by T. Taber (CA)
A lot of the negative reviews for this show point out there was a fan campaign. If so, that was years ago. I just watched firefly this past summer after it being recommended to me by people I worked with. I kept putting it off, thinking, oh, I'll get to it. Then when it came time for me to go into the hospital to have my fourth baby (yes, I'm a woman), I bought it to watch on my iPod touch to kill time during labor (nothing reduces labor pains more naturally than a good distraction).

I was hooked from the beginning. I watched it in the order it was intended to air (starting with the pilot), not with the order that fox actually aired it in (which would have made no sense).

I loved the design of the ships, the special effects (which others have criticized). I thought the acting was very natural especially considering how dialoge-dense the show is. They have a lot of words to remember!

To me, the concept is more realistic than Stargate, BSG, or even Star Trek. The idea that mankind might move out into the outer reaches of space to colonize when we've used up the resources on this earth made sense. The idea that some settlers would opt for a return to simpler technology also made sense to me. How many times have we wished for that on Earth-that-Is?

If you like Hard Sci-Fi, this may not be your cup of tea. Also, although I'm a mother of four, I don't watch this with my children. It is not appropriate for young kids. The Reavers are super scary, and even more so in the movie Serenity. ALso, if you are a conservative Christian, which I am not, you might not appreciate the idea that being a "companion" is considered respectable work. There is a "shepherd" or preacher on board, but that doesn't make this a "Christian" show. I am a Christian, but not a conservative, and I appreciated the doubts of the Captain, and the conviction of Shepherd.

Don't be put off by the fact that this show was cancelled, it had more viewers than most critically lauded cable tv shows. It was aired on broadcast tv, and not enough mainstream people watched it. If you're a mainstream kind of person, you might not like it (if you like According to Jim, this may not be for you).

5/5 Firefly TV series review
  by Robert A. Buck (Southbury, CT USA)
I loved the development of the characters in this series. The writers did a great job to create entertaining, dramatic, emotional plots for the episodes. Joss Weedon has done fantastic work here to bring the whole thing to life. It's a crying shame there isn't a greater appreciation for sci-fi on TV, especially when of this caliber. I loved the melding of futuristic sci-fi with the western flair!

5/5 Great show
  by M. COLLINS (Layton, UT)
Should have never been canceled! Great cast, great plots, funny, interesting, good thematic overtones of politics, class, and religion.

5/5 Bring Firefly back!!
  by Cassandra N. Johnson
Watched the whole series on Hulu, fell in love with it and HAD to buy it on DVD. Have since lent out the series to so many new converts of the series, I will be buying them as gifts!!

5/5 I Don't Care, I'm Still Free
  by Kevin L. Nenstiel (Kearney, Nebraska)
It is a mistake to say that Firefly is new or revolutionary, since its key ideas have been print SF staples for decades. What Firefly is, is ambitious and audience-centered in a way little TV sci-fi has been since the original Star Trek. It anticipates a smart audience and rewards them with humane, high octane stories about clever characters in sophisticated situations. So naturally it got cancelled.

Dare I say that the best thing about Firefly is that it's incomplete? Only fourteen episodes were made, introducing a story lush with promise and an energetic ensemble immersed in the kind of work that most actors long for. It is this promise, unsullied by later network interference, which I think makes this the best TV to hit DVD in years.

Beyond the writing, acting, and direction, all of which are superb, this show has some of the best visual design I've seen in decades. Joss Whedon studied how space flight takes place even now, and reflected the cramped quarters, austere living conditions, and blue-collar immediacy missing from more slick productions. Firefly is the latest true embodiment of George Lucas' vision of "used space."

Firefly didn't find its audience until it was out on DVD, but it's clear why this story inspires comic books, a feature film, fan fiction, and a massive fan culture despite its brief span. For true believers in TV as art, this show sums up the promise that the medium rarely accomplishes. Fun, funny, and energetic, there is no question why a cancelled show commands fan loyalty even several years later.