Don't really see what all the fuss is about with Firefly, it's an ok series but it's super clich�, and often quite cheesy. Definitely watchable (mostly because it doesn't take itself too seriously) but I'm always surprised by the hardcore fan following it has?

I wish there were some really good sci-fi series around. :(
Prometheus better be good. 

I think it might be related to its history. Also, it's almost 10 years old by now, so I guess it's not aging very well. But the fact that it has such hardcore fans that identify so much with it is definitely related to its super quick cancellation and bad treatment by the Fox network. 

Firefly has some of the best character writing that I've ever had the pleasure of watching. 

Firefly has some of the best character writing that I've ever had the pleasure of watching.

So you don't watch much then?

Just getting it in before anyone else. 

Hey, opinions differ but I would suspect that anyone arguing that the writing on that show isn't great (or at least, good) isn't arguing in good faith. 

The dialog was usually pretty good, some funny bits, but the actual story didn't really interest me, found it kind of boring and not very original.
But yeah the shows fine, guess it's just overly popular cause of the lack of any other good sci-fi stuff around.

I hope you will all agree that the ship is ugly as hell, but I guess maybe that was voluntary. :D 

firebird would have made more sense, seeing as it looks like a giant chicken. 

I used to enjoy Lexx. Up until like the second or third season before they returned to earth - I didn't see any more eps from that point on, but I dl'd them so i'll watch eventually.

Who else really enjoyed it? 

The Shawshank Redemption
Flawless. 

 

Therapy 

Therapy

Both masterpieces 

well Necros' post seems to be the winner of this last while lol.
I'll check out Firefly. I just get the impression that the critical acclaim Whedon has is due to nerd culture being happy to see itself recognized on a large scale; whereas 10 years ago that might have been great these days things are totally different. Nevertheless I'll definitely check Firefly out eventually.

Finally, I have NEVER, EVER seen the appeal of Tarantino. Kind of like if Michael Bay constantly tried to be Tim Burton, or the other way around: all style, no substance. In a movie industry that is constantly trying to sell me the idea that some pretty white actor is a badass, I'm the furthest thing possible from buying it from Tarantino. 

I can think of at least three really badass black characters out of QTs main films. 

He tried to make it seem as though the script is not a script, and the characters are not characters. Like the characters own the script. 

but the ones I've seen are written in the same cheesy way. In Tarantino it almost doesn't matter what race the actor/character is, because the whole thing just screams "hollywood badass" aka "verdict: retarded." sure it doesn't take itself as seriously as 80's action films but it's that very "clever" irony, as if it's better than it is, that pisses me off.

Plus as someone else pointed out, Samuel L Jackson has been playing the same character for 20 years, and it hasn't gotten any better. Whereas, even if Morgan Freeman has been playing the same character for 20 years, it's usually still good. And, on another note, there is no excuse, for anyone anywhere, to have any respect for John Travolta. Ass-chinned scientologist ugly dried-up washed-up ass(chin). lol. 

But in PF Travolta and Jackson were well-cast. It was Jackson's break-through roll.

TBH as much as I like Kill Bill, I don't think they are as legendary as Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs. Jackie Brown also wasn't as good. Death Proof was OK because it was slightly different, but it was still a bit Meh. But Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are classics. Untouchable. If not only for the performances in them, and how different they were from other movies around at the time. 

I'm right there with you, Tronyn. Tarantino is a hack who is very adept at hiding that very fact behind "clever" dialogue and "references" (could also call it theft). There is simply nothing left once you subtract all that.

Whedon on the other hand does have a real knack for great writing and dialogue. His characters often work, and if he finds a good ensemble, his writing shines. But I do agree that he's a bit overhyped by the nerds. I never got into Buffy, either - maybe I am too old (and male) for that. But Firefly was simply one of the best shows in its time. And I wouldn't really call it a Sci Fi show because the major story elements and themes don't require the story to be set in the future (same applies, to a lesser extent, to BSG btw).

TL;DR version: Whedon > Tarantino 

Well, this was a very strange movie. One of those where the trailer has all the good bits. The bits that weren't in the trailer are all over the place -- sometimes kinda kiddie humour, sometimes kinda dark but without any real sense of threat (even when innocent people are dying). Would not recommend. 

I find Joss' ideas better than his execution whereas IMHO, at least pre-Death Proof, Tarantino provided the reverse.

The man also knows visuals much much better than Whedon.

Tronyn, seen Jackie Brown? 

I've never liked Tarantino. Pulp Fiction was awesome, as was Kill Bill 1 (haven't seen 2) from an action perspective. Jackie Brown was boring and I must have been too young for Reservoir Dogs because I've completely forgotten anything about it. Just didn't find it that memorable.

Death Proof proved that Robert Rodriguez is a better director. And Inglourious Basterds, after all the hype, ended up being boring. I wouldn't watch it again.

The reason I particularly dislike him is because of all the cheesy, trying-to-be-cooler-than-it-really-is dialogue.

Re Whedon... I didn't even know who he was until a week ago. Never got into Buffy or Angel. Never watched Firefly, perhaps I'll give it a shot but it can't have been that great if it got cancelled after 1 season. 

In some corners of the internet, that would be a masterful troll :)

(I haven't seen it and am not a Whedon or QT fanboy at all...) 

lol. I was going to add as I was writing it, that then again Brimstone was a great horror series that didn't even last one season. Travesty.

But then I'd sound like a hypocrit. 

Haven't watched Firefly, either, only the movie. The fact that it's by the same director as Buffy and Angel doesn't get my hopes up; and that dick from Castle whom Spirit is so fond of makes it even worse...

Not sure about Lexx. It's been a long time since I watched it and don't really remember much. I only recall it feeling quite trashy and weird. 

Yeah it was a bit trashy and weird. But the second season was really good - one main antagonist throughout the season who's devouring the entire universe. At the end there's only one tiny part of the universe left before it's all turned into darkness, so the battle ensues. It was very compelling viewing, I thought.

Seasons 3-4 probably weren't so good though, judging by the plot.