Firefly (TV series - 2002)

And now the award for "Best Television Series That Nobody Watched"...the nominees:

Sports Night, Pushing Daisies, Freaks and Geeks, Firefly, and Arrested Development...and the winner is...

**rips open envelope**

...FIREFLY!

Yes, Joss Whedon's (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) 2002 sci-fi series is truly the best show that no one had a chance to really fall in love with.  Fox repeatedly moved Firefly from one time slot to another and showed episodes out of order, and the ensuing confusion ensured that this gem of a show never picked up enough viewers to build the following it so richly deserved, and it was subsequently canceled before the end of its first season.  Release on DVD, however, has created a well-deserved cult following for Firefly, which led to the creation of an excellent followup movie, Serenity (which also unfortunately did not become a big enough hit to reignite the series).  Whedon clearly borrowed heavily from Star Wars, Star Trek, and numerous westerns as inspirations for this series, but he successfully created a completely original vision, and populated his creation with a crew full of diverse and highly interesting characters set in stories filled with action, humor, and more than a little anti-establishment subversiveness — and by the time you finish watching the fourteen episodes, you'll feel almost like a member of the Serenity crew yourself, and you'll find yourself wishing for more. 

Sharp, witty dialog and action-filled plot lines are prevalent throughout the series, and the cast—most notably Nathan Fillion (TV's Castle) as the cynical, Han-Solo-esque captain with a heart-of-old; Alan Tudyk as the sardonic, wise-cracking pilot, Adam Baldwin (My Bodyguard) as the thick-headed hired gun; Summer Glau (TV's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as the dangerous and mysterious weaponized savant whose presence endangers the entire crew; and Jewel Staite (TV's Stargate: Atlantis) as the cute-as-a-button, brilliant but naive, ship's mechanic — each bring to life their distinct roles perfectly.  Give this great series a try — everyone I have introduced this to has echoed my outrage that this was ever canceled.

RATED 5 STARS - HOME-MADE, WHIRLEY-POPPED, AND LAYERED IN REAL BUTTER...YUMMMM!