Lately, I’ve been on a big sci-if binge. Firefly is a 2003 tv series created by Joss Whedon, and starring Nathan Fillion. It follows the crew of a spaceship after an interplanetary civil war. This is a very strange tv show, and one that you’ll either love, or hate. It’s got some absolutely lovable characters, and a really interesting setting, but the episodes vary in qualities, and sometimes they’re just downright weird.

Firefly follows the crew of the Serenity, an old spaceship that seems to barely hold together. After they lose a civil war against people who are essentially space Nazis, they flee and do odd jobs on the run. Although the premise is rather simple, it works. Joss Whedon really fleshes out the universe of Firefly, with interesting peoples and monsters. Sadly the show only ran for one season, as Fox cancelled it after airing it out of order.

For starters, the characters in this show are great. Nathan Fillion as captain Malcolm Reynolds is one of my favorite characters in fiction because of his dry wit and funny one liners. The rest of the cast are just as great. The line delivery and quips throughout the show are hilarious. And although this show does not sell itself as a comedy, overall it’s really funny. The universe of Firefly is also very rich and lends itself to a lot of opportunities. The weird mesh between allegories for the civil war, to colonialism, to the horrors that are reavers all work. It lends itself to a lot of opportunities, and it’s a shame it hasn’t been explored more in other media.

Firefly is also very clunky and unpolished. The dialogue at times is rather cringe-worthy. And although the talented cast does their best with it, some cracks do show. Although Inara as a character is good, any sub-plot with her job throughout the show is basically skippable. Some characters such as Simon or Kaylee can be annoying at times, although not too often. Strangely enough, the weird nature of Firefly is part of its charm, and why it’s considered a cult classic.

Overall, despite it’s weirdness and cracks, I liked Firefly. It’s probably one of my favorite tv shows, and it’s incredibly charming. It’s worth giving it a shot, even if you don’t end up liking it.