Firefly

 I've never really liked science fiction. I felt like it was either too much violence, cheesy plotlines, bad editing or unlikable characters. My dad is an avid sci-fi watcher, contrary to myself, so I would try to watch some shows or movies with him. However I really only enjoyed the time spent with my dad, not what we were watching. As I got older, we really only watched cartoons together. But this winter break, I was really bored and wanting to do something and so I asked if we could rewatch “firefly,” a sci fi show I remember vaguely from when I was 8 or 9. 

If you haven’t seen it, it’s sort of a bridge between western dramas and space travel sci-fi. It had a distinct folk aesthetic, which sets it apart from other series. It follows the crew of the ship “serenity,” with characters ranging from stubborn captains and bubbly engineers to shepherds and government fugitives. Each episode plays into a larger storyline, but contains different sub-plot lines that can be either funny or emotionally provoking. There is a movie “Serenity,” which gives satisfying endings to some plots as well as giving some characters their time in the spotlight. It was surprisingly pleasant watching it again, and I would ask my dad for “just one more episode” again and again and he would put off his work again and again. I became enthralled with the characters and the storyline, and was reading fan theories and articles about it for hours at a time.

Anyway, the point is sometimes it’s a good idea to try genres you don’t usually enjoy. There are hidden gems in every aspect of media, whether it be tv shows or books.

-Olive Jan