Do I need to watch Firefly before watching Serenity?

[Something Amyss]

The edited part where Mal shot the death star first was the worst.

Personally, I hated the reveal that the Enterprise was River's father.

Oh, and the blinking Stargate. Did we really need to give it eyes?

You're too lazy to watch TV? How does that work?!

Probably like the opposite of the TV being on and being too lazy to change the channel or turn it off.

...not that I've ever been there. >.>

You don't have to, but you won't give much of a fuck about the people or have much of a clue what is going on without it. You'll manage, but it won't be great.

I don't know. The plot seems pretty simple to follow and largely self-contained. Yes, it references things from the show, but they're not necessary. The question of "why I care" is a different story, however.

 

[KyuubiNoKitsune-Hime]

Spoiler: Spoiler added for... well, Spoilers!!!

Two main characters die during the film, without watching FireFly first their deaths make absolutely no meaningful impact.

Serenity is kind of crap in a lot of ways, it feels like a rushed tying up of all the loose ends. That said, both are worth watching, but you really, really, really should watch FireFly before Serenity,

 

[Vykrel]

"a whole tv series" is kind of generous. its just one season. just watch the first episode, at the very least, and im sure you will be hooked.

as someone who watched the movie when it came out and didnt check out the series until several years later, i really wish i had seen the show first.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

You're too lazy to watch TV? How does that work?! But watch the series first.

As I have no Netflix, it would require me to buy the DVD, which I would have to hunt for like crazy. Serenity would be much easier to find.

OT: Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I should start hunting.

 

[Adamantium93]

Answer this: would you watch the series finale of Breaking Bad without watching any other episode?

You CAN, and you'll probably enjoy it, but you will get so much more out of it if you follow the series from the beginning. If you watch Firefly first, than all of the emotional scenes will have more weight and you'll understand the universe its set in so much better.

It's only one season, watch Firefly first. Heck, you don't even need to watch Serenity unless you're really interested. Joss Whedon's basically said that it was a rushed attempt to tie up the series after Firefly got cancelled and, if it got a second season, he would retcon the entire movie out of existence.

 

[Disco Biscuit]

The edited part where Mal shot the death star first was the worst.

Personally, I hated the reveal that the Enterprise was River's father.

Oh, and the blinking Stargate. Did we really need to give it eyes?

You're too lazy to watch TV? How does that work?!

Probably like the opposite of the TV being on and being too lazy to change the channel or turn it off.

...not that I've ever been there. >.>

You don't have to, but you won't give much of a fuck about the people or have much of a clue what is going on without it. You'll manage, but it won't be great.

I don't know. The plot seems pretty simple to follow and largely self-contained. Yes, it references things from the show, but they're not necessary. The question of "why I care" is a different story, however.

Yeah, "Much of a clue" was too strong a statement. I think a better description is maybe... "Feels disjointed and rushed"? You know what I mean?

 

[Fox12]

You're too lazy to watch TV? How does that work?! But watch the series first.

As I have no Netflix, it would require me to buy the DVD, which I would have to hunt for like crazy. Serenity would be much easier to find.

OT: Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I should start hunting.

I don't know where you are, but in Georgia I can find a copy in just about any store I walki into. Walmart or Best Buy should have it for a reasonable price. Otherwise you could do a free trial for Netflix.

Honestly, Serenity is a satisfying conclusion, but Firefly is the one you really want to watch. Try not to look at it like such a chore : P

 

[Cowabungaa]

snip

Good lord, did you really just spoil that? I mean, really? Come on, edit that post yo. That shit ain't cool.

Doesn't make it any less true though. So without the spoilers; yes OP, watching Firefly before Serenity makes the movie quite a bit more meaningful and interesting. It's really meant as a conclusion.

 

[sky14kemea]

I'd say you do need to watch Firefly first, IMO.

The movie Serenity is more of a sequel to the TV series. It won't give you much information about any of the characters except any introduced in the movie.

And it's not an ongoing TV series. :C

 

[WolfThomas]

I actually started with Serenity first. It was part of a pack of 5 Sci-Fi movies. I enjoyed it enough I tracked down the series. It turns out I'd seen the episode "Our Mrs Reynolds" (probably the best in the season) on TV and had never been able to work out what the show had been called.

Overall I would have preferred to watch the show and then the film. As others say the film is satisfying but it's not the main course, the TV show is. The show is just a neat enough wrap to the series.

I have probably introduced the show to a dozen of my friends and crushed their hopes and dreams when they find out there is no repeat season.

 

[Blood Brain Barrier]

Eh, skip the series and watch the movie. It's shorter and does the job. But better yet, skip both and watch a better sci-fi series like Babylon 5.

 

[Nazulu]

I saw the film before the show and I enjoyed it still. Better than all the super hero garbage that comes out now. But it does make a lot more sense when you see the show, so stop being so lazy and sit on your fat ass and watch the show ;-)

 

[Grouchy Imp_v1legacy]

As many folks have said, the movie is stand-alone enough that you can watch it without knowing the 'Verse, but it is meant to tie up the series and in that respect if you watch the movie first you'll spoiler the series for yourself, so I'd watch the series first.

 

[Crazy Zaul]

I would say definitely. I watched Serenity first not even knowing about Firefly and thought it was a load of shit, then watched it again after Firefly and it was a lot better.

 

[Pyrian]

If you're even considering ever watching Firefly, watch it before watching Serenity. But Serenity is pretty watchable on its own, IMO better than the series (don't shoot me!).

 

[COMaestro]

While you don't need to watch Firefly before seeing Serenity, I think you will lose a level of enjoyment. The show and the movie really both ride on their characters, but the movie can't give you a good focus on all of them, which is why only a few of them really feel fully developed. If you already know them from the series, however, it gives certain scenes in the movie more impact and meaning.

Plus, it's just a really good series, so you'd be doing yourself a disservice by skipping it.

 

[The Enquirer]

You don't need to but I would highly recommend it. You will not be attached to the characters and some plot points would be fuzzy at best.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

I saw the film before the show and i picked up on literally everything with the possible exception of Shepard being part of the crew, and seeings how he was a throw away character, it didn't matter much.

 

[SupahEwok]

You're too lazy to watch TV? How does that work?! But watch the series first.

As I have no Netflix, it would require me to buy the DVD, which I would have to hunt for like crazy. Serenity would be much easier to find.

OT: Thanks for the advice guys, I guess I should start hunting.

Stream it on Amazon. It's free if you have a Prime account, otherwise it's $30. Which is a bit steep for streaming a season of TV, but at least it's HD.

 

[Laughing Man]

I didn't, the movie does stand on it's own enough to give you an impression of what's going on in the wider Verse without having to have the full details of the characters back stories, of course having those back stories does lend some additional weight to some of the stuff that happens to certain characters but the most jarring thing between watching the movie first and the TV show second is Rivers abilities (her fighting abilities.) I won't go in to too much detail but seeing the movie and then seeing the TV show I was a little dis-appointed in that aspect.