Firefly
Firefly is one of the great mysteries of 21st century television. How could a series this good, with this much potential get cancelled?
Of course I could be a little bit biased, after all Joss Whedon also created Buffy The Vampire Slayer (one of my favourite things ever). To put things in perspective, though, I watched a couple of episodes when it was finally broadcast in the UK and thought it was disappointing. Still I bought the DVD boxset when it came out hoping that I had just missed the good bits.
I put it to one side and only decided to finally watch the whole thing when the buzz around the Serenity trailer (the Firefly film) hit the net. I am seriously glad that I did.
It’s a bit of an odd piece, you really have to surrender yourself to it’s pacing to get the most out of it (which it was screwed over when it was first shown, what with the network refusing to show the double length pilot, which sets up the pace and characters for the viewer).
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Ultraviolet
This Channel 4 series was something I missed when it was first broadcast. It has since grown in reputation and I was sufficiently tempted to pick it up on DVD (OK, it was half price in a sale).
A modern tale of Vampires, this is a very British take on things. A total contrast to (the sublime) Buffy The Vampire Slayer, with it’s humour and acceptance of magic and the mystical. This version is very dark, characters are full of doubt and have to lie about the hidden world they inhabit.
The lead is played by Jack Davenport. He portrays a police detective caught up in this hidden world when his partner chooses to become a vampire.
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