Commentary tracks on seven episodes (one of them new to this edition) , gag reel, a new roundtable discussion with cast members and Joss Whedon, "How It Was: The Making of 'Firefly'", audition tape, gag reel, deleted scenes and four behind-the-scenes featurettes

Fox Network would constantly launch genre shows hoping for another "The X-Files" and blow it every time. The network would order these expensive TV shows and then not give them a chance to blossom so an audience could discover them. ***

Joss Whedon's "Firefly" was one of many victims of Fox's dunderheaded management in 2002. Whedon continues to be best known as the writer/producer/creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" both of which eventually became big successes. Fox aired only nine episodes of "Firefly" during its initial run before being cancelled in 2002 with the remaining three episodes airing unannounced during the summer of 2003. The show ended up becoming a huge hit on DVD as fans discovered the series and inspired Universal to give the franchise another chance with a full length theatrical movie entitled "Serenity" that would tie up the loose ends of the first season. While certainly elements of "Firefly" bear a passing resemble to "Star Wars", creator/writer/producer Joss Whedon takes his TV series in a very different albeit complimentary direction. ***

Set in the distant future when humanity has abandoned Earth, "Firefly" takes place in the aftermath of a war between the "Brown Coats" those who want independence from the menacing governing body of the Alliance. Captain Mal Reynolds (the superb Nathan Fillion who has the same swagger as a young Harrison Ford) ferries cargo on his ship Serenity supported by his able crew (Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Jewel Staite). He gets more than he bargains for when he takes on a Doctor (Sean Maher) who has rescued his sister River (Summer Glau) from the government which was experimenting on her. Joined by a priest named Book (Ron Glass) who appears to somehow be tied into the Alliance in his former life, Mal gets into a couple of dust ups with the authorities and thugs because while he is doing stuff that is illegal, he goes out of his way to prevent ordinary people from being hurt. With the Alliance in pursuit of Dr. Tam and River, Mal and his crew often find themselves in dire straits and wondering why they protected these two. Oh, and did I forget to mention the Companion? Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) is a licensed high priced call girl that travels with the Serenity taking her wares throughout the galaxy. ---

Image & Sound:

The show isn't completely presented in high definition. The show was shot in 35mm while the visual effects were shot on video in standard definition. Fox has up scaled the image for this set and the 35mm live action shots look extremely good with the CGI slightly less stunning but still impressive even in standard definition. I mention all of this because Fox is less than honest when comes to the specs never making mention of any of this. ***

Audio sounds quite good as well with a strong DTS HD 5.1 presentation. ---

All of the original special features are ported over form the DVD release. We get all seven audio commentaries with various members of cast and crew. We also get a new commentary track with creator/writer Joss Whedon, stars Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass and Alan Tudyk on the amusing "Our Mrs. Reynolds". ***

We also get "How It Was: The Making of Firefly" a featurette on the production of the show which honestly mentions the lack of support from Fox and some of the bone headed decisions regarding the airing of the show such as the fact that the pilot (and establish episode) was aired last. There are also four featurettes as well as Alan Tudyk audition tape and a gag reel. Also of noteworthy is the roundtable discussion featuring Fillion, Glass, Tudyk and Whedon. They reminisce about the show, their favorite episodes, joke around and generally have a good time while they have lunch on the set. It's probably a bittersweet reunion for Whedon who put his heart and soul into the series only to see Fox treat it so callously clumsily promoting the show and "suggesting" ways to "fix" the series when it was great the way it was. ***

On a side note I do feel that this set IS a bit pricey considering that we only get a single new commentary track, a 30 minute round table extra and a show that isn't completely presented in true high definition throughout its presentation. ---

Final Words:

"Firefly" was a unique, terrific series that combined elements of a western shoot'em out with science fiction. The show had a terrific cast and it certainly deserved better than the treatment that Fox gave it. I'm surprised that Whedon is working with Fox again on "Doll House" (which was reportedly retooled at the demands of Fox probably giving Whedon déjà vu). The series looks and sounds good even if the visual effects weren't redone for high definition and the series was influential impacting everything from "Battlestar Galatica" to other lesser TV shows as well. ***

The big question--should you upgrade? Maybe. The original DVD looked just fine with a nice, crisp transfer and while the Blu-ray is a step up in many respects with richer, deeper blacks, considerably more detail during the live action segments and a terrific 5.1 soundtrack, I wouldn't present this as the best that Blu-ray is capable of. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the Blu-ray presentation and can recommend it to fans.