Here is a fact about Firefly, which is to say the beloved Joss Whedon space western that aired on Fox in 2002: the network, in its infinite wisdom, decided to air the two-hour pilot — the one designed to introduce you to the entire world, its characters, and the general vibe of a Western in space — not first, but somewhere in the middle. This is approximately like hosting a dinner party and opening with dessert, except the dessert is also on fire, and also you've invited the guests' most confused relatives. The show was cancelled. The fans — who call themselves Browncoats, because of course they do — responded not with acceptance but with a multi-year grassroots campaign that eventually produced a movie (Serenity, 2005), a documentary about the making of said movie (Done the Impossible), and a fan-organized party circuit called Shindigs that still runs today. This week, returning champion Krissy Lenz walks Mandy through all of it.The movie itself, Mandy discovers, is tonally bewildering in the best way — part heist, part Star Wars homage, part horror film, part comedy, with Chiwetel Ejiofor showing up as the most civilized, polite, and unnervingly calm assassin in the 'Verse. ("He believes in this better world that even he's not welcome in," Krissy notes, which is, frankly, the kind of villain thesis statement most movies wish they could pull off.) Summer Glau is doing ballet-grade choreography in combat boots and a slip dress. Alan Tudyk is delightful, briefly, and then — for contractual reasons Krissy helpfully explains — permanently unavailable. And Nathan Fillion, the internet's favorite convention dad, spends the climax in a physical fight that looks suspiciously like the end of every Star Wars movie you've ever seen.Along the way, the conversation takes its requisite detours: how to separate the art from the artist when the artist is Joss Whedon and the allegations are what they are; the rehabilitation economy around Louis CK; whether Mal is charmingly brusque or just, on closer 45-year-old inspection, kind of a dick; and the enduring question of whether Joel McHale should be allowed to play anyone other than Joel McHale. By the end, Mandy has agreed to watch the series, consider attending a Shindig, and do a future episode on Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog — which is, by any reasonable metric, a successful recruitment.Find Krissy

• The Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast
• Gank That Drank
• Neighborhood Comedy Theater (Mesa, AZ)

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