tv show – Christy Grace Scarlet Pen

Estimated Reading Time: 5min

I LOVE the TV Show Firefly. I was so sad that there was only one season and a movie, but imagine my surprise and delight to find out that the world continued in books! Creators teamed up with talented writers to make several books, and once I read the first one, I was hooked. It was so amazing to see the characters once again, and I want to share the experience with you.

I didn’t read these in order, so you’re not getting the reviews in order… here you go!

Big Damn Hero (Nancy Holder)

I had more fun reading this and I thought I would. I really enjoyed the show Firefly, and this really did feel like it could have been another episode. I would have loved to watch this episode. I thought it was really well done, the characters felt pretty close to the show, we got some insight into each one’s perspective. I normally don’t like jumping around to too many characters in a book, but this was done really well. I really enjoyed seeing all the characters in what they got up to. There was almost a plot A and plot B element to this, but then all plots converged to the same spot. I really enjoyed that. I thought this was a great story and I’m excited to see what the rest of these books look like.

Grab the book Here

Generations (Tim Lebbon)

Another fun adventure with Firefly characters. This one had a little bit of mystery to it, and a lot more insight into some of the River aspects of the show.

Treasure map mixed with psychotic killers, yup that was this book. Another great storyline that would’ve been a good episode to watch, but easy to imagine the characters as I listened to the audiobook.

Grab the book Here

The Magnificent Nine (James Lovegrove)

Really interesting look into the background of Jayne, but also another Firefly story.
I thought the plot was quite good, and enjoyed seeing this different side of Jayne. Even though we got a little bit of it in an episode on the show, this was a little bit of a different look as well. The interactions between him and Temperance were really good, and I quite enjoyed Where the everything went.
I wish I had known about some of the content warnings beforehand, but I will say that they didn’t go too far into descriptive things that I couldn’t enjoy the book as a whole.

Grab the book Here

The Ghost Machine (James Lovegrove)

Really enjoyed this one. It was almost like a life the way it could be for all the characters. It was quite interesting, and gave you a look into what could explain their backgrounds and why some of them could be the way they are. Not everything, but it was quite authentic to the show.
So some of the clear links between the show and the movie, and I really appreciated a lot of what we saw in this story in that regard.

Grab the book Here

Carnival (Una McCormack)

Written very well, but there was an awful lot of information about a random character that we will never see again. Her POV which did link into the story but it took a while to finally get there.
When the mini plots all combined it was really good. I love seeing the characters as always, and overall it was a good story. I just could’ve done without the little girl character that we seem to get a lot of in the first half or so of the book.

Grab the book Here

What Makes Us Mighty (M.K. England)

As always, love to see the crew again in a story. Felt like it fit into the universe, but it was heavy on the feminism… very heavy. I saw what they were trying to do, and how they were choosing the write the story… but it did bring me out of the story when feminism ideology was slammed into my face every so often. I love a strong female character but this one was literally every guy = bad/stupid and woman = stronger/smarter. It felt unbalanced.
I did enjoy the story on the whole, and it is always good to see the characters back at it.

Grab the book Here

Life Signs (James Lovegrove)

Prison break on a frozen planet and a crew desperate to save a loved one. Who could want anything else.
I will say, the POV of a wolf was an unusual choice but it did well in the story.
I felt the plot sort of came out of nowhere with Inara but I was okay with it. Carried quite well across and I was pretty happy with the plot progression and where things ended.

Grab the book Here

Coup De Grace (Una McCormack)

I liked it, but it felt a little different than some of the others. Not sure why it was, but there was a lot of POV of a character that isn’t the Firefly crew so maybe that’s why..?
Still a fun read and of course, love to see another episodic style story.

Grab the book Here

Aim to Misbehave (Rosiee Thor)

Always reading like an episode of Firefly, this story was no exception. I really enjoyed seeing a little bit more into the Shepherd’s background, and the geese were a fun touch. Getting River’s point of view was also nice in this one as well.

Grab the book Here

I wonder if I got fatigue by the end, as the review scores started dropping, or if the stories were just not as interesting. Either way, I really enjoyed re-entering this world with new stories and the same characters.

Have you read the Firefly books? Are you a fan? Let me know below!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

It might just be me, but the TV shows we get today are just not as good as what we used to get. Some of the classic shows that I know and love, and rarely known about by people my age and particularly younger than me. Anyone under the age of 30 has either never heard of them, or only know about them because of some pop culture passing mention… and I think that’s a travesty!

So, to remedy this I decided to recommend a few of the BEST older TV shows that are definitely worth the watch:

I Love Lucy (and The Lucy Show)

A married couple that have wacky adventures with their landlords and best friends.
I Love Lucy was revolutionary at the time – the first sitcom tv show to use multiple cameras to film, the stars Lucy and Desi owning the film and being able to start a production company, and comedy in a way that people hadn’t seen before.
Lucy was the wacky, slapstick queen of getting into ridiculous situations and roping her best friend Ethel into getting out of it. She wasn’t afraid to dress up in silly costumes, be an idiot on camera and stand up for herself and what she wanted out of life – including getting into her husbands showbiz life.
Meanwhile, Ricky Ricardo was a band leader and singer who just wanted a little peace in his life.. and also struggled to remember all the American idioms. With their friends the Mertz’s always being dragged along for the ride, it is something fun and entertaining to lose yourself in. A marriage where the people love each other so deeply, that even the craziest scheme can’t break!

The Lucy Show came after, and was just Lucy and Vivian as single mums and still having the same cooky adventures. It was actually split into two parts, with the first half of the show including Viv, and the second focussing more on Lucy and the grouchy Mr Mooney. Gone are the kids, and in come the celebrity clients of the bank that Lucy can interact with and embarrass on a whole new scale! Plus, it was in colour!

Gilligan’s Island

“All the rest…” apparently was the hill to die on for theme song enthusiasts and the cast of Gilligan’s Island. There were seven cast aways on the small uninhabited island where the crew and passengers of the cruise ship end up being stranded. And boy, the adventures they get to have while trying to get rescued!
Again you have the loveable goof, but this time Gilligan just doesn’t know how to make things right. He tries to help, but he is just a little short of all the marbles and this means that while he tries very hard, he often comes up short and accidentally sabotages the potential rescues again and again.
Often described as a safe babysitter, it’s pretty much fun for any age and always gives you a laugh.

Remington Steele

The Girl Boss and Pretend face of an investigation firm in the 80s – plus conman Pierce Brosnan…. yes please
Laura is a fantastic investigator, but because she’s a girl people don’t take her seriously. When she invents a pretend man as head of her company and a con man takes advantage – they’re stuck together!
He genuinely seems interested in playing detective, and it makes Laura’s life more difficult, if not more interesting. The banter, the mysteries and the fashion choices are excellent while not being too violent or graphic!

I Dream of Jeannie

Naive blonde Jeannie just wants somebody to love… and Major Anthony Nelson, the astronaught is the one she’s picked. Even though he sets her free on the first day they meet, and doesn’t want anything from her except to be rescued on the deserted island he’s on – she decides to stick around.
Another bit of a goofball, after being locked in her bottle for two thousand years, she doesn’t quite understand how the world works now (or at least in the 60s) and it leads to hilarious adventures. It also doesn’t help poor Tony that he can’t afford anyone to find out that he owns a Jeannie, and he does everything he can not to annoy her so she plays a trick on him, while also not encouraging her so she marries him (something that may not be sustainable).

Get Smart

A spy that is half James Bond, and half Inspector Clouseau Maxwell Smart, agent 86 of Control is pretty much the ultimate. NOTHING like the movie that came out in recent years (it’s way better) Max somehow muddles his way into winning against his encounters with Kaos – the organisation for evil.
With his trusty partner Agent 99 – a beautiful and in love with him agent – they manage to help the Chief against the forces of evil. Trusty shoe phones and lipstick lasers are the norm, with truth, justice and the American way taking a backseat to again… goofy antics that win the day!

Those are only a handful of great shows that pretty much anyone should watch… and it doesn’t even count the shows that hit after the 90s! Maybe my next suggestion post will include that era, but for now Happy Watching!

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace