Serenity

It's funny, after the series finale of Firefly, I admitted that while it was a fun show, I had no problem with the fact that it was prematurely cancelled. Now after watching the wrap-up sequel of a move Serenity, I'm starting to think I'll miss these characters. Firefly as a series was just a bit too hit or miss with each episode for me, but I found Serenity a strong and engaging continuation of the story that could have potentially kept going long after the movie. The series itself is set 500 years in the future, as overpopulation has forced humans to move to some other part of the galaxy and terraform different planets into hospitable places. A new government known as the Alliance has been formed, but they mostly control an inner ring of planets. Anything goes on the outer 'frontier' planets, so captain Mal and his crew spend most of their time working illegal jobs and trying to stay out of the Alliance's watchful eye. This normally wouldn't be too hard, but at the start of the series the crew accidentally takes in a fugitive doctor and his Alliance-brainwashed and possibly psychic sister who are fleeing Alliance forces. The movie Serenity sets out to answer some of the long-standing questions of the shortened series- Why was this girl brainwashed? Why does the government need her back? And how do the Reavers, a horrible band of hyper-aggressive space pirates only mentioned in passing during the series factor into it all? Serenity did a great job of drawing me back in to this story and you could tell series creator Joss Whedon was going for broke and enjoying his inflated budget. Even though this was meant to conclude the series and episodes after could never be the same (a few major characters get killed off), suddenly I want more episodes of Mal and his crew taking down the Alliance. So all in all, a very enjoyable experience and series-capper that put me in the group of wishing the series stuck around a little longer.