This fellow didn't like Buffy, but he got a good feel of Joss' writing talents from Toy Story (in which none of Joss' work survived, except for introducing one character, IIRC), and Titan A.E., about which Kai said to Joss, as they were driving away from a screening (as Joss said in an audio clip on Done the Impossible, IIRC), "Please say something funny to me so that I can remember that you are [funny]"?!? Hmmm.

billz | August 14, 11:23 CET

It's a good listen, the voices are reasonably similar to the actors and the story is fun. As a fan effort, I give it 5 stars. A must listen. A boon for fans craving new material. Yes I am looking for my quotes to feature on a press release, why do you ask?

Simon | August 14, 12:08 CET

"... Magickal! I was transported to another time and place."
"... a nail-biting thrill-ride from start to finish."
"... a tour de force that will make your hair stand on end. Hair-raising."
"... if you listen to only one fan-based audio Firefly drama this year, this should be the one..."
".... this... was... a... n... ensemble... production... with ... many... larfs ... and ... chilling... too..."

QuoterGal | August 14, 12:40 CET

"It's like if Gin had Darth Vader's love-child. That's how good 'Firefly: Old Wounds' is !"

"Literally composed of sound ! It's like listening to something with words !! Using your ears !!!"

"If 'Firefly: Old Wounds' didn't exist then someone would have had to invent it. And it didn't used to ... so someone did."

"[possibly] ... better than the Richard Burton bits in 'Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds'"

I'll be checking this out at home (no sound at work). I think if you have the right talent then fan-audio can work every bit as well, if not better, than fan-film since you obviously don't need anywhere near the budget to produce comparable stuff (dramatically). It kept Doctor Who alive in fans minds for the 15+ years it was off screens and look how that turned out so you just never know.

Saje | August 14, 13:00 CET

On a side note,I get the impression that the Firefly fandom is embracing all this innovative stuff way ahead of the Buffyverse fandom. There's probably a whole myriad of reasons why and it could probably make an academic paper but it's something I've noticed over the last couple of years.

Simon | August 14, 13:13 CET

I think it's probably just a more pressing desire for more material. Buffy ran for 7 years and ended in quite a natural way, Firefly was very much cut down in its prime after only 14 eps.

(and maybe Firefly fans tend to be more technical on average than Buffy fans - since it's ostensibly science-fiction - and so more able to implement new stuff but there's such a big overlap in fandoms i'm not sure about that)

Saje | August 14, 13:33 CET

I hate to spoil the moment, but I don't think I 'll be able to listen to this... the characters all seem particularly dumb, from the way they speak (slowly, as if being retards - or adressing to retards). That's not bearable...

[ edited by Le Comité on 2006-08-14 11:40 ]

Le Comité | August 14, 13:39 CET

Was I the only one to find all this talk of big, floppy bunnies just a mite scary?

GreatMuppetyOdin | August 14, 14:53 CET

Seconded. I got about three sentences in and had to turn it off. Painful.

JesterInACast | August 14, 16:36 CET

Two quickies - Joss was fairly involved with Toy Story, I believe. He spent a couple of weeks on it (and is named on the Oscar nomination).

Also, Simon is correct - there are many fan Firefly projects running at the moment. There's actually two alternative-ship fan film projects up and running. I've seen some of the work of one of them, and it's actually not bad - they have a ship which is being built from scratch in a workshop, and some professional CGI work going on which looks really cool.

That said, of course, one of the things I have to say -- if I'm honest -- is that these sort of things will never attract the masses. Firefly sets the bar very, very high - it's got really tight writing, great plotting, experienced show runners, a huge budget, beautiful and talented actors and all that joy, which you just can't accomplish if you have a budget of $4.

But attracting the masses is never going to be a goal of these projects - they're doin' it for the love, so all power to them.

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-14 17:25 ]

[ edited by gossi on 2006-08-14 17:26 ]

gossi | August 14, 19:25 CET

I was under the impression that the dialogue at least in Toy Story was quite Joss-ified? Also I just noticed that Ben Edlund is a credited writer or Titan A.E.... does anyone think its worth watching?

Also, what does IIRC mean?

Jona | August 14, 20:51 CET

If I recall correctly or the interactive illinois report card. Take your pick, they're both equally applicable.

Simon | August 14, 22:12 CET

Yeah...I didn't particularly enjoy that. Maybe its because I didn't know what in the world was going on. I should probably give it another listen another time.

weetabix | August 15, 00:35 CET

Well, as long as they had fun making it.

There were a few pretty cringeworthy bits (mainly very forced sounding slang much of which sounded read instead of acted) and I agree that some of the scenes were quite muddled but it had its moments (the lassie that played Inara sounded pretty similar as did the guy that played Mal at points, even if at other times he sounded like at least 3 different guys to my ears) though a lot of the humour fell flat owing to amateurish delivery.

Thing is of course, they are amateurs and they're doing it for a laugh (and for free) so no harm no foul I reckon (and flaws and all it's still probably a better job than I could do). Seems like the learning curve could be pretty steep on something like this so I may give Episode 2 a chance just to see how much it improves.

(I don't think Richard Burton's got too much to worry about though - once he gets over being dead, obviously)

Saje | August 15, 01:49 CET

Yep, Jona, IIRC = if I recall correctly.

This article (linked from Joss' birthday thread this year) does explain that Joss had quite a lot to do with Toy Story. For some reason, I had only remembered this part,



which I thought meant that was all Joss did, but when I re-read it, I realized Joss did quite a lot. So, in fact, I had NOT recalled correctly. Heh. Sorry. (D'oh!)

This audio ep was not really "right" for me -- I realized listening to the MP3 how much it's those 9 incredible actors who Joss cast in those roles who truly make the 'Verse come alive for me -- but I totally, totally, admire how great a job these writers and actors did trying to create a moment in the Serenifly 'Verse. Good work, guys! :-)

billz | August 15, 07:05 CET

I think it's pretty good for a first effort. I know they're going to get better and better as time goes on. Kaylee and Wash are especially good.

There is also a new fan fiction podcast, done in the style of books on tape, that those of you who are having trouble with the "voices" might find more palatable. Where it’s one person reading the whole thing.

It's Tales From The 'Verse, at www.talesfromtheverse.com

[ edited by gobluegirl on 2006-08-15 21:28 ]

gobluegirl | August 15, 23:27 CET