Thanks! I was going to wait until December to get this for a friend's birthday, but she's getting it now! (Plus the CE of Serenity, of course.)

Kirochka | September 07, 17:29 CET

Oh darn. I don't have my credit card until later tonight. I hope I don't miss out.

the FAT indian | September 07, 17:30 CET

Good - I gave my set away this week...

refuge5 | September 07, 17:55 CET

Buy your local library a copy :-)

TaraLivesOn | September 07, 19:03 CET

You can order it online, and chose the send a check or money order option, if you do not like to use a credit card online. Plus, free shipping if you order $25 worth of stuff, so picking up a copy of volume two of the visual companion, or something else...
that's what I did, anyway.

oregon | September 07, 19:29 CET

Get it quick, those gold deal offers have a tendency to get finish in a matter of hours after being announced.

Simon | September 07, 19:49 CET

Hey my first post! I seemed to have "loaned" out all my copies so I bought 2 today. Its funny how my Firefly DVDs never get returned:)

markyhi | September 07, 20:03 CET

$19.99! I think I paid 40 bucks! *shocked face*

Dana | September 07, 21:24 CET

How come that happens to everyone who lends out their firefly? Its like lending out firefly is the same as giving it away.

the FAT indian | September 08, 01:53 CET

Another option that's being talked about around the boards is Firefly for Firefighters.
I have my copy, my office copy, my loaner copy. I've gifted quite a few sets lately. So I was thinking what I could do with this opportunity.
Here's what I saw that intrigued me:
Firefly for Firefighters
I like this idea. I ordered one and plan to gift the fire department in my town.

FollowMal | September 08, 03:49 CET

I bought another copy, my first one is getting a little skippy on some of the episodes. I should probably watch it a little less.

theyarescientists | September 08, 07:22 CET

Oh. Firefighters is much better. I had thought it was Firefly for fired fry cooks.

napua | September 08, 07:46 CET

And five years after it was on TV... the Firefly set right now is #1 in DVDs on Amazon.

Again.

theonetruebix | September 08, 10:59 CET

Firefighters are quite a diverse crowd. Although I'm probably the biggest geek in our volunteer fire department, at least three other people, including one captain and the department chief, "got" my 'MENTAT' vanity plate without needing an explanation.

I've brought a number of DVDs to watch on shift before, but never attracted a crowd (well, there are only generally four of us) with Farscape. Flags of Our Fathers, Blackhawk Down, and The World's Fastest Indian got a much better response.

We don't have a library of entertainment DVDs permanently at my station, else I'd donate a Firefly set. We do have expanded cable, and volunteers bring in the DVDs they want to watch, often including NetFlix or other rentals.

I might try bringing Firefly and seeing if I can convert my shift. Before I joined, they did watch Band of Brothers in its entirety over a period of months...

jclemens | September 09, 00:58 CET

First off jclemens, thank you for being a volunteer fireman.
Our firehouse here in our town is all volunteer too, and they're great guys.
I'm gonna try it, see if the Western appeal ( I do live in the Midwest after all ) will draw them in. ;)
ETA: And even if they never watch it, it's another DVD sold and I've shared. I like sharing. :)

[ edited by FollowMal on 2007-09-08 22:30 ]

FollowMal | September 09, 01:28 CET

Thanks, FollowMal, but let me turn it around--I've been a geek/nerd for my entire life, and it wasn't until well into my 30s that I decided to take an EMT course and, later, firefighter academy. I'm privileged to work at a good department which has adequate funding and progressive leadership. I admired emergency services personnel when I was younger, but always assumed I wasn't qualified to be one, what with my absurd (yet correctable) nearsightedness.

I'm suspecting that there are more than a few Whedonesquers who could serve as volunteers, who don't currently. The physical requirements are substantial, but my own personal fitness has benefitted greatly. The time investment is really the biggest thing, and I've never heard of a department where the "reimbursements" or stipends ever made it financially worthwhile: My day job is in IT, and I make roughly 4% of my hourly wage as a volunteer. If I wanted a second job for money, I'd be better off working fast food.

The real payment is from the people you help and the respect the community gives you. Most "fire" department calls are for medical issues, often involving older patients, which are far more common than newsworthy structure fires or traumatic accidents. Thus, a large part of a job well done is just providing competent and compassionate care to the elderly. My kids think it's cool to help wash the tires on the fire engine when I have a weekend shift, too.

So, if you think volunteer firefighters are cool... look into becoming one. Most urban areas are entirely career departments, but a surprising number of suburban departments use volunteers to augment career staff and essentially all rural departments are volunteer. Many departments need volunteers; think it over and call, you might be surprised by the reception you get.

That way, if you want to get Firefly into firehouses, you can just bring it in yourself. :-)

jclemens | September 09, 04:01 CET