I'm a Leaf on the Wind

Every time I watch an episode of Joss Wheldon's Firefly, I am heartbroken all over again that it was canceled in 2003 after just 14 episodes, 11 that aired. For those of you that don't know about the TV show Firefly, it's space western that follows the adventures of the crew of Serenity, a renegade firefly spaceship. I generally don't gravitate towards space or western themed shows, movies or book, but I absolutely fell in love with the characters, stories, humor, scenery, and originality of Firefly. 

This show was cast absolutely perfectly. One wrong actor would have thrown the entire series off balance. But the creators got it just right with this group of actors.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds

The gorgeous and talented Nathan Fillion has become one of my all time favorite actors. He played Mal Reynolds, an ex-Independence soldier, captain of Serenity, and a badass guy with a good heart. Fillion has been in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Desperate Housewives, and Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog (a must watch!). You can currently watch Mr. Fillion on ABC's Castle.  I do.


Zoe Washburne

Gina Torres (wife to Laurence Fishbourne) played Zoe Washburne, second in command of Serenity, wife to Wash, and warrior woman. Beautiful and voluptuous, Torres tends to play strong, kick-ass characters. She was in the TV show Alias and the Matrix movies. Last summer you could watch her the in teen drama Huge as the insecure, once overweight, manager of a fat camp. I sincerely hope that show comes back this summer.

Wash

The hilarious, quirky pilot of the ship and Zoe's husband, Wash, was played by the very talented Alan Tudyk. He's done voice work for Family Guy, Robot Chicken, and American Dad!. He was also in ABC's V (along side another Firefly cast mate) and Fox's Dollhouse. Tudyk is set to pilot an upcoming animated show called Good Vibes, which I can't wait to check out.


Jayne

Adam Baldwin plays not so bright hired gun, Jayne. Baldwin has been in movies like 1980's Ordinary People, Full Metal Jacket, and Predator 2. You can currently watch him in the TV show Chuck. 

Kaylee Frye

Jewel Staite played the lovable, bubbly mechanic Kaylee Frye. Since Firefly she has guest starred on Warehouse 13 and Stargate Atlantis. She's also been in some made for TV movies such as Widow on the Hill and Mothman.

River Tam

River, played by Summer Glau, was the psychotic, psychic teenage genius stowaway. She has starred in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and The Cape since the demise of Firefly. She's also appeared in Dollhouse and Chuck.

Dr. Simon Tam

Sean Maher played Dr. Simon Tam, the brilliant ship doctor with a stick up his butt and brother to River. Since the show wrapped up, he's guest starred in an endless series of TV shows--Warehouse 13 (along side Jewel Straite), Human Target, The Mentalist, Drop Dead Diva, and Ghost Whisperer, just to name a few.


Inara Serra

Morena Baccarin played the beautiful and dazzling Inara, a companion (escort) and Mal's love interest. She, too, has been busy with other television series. She starred in V as a alien with a pixie cut and guest starred on The OC, Las Vegas, Medium, Dirt, Mentalist, and Numb3rs.

Shepherd Derrial Book

Ron Glass played Shepard Book, a religious man with a sordid past. Glass appeared in Shark, Dirty Sexy Money, CSI:NY and the movie Death at a Funeral.


Serenity

The firefly-shaped ship Serenity was like a character on the show too.

Firefly also guest-starred this voluptous Mad Men actress:

Christina Hendricks as villainous Saffron.

The show ended so long ago that I know there will never be another episode of Firefly, no matter how hard I wish. At least in 2005 there was the movie Serenity based off the series. Maybe there will be a second movie. I can dream, right?

Sweet dreams,

          Krissy