galfridus

So, for my Christmas present, Liza went and picked up a few things Firefly- and Serenity-related things for me: Three books, a DVD and a CD. The DVD and the CD she picked up were the documentary Done the Impossible — The Fans’ Tale of Firefly and Serenity and its soundtrack.

For fans of Firefly and Serenity (of which I most definitely am one of) I would say that the movie is worth watching at least once, but the soundtrack… well, the soundtrack really gets in the way of the story the directors are trying to tell. I understand how much of the fanbase revolves around the music that is created but, like most of the music I run into that’s based in a renaissance fest-inspired world (you know what I’m talking about, and if you don’t, get thee to Wikipedia), it tends to be competent but derivative (my opinion, not a blanket statement)… and that’s really too bad, because there are clearly some talented musicians on the album. Probably the notable exception is the fun, but not silly, “I’m Gonna See Serenity” by Dan Sehane, because it is a fun little song. It might even make its way into my favorites playlist on my iPod. Might. mc chris he isn’t (but comparing these folks to nerdcore rappers may not be the fairest thing for either group).

Now, I’m sure I’m being a little unfair — the music just isn’t my style or taste, and if you are a fan of the series and/or the movie and of celtic-folk type music, I think the album is right up your alley.

As for the documentary itself: It is well made. For a small outfit putting this thing together, it really is well made and is enjoyable (well, again, except for some very distracting music that just doesn’t need to be there). Yep, it’s well made…

…but the yarn is missing. There is no consistent, cohesive story being told. Adam Baldwin is wasted in interstitial portions when he could have been much more effective as a voiceover tying the timeline and the main documentary together.

The DVD has an interactive timeline (which is really difficult to read on a smaller TV screen, like our bedroom TV) that goes into all of the interesting bits that should have been in the documentary and could have been used for pulling the piece together.

In the end, it’s a good piece from a great group of fans and any fan of Firefly or Serenity should pick up a copy.

Now, since the documentary was released under under a Creative Commons license and was distributed, legally, via BitTorrent. The license allows for people to alter, transform, or build upon the work… so it might be possible to edit the documentary in a way that makes it better. I’m not sure. I’ll have to play with that, and iMovie, when I have the time and energy in the future.