Firefly

In this world of trial and tribulation, some injustices stand out above the rest. The imprisonment of Nelson Mandela, perhaps, or the fact that Chelsea can buy a Premiership title for the price of a big yacht. But above all these is the fact that the best sci-fi series in recent years was cancelled midway through its first season, without so much as a series finale to assuage the agony of fans.

But sometimes justice prevails. The Firefly, for it was she that was crushed beneath the boot of the ratings oppressor, has risen, phoenix-like, to the big screen as Serenity, and its trailer is now online.

So what’s the good news? Well, for those familiar with the TV series, all the things you love are present and correct. The mismatched crew of the ship Serenity continue to toddle about space, scrambling a living on the very edges of the law, while two of their passengers, a doctor and his mysterious, damaged sister, are hunted by the authorities. The twist now is that the government has hired an assassin to flush out their quarry, and he’s willing to take extreme measures - against innocent civilians if needs be - to capture his prey.

With more money on the table and more time than on TV, the alien landscapes and action scenes have been amped up considerably, with what appears to be a smattering of good fights both in space and by means of old-fashioned fisticuffs. Chiwetel Ejiofor, as the villainous Operative, exudes charm and homicidal impulses in equal measure, and there’s even a glimpse of what we’re pretty sure is a Reaver, one of the savage, totally evil beings that live on the fringes of the galaxy and rape, murder and eat (not necessarily in that order) anyone who crosses their path.

So far, so good. But we will confess to a few niggling doubts about this trailer. For a start, no one but Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) gets a word in edgeways, and Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), the ship’s travelling missionary, appears to be missing in action. Does this mean that he’s off doing something mysterious and that we’re going to learn more about his past? Or simply that the trailer cutters wanted to spend their time on the younger, sexier people instead? Still, with Reynolds on full-on Han Solo, shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later form, who really cares?

There’s not much of the show’s trademark humour here, with the emphasis very much on the action, and a few of the lines seem a little clunky (“As sure as I know anything, I know this: I aim to misbehave”). And by our count there are more than the six rebels the blurb counts on the run, but perhaps they know something we don’t (hey, it happens occasionally). Joss Whedon has also broken his promise, and the laws of physics, by apparently adding in sound effects to the space battles. Presumably the studio couldn’t be convinced that a few banjo twangs were good enough.

Still, quirks of the trailer aside, we’re very much looking forward to seeing this come October 7. We’ll keep you up to date on more Serenity news as it happens, but in the meantime you’re just going to have to calmly wait for what could be the year’s biggest sci-fi film - what’s that? Star Wars what? Oh balls - the year’s second biggest sci-fi film - War of the Whats? OK, we give up. But it’s looking good.