Season 1
Firefly is an American space western television series created by writer/director Joss Whedon under his Mutant Enemy Productions. Set in the year 2517, after the arrival of humans in a new star system, it follows the adventures of the renegade crew of Serenity, a "Firefly-class" spaceship.
The series originally aired in the USA on FOX from 20 September to 20 December, 2002. There are 14 hour-long episodes in the series.
Firefly originally aired in South Africa on SABC3 from 15 April to 22 July, 2003, on Tuesdays at 19h30. It aired as 15 episodes, to accommodate the two-hour premiere.
The series later aired on DStv's actionX channel (now M-Net Action), from 7 June to 13 September, 2006, on Wednesdays at 19h00.
See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times in South Africa.
Synopsis
Firefly takes an action-packed journey 500 years into the future on board The Serenity, a transport spaceship that doesn’t have a planet to call home.
In the wake of a universal civil war Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds leads the crew of The Serenity.
Thrust together by necessity, this crew group of disparate men and women seek adventure and the good life, but face constant challenges on the new frontier, such as avoiding capture by the ruling Alliance, and evading death at the hands — and mouths — of the Reavers, human, flesh-eating mongrels who live on the fringes of the universe.
The Firefly crew will undertake any job — legal or not — to stay afloat.
The popular sci-fi series was created by Joss Whedon, Emmy Award-nominated creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and an Academy Award nominee for Toy Story.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds is a defeated soldier who opposed the unification of the planets by the totalitarian governed Alliance.
His crew includes his fiercely loyal second-in-command Zoe, who served beside him in the war and owes him her life; Wash, the ship's easygoing pilot and Zoe's husband; Kaylee, the ship's young and effervescent engineer; and Jayne, a tough mercenary whose loyalties lie with Mal — for now.
With prostitution now legal among the planets, the beautiful and sophisticated Inara has her own shuttle docked on the ship and shares friendly, yet non-sexual relationships with the crew while serving as a paid companion to the Serenity's guests.
The wealthy and secretive Simon joined the crew as the ship's doctor in the hopes of protecting his emotionally fragile, yet intellectually gifted younger sister, River.
Rounding out the ship's permanent denizens is Book, "The Shepherd", a preacher who is on board to spread the Word of God to the far reaches of the galaxy.
Seasons
Season 1 (15 episodes)
Channel: SABC3 | Premiere: 15 Apr 2003 | Finale: 22 Jul 2003 | Tuesdays, 19h30
Channel: actionX | Premiere: 7 Jun 2006 | Finale: 13 Sep 2006 | Wednesdays, 19h00