Firefly and Serenity

I've heard a lot of hype about the TV show Firefly and the movie Serenity so I decided to check it out. I was a little suprised at first when I bought the DVDs of the first season. I thought it was an Anime or something with a name like Firefly. Turns out it is a Sci-Fi. I started watching it last night and I have to say it is pretty good. The story is ingaging and interesting. I do have one beef with it though. Everyone keeps saying it is fresh and original. The whole time I was watching it I kept thinking, this is a rip off of Star Wars. I mean, look at it, if you change the names of the characters and change the director, you have "The Adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca." Even the "Firefly" class ship is described as a hunk of junk and the comment, "do they still make those?" and yet the ship is able to do falconesque moves.

Here are the similarities I see to Star Wars
Serenity = Millenium Falcon
Firefly = Corellian Freighter
Alliance = The Empire
Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds = Han Solo (The grumpy captain out for a buck)
Jayne Cobb = Chewbacca (The big part)
Kaylee Frye = Chewbacca (The fixing things part)
River Tam = Luke Skywalker (strange psychic abilities)
Shepherd Book = Obi Wan Kenobi

I'm sure there are lots more that I can't think of off the top of my head.

I'm not saying I don't like the show. I'm really enjoying it and keep thinking of it as a Star Wars prequel done well. Maybe my impressions will change as I make my way through the season. If you haven't watched it yet, I highly recommend it. Unless you are into chick flicks only.