In preparation for the upcoming season premier next Wednesday, Richard and I have been watching one or more episodes of the first season of Lost the past few days. And with each episode we watch I am reminded not only how much I really do like this show, but also how truly weird some of those characters are. I think it's safe to say that every single one of the people they've profiled so far have some serious issues, but there are some that are more 'off' than others. Locke, in particular, is one creepy, seriously weird guy. I just hope that they spend some time focusing on some of the other characters who only got a brief nod, or who have only shown up peripherally here and there, because really, is there anyone out there who is not yet so sick of episodes about poor, misunderstood Kate that they will not yell and throw things at the TV if the series inflicts yet more on us this year?

It is at least good knitting television because even though I am paying attention and looking for details I might have missed the first time around, we have still seen all of these before. Plus earlier this week the yarn arrived for the felted messenger bag I'm going to make for Richard (he asked for one) so I immediately cast on and managed to plow through a significant chunk of it during three episodes of slightly creepy TV.

Another premier is coming soon � on September 30th, to be exact � but this one we�ve actually managed to already see. One of the leaders of the writers� group Richard attends is heavily involved in the local Browncoats organization, and got wind of a sneak preview of Serenity, mere days before it happened. Last Wednesday night we drove out to Roseville, tracked down the theater, and got our number assignments for the free screening. Luckily we got there early, mainly because we wanted to make sure there was time to get some dinner first, because by the time we got back to the theater the line had grown exponentially. For barely two days notice, word spread fast enough to pack the theater by the time the movie began.

I have become less and less enamored of going to movies in the past few years because it seems that more often than not there is some idiot with a loud cell phone who feels the need to not only answer it during the movie, but carry on a conversation, or there is someone who lets their kids run around the theater being obnoxious, or a cluster of people who feel the need to talk loudly or make rude noises or comments during all the intense parts. But there was something amazing about being in that theater that night. We knew we were surrounded by a few hundred other people who were just as crazy about Firefly as we were. It�s the first movie I�ve been to in a long time where no one had to go track down an employee to fix the damn tracking, or plot mental murder for the jerks throwing popcorn or talking or answering their cell phones.

And the movie itself was amazing. Joss Whedon is a genius at gathering together casts who mesh seamlessly. He proved it with Buffy and with Angel, and also with the very short-lived Firefly, and he proved it even more so by transferring Firefly to the big screen. It�s a space movie, yes, and you could even call it a space cowboy movie, but one of the biggest plusses about it is that it is a space movie with no aliens, and even though the whole thing takes place in the future it still feels very human throughout. Things were explained, there was laughing and shocked gasps and reminders that in any Whedonverse, no one is safe and nothing is ever formulaic because in reality no one is safe either, and things do not always go according to plan.

We will be going back on September 30th (or shortly thereafter), not only to support the movie when it�s officially released (because if things go well, there will be two more sequels) but also because it is a damn good movie, and those sorts of films are few and far between.