New appreciation for Summer Glau the actress

I'm still a bit blown away about how thoroughly I have become entranced by the defunct TV series "Firefly" and its miraculous sequel, the movie "Serenity."

In my younger days it was not unusual for me to go watch a film 5-6-7 times; some movies are like roller coasters - it's fun to go back for another ride. Between the advent of VCRs and getting interested in other pursuits, I had not seen a movie on the big screen more than twice for 17 years. I've now seen "Serenity" four times, and I was positively gleeful last night when I saw that the local budget cinema is now showing Joss Whedon's Big Damn Movie. At $2.75 a pop, I should be able to break my personal record of seeing a film in the theater eight times, depending on how long this theater hangs onto it.


Why Firefly/Serenity? It's not the first series with a great ensemble cast, sharp writing, memorable characters, terrific music, compelling imagery, important themes, etc., etc. But somehow all of those elements come together in such an incredible entertaining way. And it probably came along at the right time in my life, as I've come to consider as heroes those who eke out a decent living while trying to avoid the regulatory tentacles of our intrusive and increasingly totalitarian keepers. The story of Malcolm Reynolds and the motley crew of the Serenity is the harmonic convergence of all of these elements.

The latest of my many epiphanies about the series is about the job done by Summer Glau, the 24-year-old actress who plays River Tam, the troubled subject of monstrous experiments by scientists of the Alliance. I have previously written that "Firefly" poses the greatest question since "Ginger or Mary Ann?" - that being, of course, "Inara or Kaylee or Zoe?" My epiphany was that it's a tribute to Summer Glau's acting ability that it never occurred to me to add "or River?" into that equation.

And yet, here at http://www.summer-glau.com, is plenty of evidence that this is a woman as lovely as co-stars Morena Baccarin, Jewel Staite and Gina Torres. And what acting chops - after all, the progression of River from crazy helpless waif into a mostly-rational fighting machine cannot be an easy one to portray, but she makes it believable all the way through.

The movie has not been the blockbuster hit that I personally expected it to be, even though it's one of the best movies I've ever seen (perhaps because the connection to the characters depends so much on familiarity with the 15 hours of the TV series), so it's entirely possible that the story ends here. I hope not, because it would be interesting and no doubt entertaining to see how River Tam evolves after the events of "Serenity" in the hands of Whedon and the (who knew?) glamorous Ms. Glau.