As I mentioned in my last Cap’n’s Blog, this year marks the 20^th anniversary of the motion picture Serenity, and the California Browncoats are doing something very unique to celebrate that milestone.  Browncoats from all over the ‘verse are invited to gather in Newhall, California (an historic suburb of Los Angeles) from September 18-21 to attend the Big Damn Shindig, a first-of-its-kind celebration combining the Browncoat Ball with a Can’t Stop the Serenity charity screening.

Normally, it wouldn’t get much bigger than a reunion of the cast of Firefly and Serenity, but the California Browncoats have done the impossible. They’ve put together an event over U-Day weekend that can only be described as a Big Damn Shindig. For the first time ever, the two most prestigious Browncoats events in the ‘verse— the Browncoat Ball and Can’t Stop the Serenity— will be united in one location.

This Friday evening, January 31, at 7:30pm, I’ll have the honor of sitting on a panel of guests for a live chat on the Facebook page and YouTube channel of Otherworldly Fundraising for “An Evening of Firefly.” Host Stephen Fischer of Otherworldly Fundraising and the Rochester Browncoats will lead a panel discussion of why Firefly still has such a large and passionate fanbase even 22 years after its premature cancellation.

So, good riddance, Boom! Studios. Now what? Have we seen the last of the crew of Serenity in comics? That’s very unlikely. So, where might we see them next? Here are some likely candidates...

2024 is getting ready to stack the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the door behind it as it leaves. Looking back, I think we can say it’s been a pretty shiny year for the PA Browncoats’ Rivers and Bridges Brigade…

If this book is anything like the other Firefly novels that Titan Books has published (and there’s no reason to think it wouldn’t be), then what the reader is going to get is a story that feels like a lost episode of the series. So far, all the Titan Books novels have been set during a time that would chronologically occur either during the series itself or between the series and the motion picture, so we get to enjoy having all nine original members of Serenity’s crew involved in the plot. I can also say that the writers Titan Books has brought on board to write these novels have a very good general understanding of the characters and the ‘verse that Joss Whedon created.

This year’s “Shiny New Year” shindig will feature a Firefly/space travel-themed dinner/dance to ring in the new year, and the event will give Browncoats from all corners of the ‘verse the chance to have a fancy party in the spirit of the episode “Shindig.” There will be a plated dinner, music, and a champagne toast at midnight, as well as other libations and a raffle/auction with all manner of loot that Browncoats would love to get their hands on.

It has been wonderful to get to know everyone a bit better and watch the show we all know and love in a way that makes it a more communal experience. I expected it would be fun to revisit all the vintage commercials, as well as the ad spots that Fox created for the show itself that failed so spectacularly to capture the tone of the story. What has been really shiny, though, is how a favorite moment in an episode I’ve watched dozens of times never fails to hit differently when I’m watching it with others who appreciate it as much as I do. I can honestly say these Friday-night watch parties have become something like a homing beacon in the work week for me. I just can't wait to get to the next one.

If you aren’t coming to the watch party on October 25, I hope it’s because you plan to attend the Browncoat Ball in Bethlehem, PA that weekend. I say that not only because it would be shiny if the Rivers and Bridges Brigade had a contingent at the Ball to show support for our fellow PA Browncoats who are organizing it, but also because as someone who’s attended two Browncoat Balls (2017 in Gettysburg and 2021 in Salem), I know what a great experience it is to spend a weekend with other folk who love Firefly and Serenity as much as we do, touring the host city, dressing up real fancy, eating good food and dancing the night away.

This year, the calendar is aligned just right for the original air dates of the eleven episodes of "Firefly" that debuted on the Fox television network to fall on a Friday, just as they did when the series aired for the first time 22 years ago. The last time this little coincidence happened was 2019. It won’t occur again until 2030. You might be wondering why I’m fixated on this calendrical phenomenon.

Pittsburgh is the only city that has held a live, in-person CSTS screening every year since the event’s inception in 2006, and even after nearly two decades, folk in the ‘Burgh are still coming out to watch Serenity together and help them as might need it. As of this year, CSTS Pittsburgh has raised over $18,000 for local and global charities. There really is no fandom quite like the Browncoats.

I will never get tired of seeing Serenity in a real theater on a real movie screen-- even if I’ve done it now more than a dozen times-- and having the chance to see it with other Browncoats makes the experience even shinier.

"Well, okay, I’ll admit maybe calling the summer dead and buried is a mite premature, but our summer days of taking things leisurely are certainly coming to a middle. That’s why it’s important to make the most of the ones we have left, and to that end, if you’re a Browncoat (and if you’re not, just why exactly are you reading this blog?), there are a couple of shiny events on the horizon you should know about."

…Let’s take a moment to talk about what we Pittsburgh Browncoats do best: Can’t Stop the Serenity. We are the only city in the world that has held a live screening every year since the beginning, and we have no intention of stopping in 2024. The 19th annual CSTS Pittsburgh charity shindig will happen on August 10 at the Grand Theatre in Elizabeth, PA…