Firefly: Scifi or not?

          So Firefly definitely takes place in a world that has somewhat different technology than we currently have, but I'm not sure that makes it science fiction.
          I think that, mainly, science fiction needs to have more of a difference in technology than Firefly has. When we look at other "classic" works of science fiction they have a huge technology gap. For example in Frankenstein they had enough technology to create life in the story while in reality they had nothing even close to that. And in Star Wars not only did they have to advanced ships, but they also had advanced weapons and medical devices. Whereas in Firefly we only see a leap in technology in the ships, and it could even be argued that their weapons and cars were less advanced than what we currently have. I think that the lack of a large gap in technology doesn't allow us to be as amazed. With large gaps we can look at the technology and be stunned as to how it could work and how cool it is and have real discussions over it (like the Star Trek teleporter), but in Firefly were so close to having the technology that it doesn't give us that same opportunity.
          I also think they they technology should affect the characters and plot more in a science fiction story. Looking back at Star Trek again most of the episodes heavily relied on a fictional piece of technology or creature, for example the Holodeck played a big part in at least part of the story when it got infected and everybody and t work to figure out what happened. I think the Firefly could easily be the same story if it were on Earth in the west. They don't rely on the ship or its technology as much as they could, it could easily be replaced by a boat or a car and it wouldn't change the story at all.
         That all being said I still really enjoyed the story. I thought that it was really well put together and a good plot line. The characters also seems to have more development and connections in the two episodes we watched than in any other movie/show we've seen so far. Thats is definitely close to, if not at, the top of my list (not quite sure it beats Red Dwarf) in terms of best things we've read or watched this year.

Red Mars

So while reading this book I started to realise that almost all of the characters are really relatable, but also had to relate too at the same time. It was like while I was reading half the time I was like "I feel you" and then the other half of the time I sort of hated them. Out of the characters that I've read the parts from their POVs heres what I decided:

John Boone:

• Relatable: When people broke into his room and he was yelling at him we saw John fighting a smile like he was having a ton of fun fighting with them.
• What I have a problem with: So far to me he seems obnoxiously sure of himself and perfect. He's popular, he was the first man to walk on the moon, and he's allowed on the Ares even though he shouldn't be. I feel like he got away with a lot just because of his charm.

Frank Chalmers:

• Relatable: Less of a relatable thing and more of a good trait is that he actually appears to think things through, even if we don;t agree with his end ideas.
• What I have a problem with: ....well...you know....the whole wanting to murder your best friend thing

Maya:

• Relatable: Her love triangle. She is very centered on boys/men which I think most girls can relate to on some level. Another cool part is how she uses her emotions to help the others at some points during the book.
• What I have a problem with: Her love triangle. Also the boys/men thing again. It'd relatable when you are in high school, but she isn't. This is a full grown astronaut we're talking about it just doesn't seem mature enough. On top of it not being mature she seems to be a very stereotypical girl with a

Nadia:

• Relatable: Once again less relatable and more awesome is that she's an engineer. Having a female engineer as a main character is pretty rare today, but its even more awesome that they made her in the 90's. Go Nadia breaking down those stereotypes. 
• What I have a problem with: I don't really have any problems with Nadia.

Michel:

• Relatable: His homesickness.
• What I have a problem with with: He seems to just do what he thinks others want him to do.