This is what makes relationships work. Teamwork.

One of the great casualties of sci-fi television would have to be Joss Whedon’s imaginative and fun “Firefly.” During its brief run on Fox it was buried in the schedule, barely advertised, had its episodes shown out of order, and was finally and unceremoniously axed early. Despite all of this, it was critically acclaimed and developed the most rabid fandom of any sci-fi franchise not featuring the word “Star” in the title (with the possible exception of “Dr. Who,” whose new producer is a big fan of Whedon).

Fresh off the success of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and its spin-off “Angel,” Whedon opted to create something brand new. The result was “Firefly,” a rough-and-tumble outer space western of a not-too-distant future when man has moved to the stars, gone through a bloody civil war, and come out the other side with an oppressive centralized government.

Mal: Big Damn Hero.

Against this background, we find our heroes – the crew of the Firefly-class vessel Serenity. As we meet them, they’re barely scraping out a hand-to-mout existence taking on passengers at every port and picking up work from some not-so-reputable clients. When a strange young man books passage on Serenity with his paranoid schizophrenic sister packed into a large trunk, their existence goes from under-the-radar to uncomfortably close to the lens of the Alliance.

But for all of its sci-fi trappings, “Firefly” is close to its cowboy roots. The captain – a former rebel commander turned small-time smuggler – tromps through arid wastelands in his brown duster with his trusty revolver by his side. The hold of the good ship Serenity carries cattle as readily as it carries medical supplies. The women on frontier planets dress in calico print. In the pilot episode, there are even horses.

It’s not easy being Jayne. Fun, but not easy.

All of which would amount to little more than a handful of catchy gimmicks without good, solid writing and performances to back it up. Luckily, third-generation television writer and all-around genius Joss Whedon was at the helm all the way. The snappy banter may be familiar as one of Joss Whedon’s stylistic quirks, but unlike many writers, Whedon’s dialogue is more than just light and breezy. It’s realistic and filled with clues to relationships between the characters.

The show features nine characters in its central cast, and the series treats the characters as a true ensemble. Everybody has their own story, and the stories weave into each other nicely. Captain Mal and his first mate Zoe are old war buddies who fought on the losing side of the rebellion. Wash, the wisecracking pilot, is a stay-at-home husband for the tough-as-nails Zoe. Shepherd Book is a holy man out to experience the galaxy, Jayne is an opportunistic hired gun, and Kaylee is a young, peppy greasemonkey who keeps the crew together as a family. But none of these characters are entirely what they seem.

Whee!

And the actors respect this depth to their characters. Ron Glass relishes the mystery of Shepherd Book. Freshman actress Summer Glau (formerly a ballerina) mixes the joy and innocence of a sixteen-year-old-girl with the moodiness of a paranoid schizophrenic with disturbing clarity. And Adam Baldwin grasps the reality of the gun-toting, self-reliant Jayne who can’t believe that there’s a planet where people sing songs about him.

“Firefly” may not have gotten a fair shake during its brief time on the air, but with its DVD presentation it finally appears the way Whedon intended, with the original order of the episodes restored. Extra features show you the care that went into the series – not only into the script and the creation of the galaxy around these characters, but also into the construction of the set itself (Serenity is actually referred to in the extras as “The 10th Character”). In the end, the complete series of “Firefly” is a wonderful – if all-to-brief – date with an intriguing future.

Scotty never played jacks.